Reporting Captain Bligh

Via Eclecticity, this Time magazine account of the fall of a female version of Captain Bligh raises the question of why such problems aren't addressed earlier. Some possible reasons:

1. Fear of immediate or eventual retaliation.
2. A sense that upper management already knows of the situation and is ignoring the behavior.
3. Rumors or knowledge of how similar cases were poorly handled.

The case is an example of how tolerating a poor employee sends the signal to others that this is where the bar is set and that one can be that bad and still retain employment. Often, such cases involve co-workers. In this case, it was with a superior. [Eclecticity notes that during his Navy years he served with a group of good officers. I had the same positive experience in the Army. An officer like this one would have been a clear exception.]