Question
Please provide feedback for the post below? Newly assigned as the CEO for Wells Fargo I would address the below listed by highest priority. Unethical
Please provide feedback for the post below?
Newly assigned as the CEO for Wells Fargo I would address the below listed by highest priority.
- Unethical opening of accounts to meet sales quotas.
I would address this situation through clearly defined ethics training that reinforces the company culture of placing customers first (Witman, 2018) instead they put themselves first in order to preserve their job and earn incentives.I would temporarily suspend all incentives and punishments associated with opening accounts.The training would emphasize the end goal of providing valuable services to the customer based on their needs and not unnecessarily creating accounts in order to report higher numbers every quarter.
- Restricting the number of accounts an individual can have open at one time.
There is no reason I could think of that would create necessity for a person to have 20 accounts.Placing a restriction, flag or required manager approval when an individual reaches over five accounts could serve as a warning to potentially fraudulent activity by bankers.If warranted it can easily be verified.
- Sales pressure from supervisors and branch managers to meet sales goals by any means necessary.
This would most likely be the most difficult of the three priorities to change.Setting sales number simply based on higher numbers and not quantifiable financial or long-term value is detrimental.Normally in any sales environment the more you sell the more you make.The financial institution has a duty to its customers and employees to provide value and not only sales #'s to stakeholders. While there are regulatory measures to prevent many things the fact is that when a company performs poorly the pressure comes from the CEO all the way down to the bank teller in the form of negative consequences that create a desperate sales environment (Gilbert, p. 213, 2016).
The company culture is add-on and selling to a number or slogan such as "eight is great" becomes a gimmick that fuels ethical violations and moral dilemmas simply due to the difficulty of reaching these sales goals.Workers begin to sandbag and report numbers or sales at opportunistic moments to their benefit versus doing it properly and in accordance with the "policy".The employee must take on a survival-at-all-costs mentality because the unreasonable expectations of the management are being pressured by middle management who is being pressured by upper management. Simply encouraging ethical-based sales and customer service would be a valid starting point to enforce the future direction of the company.
References
Gilbert, J. (2016). Chapter 11 Accounting and Financial Reporting.Ethics for managers: Philosophical Foundations and business realities(2nd Edition). Routledge.
Witman,P. (2018, September 1)."What Gets Measured, Gets Managed" The Wells Fargo Account Opening Scandal. https://eds-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=08996702-fec8-4641-bb6c-5ed752dc5e27%40redis.https://eds-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=08996702-fec8-4641-bb6c-5ed752dc5e27%40redis
Step by Step Solution
There are 3 Steps involved in it
Step: 1
Get Instant Access to Expert-Tailored Solutions
See step-by-step solutions with expert insights and AI powered tools for academic success
Step: 2
Step: 3
Ace Your Homework with AI
Get the answers you need in no time with our AI-driven, step-by-step assistance
Get Started