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Ethics in the financial world
Financial management challenges and ethics
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Machiavellian Analysis Buddy Fletcher was able to use his financial success and philanthropy to win respect and power. His high esteem combined with his ability to deliver strong profits lead to blind deference. As Machiavelli wrote, “he who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against”11 (Ch. 19). In the beginning of his career, Fletcher embodies the spirit of a Machiavellian leader by commanding influence through his success. However, in the spirit of Kant, he seems to adhere to strong moral principles, such as not lying and using others as merely means to his end. However, as details of his success were revealed, his moral character becomes increasingly questionable. Firstly, he did not disclose the methods by which he was making enormous profits, and the stakeholders, with their singular desire for profit, did not care about the legitimacy of its conception nor did not ask questions. As Machiavelli writes, “It is unnecessary for a prince to have all good qualities… but it is very necessary for a prince to appear to have them”11 (Ch. 18). Fletcher looked like an upstanding citizen. He donated to charity and was extremely smart and charming. Machiavelli also writes, “the means will always be considered honest… because the vulgar are always taken by what a thing seems to be and by what comes of it”11 (Ch. 18). This points to Fletcher’s ability to appeal to unwitting investors, paralleling the “common folk” Machiavelli rudely called “the vulgar”. Through charm and exciting results, he convinced many to invest in his fund. As long as he maintained the image and promise of high returns, it did not matter how the ends were achieved. As we now know, it was all a fugazzi, and his motivations were self-serving. He took money d... ... middle of paper ... ...Rep. New York: n.p., n.d. Print. 7. "Ethics." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. 8. Fletcher Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. 9. Harris, Phil. "Volume Information." Journal of Business Ethics 84.1 (2009): n. pag. JSTOR. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. 10. Healy, Beth. "MBTA Pension Fund and Hedge Funds Sue Fletcher Asset Management and Its Owner for $50 Million." BostonGlobe.com. The Boston Globe, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. 11. Machiavelli, Niccolò, and James B. Atkinson. The Prince. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1976. Print. 12. Shafer-Landau, Russ. The Fundamentals of Ethics. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Print. 13. Leonard, Devin. "The SEC: Outmanned, Outgunned, and On a Roll."Bloomberg Business Week. Bloomberg, 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Brooks, L.J. (2007) Business & Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives & Accountants. Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.
...: Wall Street Insider - Financial News, Headlines, Commentary and Analysis - Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Banks. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from http://dealbreaker.com/2010/06/wachovia-vp-had-good-reason-to-steal-money-from-bank-that-youll-probably-never-understand/
“The Prince” has become the realist approach to politics. In the book “The Prince”, Niccolò Machiavelli impress upon the reader guidelines and tactics a prince needs to live by in order to be successful and obtain and maintain their thrones. Recurring topics prominent throughout the book is this idea of virtue, which means being manly, having the strength, intelligence, and wisdom of a ruler and fortune, being chance or luck. Machiavelli explains to the reader skills that a successful prince should possess. He referred to these skills as a virtue. Most people would concur that virtue is desirable behavior or qualities that display high moral standards, but Machiavelli 's approach to virtue is much more amoral. Machiavelli’s idea of virtue can
In fact, Machiavelli’s morals are as questionable as those of Ferdinand II. Because Machiavelli believed that “it [was] unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities [he had] enumerated, but it [was] very necessary to appear to have them” (62), Ferdinand II seemed to be an excellent example of the advice given in the book. However, Machiavelli fails to see that Ferdinand II’s actions opposed one of his primary beliefs. Machiavelli specified that princes did not have to avoid cruelty and dishonesty if and only if their actions benefited the state, and that a prince must consider every action he took based on its effect on his country. As previously stated, Ferdinand II’s actions exclusively benefited himself. Considering the fact that this was a principal theme throughout Machiavelli’s book, why he saw Ferdinand II as such a “great and extraordinary” ruler is baffling. His love of the king is as hypocritical as the King’s character. There is a strong possibility that Machiavelli had a bias towards Ferdinand, considering he was the ruler when he wrote The Prince, and Machiavelli did not see his rule’s final outcome. This presents the question of how Machiavelli’s partiality affects his credibility. Provided he did, in fact, have that bias, what does that say about the rest of his work? Since Machiavelli did not have a neutral stance on politics, he may have steered Prince De’ Medici and all other political leaders who read The Prince in the direction of his own opinions, thus singlehandedly shaping history into his
McAlpine, Lord. The New Machiavelli: The Art of Politics in Business. New York: John Wiley, 1998.
Wingfield, Brian. "Seeing Red On Cap And Trade." Forbes 28 Sep 2009. Web. 15 Feb
...urvey of ethical behavior in the accounting profession. Journal of Accounting Research, 9 (2), pp. 287-306.
