Eth501 - Business Ethics
Trident University
Bruce W. Johns
Module 1 Case Assignment
ETH501 - Business Ethics
Dr. Shondria Woods July 29, 2011
Should Bank of America refuse to process payments and do business with WikiLeaks? WikiLeaks a company of mystery and without scruples that will release information on anyone or anything that it thinks it may be able to discredit. In my belief ethics upon both
WikiLeaks and Bank of America are scarred and will lead both to doing things that are unethical and could be illegal. Bank of America is one of our nation’s largest banks that has throughout its history has conducted business in almost every country and with many governments including our own; has been given the opportunity to receive and gain information that could bring down the economy of the United States and lead to a financial meltdown of the U.S. and the world. So processing payments in support of a web based information mill such as WikiLeaks by these large banks could complete the ethical dilemma that the US and many large banks are being ethically challenged. With ethical challenges being evaluated and the amount of people and the organizations that are involved if such a leak should happen will cause devastation upon many companies and individuals that could lead to the meltdown of trust for our banking system. I think that if we take a true ethical evaluation of the circumstances that we will find that both entities have utilitarian and deontological ethics when it comes to providing as well as suppressing information that may be released because of a so called hard drive that Julian Assange from a high profile individual from a large US bank could cause. I will break down these ethical issues and try to determine if the leaks would benefit or discredit our US banks and if the overall outcome would devastate more than it could benefit. So taking on the ethical stance that such an issue would cause, I would like to
Bruce W. Johns
Module 1 Case Assignment
ETH501 - Business Ethics
Dr. Shondria Woods July 29, 2011
Should Bank of America refuse to process payments and do business with WikiLeaks? WikiLeaks a company of mystery and without scruples that will release information on anyone or anything that it thinks it may be able to discredit. In my belief ethics upon both
WikiLeaks and Bank of America are scarred and will lead both to doing things that are unethical and could be illegal. Bank of America is one of our nation’s largest banks that has throughout its history has conducted business in almost every country and with many governments including our own; has been given the opportunity to receive and gain information that could bring down the economy of the United States and lead to a financial meltdown of the U.S. and the world. So processing payments in support of a web based information mill such as WikiLeaks by these large banks could complete the ethical dilemma that the US and many large banks are being ethically challenged. With ethical challenges being evaluated and the amount of people and the organizations that are involved if such a leak should happen will cause devastation upon many companies and individuals that could lead to the meltdown of trust for our banking system. I think that if we take a true ethical evaluation of the circumstances that we will find that both entities have utilitarian and deontological ethics when it comes to providing as well as suppressing information that may be released because of a so called hard drive that Julian Assange from a high profile individual from a large US bank could cause. I will break down these ethical issues and try to determine if the leaks would benefit or discredit our US banks and if the overall outcome would devastate more than it could benefit. So taking on the ethical stance that such an issue would cause, I would like to
References: Nelson D. Schwartz. (2011, January 3). Facing a New Type of Threat From WikiLeaks, a Bank Plays Defense :[Business/Financial Desk]. New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. B.1. Retrieved July 24, 2011, from Banking Information Source. (Document ID: 2227689851). Banks and WikiLeaks :[Editorial]. (2010, December 26). New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. WK.13. Retrieved July 24, 2011, from Banking Information Source. (Document ID: 2221835691). Isabelle Fraser. (2010, December 4). My long weekend with the world 's most wanted man :WikiLeaks The WikiLeaks chief is likeable, disarming and quite sexy, says Isabelle Fraser, who worked as a volunteer. The Times,16. Retrieved July 30, 2011, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2204118731).