Wells Fargo Scandal Analysis

Journal #1: Wells Fargo Scandals

After being condemned by the public over the fake accounts scandal last year, Wells Fargo has experienced big drop in profits. Regardless of claiming that it has been working hard to re-gain the trust of the public, the company shows evidences of being involved in more scandals, including retaliating against corporate whistleblowers, blinding watchdogs and charging bogus mortgage late fees.

Wells Fargo’s scandals are examples of unethical corporate culture, in which the employees are conducting immoral actions to reach the company’s sales goals. Although the employees were the ones who opened fake accounts for clients without their consent and directly contributed to the issue, they were not entirely at fault because it is essentially the company that fostered a culture where workers were pushed to do wrong in order to be competitive in the market and to get ahead. But why would a reputable company like Wells Fargo become so corrupted and take advantage of customers’ trust to achieve its own benefit? I believe that these degenerated ethics come from the societal pressure and the new American culture of extreme competitiveness and selfishness.

In the article “The Cheating Culture”, it states that “notions of right and wrong are not only shaped by our family and friends, by work or academic environments but also by the broader culture”. People learn how to eat properly, how to dress appropriately and even how to communicate effectively. This idea applies to the Wells Fargo scandals, in which the employees’ ethics are shaped by the corporate environment that is further shaped by the American culture. Unfortunately, the American culture today represents a set of merciless values than previous generations did, such as stepping on co-workers or even friends to acquire money and status. Three major factors that have contributed to this corruption are: individualism, money, and competition. First, the old norm of self-sacrifice where one lives for his or her family and one works hard to contribute is diminished and replaced by self-interest and personal freedom. Because individuals begin to satisfy their own desires first, in order to secure their jobs, employees in Wells Fargo shred incriminating paperwork and forge necessary signatures before the watchdogs performed inspections. They desperately wanted to meet their sales goals that they would do anything even if it is immoral. Second, America’s money obsession drove Wells Fargo to earn profits from its clients and shaped its employees in a way that they see good life as hinging on lots of money. Because Wells Fargo pays more than average, its employees are pushed to meet their financial objective so they are well-paid and compensated. With enough salary, they can consume more goods in particular brand products and associate this materialism with happiness. Therefore, even though I strongly disagree with the employees’ actions of faking accounts to meet sales goals, they are not the ones to be blamed. I believe that under this competitive environment, they have no other options than being unethical. Indeed, we need to look at their decisions from the broader perspective, taking into consideration how the American cheating culture has driven the company to retaliate against whistleblowers, to blind watchdogs and to charge bogus mortgage late fees. The idea that only the winner rules and governs is so overwhelming that workers at the firm must commit fraud to maintain the company’s status in the market.