1 This dealing room is an expression of a strong culture in which everyone is expected to share the same basic values. What features of the situation are likely to encourage such a unanimous view? Sir Fred Goodwin was the CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) at the time when the bank had to be rescued by the British government in 2008. Subsequently, he was forced to resign. When he was at the helm at RBS, he fostered an intense management culture that placed a firm emphasis on discipline and attention to detail. Senior executives were set annual income and profit targets and were challenged on whether they were meeting them. At his daily 9. 30am meeting, he would quiz managers about their divisions and openly question their competence. One morning he reduced a senior executive to tears. Goodwin’s attention to detail extended to the clothes staff wore and the office furniture. He and his team would wear white shirts and matching ties with an RBS logo.

The bank shipped chairs and carpets around the world so that each of its offices would have the same interior. Some investors referred to Fred as a megalomaniac, pursuing size over shareholder value. His aggressive pursuit of growth meant that when the crunch came RBS had further to fall.