by Larry McNerney

Created on: August 10, 2010   Last Updated: August 12, 2010

The buzz word from HP is that Mark Hurd's firing was transparent and quick.  The culture of the company has been kept in place, the ethics of the corporation are high and the management team is strong.

   Corporate greed is the "sine qua non" of all successful corporations in this country.  Once we acknowledge that the only way for a CEO to be considered successful is if they have enabled the corporation to make a great deal of money, then we can see the word ethics takes on a different meaning than the one in the dictionary.  Then it is time to look at the majority of the people and realize they make "minimum corporate money" and the top 5% of the corporation make 95% of the total salaries/bonuses.  Where does the word ethics come up?

    Mark Hurd took over from Carly Fiorina, who is now attempting to buy votes to be a member of the US Senate from California.  We have the other very ethical billionaire trying to buy the Governorship of the great State of California.  The ethics of these two women is obvious.  They ran very successful businesses, and when they left they did not use a Golden Parachute at all.  Diamond or platinum were the correct adjectives for their parachutes.  Ethics is in the pockets of both of these women.  High success, very nice Gucci Bags, and the fanciest of work clothes from the best "haute couture".

   Hewlett Packard's stock went down by 17% on the first day of trading after Mr. Hurd left.  He had made HP highly successful after hurricane Fiorina left, for apparently greener pastures.  The fact that Carly acquired a huge company while running HP and of course the thousands of pink slips given out made for a "highly ethical culture", and that is why she had a lucrative going away package.  We must remember that she was not asked to leave because she had a "moral quagmire" episode at the end.  Her sin was she was not very good at making HP profitable.  Mark Hurd did make them a great deal of money.

    It is interesting that Bill Clinton was not put through an impeachment trial because the country went ballistic and started any wars, or the country almost went bankrupt.  American's are highly indignant when sex is the moral slope that it's CEO'S or politicians go down.  A new war, here or there, or a 70 year's worst recession are not grounds for impeachment and sex in the Oval Office is worthy of going to the political outhouse and have public trials by indignant men.  It is of course taken for granted that many of the politicians that grilled Clinton had a mistress or two.  That was beside the point;  sex sells tickets and the American public was outraged.

  A new war here or there or a major recession is not nearly as sexy as trysts in the Oval.    Corporate ethics and political ethics seem very related.  If no one knows your dipping your pen in the corporate ink than it's no harm, no foul.    Carly and Meg will win.  They adopted the Yankee Corporate Management ethos and are going to be the best politicians that money can buy.   Go America, Rah, Rah, Rah.

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