More handpicked essays just for you.
The importance of ethics in a business
The importance of ethics in a business
The importance of ethics in a business
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Jordan Belfort is the notorious 1990’s stockbroker who saw himself earning fifty million dollars a year operating a penny stock boiler room from his Stratton Oakmont, Inc. brokerage firm. Corrupted by drugs, money, and sex, he went from being an innocent twenty – two year old on the fringe of a new life to manipulating the system in his infamous “pump and dump” scheme. As a stock swindler, he would motivate his young brokers through insane presentations to rile them up as they defrauded investors with duplicitous stock sales. Toward the end of this debauchery tale he was convicted for securities fraud and money laundering for which he was sentenced to twenty – two months in prison as well as recompensing two – hundred million in restitution to any swindled stock buyers of his brokerage firm. Though his lavish spending and berserk party lifestyle was consumed by excessive greed, he displayed both positive and negative aspects of business communications. Before being cultivated with cocaine and hookers as the key to success in Wall Street, Jordan Belfort demonstrated the incontrovertible advantages of positive business communications. One of which pertains to the effectiveness of corresponding with customers over the telephone. Especially for stockbrokers, having a conversation over the phone is pivotal when trying to sell a stock to a potential investor. Jordan Belfort begins his process with a potential client by stating his name, where he was from, and what he had to offer. This is a method of gaining the trust of a customer that he does not know. Furthermore, he engaged the customer with an optimistic attitude and stated how the stock could affect him or her in the best way possible. By providing the customer with onl... ... middle of paper ... ...you in your past, you are not your past, you are the resources and the capabilities you glean from it. And that is the basis for all change.” In conclusion, learn from your mistakes, remember what talents got you where you are today and success will eventually come along the way. Works Cited Belfort, Jordan. The Wolf of Wall Street. New York, NY: Bantam, 2007. Print. The Wolf of Wall Street. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, and Matthew McConaughey. Red Granite Pictures/Paramount Pictures, 2013. Film. "Jordan Belfort Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. "Jordan Belfort Quotes." Jordan Belfort Quotes (Author of The Wolf of Wall Street). N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. Flatley, Marie, Kathryn Rentz, and Paula Lentz. Business Communication. New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin, 2012. Print.
“Bernie Madoff began investing in penny stocks in 1960, and due to his impressive work ethic, received several big breaks. The first of which was his father in-law loaning him $50,000 to invest, and soon after, Carl Shapiro, a man who made his fortune in women’s clothing gave Madoff $100,000 to invest on his behalf” (Collins 2011). With this kick-start, Bernie quickly began making a name for him, especially as he promised clients a guaranteed 20% annual return on investment. This, coupled with his firm’s adoption of the latest technology made them a tour-de-force in the investment world. But what makes his eventual downfall more interesting is that he was not just a crook, Madoff did manage a successful, and legitimate brokerage firm. To some extent, the credibility he earned from these legitimate busines...
There is a saying that goes “don’t live in the past” because things will always get better in the future and that you should let time work itself out. People often think of their pasts and let that dictate their future, which in many cases keeps people from achieving their full potential. People become blinded by their pasts and the good memories they’ve had which turns to them seeking the same thing to satisfy themselves because they’ve become comfortable and do not want change. They may not want change because they are scared of what is to come or because of getting hurt again like they have in previous experiences. A prime example of this is Erykah Badu’s song “Bag lady” as it explains how people should let go of their pasts and look to the future.
This case was very interesting and I am really glad I chose it for my paper. Its amazing to me how one man with the right connections and social standing can get away with so much for so long. Nobody ever suspected him because he was the father of the NASDAQ, he couldn’t scam people for billions of dollars. And not just any random people, Mad off targeted his own people, the Jews and groups affiliated with him. He was very picky and pretended like he didn’t want to let anyone in on what he was doing which in turn made more people want to get involved and give him even more money, that’s just human
Jordan Belfort starts off his first day on Wall Street eager to make it to the top, only to be told he is nothing more than lowly scum by Thomas Middleditch’s character. Mark Hanna takes Jordan out to lunch later that afternoon to show him the “real” way of making money. Mark explains that there is only two ways of being a stockbroker without losing your mind, and that is with cocaine and prostitutes. Mark incepts that making money is the only goal one should have. He tells Jordan that his only objective is to move money from the client’s pocket to your pocket. Jordan is first hesitant about cheating his client’s money away from them, but puts his skepticism aside and joins in on Hanna’s power chant. Jordan faces an internal conflict similar to what many have felt; should I choose to make money even if I know my actions to obtain that money is morally wrong? Like Jordan most people selfishly continue to make money, and push away their morals aside.
