Bad Choices And Unethical Business example essay topic

What do you stand for? Choices make us who we are and what we stand for and eventually what we become. There is a lot to be said about character. The character of our society has decayed over the past fifty years. We have witnessed this on our televisions at home. No longer do we see principle-based programming like "Father Knows Best".

Now we see shows like "All in the Family", "Roseanne", and "Married with Children". All of these are controversial, self-seeking, and self-gratifying programs. Even the children have cartoons with similar messages from "The Simpsons" and Beavis and that other guy. These messages have been developed and approved at the corporate level. The business masterminds are hard at work making character limiting choices, which all too often make it into mainstream America and spread like a virus. Some of the areas that are affected most in the business world are business practices, company analyst, and CEO compensation.

Business practices have been under the microscope as of late due to certain firm's illegitimate accounting numbers and so called massaging of the numbers. We have read or seen the news about the accounting firm Arthur Anderson that became the scapegoat for the Enron debacle. The ethics displayed by Enron had started back in the 1980's by the founder Kenneth Lay. Mr. Lay had made false promises and offered false dreams to his employees for decades. It was one bad choice after another for a man in a powerful position. He was the chairman and chief executive of the company Enron.

This was a man that held the power of thousands of workers in his hands. He was able to lead them to slaughter like a flock of lambs. In the end the employees of Enron were not able to sell the company stock out of their own 401 k plan. These are the same people that poured out their sweat and tears for the company, and the man that they had believed so much in. For many of the employees, Enron was the only employment they had known. And for others it was the only retirement savings that they had to rely on.

The devastation that these families have been dealt is nothing I can imagine or even begin to explain. The only answer is bad choices and unethical business practices, which need to be dealt with justly. Similar judgment has been made so many times by the company analyst out there that all too often receives huge financial kickbacks for the ratings they put out. Placing a "Strong Buy" rating or a "Buy / Hold" on a company whose stock should be eliminated from a portfolio is a definite character flaw. "I put a buy on it because they paid for it", says analyst Sean Ryan. This is an analyst that has made a decision to sell his character for the short-term success of a company.

Many investors have lost a large percentage of their nest eggs from similar analyst ratings. Bad advice has burnt investors one too many times. These same investors have either decided to avoid the market all together, which has put our economy in the current state its in, or they have decided to become more diligent in educating themselves in the market and investing rather than listening to others for advice. Advice has gotten a bad name as well.

Investors are hesitant to listen to what an analyst has to say and disregard the ratings. To this day there are very few sell recommendations still being placed on a companies stock. Compensation is a driving factor for poor choices and faulty character development. Even the crooked executives are being removed with lucrative bonus pay outs or payoffs. In 1979, Steven Hilbert from Conseco was paid $20 million in salary, bonus, and stock grants. With high paying negotiations these corporate leaders can even be fired and paid millions of dollars to depart the company.

With the contracts laid out in such a manner, what is there to worry about if you make a bad choice? We allow these bigwigs to walk away in high fashion with an offer like this. There is a definite need for regulation to be incorporated into all of these issues. Without any level of regulation or consequences nothing will stop the current choices from continuing. Where would that put our society in another fifty years?

I would hate to think. I view our current condition as saddening to witness this part of history. But at the same time I see it as a great time for those with strong ethics to standout and stand up for what they believe in. This is a time for ethical leaders to shine. President George W. Bush has called for a new ethic of corporate responsibility. He has laid out a reform for much of the issues I have reviewed and discussed.

The President plans to create a corporate fraud task force, double the maximum prison terms for this business wrongdoing. He also plans to strengthen the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and to ask companies to prevent loans to their corporate officers. Many of these regulation plans will make a difference in corporate America that I hope to see affect the ethics of society in return. In conclusion, we have experienced a great setback in our workplace due to the ethical judgment flaws of corporate leaders. With reform, regulation and stiffer penalties, I can foresee less scandal and a higher level of ethical choices being made in the executive offices of America. I don't feel that we will experience much change in the area of compensation due to the better quality of leadership that we can hope to witness as well.

I want to leave you with the following thoughts. How is your CEO doing? Think about it. Evaluate his choices and his ethics, as well as the ethics of your company. Do you want to have your employer cause a blemish on your resume?

Like those at that were employed by companies like Enron, Tyco, Conseco, and Arthur Anderson, how do you explain your role? Or do you even add that experience? Stand up for what is right, all you truly are in control of is your character. Written: February 03, 2003 Sources Cited: Rigby, Bill. "Conseco trickery foreshadowed Enron, Worldcom" Reuters Newswire, 18 May 2002. Keenan, Faith.

"Bad Advice" Bloomberg Magazine July (1999): p 24-32. Stuffy, Loren and Levy, Adam. "Enron's Original Sins" Bloomberg Markets Magazine April (2002): p 30-36.