Question

Please write about the documentary movie of (Inside Job) Movie Assignment as following questions below . Don't write about Wall Street . This is the 2nd question posting

1. Discuss the serious ethical concerns for business in the "Inside Job movie".

1. How business was portrayed in the film of Inside Job. What you should find is that business is generally portrayed in negative terms. For example, most business people in these films are motivated by greed. There are exceptions. For example, in Jerry Maguire, the lead character is motivated by an ethical code. But, throughout the film, he fights the greed of others.

2. Discuss how this generally negative portrayal feeds public cynicism.

3. Why you are choosing to study business if this portrayal is accurate.

Answer 1

1.

Here are some of the serious ethical concerns for the businesses in the movie Inside Job

• Vested Interests between the banks and the credit rating agencies cause the rating agencies to misreport or merge bad credit with good credit in order to alter the overall credit rating of a portfolio of mortgage-backed equities

• Another example of vested interests which were a huge ethical concern was when retail and investment bank were a part of the same entity, allowing the investment bank to use the saving and deposits of its retail customer to invest in mortgage-backed equities

• There was a nexus of vested interests between retail banks, investment banks, credit rating agencies, real estate developers, brokers, and customers

• Exorbitant bonuses offered to bankers played a huge role in encouraging retail banks to sell mortgages to customers with poor credit scores and low or no income

• The biggest ethical concern was that because the underlying mortgages in the mortgage-backed equities were worthless, any bank which was over-leveraged on equities could default. Thus, destroying the savings and pensions of all of their customers

2.

As far as the Inside Job is concerned, they only portrayed Investment and Retail Banks in a negative light. however, it doesn't portray all businesses under a negative light. The documentary does sympathize with small business owners and only casts a negative light on banks like the Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns and Washington Mutual and other investment banks the were either involved or affected by the 2008 financial crisis. The reason being this was more of a documentary than a movie with a combination of candid interviews and clips from congressional hearings and news. Its purpose was not just to entertain but to highlight the underlying cause of concern with financial regulations and loopholes that allowed risky trading practices.

3.

Banks and other financial institutions have always been portrayed in a bad light by the media, regulators, and politicians. The 2008 financial crisis amplified this feeling of animosity and cynicism to a large extent. The documentary does not blow the situation out of proportion, the public cynicism was well warranted. If the federal reserve did not come to the rescue of these banks, the American financial system would have seen a complete collapse, with savings wiped out, businesses shut down and it would have resulted in utter chaos and anarchy. So although the documentary portrays the banks in a negative light, the cynicism isn't unwarranted.

4.

The reason why I chose to study business despite the fact that this portrayal is accurate is that Banks is an essential financial institution for any society to grow and prosper. The reason for this is that banks are the primary source of credit for many people, small businesses, education, insurance, and investment. The flow of credit is what primarily drives economic growth. An economic slow down is often the direct result of a lack of credit in the financial system. So while the portrayal is accurate, its important to remember that every organization, whether its Political, Financial Or Legal has fringe elements who deviate from whats universally considered ethical. Political greed and corruption has existed since the dawn of government, however that doesn't mean that all politicians and governments have a negative impact on society. Political greed is no different, better or worse than financial greed. However, the best way to change a system is to be a part of it, in order to implement positive change from the inside. That's why I've chosen to study business.