Ethical Decision Making
Life is full of choices. Being responsible means being in charge of our choices and, thus, our lives. It means being accountable for what we do and who we are. It also means recognizing that our actions matter and we are morally on the hook for the consequences. Our capacity to reason and our freedom to choose make us morally autonomous and, therefore, answerable for whether we honor or degrade the ethical principles that give life meaning and purpose.

The goal of a business is to solely make a profit, in order to do that the obligation of a business person is to maximize profit for the owner and the stockholders. Jordan Belfort’s action would be considered unethical. Do to the charges pressed against the firm, its partners, and the owner the company no longer exists so the obligation of maximizing a profit no longer exists. Along with the company falling apart.

Happiness and pleasure are the only the things of inherent value and people should bring about these feelings since it is something all people are capable of feeling. In the case of Stratton Oakmont the most important stake holder would be its clients. Stratton Oakmont’s obligation to their clients was to advise them into making smart financial decisions about what stocks to invest in, in order to make a profit on their return. But, instead they advised people to invest in stocks that they knew the company had accumulated shares and by purchasing the recommended stocks the price of that stock would increase. So once the price was high enough Jordan and his partners would sell the stock for a massive profit, leaving the people they were supposed to help, out thousands of dollars. The next stakeholder would be the employees of Stratton Oakmont who did benefit and gain happiness from the illegal activities of the firm and were able to make a good deal of money from the work they were