Poor Ethics, Poor Company

Andy Nguyen

Professor Huggett

Writing 2

14 September 2016

Poor Ethics, Poor Company

        In the world of business, to the left and to the right are start-ups aiming to be successful, global companies that are currently successful, and companies which have failed and gone bankrupt. What are some of the factors that set the successful companies apart from the failing companies? Is it which company has more employees, better ethics, more investments, or a better reputation? A supernatural formula does not exist for a successful business, but there are deficiencies and weaknesses that bring a company down before it has the chance to ascend to the top. Failing companies tend to lack one or more of these factors and eventually collapse while not having enough power to improve in one of these areas. One specific factor that can make a company successful or unsuccessful is ethics, specifically towards customers. Poor ethics towards customers is an issue that can totally tank a company and its reputation. Computer company Dell is notorious for having poor ethics towards its customers regarding its customer service policy. Their poor approach to their promised customer service policy damaged their reputation and caused their image to degrade. This is one of the many problems that businesses allow to develop and spread among their companies.  Business’s ethics towards customers needs to be higher than the standard because in this age, the customers are the ones who are in control.

        Business ethics became an arising topic, as it was a course that was taught for academic purposes and research as well as publication. The term “business ethics” or “ethics in business” would later be equated with business scandals and wrongdoings in the business world. But ethical problems have always been an issue since the origin of business. Since the beginning of business, greed has been a main reason why ethics is such a hot topic today in the business world. Why are ethics a problem and what is the driving force behind companies practicing poor ethics toward its customers? Whatever business a company runs, one of its main purposes is to make money. This purpose alone can cause many employees to participate in unethical activities for their own benefits at the customer’s cost. Self-benefit and lack on interest in the customer are the reasons why businesses have unethical behavior towards customers.

        There are many cases of unethical behavior found in companies throughout all types of industries from banking, automobile, clothing, etc. Wells Fargo was recently accused of having unethical practices with some employees for their own benefit. According to news article published by Consumer Affairs and written by journalist Mark Huffman, managers and bankers took part in unethical practices to improve their sales starting in the year 2011. These employees opened up accounts under their customers’ names in order to transfer money slowly without the customers noticing. Although it may seem that the bankers are doing this out of greed, the bankers are insisting that these actions were caused by bank pressuring them with quotas and constant monitoring. Since this news broke, Wells Fargo has, “taken action by firing 5,300 employees, and agreed to pay fines and refund customers” (Huffman). The Department of Justice has also taken action with an ongoing investigation of the case and the issuing of subpoenas to the bank. Unethical issues won’t just damage a company’s reputation, but will also damage the company in a legal and business way. It would be hard to imagine Wells Fargo opening up any more real accounts in the time to come. A major ethical issue involving a customer’s money will cause them to flee from their current bank and try to open up an account with another bank.