But this one is not what you think. Raytheon CEO, William H. Swanson, was caught lifting large portions of other people's work, for his book, "Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management".
To "punish" him, the company docked his pay and stock awards to an amount which cost him approximately $1 million.
Mr Swanson's book seems to have centered around 44 key principles, 17 of which were "lifted" from another work. In addition to the other work and even topics from Dave Barry, the key principle was ironically lifted from Donald Rumsfeld 's "Rumsfeld Rules". The rule? "Learn to say 'I don't know.' If used when appropriate, it will be used often."
God - I love that.
The kicker: At Ratheyon's annual meeting in Washington yesterday.
..."The board decided, and I think properly, that there is a great difference between an unintentional error, in which you have simple negligence, and an intentional act that breaches sound ethical conduct.
"Based on the evidence, we decided that this was unintentional and not negligent. It was just poor judgment."
...Mr. Swanson told shareholders that "I did not properly check source material," according to Bloomberg News. "I apologize to those whose material I wish I had treated with greater care."
*Despite the $1 million dollar slap on the wrist, other forms of Mr. Swanson's compensation were not touched by the punishment.
These include his 2006 bonus (he received a $2.6 million bonus in 2005), along with personal use of corporate aircraft and a company-paid car. Raytheon also reimburses Mr. Swanson for his tax payments and covers his life insurance payments; neither item was reduced or withdrawn.
*parts of this post were plagiarized from a May 3, 2006 article in the The New York Times.
oooo busted