Bernie Madoff and the Biggest Swindle in History Essay Example

reimburse less fortunate investors? No, I do not think they should be forced to do so, especially if there is no proof of them having prior knowledge of the situation. If these people knew about the situation and did get their money out before the collapse by having prior knowledge, then God will deal with them. The moral act is, in fact, to offer compensation to those who were affected by the collapse, but they should not be forced by any sort of law whatsoever, as this demonstrates a socialist style of governing.

It would be almost impossible to be fair in redistributing the amount lost with the number of individuals affected. The Bible makes several references regarding the love of money and the vanity of gain, which is what Madoff’s business consisted of. “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition (1 Timothy 6:9 The Maxwell Leadership Bible). The clients knew that there would be risks involved, but had to learn the hard way that everyone cannot be trusted.

7. What leadership and followership ethics lessons do you take from this case? Page 31 of the Johnson text explains that the “limits of accountability” will be hard to determine. From the followers’ role, the investors should have made themselves more available to what was going on with their money. Perhaps more time should have been spent in prayer before giving up an entire life’s savings to Madoff with the hopes of miraculous wonders. I do believe that most of Madoff’s business followers were

aware of what was happening.

Despite the risks, the ethical thing to do was to confront Madoff, report the situation, and pray for God to take over, as this would avoid acting “arbitrarily and unfairly” with shadows arising (Johnson. 2012, p. 30). Some of these people will have a guilty conscience for the rest of their life because they hid the bad news, denied responsibility, or shifted blame, which resulted in a high price paid (p. 29). I pray that Madoff’s business associates find a better role model in the future and realize that moral work is never ending.