From the case, the main moral issue is not aligning the values of the bank with its actions. Similarly, the bank is unwilling to review its business standard and heavily rely on its value and vision document for over twenty years. From the case, we can ask the following questions; why is Wells Fargo resistant to review its business standards? Why is the bank not aligning its values with action? Did aggressive sales encourage employees to open fraudulent accounts? Why are the treatment of customers and Wells Fargo ethics principle not aligned?
Wells Fargo for long has insisted that it has relied on its vision and value document for over twenty years. Such a move demonstrates an institution that is not ready to change according to the needs of the business environment. At no single point in the case have we seen the bank change the document to reflect emerging issues. Overreliance on the document might have been supported by loyal customers and the level of trust that the bank gas received in the market. However, failure to heed to advice from pressure groups like the NCCR demonstrates an organization that is disconnected from the reality.
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It can be argued that the bank is unwilling to change so that it can maintain its market share. Profitability has been its focus at the expense of ethical practice. Cases of consumer frauds are common in the bank, and this can be attributed to profit motives. Setting targets for the sales force might lead to false reporting to inflate the number of accounts opened to exceed such targets. Such a practice contributes to a significant number of fraudulent accounts held by the bank. Though the bank has its ethical principles, its operations are not guided by them and are merely written statements that do not have an impact on the day to day activities of the bank.
Ethical issues in the second article involve the holding and use of personal data without the consent of the owner. From the case, we can ask four questions. Should Facebook hold personal information without the approval of the owner? What sensitive data should the company hold? How should the company obtain personal information? How should third parties restrict sharing of personal data without the consent of the owner of such data?
The use of third parties to gather personal data is unethical because the volume of such data is unknown. Unlimited amount of data can be held by the third party making it difficult to regulate what can and cannot be disclosed. Similarly, the difficulty in trying to limit distribution of personal data or getting out of such sites is an enormous challenge that users face. Access to sensitive data can be used against the owner if the information gets into the wrong hands. Similarly, the information can be used to target the user with customized ads which are an intrusion of one's privacy.
