Book Review: The King Rat and His Court by William Arthur Bruno

The King Rat and His Court: Lesson in Corporate Greed by William Arthur Bruno. Illustrated by Eduardo del Rio.

Booksurge Publishing. 252 pages. $15.00. Released March 19, 2009.

 

"Having observed management consultants for over three decades, what became apparent to me was the similarity of their playbooks. Indeed, I observed that their methods were borrowed from those used by corrupt regimes on prisoners, and even on their own people," writes William Arthur Bruno in his new book, "The King Rat and His Court: Lessons in Corporate Greed."

 

Through comparing the behavior of unethical business leaders to rats, Bruno describes troubled corporations. Once these rat nests are identified, readers can take steps to expose or avoid the beasts.

 

Bruno describes each pivotal position in an organization - from CEO to Human Resource Officers and Management Consultants. Each "rat" is a spoke in the wheel of a dysfunctional system. Through working together, corrupt management teams keep the King Rat - the CEO - in power. The King Rat takes as much as he can from the company and its employees before leaving. Whether he leaves willingly or is fired, the system is set up so that he will be well compensated for his non-performance.

 

This description might sound familiar, but Bruno also details the conduct of rat-like CEOs. "Employees outside of the Inner Court rarely see the King unless the event is highly programmed in advance by a member of the Court... Members of his Court have grand offices that surround the King, rather than being located in the departments they oversee."

 

To determine the degree of rat infestation in their place of employment, readers are invited to take the "Degree of Rat Infestation and Deviance" test in the Appendix. It consists of 50 questions about the behavior of senior management.

 

Many readers will feel startled when they recognize their place of employment in this book. People who have either been scapegoated or suffered because of these rats will feel relieved when they realize that they didn't cause the problems in the workplace. As Bruno writes, "If you thought that you would be promoted on merit, forget about it. You are needed to do the work. When your worth has been extracted, you will become expendable. In other words, your cheese will be moved." Rats usually get rid of good employees to make room for cronies.

 

Through interspersing facts about rat behavior throughout the book, Bruno makes the rodent comparison less of a gimmick. In fact, readers may be left wondering if there isn't something primal about unethical business behavior. Is it animal instinct that has made corporate leaders into rodents, or is there another sociological cause?

 

Before these questions are answers, the problem must be diagnosed. 'The King Rat' is an effective guidebook for employees who find themselves surrounded by rat-faced leaders.