A penny saved may be a penny earned, just as a penny spent may begin to better the world. Andrew Carnegie, a man known for his wealth, certainly knew the value of a dollar. His successful business ventures in the railroad industry, steel business, and in communications earned him his multimillion-dollar fortune. Much the opposite of greedy, Carnegie made sure he had what he needed to live a comfortable life, and put what remained of his fortune toward assistance for the general public and the betterment of their communities. He stressed the idea that generosity is superior to arrogance. Carnegie believes that for the wealthy to be generous to their community, rather than live an ostentatious lifestyle proves that they are truly rich in wealth and in heart. He also emphasized that money is most powerful in the hands of the earner, and not anyone else. In his retirement, Carnegie not only spent a great deal of time enriching his life by giving back; but also often wrote about business, money, and his stance on the importance of world peace. His essay “Wealth” presents what he believes are three common ways in which the wealthy typically distribute their money throughout their life and after death. Throughout his essay “Wealth”, Andrew Carnegie appeals to logos as he defines “rich” as having a great deal of wealth not only in materialistic terms, but also in leading an active philanthropic lifestyle. He solidifies this definition in his appeals to ethos and pathos with an emphasis on the rewards of philanthropy to the mind and body.
In recent history, the last fifty years or so, modern businessmen and politicians have given Machiavelli a Renaissance of his own. Professional politicians have written novels they claim to be on the same philosophical level of Machiavelli’s The Prince. Gary Hart, in his book The Patriot: An Exhortation to Liberate America From the Barbarians attempts to update Niccolo to the modern age with his own political philosophies, and attempts to credit Machiavelli by quoting him frequently. “Hart makes an effort to mimic the form, if not the spirit, of the most famous work by his Florentine ‘mentor.’…There is a dedicatory le...
Although Machiavelli gives numerous points on what it takes to excel as a prince, he also shows some raw examples of how he feels a prince should act in order to achieve maximum supremacy. First, when he says, "ought to hold of little account a reputation for being mean, for it is one of those vices which will enable him to govern" proves Machiavelli feels mighty adamant about his view that being mean will help a prince achieve success (332). It is absurd to imagine the meanest prince as the most successful. Also, when Machiavelli states, "our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft" revealing his attitude to manipulate people into fearing and respecting the prince (335). Also, Machiavelli shows that for a prince to be successful, he must not think about good faith.
Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince is a basically a list of controvertible attributes of a great leader. Machiavelli does compares good attribute to bad ones. In his comparisons he points out that although some traits are considered honorable qualities of a prince, they are the ones that harm the authority of the prince the most. Machiavelli explains how it’...
F. Norris (April 29, 2000) “Another Technology Victim; Soros Fund Manager Says He 'Overplayed' Hand” NY Times
In Niccolo Machiavelli’s book “The Prince” Machiavelli teaches how to gain and maintain power, but he also speaks teaches human nature and pursuing unethical opportunities in order to achieve your desired goal. Hence the term “Machiavellian behavior”.
In The Prince, Machiavelli attempts to completely decouple the actions of a good ruler from personal ethics. Machiavelli begins to do this by first establishing what he believes human nature to be Machiavelli argues that numerous traits that are innate among humans. Among these, Machiavelli argues that people are generally self-interested, but that their affections for others can be won and lost. They tend to remain happy so long they avoid affliction or oppression. He also argues that they might be trustworthy in prosperous times, but they can turn selfish, deceitful, and profit-driven in adverse times. They admire honor, generosity, courage, and piety in others, but most do not pursue these virtues in their own life. Finally, Machiavelli argues that ambition is found in those who have achieved some power, but most common people are satisfied with the way things are and therefore do not yearn to improve on the status quo. People will naturally feel obligated after receiving a favor or service, and this bond is usually not broken capriciously. Nevertheless, loyalties are won and lost, and goodwil...
One of the most infamous characters that captured the public’s attention this past year is Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker better known as the “Wolf of Wall Street.” Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the reenactment of Belfort’s first book titled, “The Wolf of Wall Street,” became a public spectacle when he aired his crime-ridden past and the momentous downfall of his life in his autobiographies turned blockbuster hit (McFarland et al., 2013). Belfort, who started his career by no unusual circumstances, became a multi-millionaire in the late 90’s selling a “pump and dump” scheme to unsuspecting investors (“Jordan Belfort Biography,” 2014). According to his autobiography, which admittedly could very well be an exaggeration of himself, claims that Belfort was a natural stockbroker, landing his first job because of an impressive sales pitch of a pen in his initial interview. Once he developed a reputation on Wall Street, Belfort opened his own firm called Stratton Oakland. He details the extraordinary company culture that he was part of and explains how it led to his eventual arrest for fraud and money laundering. His pompous personality is emphasized by his anecdotes of sex, drugs and money that were the three most important aspects in his life, whether it was at work, or in his personal life. It is clear that Belfort sported a type of superiority complex, as well as some kind of inherent drive for this type of lifestyle. Once he reached the top, no expense was too much, and he actively sought the attention from his peers for his style of living. Belfort’s personality was excessively grandiose and eccentric, revealing a sort of maladaptive manner in dealing ...