Bernie Madoff Investment Scandal Research Paper: Outline

I. Introduction

A. Brief Recounting of the Bernard Madoff case

B. Negative Financial and Emotional Impact on Economy

C. Considering Future Outlooks on Business Ethics

II. Bernie Madoff Investment Scandal

A. Establish Madoff social status and exclusivity in Wall Street

1. Respectability towards Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC.

B. Elaborate on Madoff Ponzi Scheme

1. Split-Strike Conversion Strategy

C. Unraveling the Scheme via Market Decline

1. Impossibilities in Return Speculation

2. Cumulative Loss of $60 Billion

III. Impact and Ramifications

A. Victims’ Financial and Emotional Ruin

1. Clients Testify Against Loss of Savings Accounts, 401K, Mortgage

2. Brother, Peter Charged with 10 Years

3. Son, Mark Committed Suicide

B. Challenging the SIPC & Trustee

1. Efforts to Retrieve Lost Investment Result in Federal Lawsuits

C. Lack of Government Intervention

1. Securities Investor Protection Act [SIPA] of 1970 Rebutted

IV. Business Ethics and Long-Term Effects

A. Redefining Business vs. Business School

1. Business School Misconceptions as Retorted by Timothy Fort

B. Establishing Humanly Aspects of Business Trade

1. Business is Primarily About Purpose, Profits Follow

C. Economic Recovery and Victims’ Recuperation

1. Cite Client #86 From “A Flock of Red Flags”

V. Conclusion

Sample Body Paragraph:

In lieu of the idealistic nature of the post-modern American Dream, in which those who strive for prosperity and financial stability could properly attain it, the Madoff scheme reveals the inner workings of human nature, coupled with elements of greed and efficiency. As the Madoff investment scheme’s suggested business strategy of split-strike conversion establishes an exploitation of high returns over a short-term period, the clients’ expectant returns not only showcases their willingness to submit their entire financial state over to the exclusivity of an investment company but that they also deem the market as economically perfect and capable of being manipulated for a quick profit. As such, in “On Cooling the Mark Out,” esteemed author Erving Goffman affirms that such Ponzi schemes and cons are reflective more of human nature, stating, “the con is a good racket in the United States only because most Americans are willing, nay eager, to make easy money, and will engage in action that is less than legal in order to do so.” In this sense, though the vast majority of victims were left financially ruined and economically isolated from the scrupulous eye of both the media and their close ones, the Ponzi scheme reveals the ramifications of a return many have speculated as too consistent and profitable to be legitimate. Keeping with the notion that money is not only hard-earned but honestly waged, the scheme opens up a perspective towards the victims’ lives in that many could not bear to withstand the financial ruin and the lack of federal compensation from the SIPC, all the while receiving mainstream backlash for their deceit.

Conclusion:

Through analyzing both the massive onset of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme as it laid to ruin over 4,000 victims’ finances, along with the tremendously detrimental effects it has had on their emotional, physical, and psychological states, the premise of the Ponzi scheme demonstrates that the con is not only easily and eagerly approached by many citizens who long for a seemingly easy investment but that its consequences can be too dire for even federal intervention. With consideration towards family death, the collapse of a Wall Street esteem, and the thousands of families met by unforeseen financial ruin, it is clear that the Madoff scheme has had consequences far beyond and destructive what the notion of a Ponzi scheme has historically attributed. Furthermore, as business schools are adapting to reconsider its approach to ethics in the business world, and as both consumers and investors are looking into their rights more cautiously, the Madoff scheme portrays the idea that business is not a function that caters and prioritizes profits, but that it is the cooperation and significance of trust within a network of educated individuals.

Works Cited

Freeman, R. E., Lisa Stewart, and Brian Moriarty. "Teaching Business Ethics in the Age of Madoff." Change. Nov 2009: 37-42. ProQuest. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.

Gregorious, Greg N., and Francois-Serge L’habitant. “Madoff: A Flock Of Red Flags." Journal of Wealth Management. 12.1 (2009): 89-97. Business Source Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.

Lewis, Lionel S. "How Madoff Did It: Victims' Accounts." Society. 48.1 (2011): 70-6. ProQuest. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.

Lewis, Lionel S. "After Madoff: Waiting for Justice." Society 48.2 (2011): 159-73. ProQuest. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.