Discussion: Ethics and Organizational Frames

Please see Supporting Materials for 2 links and one article about Wells Fargo and its recent scandal. Locate at least one additional source of information so that you may understand this fascinating case more fully.

Wells Fargo was considered to be an example of fine leadership and management. How did the company leaders, in a company that emerged from the 2008 crisis with a reputation for honesty and ethical behavior, fail so dramatically? Why, when its phony accounts surfaced in 2011, was the practice allowed to continue until 2016 and risk the company's survival?

This week's Discussion questions:? What do we know about the Wells Fargo structure, its human resource approach, its political practices, and the culture generally, that made this recent scandal possible? (Was it inevitable?) How might activities or events across the four frames be interconnected, to conceal the issue and delay efforts to correct it?

Articles:

1. At Wells Fargo, Crushing Pressure and Lax Oversight Produced a Scandal By JENNIFER A. KINGSON and STACY COWLEY.
2. Wells Fargo scandal looks like a vast uprising of disgruntled employees by Matt Levine and Chicago Tribune.