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Essay / The fall of Lehman Brothers and the financial crisis of 2008
For many years, the world witnessed how large and successful companies felt helpless and went bankrupt overnight. Although there were many reasons that led to the downfall of these companies, they all had to do with the unethical practices that were prevalent in these organizations. Companies such as Enron Corporation, Worldcom Company, Washington Mutual Company and many others have been victims of unethical practices and Lehman Brother is no exception to the list. This investment bank not only failed but also became the main cause of the 2008 financial crisis (Chu, 2018). It is a wonder how powers and money take over a person's integrity and pave the way for unethical practices in an organization. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay As human beings, we are prone to both ethical and unethical behavior; all human conduct linked to moral principles and which is authorized in societies and under the laws is all ethical behavior. On the other hand, any conduct that is morally wrong and is not accepted in people's belief, that goes completely against ethical conducts, are all unethical behaviors. People working in businesses and organizations may engage in ethical or unethical conduct. Therefore, organizational ethics becomes an important issue for the success and well-being of the organization. Letendre (2019) asserts that organizational ethics is a strong form of discipline that governs moral choices guided by values, norms, principles, rules and strategies associated with organizational activities and objectives. It is obvious and necessary that every business and organization works to generate more profits and growth. However, violating regulations and resorting to unfair means to generate profits, thereby neglecting values and morals for the well-being of the company, would be considered unethical organization. Just like Lehman Brother cast aside all corporate values and norms and initiated corrupt and immoral practices. Publishers, 2018). The story dates back to the mid-2000s, when US housing prices began to rise and Lehman, as an investment bank, issued loans and mortgage-backed securities to borrowers . According to Sraders (2018), in late 2004, Lehman, in order to issue more loans, acquired other lenders, namely BNC Mortgage and Aurora Loan Services, both of which specialized in subprime loans. These mortgages targeted traditionally low-risk, short-term lucrative borrowers. Subprime mortgages charged higher interest rates on the loan and incurred higher fees than conventional mortgages. This motivated lenders to issue such mortgage loans. On the other hand, as long as housing prices rose, subprime borrowers could always refinance their mortgage or sell the property if the risk was imminent. While these subprime leaders like BNC Mortgage and Aurora Loan Service guaranteed loans without full documentation, Lehman was already ready. take a big gamble. The main problem occurs when property prices far exceed their long-term trend of price appreciation. In 2006, interest rates began to rise and a-14703153