It's the systems, you see

[cromwell]

This seems to be the latest standard excuse rolled out by management in the public sector when things go wrong. ACC Ingrid Lee, speaking on BBC breakfast this morning, blamed "the systems we had in place at the time" for any failings in the Jimmy Savile case.
This echoes exactly 'Sir'David Nicholson speaking of the Mid-Staffordshire hospital scandal, who also blamed "the systems" for failings in that case.
What a cop out this is! Harry S. Truman famously had a sign on his desk saying "The buck stops here"; this lot would have "Not me guv" written on theirs! What a scam though - always blame 'the systems' and it means that no one individual is ever guilty of any failing. Until you reach the lower levels of the organisation, when blame may be safely attached to lesser mortals.

[KateLMead]

I noticed this Cromwell, "nothing to do with us Gov." "We have lessons to learn"..
"No case to answer".. What a rotten society we are living in from the top to the bottom. I could bet the woman who was excusing her force this morning is a member of "Common Purpose" like most of those are who hold top positions in government, the police force and elsewhere... I am amazed that this organisation stimulates zero interest from the public and forums.
They have a grip on our society from the top to the bottom.. "Some charity"!

[Workingman]

Systems eh? The safety net of choice for the managerially challenged. As Cromwell notes, no one at the top ever takes any blame, but the poor bloody infantry is always fair game!

[Aggers]

Yes, attitudes have certainly changed in recent years.

It used to be the accepted thing that the man at the top carried the can for anything that happened in an organisation. But those were the days when there were ethics is businesses, and when there was certainly more discipline throughout an organisation than what appears today.

The problem is that standards everywhere have been falling for many years now, and situations that were unthinkable years ago are no longer accepted as being the norm. When mature people who have known better times deride present-day practises, the younger generations response is that we should 'move with the times'.

We are fighting a losing battle.

[TheOstrich]

I agree with Aggers. After a lifetime in the business world, I think I can safely say that ethical standards these days fall well short of those in place when I started my career. And it's not just the ethics of the manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer, it's the ethics of professional people as well.