Interesting post that twigs a memory about a study done years ago involving politicians and the Hare's psychopathy checklist (which i always had a real issue with as it confuses psychopathic behaviours with behaviours that stem from complex trauma, but thats a different issue).

In First Nations communities, and I suspect many organizations, one of the biggest challenges is lateral violence. Funny, I just Google for a reference or two and because I'm currently trying to hire an LPN I am getting lots of search results that relate to nursing... or lateral violence in nursing is a HUGE issue.

Anyway, if it is true that bullying and lateral violence stem from fear, insecurity and in some cases inherent psychopathy then attempts to address it using traditional methods may be counterproductive. So, as you have suggested, changing the environment that sustains the behaviour may be a better course of action that trying to pull the weeds.