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To: barrcuda who wrote (87750)	7/12/2002 3:19:52 PM
From: long-gone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116795

Prof: Expect change in American culture MANHATTAN, Kan., July 12 (UPI) -- A Kansas State University professor predicts a fundamental change in American culture as a result of the Enron, WorldCom and other corporate scandals. Diane Swanson, an associate professor of management, Friday likened the current situation to "a house of cards." "You expect it to fall apart at some point when you keep hearing news that the information investors are supposed to be able to use is bad," said Swanson, who teaches corporate ethics. Swanson said the recent string of corporate scandals will continue to hurt the U.S. economy and people will move their money out of stocks and into safer investments as more bad news surfaces. She herself had a bad feeling on June 24 and moved most of her money out of stocks and into a money market account. The next day, WorldCom announced it had improperly accounted for $3.8 million in expenses, sending the stock market into a tailspin. Swanson said the deregulation of business, which began in the 1970s, left the government will less money to oversee corporations and is to blame. "Corporate greed increased in the 1970s and perhaps the focus on short-term profit and stock prices has run full circle," she said. "America has bought into the idea that greed is good and has made heroes out of corporate executives. They should be seen as stewards of our resources, not objects of hero worship and executives' pay seems to me to be out of hand." Swanson criticized so-called "golden parachutes" that provide incentives to chief executive officers to inflate stock prices, knowing they are guaranteed millions when they leave no matter the circumstances. Swanson suggested placing rank-and-file employees on corporate boards to help ensure at least some oversight. She also said that unless corporate boards start re-evaluating compensation packages voluntarily, the government should mandate it. "If a company's employees are laid off, the CEO has failed," Swanson said. "They are supposed to try to provide steady employment and safe products for consumers, not just short-term gains." Noting that mistakes often originate in middle and lower management, Swanson recommended flattening corporate hierarchy to allow information to move to the top more quickly, preventing problems from being hidden or misrepresented. She also said legislatures should consider measures(cont) interestalert.com