UBS trader Kweku Adoboli charged with fraud
Sep 16th, 2011 by WendyS
Kweku Adoboli, a 31 years old worker for UBS’s global synthetic equities division, was charged with fraud due to unauthorised trading between January and September this year. He had caused tremendous losses of $2 billion for UBS and exposed to UBS to risks. Last month, UBS had already announced 3,500 jobs cuts and Adoboli’s actions will cause further damages of up to thousands more job losses. His decision to challenge business ethics had not only ruin his life, but also lead to great consequences for others.
Adoboli’s example showed people’s selfishness and greediness to make a gain for themselves without considering other people. It also showed us the importance of personal business ethics and its negative effects. I believe that business ethics is not an individual value where you can draw your own border of what is right or wrong. Instead, it is a common value that everyone shares; it is the“rule of the game”, just like Friedman’s description in his article about businesses’social responsibility. Business ethics is what makes a business a better business and it makes an individual a better individual. If you do not follow the “rules”, you will not win respect from others.
Furthermore, this article showed the crucialty that business schools should teach students about business ethics. When we make a business decision, we do not only change our lives, we also change the lives of others.