Bernie Madoff is one of the greatest conman in history. The Bernie Madoff scandal takes the gold as one of the top ponzi scheme in America. Madoff started the Wall Street firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, in 1960. Starting off as a penny stock trader with five thousand dollars, earned from his workings as a lifeguard and sprinkler installer, his firm began to grow with the support of his father-in-law, Saul Alpern, who helped by referred a group of close friends and family. Originally, his firm made markets by the National Quotations Bureau’s Pink Sheets. However, in order to compete with the bigger firms that were trading on the New York Stock Exchange floor, his firm started to use very intelligent computer software that help distributed their quotes in second’s rater then minutes. This software later became the NASDAQ that we know today. In December of 2008 Bernard Madoff confessed that he had embezzling billions of dollars from investors. It is estimated to have lasted nearly two decades, and stolen approximately $64.8 billion. On December 11, 2008 he was arreste...
Enron’s management style was apparent from the early years of the organization. In 1987, traders in New York manipulated transactions so it would appear as though volume was higher. Falsified transactions significantly increased the traders’ bonus pay out. A truly virtuous manager would deal with unethical behavior by swiftly dismissing those involved. Sadly, Chairman Kenneth Lay and his management team chose to keep the traders on payroll because “said the company needed the revenue” (Fowler, 2002). This event may have been the earliest indication of unethical behavior within the organization.
The Wolf of Wall Street is based on the life and also the author, Jordan Belfort. Jordan becomes discontent with his everyday life and realizes his talent for selling. As he continuously gains more money, he begins using more drugs. Way more drugs. Jordan starts his own brokerage firm named Stratton-Oakmont. Jordan hires a staff of, well, criminals to help him sell cheap stocks. They would sell all of these cheap stocks to their customers, then Belfort would buy large amounts of these stocks, running up the price, and then dump it. Finally, Jordan begins running into a lot of legal trouble as the FBI is on to the ways his brokerage firm works. Although Belfort has the FBI watching him very closely, he continues to spend huge sums of money on things such as boats, cars, houses, strippers/hookers, and last, but certainly not least, drugs. As Jordan’s already massive drug problem continues to escalate, he has to keep a very large portion of his money in a European account to hide it from the Feds. Belfort ends up going to prison for 22 months for fraud of his
Martha Stewart, the countries top icon for homemaking has been in the eye of the public since June 2002, but not for her craftiness or culinary abilities. Stewart instead has the spotlight on her for crimes of insider trading. A tip from her former broker Peter E. Bacanovic, persuaded her into selling her IMClone stock after sharing information about a close friend of Stewart’s getting rid of his shares. Stewart’s companion, Sam Waksal, was also the chief executive of IMClone Systems Inc. IMClone Systems is a well-known company specializing in the research and development of therapies treatments of cancer. The stock selling was provoked due to a leak of information about The Food & Drug Administration rejecting IMCLONE’s drug outfit application their cancer drug Erbitux. Before the information reached the public about the FDA’s decision and share price plunged, Stewart sold her 3,928 shares of IMClone. Martha sold her shares at $58, and by the time the news hit, prices fell to $45, resulting in a savings of only 50,000 for the celebrity. But the whole situation of the Martha Stewart case is not a question of insider trading but a question of ethics and management in business: it’s an issue of ethics and the choices people have between right and wrong and the determining factors that cause us to make those choices. While researching this subject I have found many interesting topics. One topic I found very interesting was the fact that a highly qualified executive of Merrill lynch, one of the top brokerage firms in the world, was Martha Stewart’s financial advisor. Another interesting point is that Martha Stewart the mom of home cookery and cuisine, a profession based on honesty and founded on the basis of motherhood would lie about the tips she took to earn an extra buck while already being a multibillionaire. After more research I found that the most important point and the topic of the whole situation was the point that even the most perfect and idolized individuals can be manipulated by money or even the thought of more money in the case of Martha Stewart.
