Marianne Jennings wrote an article, "Why an International Code of Ethics would be good." which was assigned to read at the beginning of the course.  As you have worked throughout this session, you should have considered this article and how it may or may not have impacted different situations in the world economic/business/legal/political environments. The essay you will write on the next question should show that you have read Marianne's article, and can apply her theories and thoughts from that article to the scenario provided. Feel free to rely on the information you know about the situations (if real) or analogize to one which is, if you wish. Include in your answer at least 2 specific concepts from Mariann's article, and apply those concepts to your reasoning in your answer. You will be graded on your knowledge of the article as well as the application of ethical theories to international situations.

Arguably, the United States and other countries have been experiencing one of the longest and hardest hitting economic crises since the Great Depression over the last few years. This economic downturn is a result of multiple things, but the housing bubble burst was one major event which continues to ripple throughout the bank lending world.  As a result of the downturn in housing sales, foreclosures, bank lending overvaluations, and bank failures, lending practice changes and bank bailouts have become the norm.

The US financial crisis has not gone un-noticed in the international world. The impact has been world-wide.  The value of securities tied to real estate fell, which damaged financial institutions globally. New rules regarding appraisers, appraisals, and bank oversight have gone into place, but not in time to save many investors and foreign banks from huge losses.

Many people think that this crisis could have been avoided if better regulations had been in place. Some feel that the US bank/lending and borrowing ethical standards may have been partially responsible for this downturn. 

Argue for or against an ethical basis for the housing bubble collapse. Use Marianne Jenning's article as a basis for a solution to avoiding a future collapse such as this. Can you think of a way that an International Code of Ethics would have helped avoid this crisis? Or could keep another one from occurring in the future? What challenges would there be in implementing ethical codes which may assist such a situation in the future? Be sure to include specific ideas from Marianne's article, along with your own thoughts, analysis and evaluation of this essay question.