This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column.
Michael Commane
After the collapse of tour operator Thomas Cook Channel 4 aired a programme on the company and its demise. I only saw a short part of the programme but what I saw caught my attention.
Another executive, Manny Fontenla-Novoa, who managed to build up a debt of £1 billion in acquisitions, earned £17 million in just over four years. And he then went on to earn bonuses by cutting the workforce by close to 3,000.
CEO Harriet Green earned £4.7 million in under three years. And she made another few million on bonuses plus an annual London hotel bill, costing Thomas Cook £80,000.
I thought a bonus had something to do with the economic success of the company where a person works.
It set me thinking about managers and the managing classes and how far too often they get away with behaviour that is simply unacceptable. It’s not just in industry, it’s everywhere, the State, the churches, in capitalist and communist systems. In other words, it happens everywhere.
Many years ago a fellow Dominican said to me that the biggest problem with the church was inefficiency and its incompetent leaders.
I have never been in a management position in any of the jobs where I have worked. Nor have I ever held a management position within the hierarchical church, where I have spent most of my adult life.
Most likely, it’s human nature, the way of the world. But it can be so annoying and frustrating.
It would be interesting to carry out a survey or audit on the percentage of managers who prove successful.
At least in the private sector when people don’t workout they are on occasion sacked. But I did hear a story of an editor who was appointed to a Murdoch-owned paper holding on to her job when it was most evident that she was not up to the task. The reason that they held on to her was because if they got rid of her it might give the impression that Rupert Murdoch was after all fallible. I imagine that’s the way it works in many establishments.
I heard of a bishop, who was so incompetent that the priests in his diocese would try to organise important events and lectures while he was out of town so that he would not cause embarrassment by attending.
And then the money that is wasted in silly nonsensical projects. And nine times out of 10 the lowest paid worker is the victim.
It is easy to criticise but I can’t help thinking that managers of all shapes and sizes need constant and thorough monitoring. We pay them enough, and too much too often.
Michael Commane
After the collapse of tour operator Thomas Cook Channel 4 aired a programme on the company and its demise. I only saw a short part of the programme but what I saw caught my attention.
It’s difficult to get one’s head around what happened at Thomas Cook. As the company collapsed, leaving staff and customers distraught, the CEO walked away with £8.3 million plus another £4.3 million in bonuses.
Another executive, Manny Fontenla-Novoa, who managed to build up a debt of £1 billion in acquisitions, earned £17 million in just over four years. And he then went on to earn bonuses by cutting the workforce by close to 3,000.
CEO Harriet Green earned £4.7 million in under three years. And she made another few million on bonuses plus an annual London hotel bill, costing Thomas Cook £80,000.
I thought a bonus had something to do with the economic success of the company where a person works.
The estimated cost of the bank bailout in Ireland to the taxpayer, that means you and me, is working out at €41.7 billion. And most likely every one of the managers who helped cause the catastrophe earned big bonuses.
It set me thinking about managers and the managing classes and how far too often they get away with behaviour that is simply unacceptable. It’s not just in industry, it’s everywhere, the State, the churches, in capitalist and communist systems. In other words, it happens everywhere.
Many years ago a fellow Dominican said to me that the biggest problem with the church was inefficiency and its incompetent leaders.
I have never been in a management position in any of the jobs where I have worked. Nor have I ever held a management position within the hierarchical church, where I have spent most of my adult life.
But at this stage I consider it a badge of honour. Over the years I’ve seen some crass mismanagement, people in jobs to which they are completely unsuited. And then the arrogance and that attitude where they give the impression that they know it all. And what’s even more annoying is the sycophancy of those around them who constantly doff the cap.
Most likely, it’s human nature, the way of the world. But it can be so annoying and frustrating.
It would be interesting to carry out a survey or audit on the percentage of managers who prove successful.
At least in the private sector when people don’t workout they are on occasion sacked. But I did hear a story of an editor who was appointed to a Murdoch-owned paper holding on to her job when it was most evident that she was not up to the task. The reason that they held on to her was because if they got rid of her it might give the impression that Rupert Murdoch was after all fallible. I imagine that’s the way it works in many establishments.
I heard of a bishop, who was so incompetent that the priests in his diocese would try to organise important events and lectures while he was out of town so that he would not cause embarrassment by attending.
And then the money that is wasted in silly nonsensical projects. And nine times out of 10 the lowest paid worker is the victim.
It is easy to criticise but I can’t help thinking that managers of all shapes and sizes need constant and thorough monitoring. We pay them enough, and too much too often.
And then there’s John Delaney.
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