[BUSINESS ★]
YOUNG INVESTMENT BANKERS CHEAT, GET FIRED
(P1) A HANDFUL of Goldman Sachs ANALYSTS have seen their careers at the INVESTMENT BANKING giant CUT SHORT.
(P2) Goldman has fired about 20 analysts in both London and New York for cheating on internal tests.
(P3) Sebastian Howell, a Goldman Sachs spokesman in London, said in a statement: “This conduct was not just a clear VIOLATION of the rules, but completely INCONSISTENT with the values we FOSTER at the firm.”
(P4) When analysts begin their career at Goldman, they have to enter the Goldman Sachs University training and ORIENTATION program. There, they have training across various areas and topics. They have to take tests to make sure they’re learning what they’re being taught. This is something that is COMMONPLACE at investment banks.
(P5) One former banker from a RIVAL firm said that they used to cheat “all the time.”
(P6) He explained that they cheated “not because the [tests] were hard, but because they were a waste of time.”
(P7) “[Besides] saving time, there’s no real INCENTIVE to cheat on these tests because typically it’s just to get a certification of ‘hours’ for internal training, so your score doesn’t matter, and if you don’t pass, you can take it again. And I don’t think a bank would fire anyone over that.”
(P8) LANDING an analyst role at Goldman is extremely difficult.
(P9) Last year, Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein wrote just how competitive it is to get an analyst position at Goldman.
(P10) For that analyst class, the investment banking giant had more than 43,000 candidates apply for 1,900 analyst positions. The bank accepted just 4% of them, making it harder to get a job at Goldman than to be accepted to Harvard.
WORDS: 273
SOURCE: http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-university-2015-10
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- Does the cheating behavior of these junior bankers surprise you?
- Have there been any cheating scandals (such as on college entrance exams) in your country recently?
- Some people say, “Everyone cheats.” What sort of people don’t cheat to GET AHEAD?
- Have you ever applied for a very competitive and difficult-to-get job or academic program? Was it stressful?
EXPRESSIONS TO PRACTICE:
What do the following expressions mean? Practice using each expression in a sentence; extra points if you can use it in conversation.
- Investment banking
- Cut short
- Get ahead
