Stess and the securities indus
Stess and the securities indusThe securities industry boasts a stressful working environment that puts an emphasis on profit alone sometimes causing it’s workers to resort to unethical methods of trade. The result is mistrust between the common investor and the brokerage houses they use to process their trades. This cheating in order to gain an advantage over the market is best focused on with the insider trading scandals of the past and their repercussions on how business ethics should be practiced in the workplace today.
The 1980’s were a revolutionary period for stock trading. New computer systems transformed the industry making the exchange faster to transact and easier to monitor. This gave way to the exposure of insider trading and traders had to decide for themselves whether they would succumb to the fast money or stick with standard methods. This division was based upon the individual business ethics, which, in time, would become more defined with the downfall of notorious criminals like investment banker Dennis Levine (Frantz 44). Oliver Stone’s movie Wall Street analyzes this conflict between right and wrong and gives the average person a more in depth view of how a trader can use inside information to boast more profit.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines insiders as “any shareholder who holds in excess of five percent of a companies voting stock or any officer or director of a corporation or employee who has access to important corporate information” (McGee 219). This information can consist of future mergers, takeovers, pending lawsuits, etc. usually vital to the company's future stock value. On the basis of this information the insider puts in an order to buy or sell a block of stock. This alerts other traders to follow and once the information is made public the change is apparent. This kind of activity is perfectly legal and can actually benefit the market as a whole (McAdams 357). However, when an individual misappropriates information and uses it for their own personal gain it is illegal insider trading (McGee 220). This kind of transaction is what tempts lowly traders in the workplace and is sometimes used as a quick solution to covering debt.
Entry-level employees in large brokerage firms work long hours and must withstand a great deal of pressure to succeed. Those who choose the right stocks and get the right clients advance, while the others wait their turn. Oliver Stone captures this atmosphere in his movie Wall Street, the story of a young stockbroker, Bud Fox, who is allured by money and power to join Gordon Gekko, a dirty inside trader. When the movie begins Bud is a lowly broker stuck in an entry-level position. His workplace is a frantic mess of cubicles and computers filled with other employees all with the same dream of earning the most money for the firm....
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