Subject: CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND ETHICS

Note: Please Write from Computer or Laptop, need (Easy to Write)

Case Synopsis t This case describes the actions of Wells Fargo, a leading bank and financial services company, which opened more than two million unauthorized checking, credit card, and other accounts without the consent of its customers between 2011 and 2015. Wells Fargo settled with the U.S. government and state and local regulatory agencies, paying more than $100 million in fines, without admitting or denying the alleged misconduct. In late 2016, when the case opens, the bank also faced lawsuits from customers, former employees, and shareholders alleging that the bank had misled investors about its financial performance and the success of its sales practices. The case enables students to identify which stakeholders were helped and which were harmed by the bank's unethical practices. It also challenges students to analyze a firm's culture and organizational practices to identify possible causes of its unethical actions and to recommend actions by Wells Fargo's board and management team to prevent a recurrence. t Several videos may be used in conjunction with this case. A short introduction to the case prepared by CNN Money, "Here's How Wells Fargo Workers Created Fake Accounts (4:27), which includes an interview with an employee explaining the pressure to open unauthorized accounts, is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX6D6YggCYQH A brief (1:26) graphical description of what Wells Fargo did, prepared by the Los Angeles Times, is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXbD6YggCYQ- A clip (17:52) of Senator Elizabeth Warrens (D-Mass.) questioning of CEO John Stumpf during the Senate hearing, cited in the opening of the case, is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJhkX74D10M. + https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19L VMP 7UmGM- Answer the following: 1. Describe the "unauthorized customer accounts referenced in the title of the case. What did the bank and its employees do?- 2. Do you believe Wells Fargo demonstrated an ethical corporate culture? Why or why not? In your response, please consider both the formal ethics policies of the bank and ethical leadership as modeled by its senior executives and board of directors. 3. Describe "cross-selling." What were the benefits of cross-selling to the bank and its shareholders? In what ways did cross-selling contribute to the problems Wells Fargo later faced? 4. If you were an employee of Wells Fargo and felt pressured to cross-sell to customers, even when you felt this was inappropriate, what would you have done? 5. Did Wells Fargo respond appropriately to employees who voiced their concerns about unauthorized accounts? What should it have done differently? 6. Looking at the case as a whole, what steps would you recommend Wells Fargo, its senior managers, and its board of directors do now to prevent such events from occurring again in the future? a Case Synopsis t This case describes the actions of Wells Fargo, a leading bank and financial services company, which opened more than two million unauthorized checking, credit card, and other accounts without the consent of its customers between 2011 and 2015. Wells Fargo settled with the U.S. government and state and local regulatory agencies, paying more than $100 million in fines, without admitting or denying the alleged misconduct. In late 2016, when the case opens, the bank also faced lawsuits from customers, former employees, and shareholders alleging that the bank had misled investors about its financial performance and the success of its sales practices. The case enables students to identify which stakeholders were helped and which were harmed by the bank's unethical practices. It also challenges students to analyze a firm's culture and organizational practices to identify possible causes of its unethical actions and to recommend actions by Wells Fargo's board and management team to prevent a recurrence. t Several videos may be used in conjunction with this case. A short introduction to the case prepared by CNN Money, "Here's How Wells Fargo Workers Created Fake Accounts (4:27), which includes an interview with an employee explaining the pressure to open unauthorized accounts, is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX6D6YggCYQH A brief (1:26) graphical description of what Wells Fargo did, prepared by the Los Angeles Times, is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXbD6YggCYQ- A clip (17:52) of Senator Elizabeth Warrens (D-Mass.) questioning of CEO John Stumpf during the Senate hearing, cited in the opening of the case, is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJhkX74D10M. + https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19L VMP 7UmGM- Answer the following: 1. Describe the "unauthorized customer accounts referenced in the title of the case. What did the bank and its employees do?- 2. Do you believe Wells Fargo demonstrated an ethical corporate culture? Why or why not? In your response, please consider both the formal ethics policies of the bank and ethical leadership as modeled by its senior executives and board of directors. 3. Describe "cross-selling." What were the benefits of cross-selling to the bank and its shareholders? In what ways did cross-selling contribute to the problems Wells Fargo later faced? 4. If you were an employee of Wells Fargo and felt pressured to cross-sell to customers, even when you felt this was inappropriate, what would you have done? 5. Did Wells Fargo respond appropriately to employees who voiced their concerns about unauthorized accounts? What should it have done differently? 6. Looking at the case as a whole, what steps would you recommend Wells Fargo, its senior managers, and its board of directors do now to prevent such events from occurring again in the future? a