Lehman Brothers : Ethical Dilemma

The author Robert Solomon argues that ethics has to an integral part with regard to business management. He does not believe that business management must include unethical or illegal methods to be able to succeed. Solomon preaches that business management is not as simple as obtaining revenue. “Businesses need to abide by fair policies and their owners have to be ethical in dealing with their customers” (Shaw p. 37). The author acknowledges that while illegal practices in business management could bring positive results at first, eventually the business is bound to fail. This is why Solomon recommended eight important policies that can help businesses in integrating ethics into their operations.

Ethics and ethical behaviors are the essential parts of healthy management. From a management perspective, behaving ethically is an integral part of long-term career success. Wide access to information and more business opportunities than in the past qualifies ethics as a key necessity in business world. Management ethics is the ethical treatment of employees, stockholders, owners and the public by a company in a fair manner. A company should have commendable ethics in place besides striving to make profits. In other words, employees should be treated well, whether they are employed in their hometown, country or overseas. By being respectful of the environment in the community a company demonstrates exceptional ethics. Excellent record keeping also play a pivotal role since this acts as a respectful gesture towards stakeholders and owners. Furthermore, it

The collapse of Lehman Brothers, a sprawling global bank, in September 2008 almost brought down the world’s financial system. Considered by many economists to have been the worst financial crisis since the Great depression of the 1930s. Economist Peter Morici coined the term the “The Great Recession” to describe the period. While the causes are still being debated, many ramifications are clear and include the failure of major corporations, large declines in asset values (some estimates put the drop in the trillions of dollars range), substantial government intervention across the globe, and a significant decline in economic activity. Both regulatory and market based solutions have been proposed or executed to attempt to combat the causes and effects of the crisis.

Also the importance of understanding ethics in a business is away of collecting lacking information of employees involved, like power or to helping to harm the employees, customers and everyone involved in the company. One of the most positive ethic roles a company is practicing giving to charity donation each year is practicing ethical behavior. The benefit of the company can allow additional taxes, and send a positive message. Therefore, the business can bring in a lot more customer’s, and increase a positive image towards the relationship with the business to allow the firm to bring in more new employees. Also business and personal ethics is a learning experience for young and through adulthood, is a practice through our daily lives. Some business give their employees information that contain statements, policies, and other responsibilities that all employee should follow. While these effects are if the employee refuse to respect the organization by following the business guidelines.

This paper primarily consists of a personal response to a few questions about ethics in business. Describing the meaning of ethics sets the criteria for evaluating if actions are ethical. Looking at current and future career work, the concept of ethics is applied to predict ethical challenges. Based on this coursework, and outside research, resources will be identified that may be beneficial when business ethical challenges arise. The coursework on ethics covered law, conflict of interest, accounting, environment, finance, marketing, management, reputation, and corporate social responsibility. All of these topics are corporate concerns. Some topics may present dilemmas during the course of business. The responses in this paper

There is a fine line between what is ethically right or wrong with an action committed by an organization. According to Audi, “sometimes ethics is compromised without dishonesty but by deficiencies in clarity or candor or both” (Audi, 2009). Being dishonest and not telling the entire truth are examples of ethical dilemmas.

In 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy with $639 billion in assets and $619 billion in debt. Lehman’s bankruptcy filing was the largest in history. (Investopedia.com)

(Panza & Potthast, n.d.) Ethics is very important to a company’s success. Ethical behavior can bring benefits to a business. They can attract customers, which can lead to a boost in sales and profits. It can attract the right employees and increase productivity. It can also attract investors and keep the company’s share price high. Unethical behavior on the other hand can damage a company’s reputation and make it less appealing to stakeholders. It could also result in lower profits.

The Lehman Brothers investment bank was the fourth leading in the United States when it became the largest “victim” of the 2007-2008 crisis. While many other investment banks were bailed out by the government, Lehman was the unfortunate one of the bunch that had to file for Chapter 11

As the credit crisis erupted in August 2007 with the failure of two Bear Stearns hedge funds, Lehman’s stock fell sharply.During that month, the company eliminated 2,500 mortgage-related jobs and shut down its BNC unit. In addition, it also closed offices of Alt-A lender Aurora in three states. Even as the correction in the U.S. housing market gained momentum, Lehman

On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. With $639 billion in assets and $619 billion in debt, Lehman 's bankruptcy filing was the largest in history, as its assets far surpassed those of previous bankrupt giants such as WorldCom and Enron. Lehman was the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank at the time of its collapse, with 25,000 employees worldwide. The consequences for the world economy were extreme. Lehman’s ' fall contributed to a loss of confidence in other banks, a worldwide financial crisis and a deep recession in many countries. Lehman 's collapse roiled global financial markets for weeks, given the size of the company and its status as a major player in the U.S. and internationally. Many questioned the U.S. government 's decision to let Lehman fail, as compared to its tacit support for Bear Stearns, which was acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) in March 2008. Lehman 's bankruptcy led to more than $46 billion of its market value being wiped out. Its collapse also served as the catalyst for the purchase of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America in an emergency deal that was also announced on September 15.

On September 10, 2008, Lehman Brothers announced the lowest decline as the shares dropped to 45%. It left the market value at $5.4 billion after the Korea Development Bank rejected to make an investment deal that could rescue Lehman. The company would seek capital from other investors in order to recover their financial situation. These efforts faltered and the situation grew more severe, even after the US government had already saved the Bear Stearns and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Though it is less likely that the US government will keep Lehman's bailout, there should be a resolution from the Federal Reserve System to bolster Lehman’s finance so as to prevent the US economic declination.

Lehman Brothers was founded by German immigrant Henry Lehman and his two brothers Emanuel and Mayer in 1850. Lehman Brothers was able to overcome many obstacles– “the railroad bankruptcies of the 1800s, the Great Depression of the 1930s, two world wars, a capital shortage when it was spun off by American Express in 1994, and the Long Term Capital Management collapse and Russian debt default of 1998.” (Investopedia) But the collapse of the housing market was one obstacle they could not overcome.

Ethics is defined as the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and doing so with moral duty and obligation. The corporate perception of ethics often varies from the definition of the term which can cause an abundance of issues in the workplace. Interpretations range from what a person’s feelings say are right or wrong, religious beliefs, law requirements, or just what is acceptable to society morals. Despite the varying translations of business ethics one thing that is undeniable is the huge positive or negative affect it has on a company’s success. It is evident that people are influenced by those around them; celebrities, politics, peers, and superiors are just a few examples to claim. The ethical practices of managers and co-workers are influential to the employees who work for and with them and should demonstrate the conduct which the company would like to be known for in the public eye because of the potential gains and competitive benefit of morally sound employees who are dedicated to the code of ethics their business enforces and promotes.

In 1994, Richard S. Fuld took control of Lehman Brothers as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Under Fuld’s aggressive leadership, the company flourished and became one of the largest investment banks in the United States. （Crossley-Holland 2009) reported that in 1994, each Lehman Brothers stock was averaging at $4 and by 2007 it catapulted to $82 creating a 20 fold increase. From 1994, Lehman Brothers gradually adopted an aggressive growth business strategy by expanding into highly complex and risky products such as Credit Default Swaps (CDS) and Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS). By 2007, Lehman Brothers was the biggest underwriter of mortgage-backed securities of the U.S. real estate market.