Case Analysis
Summary of the case
Tangled Webs, begins with the description of the company of Ashley Madison, who strives to provide” a social networking site that connects people seeking extra marital affairs.” This site however led to the chance encounter between James E. Gansman, as successful M&A attorney, and Donna Murdoch, a successful investment broker. This relationship soon went past initial flirting, to where both parties became complicit in sharing of nonpublic information (insider trading). Soon after, Donna Murdoch, began to tip off more investors, such as Richard Branson, who she also meet on Ashley Madison and became her “go to” source of income to play these trades. All of these transactions began to catch the attention of SEC, who were tipped off based on the volume of option contracts, which in some cases Mrs. Murdoch was the sole buyer of. This attention by the SEC soon led to a full blown investigation, which exposed the relationship between Murdoch and Gansman. This relationship when exposed led to charges and convictions for both Gansman and Murdoch; however it put more of a spotlight on Ashley Madison, and made some question the ethics of a company like Ashley Madison. However, when the founder and his wife discuss how they feel about it ethically, they see it as a legitimate business within the confines of the law. Although this remains an unresolved debate that rages on today on whether a business basing itself on “unethical behavior “is in fact ethical.
Analysis of the case
The case was unique in a way as it made us realize that unethical behavior in a business sense can be related back to unethical behavior in a social sense. For example, insider trading is considered to be more of legal crime/business crime than a social crime and when found out upon is punished by a legal system that can place serve punishments. On