Coleen Colombo (Essay Sample)

Name:
Institution:
Course:
Date:
The Coleen Colombo mortgage fraud case dominated news headlines and preceded the 2008 financial recession. During this period the price of houses skyrocketed. Home buyers ended up borrowing money subjected to adjustable interest rates over a particular period of time. Coleen Colombo then a mortgage underwriter detected the discrepancies in mortgage loan applications when analyzing loan applications presented to her by a male wholesaler and raised the red flag. Upon realizing that he would have his way the male wholesaler attempted to bribe Coleen. Coleen attempted to address these discrepancies through the right channels but she instead faced opposition and pressure to approve and inaccurate mortgage loan application documents. She upheld her work ethic and declined to be part of any mortgage Ponzi scheme contrary to other mortgage underwriters in the firm. Coleen’s action resulted in her being mistreated in the workplace. Additionally, all of a sudden Coleen’s income began to decline. According to Coleen her low commission compensation was used by to ensure other workers join the corruption bandwagon or else face the wrath of their superiors. Her superiors turned failed to institute corrective action further implying that her complaints fell on deaf ears. Coleen and five of her colleagues ended up losing her jobs and eventually filed a wrongful termination law suit against their employer. The working conditions were unconducive since on numerous occasions her working documents disappeared mysteriously. The mortgage fraud was characterized by a decline in the cost of home ownership and an unforeseen rise in foreclosure base lending rates. The math’s failed to add up forcing lenders to buy and offset the highly volatile loans.
Finding of fact 1: Sexual harassment
Coleen Colombo alludes to the fact that the male wholesaler who tried to bribe her subjected her to sexual harassment in an attempt to assault her dignity. Sexual harassment is defined as any characterized by demands for sexual favors in exchange for something. In this modern day and era sexual harassment has almost become a norm in the workplace. Additionally, it is worth noting that sexual harassment could involve both physical and verbal altercations. The male wholesaler was forcing himself on her.
Recommendation
Sexual harassment should not be tolerated in the workplace. Sexual harassment degrades women and often impacts negatively on their productivity. Corporations should institute strict disciplinary measures on perpetrators of sexual harassment so as to curb its prevalence.
Finding of fact 2: Unethical work practices
The work ethic at BNC is questionable. Corrupt practices dominate the working environment. Coleen Colombo experiences hostility for failing to take part in corrupt and fraudulent activities as opposed to other employees. Additionally, Coleen’s superiors are portrayed as corrupt bigwigs since they fail to crack the whip on corrupt employees. On the contrary they in the long run they terminate Coleen’s employment. Furthermore, Coleen was a victim of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment and mistreatment is considered a contravention to ethical working practices. Intimidation also contributes to unethical work practices. Her employers played the intimidation card on her and terminated her employment w...