A Top Goldman Banker Raised Ethics Concerns. Then He Was Gone.

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A Top Goldman Banker Raised Ethics Concerns. Then He Was Gone
James Katzman, a former partner at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., had raised concerns regarding the unethical practices exhibited in the organization before he left in 2015. Although Katzman used a whistle-blower hotline to report the concerns in 2014, no action was taken. According to Katzman, the unethical practices occurred when the bank took a step to hire a customer’s child and cases where colleagues acquired and shared clients’ confidential information.
In my opinion, Goldman’s general counsel acted unfairly to Mr. Katzman by failing to take action on his complaints concerning the unethical practices in the organization. Instead, the council asked Katzman to dismiss the claims. Therefore, Mr. Katzman decided to leave Goldman, and he was faced with an ethical dilemma where he was supposed to either sign a confidential agreement or fail to sign the agreement and continue raising the concerns. The two options could not solve the matter morally since signing the agreement would not allow Katzman to share the concerns with the board members meaning that he would actively participate to promote unethical practices within the bank. On the other hand, failing to sign the agreement would breach the ethical requirements of a partner who held restricted shares like Mr. Katzman.
Mr. Katzman opted for the second option since it was the best choice that created the greater benefits to the society and this case, the clients.

Furthermore, the utilitarianism perspective outlines that it is essential to make decisions that result in the greater moral benefit of the majority. Based on this, Katzman made the right decision as it would help mitigate further cases of unethical practices and corporate wrongs within the bank.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/11/business/goldman-sachs-whistleblower.html