The stock market is an enigma to the average individual, as they cannot fathom or predict what the stock market will do. Due to this lack of knowledge, investors typically rely on a knowledgeable individual who inspires the confidence that they can turn their investments into a profit. This trust allowed Jordan Belfort to convince individuals to buy inferior stocks with the belief that they were going to make a fortune, all while he became wealthy instead. Jordan Belfort, the self-titled “Wolf of Wall Street”, at the helm of Stratton Oakmont was investigated and subsequently indicted with twenty-two counts of securities fraud, stock manipulation, money laundering and obstruction of justice. He went to prison at the age of 36 for defrauding an estimated 100 million dollars from investors through his company (Belfort, 2009). Analyzing his history of offences, how individual and environmental factors influenced his decision-making, and why he desisted from crime following his prison sentence can be explained through rational choice theory.
[7] “The Real Lesson of Enron’s Implosion: Market Makers Are In the Trust Business”, R.McAfee, 2004.
The most controversial case of fraud in history left more questions than answers. Bernard Madoff, with his company "Investment Securities LLC", chose the easy way to give him greater gains scamming people. Using the prestige he had and giant Ponzi scheme. That was how he was creating his fraud. Madoff did not steal the money immediately but was paid the promised returns with money paid by the entry of new customers paying its customers their profits and not realize and would not take legal action, this intelligent man or charlatan achievement out this scam film for over 20 years. Madoff achieving the greatest fraud in history with losses of more than 50,000 million alone was compared with the Enron case. In June 29, 2009, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison.
CEO Kenneth Lay’s ambition for ENRON a company he had helped form went beyond the business of piping gas. Enron went to become the largest natural gas merchant in North America and the United Kingdom. But the reality is, this company business model never worked. This was a company that was so desperate to win Wall Street 's respect that it kept it stocks shares prices going up despite the losses it was incurring in order for executives to keep lining their own pockets. Over the course of this Case Assignment, I will identify the examples of financial reporting misconduct, I will explain the deontological as well as a utilitarian ethical perspective and lastly I will identify the stakeholders likely to be affected by that misconduct.
“We may not be building our future, but we certainly are building a past.” We may not live to see our future, but no one can take away our past. That is why I believe that building a past is more important than building a future. We should not worry too much if our future is not planned out perfectly as long as we have an exciting and worthwhile past. In order to build a past, we must experience things and create memories. Memories and experiences can be both negative, like getting stung by a wasp, and positive, like playing tag with your little cousins. We can use these recollections in future endeavors. Negative experiences can remind us not to repeat our past mistakes, while positive memories can bring joy to our lives.
Many white-collar offenders may start off as trustworthy, respected businessmen/women in their workplace. Motivated by greed and power, these highly skilled people will use cunning and deceit to earn what they want from innocent people. Some people are very well known through their illegal white collar activities that are brought to light. After a competitor’s representative met with The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with suspicion about Bernard Madoff, founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment...
The wealthy rule the world through manipulations. One way the wealthy manipulate society is through Wall Street, or the stock market. Brokers persuade clients to invest in stocks for prices that are way above their comfort zone. They then turn around and collect fees from those lofty sales. It is a deceitful game that only the fit and callous wins. This happens in “Broiler Room” when Seth cleans a doctor out of his life savings, and destroys his marriage by selling him a stock that didn’t exist. He continued to mislead his clients for his own greedy gain. We see in the movie “Boiler Room”, a mismanagement of fees and broker abuse that is parallel to our lives today (Younger, Todd, & Todd, 2001). A as matter of fact, according to John Bellamy’s article, a poll revealed that 71 percent of the public believes that limits should be imposed on the compensation of Wall Street executives (Foster & Holleman, 2010).