After watching “Wall Street (1987)” I learned of several dilemmas stockbrokers, such as Bud Fox and Gordon Gekko, encounter in the pursuit of wealth. First, Bud was faced with the difficult dilemma of whether he should do what’s best for his career or what’s best for his father. Bud’s father worked his entire life for a small airline company, but Bud’s Boss, Gordon Gekko, desired to take over the airline and sell it off (leaving Bud’s father and many others out of work).
Bud must chose business for profit or family allegiance. I learned, therefore, that being a stockbroker potentially comes with the difficult dilemma of balancing professional commitment against family loyalty.
Second, stockbrokers are continuously faced with the difficult dilemma of being good or being greedy. For example, Gordon Gekko expresses throughout the movie that “greed is good.” Bud learns, however, that being greedy can involve being bad (greed drives Bud to lie, cheat and hurt those who are closest to him).
Stockbrokers, such as Bud and Gekko, often must decide whether the good that comes from greed outweighs the bad it entails. The take away from this, therefore, is that stockbrokers are constantly faced with decisions of morality.
Third, is the issue of corporate governance. The film highlights a fundamental problem with the way corporations are governed, which is that they are controlled by stockbrokers, not the shareholders who actually own the company. As Roger Ebert notes, “big market killings are made by men such as Gekko, who swoop in and snap whole companies out from under the noses of their stockholders.” The dilemma is whether stockbrokers should act in favor of the shareholders or in favor of themselves. For Gordon Gekko, the answer is clearly the latter. However, for Bud, the answer is less clear. I learned, therefore, that stockbrokers are often faced with the difficult dilemma of whether to act in the interest of the shareholders, or in one’s own self interest (for profit).
The Essay on Finders keepers my ethical dilemma
Introduction My mother always told me I must learn to think for myself, question a situation and most importantly, I must learn to say ‘NO’, cause when the devil shows or makes you an unbelievable offer it’s harder than you think to say ‘NO’. Regardless of ethnicity, religion or culture when faced with a moral dilemma there is no telling how you would react or what your decision will be, even if ...
Fourth, is the ethical dilemma of breaking the law or losing profit. For example, Gekko coaches Bud to become a manipulative trader who is willing to twist and break the law for profit. When Bud chose to break the law by manipulating stock values in order to generate profit, he was arrested for insider trading and securities fraud charges. Sometimes such illegal trading acts slip through the cracks, and go unnoticed, enabling any given stockbroker to profit from the illegality. From Bud’s situation, however, we can see that’s not always the case, and stockbrokers participating in illegal trading do get caught and punished. I learned, therefore, that stockbrokers are consistently presented with opportunities to break the law for profit and risk the potential consequences, or risk letting a profitable opportunity slip away.
On an ending note, “Wall Street” has taught me stockbrokers face continuous dilemmas in the pursuit of wealth. They face balancing family and professional allegiance, not withstanding decisions of morality and, most importantly, making lots of money. In the eyes of the law (or S.E.C.) a good stockbroker is honest, good, and favors the shareholders. On the other hand, a bad stockbroker is dishonest, bad, greedy, and favors himself; in other words, a bad stockbroker is Gordon Gekko.
