A helicopter ride of shame
FROM all appearances, it was the panache of a professional man who took a helicopter ride to a project inspection. A newspaper flashed that story on the front page, showing this corporate knight ducking his head under the spinning rotors of his flying horse. It could have been a prized display on bedroom and boardroom walls, if not for what we know that the picture didn't tell. Psst! The managing director of the largest bank in the country took that ride at client's expense.
Now, I know a trip like that wasn't made in a day. It was planned ahead of time and many a conversation took place between bank and client to get it right. A team of people worked on either side, since the trip involved their top brass. But I wonder what the bosses must have thought of it after the plan was tabled in front of them. Did the question of ethics ever cross their minds?
Xaviera Hollander, a famous call girl and madam, once said that if her business were legitimate, she would have deducted a substantial percentage for depreciation of her body. Apparently, that quirky consideration has found its way into other professions. Corporate entitlements for business trips are calculated so that an executive doesn't have to undergo physical hardship when required to travel for his job.
So, our banker had every right to ask for his compensation, the speed and convenience of a helicopter ride. Business trips are hectic at times, and it would have been an internal matter had he sought that luxury at his company's expense. After all, that's the dorsal column of contemporary corporate credo. The cow that gives good milk also earns the right to kick over the pail. Bonanza justifies extravaganza.
Thus, our helicopter man could have avoided the embarrassment, if he were to get his bank pay for his spectacular ride. Problem is that the client picked up the tab, even though he claimed that his bank was to defray part of the cost. I don't know about you, but this is where it gets my goat. It shows that this head honcho of the largest bank in the country has no clue about the materiality of his offence.
I say it because even a part of it wasn't exactly having a coffee klatch with the client. It was a considerable cost that could pay for hotel expenses and a feast one person. The fact that the man chose to enjoy a helicopter ride instead of those creature comforts doesn't make it any more legitimate. The quality of how he has been entertained doesn't change the quantum of how much was spent to entertain him.
It's alarming that our minds are becoming increasingly impervious to these ethical nuances. And, we are growing increasingly oblivious that leadership is about setting standards and leading by example. How is the helicopter ride going to motivate 1,186 or so branch managers of this behemoth bank? If every bank employee were to follow in their boss's footsteps, then the guards are soon going to ask for free lunch just to open gates!
Once again, I come back to planning of the trip. How was it justified to use a helicopter at client's expense? How could nobody see that there was a conflict of interest? How could nobody see that it was a conflict for the same reason police shouldn't take money from offenders? It's for the same conflict that judges feel embarrassed when lawsuits brought before them involve personal stakes.
The list can go on, but the upshot is that when keepers take favours from usurpers, it marks a compromise. It loosens up the ethical trussing of a professional man and turns him into a slot machine. For someone who has headed banks before coming to this job, our man the banker should have known that compromise is corruption's rite of passage.
To be honest, I expected some kind of a response from the bank on the next day. There could have been a clarification or communiqué to tell us if the newspaper story might have got it wrong. I never thought the bank and the banker could afford to take such a blatant disgrace keeping mum.
If silence means consent, then should we infer that neither has anything left to defend? In that case Xaviera Hollander should cheer up that her wish has come true in her lifetime. There are professions where it is legitimate to charge a substantial compensation to their clients.
What sets other professions apart from her trade is moral pretence. She admits what she does isn't legitimate. Others take a helicopter ride and wish to have legitimacy and compensation, while keeping body and character intact.
Mohammad Badrul Ahsan is a columnist for The Daily Star.
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