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Running head: SOLVING MORAL PROBLEMS USING ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING
MODEL
Solving Moral Problems Using an Ethical Decision-Making Model
Student Name:
Professors Name:
Institution:
Date
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SOLVING MORAL PROBLEMS USING ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING MODEL
Solving Moral Problems Using an Ethical Decision-Making Model
Step 1: Identify Relevant Facts.
Factual statement
Morally
Prudentially
relevant
relevant
Yes/No
Yes/No
Employees of Wells Fargo Bank engaged in fraudulent sales practices. Yes
Yes
They opened millions of accounts in the name of the customers by
falsifying legitimate account owners' information (Weinstein).
Executives at Wells Fargo, including Matthew Raphaelson, Kenneth Yes
Zimmerman, and Tracy Kidd, knew about the ongoing employee
misconduct but failed to take necessary action to stop it (Weinstein).
The misconduct went on for more than ten years.
Yes
Yes
The volume of sham sales was used to market the bank to potential Yes
Yes
investors. This means that the employees and managers of the bank
deliberately used false metrics to exaggerate the bank's performance
so as to attract more investors.
What questions did you ask here?
Which scandal is described
in the case?
Who was at the center of the
scandal?
Were
the
perpetrators
capable of preventing it?
When did the scandal take
place?
Where did the scandal take
place?
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SOLVING MORAL PROBLEMS USING ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING MODEL
Step 2a: Identify Relevant Stakeholders.
Potential stakeholders
Investors.
What they stand to lose or gain.
Has
a Has
proximal
genuine
interest?
interest?
Yes/No
Yes/No
Investors stand to lose their Yes
Yes
financial resources by investing
in the bank without reliable
information
about
its
real
performance.
Customers.
Wells Fargo customers stand to Yes
lose
money
in
form
Yes
of
fraudulent account fees.
Customers also stand to lose
their
reputation
in
society
should the public realize that
accounts registered in their
names
are
being
used
to
perpetrate fraud.
Wells Fargo employees.
The bank's employees would Yes
gain by retaining their jobs.
Wells Fargo's executives had set
unrealistic targets for sales
employees thus piling pressure
on them to register as many
accounts
as
possible
(Weinstein). They also stand to
benefit from job promotion,
commission, and recognition if
No
a
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SOLVING MORAL PROBLEMS USING ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING MODEL
they meet the unrealistic goals
set by their leaders.
The bank’s executive officers
The executive officers’ image Yes
No
would improve in the short run
as they would take credit for the
perceived increase in the bank’s
performance.
In the long run, however, the
executives lost money as they
ended
up
being
presiding
fined
over
for
fraud
(Weinstein).
The federal regulator.
The federal regulator might lose Yes
Yes
its reputation. Given that the
sham sales went on for more
than a decade (Weinstein), the
federal regulators might be
perceived as being ineffective
by the public for taking so long
to discover and prevent the
fraud.
Shareholders
The values of their shares would Yes
fall
if
Wells
performance
in
Fargo's
the
stock
exchange market decline. Wells
Fargo's
performance
was
destined to fall as soon as the
fake account scandal became
known to the public.
Yes
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SOLVING MORAL PROBLEMS USING ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING MODEL
What questions did you ask here?
The main question I asked at this stage concerns the main reasons the fraudulent acts were
committed. Asking the 'why' question helps clarify the interests that motivate various
stakeholders to carry out a fraudulent activity (Jordan et al, 67). I also asked how legitimate the
stakeholders’ interests were.
Step 2b: Identify Ethical Issues.
Potential ethical issue
Is this central to the problem?
Why is this a problem
Yes/No
Judiciary duty
Yes
This is a problem because the
bank had a duty to act in the
best interests of customers and
accord them fair treatment.
Instead of fulfilling this duty,
the bank disenfranchised some
customers by creating fake
accounts and charging them
fees
for
those
accounts
(Weinstein).
Conflict of interest
Yes
This is a problem because
employees acted on their own
selfish interests instead of
providing
fair
service
to
customers and the general
public. For example, they had
to create fake accounts and
charge customers so as to
please their bosses and retain
their jobs (Weinstein).
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SOLVING MORAL PROBLEMS USING ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING MODEL
Fraud
Yes
Employees
used
clients'
information to register fake
accounts
without
their
permission. This is a problem
because
it
constitutes
a
violation of the data security
laws
as
well
as
the
foundational ethical principle
of autonomy.
What question did you ask I asked myself what the moral aspects of the case were. To
here?
identify ethical issues in a given situation, it is important to
consider factors that create moral concerns (Jordan et al, 67). It
also asked how each of the aspects affects stakeholders.
What is the main ethical issue Fraud is the main ethical issue in this case. It is the major issue
and why?
in this case because it has severe impacts (real and perceived)
o...