organizational profiles
December 5, 2002 Organizational profile Organizational Profile In Jackall’s, Moral Mazes, stories are used to convey strategies set by company managers. In chapter four, entitled, “Looking Up and Looking Around,” Jackall articulates how companies adhere to a strict political perspective, which often leads to company instability. We learn of this turbulent environment through Jackall’s detailed story of the Covenant Corporation. In this story Jackall examines how the political structure of a company can be directly related to the demise of a company. Jackall explains the effects of a subtopic of the political perspective; “milking the assets.” Jackall conveys to the reader that the Covenant Corporation is run in a bureaucratic style. The reason for this style of operation is because Covenant is a firm that needs stability due to its desire to be production driven and efficiency driven. Due to Covenant’s bureaucratic demands, the plant manager focused strictly on production, but went about doing so in the cheapest possible manner. He knew that milking the plant would ensure the highest possible return on assets. This is where the political perspective comes into play. Because the manager was so concerned about retaining his high position and salary, he did just enough to get by.