article ” A sad state of bank industry ethics”
The article is based on a survey that was done by the SEC(Securities and Exchange Commission) on 500 senior employees within the financial industries of the US and the UK The survey showed some very discouraging numbers which suggested the extremely low level of business ethics present within the financial industry of these two countries.
SEC
Important parts of the survey showed that 30% of the people believed that the company’s compensation pressured them into illegal activities. Also, less than half of the employees believe that their companies have a strong ethical culture, while 16% of workers believe that they are pressured to perform illegal activities by their employers. This was largely due to the small amount of people (44%) that knew that their jobs were protected by the SEC once they “blew the whistle” on these illegal activities.
While people are afraid to “blow the whistle,” we can see there are numerous firms around us practicing unethical business policies and earning a lot of money in the process. While it is typically true that the final objective of the typical firm is to earn a lot of money, does the end always justify the means?
Sources : http://www.americanbanker.com/magazine/122_9/bank-industrys-sad-state-of-ethics-1051880-1.html
I totally agree that employees are definitely pressurized to do illegal activities.
The people pressured to perform illegal activities by their employers are in an extremely unfortunate position. They may be completely opposed to their companies policies, but have very little recourse they can take as, at the end of the day, they need the pay cheque. Reporting the activity can be just as bad, as although their jobs are protected by the SEC, there are obvious actions that must be taken after a report, such as court hearings. Since the consequence is perceived to be more work than inaction, people are inclined to let illegal activity go unreported.
I agree, as there were not much incentives for them to be reporting; however I guess that is where the more monetary incentives come into place, trying to cover all the costs including the opportunity costs and also more for reporting