Lehman Brothers

Case Application 1: Lehman Brothers

Tosha Collins, Stephen Gilbert, Tiffany Pate, Tammy Seidel, and Taneisha Williams

MGT 521

October 5, 2013

Kirk A. Davis

What you are about to learn about is the story of how the working principles and or culture at Lehman Brothers followed the pattern of an unethical and irresponsible style of management. While certain colleagues were rewarded for taking unprecedented risks, others were shushed and ignored for being practical. As there was no ethical leadership, ethics was not learned or shown at Lehman Brothers. Being an ethical leader means that you are a good role model by being ethical and honest. Ethical leaders tell the truth always and do not hide or manipulate information (Robbins & Coulter, 2012). Even though the importance of the message given from the risks this company took is so obvious and apparent, unethical standards and leadership still shadow some corporations. This was a company where the code of conduct did not exist and the ethics were completely unethical. Because of corporations like Lehman Brothers, there are now processes and protocols in place to help alleviate the mere thought of theft and fraud today.

What was the culture at Lehman Brothers like? How did this culture contribute to the

What was the culture at Lehman Brothers like? How did this culture contribute to the company’s downfall?

The culture at Lehman Brothers was not one where employees could speak freely about the practices of the company. Employees were not rewarded or encouraged to bring to light unethical practices that could lead to destruction of the company. In fact, the culture rewarded excessive risk quite profoundly. There was no whistle blower protection and making questionable decisions was seen as heroic. Those not in line with this culture were not rewarded for their honesty or questioning the acts of others. It seems that there must a high fear of reprisal and so speaking up against the actions of...