5 ms·

Is there precedent for holding the board personally liable for something like this? That seems both morally questionable, and with lots significant negative ef

by ahupp 5y ago

Is there precedent for holding the board personally liable for something like this? That seems both morally questionable, and with lots significant negative effects to how organizations run.

AdrianB1 5y ago
Not bashing Solarwinds because I think they are a good company, just explaining how this works: The board is responsible for what the company is doing; not for the actions of every single employee, but for setting policies, make sure they are respected, hiring competent people etc. Today the SOX is already holding the CEO and the board personally responsible for financial reporting. I think it is criminal responsibility there. It is not much different to hold them responsible for the results of the company, especially if any of the accusations can be proven. The interesting part will be the effect on changes in the way tech companies are managed. For example in some very large companies most people are hired based on criteria that don't include skills; for example in my company IT people are hired without any IT interview, they get points (in US) for race and gender, outside US on gender. If something happens and these people blow up some FDA regulated products (most of our products are FDA regulated to some degree), is the board be personally responsible for a situation they created? I bet they are. There are also many companies where policies exist on paper, but nobody is respecting it. The ISO 9001 certification is famous in parts of Europe, it is mandatory for some IT companies but it is just a bunch of paper in a closet that nobody ever read. Is the board responsible for such a situation? Of course it is. Board members are not appointed only to have friendly meetings talking about golf, with people being board members in a dozen of companies and doing just golfing and board meetings, but to top level set the directions for the company. If you set the company on self-destruct, they should be held responsible for it.
- NicoJuicy 5y ago
  > they get points (in US) for race and gender, outside US on gender I was thinking about white males being privileged and it sounded ridiculous ( as a white male). Did you mean the opposite for diversity on the workfloor? > but it is just a bunch of paper in a closet that nobody ever read. ISO certification mostly means that there are standards in place. Once it's implemented, you shouldn't notice it. It's pretty important as soon as you want to do business with the governement.
  - AdrianB1 5y ago
    The ISO certification should tell there are standards that are in place; if they are just written on a piece of paper and never implemented ("nobody ever read"), the certification is worthless. In US if you are a black female if you apply and you can read and write, you are automatically hired. If you are a white male, you will not be even interviewed and if you are already in the company you will never get a promotion. In my (IT) department the past 10 year history is 10 to 1 promotions for female versus male. Over 40% of the organization is female (it was over 90% male 10 years ago, there are still some men left from old times) and in management it is over 60% with the target of 70% female. Unrealistic for a pure IT company, but very achievable for a very political non-IT company.
DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
can't tell from the comment if you believe that the actions of the board is morally questionable that somebody holds these creeps accountable. mate who works in sales was in a room with them on a trade-show last year and they downplayed the incident and told their customers that they have mitigated all future risks. I hope the lawsuit will rip them a new one!!
- kordlessagain 5y ago
  This is their karma for getting rid of Hoover, the Loggly beaver.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

by ahupp 5y ago

Is there precedent for holding the board personally liable for something like this? That seems both morally questionable, and with lots significant negative effects to how organizations run.

AdrianB1 5y ago

Not bashing Solarwinds because I think they are a good company, just explaining how this works: The board is responsible for what the company is doing; not for the actions of every single employee, but for setting policies, make sure they are respected, hiring competent people etc. Today the SOX is already holding the CEO and the board personally responsible for financial reporting. I think it is criminal responsibility there. It is not much different to hold them responsible for the results of the company, especially if any of the accusations can be proven. The interesting part will be the effect on changes in the way tech companies are managed. For example in some very large companies most people are hired based on criteria that don't include skills; for example in my company IT people are hired without any IT interview, they get points (in US) for race and gender, outside US on gender. If something happens and these people blow up some FDA regulated products (most of our products are FDA regulated to some degree), is the board be personally responsible for a situation they created? I bet they are. There are also many companies where policies exist on paper, but nobody is respecting it. The ISO 9001 certification is famous in parts of Europe, it is mandatory for some IT companies but it is just a bunch of paper in a closet that nobody ever read. Is the board responsible for such a situation? Of course it is. Board members are not appointed only to have friendly meetings talking about golf, with people being board members in a dozen of companies and doing just golfing and board meetings, but to top level set the directions for the company. If you set the company on self-destruct, they should be held responsible for it.

NicoJuicy 5y ago
> they get points (in US) for race and gender, outside US on gender I was thinking about white males being privileged and it sounded ridiculous ( as a white male). Did you mean the opposite for diversity on the workfloor? > but it is just a bunch of paper in a closet that nobody ever read. ISO certification mostly means that there are standards in place. Once it's implemented, you shouldn't notice it. It's pretty important as soon as you want to do business with the governement.
- AdrianB1 5y ago
  The ISO certification should tell there are standards that are in place; if they are just written on a piece of paper and never implemented ("nobody ever read"), the certification is worthless. In US if you are a black female if you apply and you can read and write, you are automatically hired. If you are a white male, you will not be even interviewed and if you are already in the company you will never get a promotion. In my (IT) department the past 10 year history is 10 to 1 promotions for female versus male. Over 40% of the organization is female (it was over 90% male 10 years ago, there are still some men left from old times) and in management it is over 60% with the target of 70% female. Unrealistic for a pure IT company, but very achievable for a very political non-IT company.

DyslexicAtheist 5y ago

can't tell from the comment if you believe that the actions of the board is morally questionable that somebody holds these creeps accountable. mate who works in sales was in a room with them on a trade-show last year and they downplayed the incident and told their customers that they have mitigated all future risks. I hope the lawsuit will rip them a new one!!

kordlessagain 5y ago
This is their karma for getting rid of Hoover, the Loggly beaver.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]