The Dynamics of Organizational Collapse

The collapse of Barings’ Bank was a commercial catastrophe that resonated worldwide, showing what kind of secrets can lie behind an apparently successful organization. Following Nick Leeson’s arrest and subsequent conviction for fraud, investment banks anxiously reviewed their risk management controls to make sure that it could never happen again.

Helga Drummond’s exploration is conducted against a backdrop of social and psychological theories of decision error that seeks to go beyond media style accusations of greed and incompetence. She challenges the myth that Barings ‘must have known’ that mischief was afoot. The book offers lessons for all organizations as it shows how easily managers can end up living in a world of fantasy believing that everything is under control when the precise opposite may be true. It is not risk and uncertainty that should worry organizations, concludes Drummond, but what they are most sure of.

The collapse of Barings Bank had international ramifications, and this scholarly analysis will have an international audience as a result. The book will be of great interest to all those interested in social psychology, the application of psychology in management theory, sociology, and organizational behaviour. It is also suitable as recommended reading for a management or organization behaviour course.