Work-Life12 Feb 2007 08:42 am
What happens when an employee is caught doing naughty things after hours? At some companies that can be a cause for dismissal.
But what happens when a CEO gets arrested for drunk driving?
Doug Parker, the CEO of US Airways, got busted last week for driving while intoxicated. The arrest came on the heels of his failed bid to buy up Delta Airlines and merge the two carriers together, probably leaving consumers and workers in the exhaust. Well, the deal didn’t go through and maybe Parker wanted to drown his sorrows.
Understandable. But what, if any punishment should he face? And I mean punishment beyond the criminal legal system. What about his job, his reputation, his CEO life?
Any thoughts?
February 13th, 2007 at 2:01 am
as soon as the arrest is made, the ceo is placed on leave. paid or not. then, if the company lawyers think there is enough evidence, they should release him from his job. he should be let go with out giving it a second thought. if the arrest does not stand and he is cleared of all charges, fine, let him come back to work for the company in the mail room, or as a janitor.
February 13th, 2007 at 3:20 am
While the details of Doug Parker’s contractual obligations as CEO may never be made public, I actually would prefer that his case be handled according to his contract and the laws of the jurisdiction he may have violated. I hope we hire CEOs to run companies not to be saints. If he has a general problem with alcohal, hopefully his company has an employee assistance program which he will use. I don’t want to be naive about the connection between one’s private and professional life, but I think it’s crossing an ethical line to hire people based on professional ability, but to fire them based on activity happening on that person’s own time–when that behavior is not a felony. Along those lines, I feel that line is also being crossed when employers use social internet outlets as part of the hiring process. Being evaluated on my social likeability rather than my professional ability is very problematic. I think it’s more a symptom of how far away from work-based evaluation of employees most workplaces have gone. Thanks for the loan of your soapbox!
February 19th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
i think there is too much scrutiny in what people do in their private life. if he were drinking on the job, fire him. but there have been many talented people in the world that if held to their private lifes record. i think the world would be short a lot of great innovations , and progress.
1.martin luther king- was picked up many times for drunkeness.. and used the N word more than the kkk members he was fighting against
2.ted kennedy for the secular progressives of your blog.. would never have made it this far . he drinks gets dui’s. rapes get comitted at his home, and hell he runs from the scenes fatal accidents.
3.howard hughes —
4. paul allen
5.martha stewart has a dui , and is a felon..and she made 500mio while she was incarcirated.
ceo’s should be judged by their actions in the boardroom.. period. and the bottomline.
and as for your mother. i speak to her more than u. maybe u should sit down with her..haha
February 27th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Double standards are the fact of life that many of us have to deal with.
While a lot of companies cry “ethics” and train up the employees in the ways of good business practice (ethics being the big thing of the day), it is not surprising to me that they hold their leaders to a different standard. Why? I don’t believe the symptoms are cut and dried.
It costs a lot of money to release an executive from his contract. Case in point, Alliant International University had to spend nearly a million dollars to release their president (under questionable circumstances).
It costs a lot of money to find an executive to replace an unethical or just plain naughty one. Imagine being an exec having to replace a former exec who was very naughty. Scrutiny always comes at a price. How much is a company willing to pay to replace a naughty person?
It boils down to M-O-N-E-Y. Is it cheaper to keep the high paid flake for a while and not renew? Or is it more expedient to pay the up front charges and cut your losses?
High stakes gambling is not always cut and dried.
After all, isn’t that what hiring a very highly paid executive is like? 5 Card Stud. Game of board choice.
Play on words intentional.
January 31st, 2008 at 7:36 pm
The media punished hims.. Everyone assumed he was a chronic drunk and pundits wondered whether he should have stepped down. If you habe high tolerance, it easy to forget you can get intoxicated even without visible symptoms. From what I have heard of him, he does not sound reckless at least not at his current stage of life. I understand why he tried to hide it although I it was a stupid move on his part He wanted to deal with it privately,to have some control over it. He did not realize that his profile was considerably higher after taking over US Airways and media thrives on suspicion .
I have a suggestion for him, drink ale, it much more filling.