Goldman Sachs is responsible for the following ethical issues involving Greece: 1) Greece’s access to “off-balance sheet” (OBS) financing that resulted in a bribe for Goldman Sachs, 2) Greece being qualified for membership into the “European Monetary Union (EMU),” 3) Greece’s manipulation of global currency “exchange”/”interest rates” to continue its borrow and spend strategy, and 4) Greece’s need for a bailout by the “European Union (EU)” (Brooks & Dunn, 2015, p. 35). To further explain, Goldman Sachs provided the means for Greece to obtain OBS financing through establishing two different hedge funds that in turn allowed Greece to take advantage of historically low exchange rates using swaps of currency/interest rates. This allowed Greece
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The question of whether Goldman Sachs is correct to think that global capitalism always supersedes ethical conduct is an important aspect to consider. While Greece masked its debt with the help of Goldman Sachs through the use of “derivatives” for gaining admittance into the EMU, this still did not exempt it from later violating the standards set by the three following regulatory bodies: 1) “European Statistical Office (EuroStat),” 2) the “Stability and Growth Pact (SGP)” and 3) the “Excessive Deficit Programme (EDP)” (Dunbar, 2003, Revealed…, para. 4-5). In other words, Goldman Sachs’ “fidelity” to Greece seemed to conflict with the global business community’s “network of ethical value” that in turn violated the following principles/rights: “duty,” “honesty,” “do no harm,” “due process,” “lawfulness,” “justice,” and the stakeholder’s/public’s “right to know” (Pfeiffer & Forsberg, 2014, p. inside front cover -161). Hence, a deeper examination is needed into this ethical dilemma.
Solutions
Goldman Sachs can continue to 1) help Greece out of debt using “derivatives,” 2) stop helping Greece in this manner, or 3) help Greece/foreign countries out of debt, while also letting them know the fix is only temporary (Dunbar, 2003, Received…, para. 4-5). Option three is not credible as Greece/foreign countries will not buy services from Goldman Sachs …show more content…
1-133). On the other hand, it will hurt individuals as allowing Greece to manipulate the system with no adherence to rules will lead to job deterioration and higher unemployment in other countries. This in turn will negatively impact the stakeholders of Goldman Sachs as their profit-per-share will decline when each country’s credit rating is downgraded due to Greece’s unethical business practices. As a result, more layoffs would occur resulting in a nosedive for Goldman Sachs corporate image, not to mention the secondary effects of economic growth drying up in other countries (e.g., As one country would have to make up for the currency and interest manipulation of Greece). To offset this negative impact, Goldman Sachs would have to expand the type of services they offer globally, in order to stay fiscally
The question of whether Goldman Sachs is correct to think that global capitalism always supersedes ethical conduct is an important aspect to consider. While Greece masked its debt with the help of Goldman Sachs through the use of “derivatives” for gaining admittance into the EMU, this still did not exempt it from later violating the standards set by the three following regulatory bodies: 1) “European Statistical Office (EuroStat),” 2) the “Stability and Growth Pact (SGP)” and 3) the “Excessive Deficit Programme (EDP)” (Dunbar, 2003, Revealed…, para. 4-5). In other words, Goldman Sachs’ “fidelity” to Greece seemed to conflict with the global business community’s “network of ethical value” that in turn violated the following principles/rights: “duty,” “honesty,” “do no harm,” “due process,” “lawfulness,” “justice,” and the stakeholder’s/public’s “right to know” (Pfeiffer & Forsberg, 2014, p. inside front cover -161). Hence, a deeper examination is needed into this ethical dilemma.
Solutions
Goldman Sachs can continue to 1) help Greece out of debt using “derivatives,” 2) stop helping Greece in this manner, or 3) help Greece/foreign countries out of debt, while also letting them know the fix is only temporary (Dunbar, 2003, Received…, para. 4-5). Option three is not credible as Greece/foreign countries will not buy services from Goldman Sachs …show more content…
1-133). On the other hand, it will hurt individuals as allowing Greece to manipulate the system with no adherence to rules will lead to job deterioration and higher unemployment in other countries. This in turn will negatively impact the stakeholders of Goldman Sachs as their profit-per-share will decline when each country’s credit rating is downgraded due to Greece’s unethical business practices. As a result, more layoffs would occur resulting in a nosedive for Goldman Sachs corporate image, not to mention the secondary effects of economic growth drying up in other countries (e.g., As one country would have to make up for the currency and interest manipulation of Greece). To offset this negative impact, Goldman Sachs would have to expand the type of services they offer globally, in order to stay fiscally