Why the Assholes are Winning: Money Trumps All

• Date: 01 June 2016
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12177
• Author: Jeffrey Pfeffer
• Published date: 01 June 2016

Why the Assholes are Winning: Money Trumps All

Jeffrey Pfeffer

Stanford University

In August, 2015, the New York Times published a much-discussed and somewhat contro-

versial article documenting the harsh working conditions facing white-collar employees

at Amazon.com (Kantor and Streitfeld, 2015), a description that Amazon CEO Jeff

Bezos and some other ‘Amazonians’ claimed was not accurate. However, there have

been numerous other articles and blogs noting Amazon’s high-pressure, competitive cul-

ture (e.g., Chow, 2015). And the poor working environment in Amazon’s enormous

warehouses, where people suffered workplace stress from productivity pressures and

physical conditions that included inadequate ventilation, had already been well-

documented (e.g., Cadwalladr, 2013). Importantly, the Times article also correctly noted

that Amazon was one of the most admired companies and Jeff Bezos, the founder and

CEO, was typically high on lists of most admired CEOs.

Bezos and Amazon are not unique in this coexistence of success, including the plau-

dits of others, with harsh and harmful workplaces. As I have noted (Pfeffer, 2015), the

multiple dimensions of corporate performance and reputation are not that highly corre-

lated. For instance, only four companies made both Fortune’s most admired and best pla-

ces to work lists in 2015.

The juxtaposition of admiration – and, of course, extraordinary financial success in

terms of stock price appreciation and wealth creation – coupled with hellish and toxic

work arrangements, reinforced a view that had been slowly taking hold: that for all the

lofty values and leadership aspirations we profess to hold, there is precious little evidence

that real choices and behaviour, or even hierarchies of status and awards, reflect what

we espouse. Instead, numerous behaviours suggest that it seemingly doesn’t matter what

an individual or a company does, to human beings or the environment, as long as they

are sufficiently rich and successful. Money, indeed, trumps all. Moreover, because

money can serve as a signal of competence and worth, no amount of money is ever

enough. Much like a drug, money and status become addictive.

Address for reprints: Jeffrey Pfeffer, Graduate School of Business, 655 Knight Way, Stanford University,

Stanford, CA 94305-7298, USA (pfeff@stanford.edu).

For your comments about this discussion, please visit http://www.socadms.org.uk/why-the-assholes-are-

winning/.

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C2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for the Advancement of Management Studies

Journal of Management Studies 53:4 June 2016

doi: 10.1111/joms.12177