I agree with this sentiment of weighing short vs long terms needs. However, if you are working in a medium to large place not everyone is benevolently doing things just for the sake of the company. Many times managers demand to sacrifice software quality for their own career climbing even if it will be a liability to the company as a whole.
Prisoner's Dilemma. A very real thing in management stuctures - one historical example, middle managers under pressure from the top who cheated on X-Rays testing the work on a silo for a nuclear plant. The big boys didn't know. Killed the plant, and I think, the company.
