1. If performance management practices at mortgage companies helped the companies earn impressive profits for a time, would you rate that as a business success? An ethical success? Why or why not?
2. If those same practices made mortgage companies more vulnerable after the real estate bubble burst and the financial crisis occurred, would you rate that as a business failure? An ethical failure? Why or why not?
3. In general, how could performance management at mortgage brokers be adjusted so that the companies treat their employees, customers, investors, and communities more ethically? Explain whether you think your recommendations would help or hurt the companies.

In 2008, the business world and government leaders were in shock. Lehman Brothers, an investment bank with a 150-year history, folded, investment giant Merrill Lynch seemed poised to follow, and only a massive bailout by the U.S. government saved AIG, a huge insurance company. It appeared that the entire financial system could collapse, effectively bringing commerce to a halt.
As we slowly recover from the economic slump that followed these events, many are asking what caused the crisis, hoping to prevent such events from recurring. The picture is complicated, but observers place some of the blame at the feet of management, including human resource management.