Wells Fargo Fiasco

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Empowerment is commonly confused with incentivizing employees. In many cases, there are no consequences for employee empowerment gone wrong, but some actually have severe consequences for the business. A recent example of this phenomenon is the Wells Fargo fiasco. Wells Fargo employees were incentivized in a way that made them behave unethically to meet standards and gain rewards. This skill application, will discuss Wells Fargo could have used other methods of empowering and engaging employees, which probably would have had a less harmful effect on their business and how they should act in the future. Incentives are often a way for employers to motivate and empower their employees to be successful. Unfortunately, however, incentives can sometimes lead to lying or cheating in order to get ahead. This strategy coupled with unattainable goals is a recipe for disaster. Recently 5300 Wells Fargo employees were fired for opening fake accounts in order to meet sales quotas, but also to receive incentives for …show more content…

For instance, in determining their sales quotas, Wells Fargo should have ensured that their goal was not only specific, measurable, and time-bound, but also aligned with the organizational culture and realistic for employees. The difference in those two types of goals is that Wells Fargo did have a sales quota that was specific, there was a time marker set on it, and it could be measured by whether or not their employee opened the amount of accounts expected. However, what Wells Fargo did not take into account in putting forth this goal was whether or not it would be realistically attainable for their employees and if it aligned with company values and goals. Because an overwhelming number of employees felt the need to lie and cheat in order to meet the quota, I would conclude that the goal was not realistic and it did not align with company values because of the unethical

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