Case Analysis/ Movie Review

on

“THE WOLF OF WALL STREET”

Corporate governance, Business Ethics,

Sir Nestor Mata-ag

Pagedped, Joey I.

BSA-2
 Corporate Governance, as defined in our lesson, is a set of rules and procedures
that govern a company's operations. It entails weighing the interests of various
stakeholders, including shareholders, management, customers, and the government.
It also ensures the organization's ethical behavior and aids in the development of clear
and consistent company strategies.

The film “The Wolf of Wall Street” was directed by Martin Scorsese, which starred
Leonardo DiCaprio who plays a real-life character named Jordan Belfort. He portrays
the wolf of Wall Street, a man who rose from obscurity to amass vast fortunes. An
eloquent stockbroker who exists solely to make money. This film delves into the world
of ultra-wealthy Wall Street brokers who are rife with corruption.

(1) The basic principle of effective governance was clearly violated in the film. In real
time, the protagonist has no ethical code. The first transgression was in the area of
ethics and integrity, which was displayed in the first few minutes of the movie when
stockbrokers were vilifying each other and engaging in unethical professional
behavior. Jordan's lack of moral standards, such as honesty and integrity, topple of
virtue ethics, evidenced by his choices and actions. It reveals Belfort's single purpose
of making money for himself and his company, regardless of how he does so or
whether anyone suffers as a result of his actions. There's also the ethical problem
about Belfort's style of leadership concerned with transparency and accountability.
The board of directors was not informed of the company's illegal practices, and there
was no system to allow them to hold management accountable for their actions. This
results to the employee’s blind commitment to Belfort's vision of becoming exceedingly
wealthy, even if doing so illegally.

(2) Belfort was notorious for his unconventional business techniques on Wall Street
during his time there. Some of Wall Street's most obnoxious and stupid employees
worked at Stratton Oakmont, Belfort's brokerage firm. The majority of his employees
were likely high school or college dropouts looking for any way to improve their
condition. A hunger for power, fortune, and pleasure drove them to extremes. Belfort,
on the other hand, was charged with and convicted of a number of unethical acts,
including stock manipulation, investment fraud and money laundering. As a result of
these two flaws, Belfort's brokerage firm was eventually shut down. Thus, we can
identify their company's ethical issues, which include a lack of a defined business
process for employing apparently skilled and professional staff that are instead driven
by greed and unethical lifestyle, with no regard for the moral implications of their
actions. Unethical leadership, a poisonous workplace culture, and unrealistic goals
are among the other issues that can be included therewith.

(3) Pump and Dump penny stock scheme identified as insider trading is the unethical
practice by the Stratton Oakmont Company. By illegally obtaining market-moving
information and use it as deceptive way to accumulate penny stocks or gain company
shares which are then stored in secret accounts, this trading strategies put companies
and honest investors at risk as they will be convinced that these penny stocks or
companies are potential stocks for investment while it was just intended as a set up
investment fraud to take money from them.

As to manage management is failure to perform one's responsibilities. Belfort attracted

Belfort's workers represent another cast of people whose principles and objectives
were responsible for some of the most heinous business ethical violations, including
dishonesty. The bulk of these employees were driven by a desire to obey their boss's
orders, regardless of the moral implications of their actions. Employees were readily
swayed and encouraged to engage in a torrent of unethical activity that would finally
bring their company to its knees. Employees were also disrespectful to investors; they
were never serious with their investors and just cared about the amount of money put
in.

(4) Jordan Belfort was confronted with the ethical problem of running an illegal
business in order to make money; he was acting unethically in order to profit. As a
result of his drug use, prostitution, and lying, he becomes an irresponsible spouse and
manager to the extent that he encouraged his subordinates to concentrate on
achieving his objectives while ignoring whether the strategies or techniques used to do
so were unethical. Jordan Belfort attempted to flee his misdeeds in a variety of ways.
He continued to be a disgraced stockbroker and an unfaithful spouse until his
activities brought him down, therefore these ethical concerns were never resolved
because it was too late for Jordan to do anything but cooperate with the FBI. After his
disgrace and two years in prison, Belfort rehabilitated and reinvented himself. He
began to use his own branding to do what he loves, which is to teach people how to
sell.

If I were in that role, with the influence I hold to my employees I think it can be
possible to sort out, though it would take time, I would modify the roles and conducts
to in line with the profession's policies and culture in order to create income in a legal
way. Even if I wanted to be a millionaire as well, I would want to be a professional with
ethical values and morals. As a stockbroker, I must maintain a sense of formality
among colleagues and clients, treat everyone fairly, and recognize that building a firm
takes time and effort. Being ethical and patient would undoubtedly lead to success,
which I could enjoy without anxiety. Thus, creating a version of an ethical and honest
leader would be my resolve to build even better trust with the organization and
business partners that will eventually solve all unethical dilemmas.
(5) For someone who is ethical and professional manager, improving the ethics of
Belfort's brokerage firm would involve a huge work and dedication. But here are the
possible solutions to resolve companies’ unethical practices.

First is to identify the source of unethical activity. Knowing the root of a problem
will help management in deciding how to sort out the matters on hand. In this way
they will have an overview to be able to conduct proper procedural activities that will
farther improve your knowledge of how you can modify or otherwise aid such activities
to be more ethical and upholding to the company’s overall being.

Design and strategize properly the ethical resolve. Having deliberately decided on
the strategies will ensure a strong foundation of ethical patterns that could accelerate
the percentage of success in rehabilitating unethical activities.

Further design procedures that support ethical behavior. This will include simple
standards and policies to foster good ethical behavior. Might as well include data
monitoring as part of the solution to ensure that it is properly adhered by the
employees. Further make emphasizes on work ethics and formalities, and don't forget
to include consequences of unethical behavior. Encourage employees to report such
persons who will not adhere with the firm’s policies. Lastly,

Conduct mandatory trainings. To ensure that employees are aware of the company’s
ethical standards it is important to conduct trainings to keep them updated and
possibly prevent unethical behaviors.

In addition, managers must be reminded to hire people who have values and integrity
as professionals someone whom you can work with long term that will uphold the
vision and mission of the company. Having the right people to work with greatly
enhances the chance of success of the firm thus, hiring the right people should be the
is something to consider.