A bad thing that I've realized about the latter scenario is that it is a vicious cycle. Here's what I mean:

1) You are a loyal employee who works hard and puts in the hours. You promise yourself that you will treat your reports well when you finally get a position of power.

2) You get screwed over by some higher up. You are devastated and everything you worked for is taken away. You vow never to let this happen to you again.

3) You claw your way back but you still hold on to what happened in point 2. You don't want to be a chump again so you take as much as you can (read: screw over others to get your own bonus).

4) Repeat ad infinitum