The Corporate Culture in Merrill Lynch

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Table of Contents

Legal Case of Merrill Lynch
Ethical Issues
Reference List

Legal Case of Merrill Lynch

In 2005 and 2006, a group of complainants filed racism charges against Merrill Lynch. They did it for the benefit of former Black American financial advisors and financial trainees (Hartman & DesJardins, 2013).

The claims stated that Merrill Lynch was involved in favouritism, which limited Black Americans from getting business prospects and clients’ accounts. As a result, the Black Americans received lower salaries and felt demeaned.

The organizational culture at Merrill Lynch did not favour the Black Americans. In 2005, only five per cent of all the financial advisors were Black American and very few of them were employed as brokers. The lawsuit also stated that Merrill Lynch hindered career growth of the Black Americans (Craig, 2007).

They received no promotion hence they did not advance in their career. Consequently, the Black American employees were demoralized and their work was affected negatively. Racism was wrong because it allowed practices that were a hindrance to getting employment prospects.

Ethical Issues

A Statement of Whether the Ethical Issue Is Wrong or Not and Why

Showing favoritism based on race is unlawful. It is against federal laws for a company to practice racism. The law protects employees against racism in all aspects of employment and work conditions. A lawsuit can be filed against a company that discriminates certain individuals from promotion and other employment gains.

Discrimination is wrong because it hinders capable persons from taking leadership opportunities in the corporate level. Racism is also wrong because it makes the company lose many business prospects (Craig, 2007). If the management is composed of people from different races, it will have a wide range of ideas and views.

Therefore, it will benefit from the prospects that a multicultural setting gives. If a company does not support a multicultural leadership, the company may lose considerable profits. In addition, a bad organizational culture is created that does not embrace a multicultural system.

Laws, and Government Regulations to Avoid the Ethical Problem

Laws and government regulations are required to avoid the ethical problem. If a company has racial discrimination, a lawsuit can be filed against the company. To avoid racism at Merrill Lynch, certain practices could have been adopted. Merrill Lynch could have planned trainings on racism, diversity, and employees’ rights.

As a result, the workforce could be aware of their rights, and federal laws that pertain to employment. In addition, Merrill Lynch could have endorsed policies that fight against racism such as affirmative action. Moreover, Merrill Lynch could have encouraged a culture that embraces diversity (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2009).

The company could have accomplished this goal by giving employment opportunities and promotions to both Black and White Americans on equal terms. Merrill Lynch could also encourage team-building activities among employees.

Team building would help workers get the opportunity to know each other and appreciate the skills of other employees. Merrill Lynch could also form partnerships with the right organizations to identify racism in the company and address it appropriately.

Was the Problem a Matter of Individuals, or Was Systematic and Organizational?

The problem at Merrill Lynch was more systematic and organizational. Systematic discrimination is a trend in the structure of a company, which shows bias to individuals of a particular minority group such as women and black Americans. Systematic discrimination covers all aspects and procedures in the organization.

The problem with Merrill Lynch was systematic and organizational because there was a very low percentage of Black Americans who worked as financial advisors. Moreover, the few who were employed remained stagnant in their career growth. Therefore, this was a problem with their organizational structure and culture, which did not allow cultural diversity (Craig, 2007).

Reference List

Craig, R., (2007). Systemic Discrimination in Employment and the Promotion of Ethnic Equality. The Netherlands: Hotei Publishers

Ferrell, O., Fraedrich, J. (2009). Business Ethics 2009 Update: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. USA: Southwestern Cengage Learning

Hartman, L., DesJardins, J. (2013). Business Ethics: Decision Making for Personal Integrity & Social Responsibility. USA: McGraw Publishers

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