One item of interest found in the employees ethical code published by Wells Fargo, is that they have established what they call EthicsLine. This allows employees to contact an investigator (employed by Wells Fargo) to report any violations of the ethics code. The line is anonymous under most circumstances; only reports that involve criminal activity are require that the caller states any personal information. This allows employees an avenue to report any unethical behavior safely. This is extraordinarily efficient way to promote ethical behavior. However, Wells Fargo did not implement this item by choice; it is now required by corporations by comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2006. Therefore, it is unclear if Wells Fargo would have this option if it was not required of them.
Ethical Violations
Wells Fargo has been accused of unethical behavior frequently throughout the last decade. Most recently, there have been numerous complaints about predatory lending practices. The web is flooded with allegations of examples of predatory lending and since Wells Fargo is the largest mortgage lender in the country is certainly not exempt from these allegations. Watchdog groups such as the Inner City Press (ICP) document many of the resulting laws suits. One law suit in Baltimore, and another in Memphis, alleges that Wells Fargo charged high interest rates to people of color; they call them "ghetto loans."
Another interesting development listed on the ICP website is Wells Fargo's refusal to provide the State of California any assistance with its current financial crisis. This is fairly ironic for two reasons. The first is that Wells Fargo received a federal bailout...
Therefore, corporations have had to change their viewpoints and start looking at the long-term consequences of their behavior, as well as looking at the bottom line. Businesses also have to be concerned because consumers have also become aware of environmental concerns, and many consumers are demanding earth-friendly products and have shown a willingness to pay more money to competitors who observe environmentally-friendly practices. Interestingly enough, this demand has given rise
One set of concepts from each area was utilized to explain how the situation at Grand Bois may have come about. The end goal of the authors was to "provide business practitioners, ethics teachers, and readers interested in corporate conduct with insights useful in understanding why managers may act the way they do." It could be argued, according to Hamilton and Berken (2005), that Exxon managers had made a sound
Wells Fargo Scandal The Wells Fargo Collateral Protection Insurance (CPI) Scandal occurred as a result of the banking firm placing CPI on accounts even though the account holders did not ask for it or want it. It resulted in customers paying unnecessary and higher fees over a period of time. Wells Fargo was sued and agreed to settle the case out of court for approximately $400 million without admitting fault (Top
Ethics Training for Employees "Recently we have become aware of massive fraud and abuses that are tolerated and even encouraged by executives in large and formerly reputable organizations" (Lee, 2004). The Enron scandal sent ricochets through corporate America, causing literally thousands of people to lose their jobs and sending a major city into a deeper recession than that experienced by the rest of the country. Even seemingly minor corporate scandals
communications skills to solve problems they are likely to encounter in the workplace. Communication is the process of sharing information, expression, feeling, and thought between two or more people. Effective communication plays an important role in the organizational development, and communication forms an important constituent of every aspect of an organization. To maintain good working relations, it critical for the entire workforce to communicate with one another to enhance coordination,
S. The bank expanded into the Chicago market. Bank of America, with a strong California base, was already the largest bank in the U.S. By deposits at that time. The company completed the largest bank merger in U.S. history with the acquisition of NationsBank. The next major step was the 2004 acquisition of FleetBoston, followed by MBNA, a major credit card company. The bank began to expand outside of the U.S.
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