Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
INTRODUCTION:
ILLUSTRATION:
On February 26, 1995, Barings, the oldest bank in Britain,
announced it was seeking bankruptcy protection after losing
nearly one billion dollars in a stock gamble. At the time Barings
went under, the bank held assets for Queen Elizabeth, some
$100 million according to Time magazine.
In late 1994, the chief trader at Barings's Singapore office began
betting big on Japan's Nikkei market. Then disaster struck. An
earthquake hit Kobe, Japan, and on January 23, 1995, the Nikkei
plunged more than one thousand points.
Barings Bank lost big money. But instead of cutting his losses,
Barings's Singapore trader doubled his investment, apparently
hoping that the Nikkei would rebound. It didn't. As the Nikkei
continued to plummet, Barings's London office put up nearly
$900 million to support its falling position on the Singapore
investments. Finally Barings ran out of capital and declared
bankruptcy.
How could one twenty-eight-year-old trader in Singapore lose
nearly a billion dollars and ruin a 233-year-old British bank?
According to Time, the problem was lack of supervision.
London allowed (the Singapore trader) to take control of both
the trading desk and the backroom settlement operation in
Singapore. It is a mix that can be, and in this was, toxic. For a
trader to keep his own books is like a schoolboy getting to grade
his own tests; the temptation to cheat can be overwhelming,
particularly if the stakes are high enough.
1. Without accountability, temptation becomes all the more
tempting. Accountability protects us from ourselves.
ILLUSTRATION:
Aaron was an eleven-year-old boy whose behavior was
described by Dr. William Glasser, his psychiatrist, as horrible. In
his book, Reality Therapy, Glasser says Aaron was the most
obnoxious child he had ever met. The boy would kick, scream,
run away and hide, become withdrawn, disrupt his classes and
make everyone disgusted with him.
Dr. Glasser saw one problem with Aaron that no one else
observed: "No one had ever told him that he was doing wrong."
No one had ever set limits on what he could do and not do. The
psychiatrist decided to try a completely new tack. The boy would
have to behave, to act reasonable, or be punished. He
responded remarkably. "Probably because he had been anxious
for so long to be treated in a realistic way." Thus he became
courteous, well behaved, and his miserable grades went to
straight A's. For the first time in his life Aaron began to play
constructively with other children, to enjoy honest relationships
with others, and to stop blaming his troubles on his mother or
other people.
Dr. Glasser calls this "reality therapy" and says one of an
individual's greatest needs is to be made to realize that he is
personally accountable for what he does.
1. I think Dr. Glasser got his idea for reality therapy from the
Bible.
"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of
judgment for every careless word they have spoken" (Mt. 12:36).
deeds.
3. In our lives, we may be able to hide our character flaws and
sins from our families, our friends, and our church. But we
cannot hide anything from God. God evaluates everything
that we do.
II.
If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him" (Lk.
17:3).
"My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone
should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from
the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a
multitude of sins" (Jam. 5:19-20).
is valuable.