Dennis Kozlowski and the Tyco Case Study

¶ … Business Ethics," Peter Stanwick Sarah Stanwick, 2009 Read Case Study 20 (p. 389), "Tyco: I'm That It's a Really Nice Shower Curtain." Summarize viewpoint author paragraph form, discuss major issues presented case.

Dennis Kozlowski and the Tyco case study

The author in this case concentrates on providing readers with more information on the central character involved in the story and the way he singlehandedly cheated the authorities and society as a whole. The case study makes it possible for readers to acknowledge the paradox surrounding Dennis Kozlowski and his thinking. Even with the fact that he could afford paying taxes for his business deals, he evaded these respective taxes out of greed. His obsession with having the upper hand in dealings with the government put him at great risk and was ultimately the reason why he ended up in jail.

The former CEO of Tyco International certainly has an intriguing character -- he was in charge of a company that he helped significantly and was unhesitant about bringing it to ruin. His involvement in the company had made it possible for it to experience rapid progress and to become one of the most powerful firms in the region. "In his ten years as CEO, through growth via acquisition, Kozlowski grew the size of Tyco from $2 billion when he took over the CEO position to create a conglomerate with annual sales of $36 billion and the end of fiscal 2001." (Tyco: I'm sure that it's a really nice shower curtain)

By relating to how the amount of debt that the company accumulated During Kozlowski's last months in charge, the author attempts to shed light on how the former CEO's acquisitions and lifestyle in general had led to the firm's downfall. Kozlowski was most certainly enabled to reach the position he came to occupy as a consequence of his history with Tyco. The fact that he worked with the company since the 70s made him a person other employees saw as an integral part of the firm and as someone who would be loyal regardless of circumstances. In contrast, the former CEO simply took advantage of his position and extended his influence over the company in order to accumulate as much profits as possible. His greed did not stop there as even thought he had the capital to pay taxes for diverse assets he came to own, he was reluctant to pay these respective taxes and preferred to use diverse strategies with the purpose to trick states into thinking his businesses were completely legal.

Question 1.

It's likely that Kozlowski also considered the idea of having the authorities taking large amounts of money for no reason whatsoever. This type of thinking influenced him to attempt to evade paying taxes, as doing so would practically mean that he would act in disagreement with the principles that he lived by. This is actually the intriguing thing about the former CEO of Tyco -- he lived by a code and thus felt cheated if he was forced to act in accordance with laws that applied to the masses. He preferred to live by his own laws and keep his money in spite of the fact that he became a criminal by doing so. To a certain degree, he believed that he was entitled to work the system in ways that would put him in an advantage.

Question 2.

Kozlowski had reached a point where he could no longer see the difference between his money and the company's money. The fact that he had access to spending Tyco's funds without anyone reprimanding him for it influenced him to take advantage of his position. His crimes ranged from buying expensive paintings to paying for his wife's birthday party with the company's money. This proves that he wanted to profit as much as possible and that he had no remorse for his actions. He practically considered Tyco's money to be his own money and was thus unhesitant to adopt a glamorous lifestyle by using these respective finances to buying everything he could ever want.

The fact that the company was limited when regarding the finances someone could access did not stop Kozlowski. He devised a series of programs meant to influence banks in providing him with loans that he never even thought of paying back. This further increased the amount of money he could steal from the company without anyone being able to notice. The board of directors vainly tried to put an end to such programs, as he managed to implement them without the board's approval.