Kali Mehlhoff
Corporate Protocol
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC.
“Our assets are our people, capital and reputation. If any of these is ever diminished, the
last is the most difficult to restore.” This quote is part of a mission statement for one of the
biggest companies in investment banking. They also are a global corporation and ranked 40 th
on the Fortune 500 and 40th on Fortune 1000 list. Goldman Sachs started in 1869 and has been
growing into one of the most dominating and richest corporations in the United States and
around the world. They also are ranked the 9th best place to work according to Fortune
Magazine “Best Companies to Work for.” Goldman Sachs is an amazing corporation to work for
based on their positive company history, principles, pay/ benefits, and philanthropy.
In 1869, Goldman Sachs was started by a man named Marcus Goldman. Marcus was a
Bavarian school teacher who immigrated to the United States in 1848 to find a better life. He
started in New York City just trading promissory notes and later started a partnership with his
son-in-law Samuel Sachs. By 1896, the partnership turned into a company and had grown so
big that it became listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Unfortunately, not too much longer,
like most companies during the Great Depression it was hit hard by the horrible economy.
Luckily, the company was able to come back quickly and in 1967 Goldman Sachs handled a floor
trade of a block of Alcan Aluminum stock. This trade turned out to be the largest block trade
ever made at the time, and sent the company quickly to the top. In 1999, the company after
having some bumpy roads had finally come to be Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Now Goldman
2
Sachs Group Inc. is a worldwide corporation and makes billions of dollars a year in net earnings.
To sum up, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. started out as one man’s dream and became a billion
dollar corporation through hard work and determination.
It took a long time for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to be what it is today and along the
way they have established strong good principles that drive their corporation to greatness
every day. Their principles revolve around topics such as ethics, fairness, and diversity.
Goldman Sachs believes that ethics is so important in a corporation that one of their principles
is the following quote, “Integrity and honesty are at the heart of our business. We expect our
people to maintain high ethical standards in everything they do, both in their work for the firm
and in their personal lives.” This just helps show that when it comes to ethics they, as a
corporation, make sure that the work environment in which they present is very ethical. Not
only do they believe strongly in ethics, they also believe strongly in fairness. As a corporation,
they work hard every day to reward those who work hard and make sure that everyone is given
fair opportunities to strive to their fullest. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. also believes that to be
successful their employees must reflect the diversity of the communities and cultures in which
they operate. That means the company wants to attract and motivate people from many
backgrounds and perspectives. “Being diverse is not optional; it is what we must be.” This is a
piece of one of their principles, and it shows that as a corporation it is important to them to be
diverse in the work environment so that they can get many different perspectives working
together to create new and innovative ideas. To conclude, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strive
everyday to reinforce their principles that revolve around topics such as ethics, fairness, and
diversity.
3
Along with a great environment to work in, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. gives its
employees’ amazing benefits, pay, and training. Some of the many benefits that they offer are
health care which includes dental, vision, prescription drugs, and doctor visits. They also have
insurance plans, holiday and vacation time, and retirement plans. Other benefits that they
have are services for your health and well being that are in their buildings, discounts, and
recreational activities and events. When it comes to pay there are many opportunities to
increase it through bonuses. You will get paid an annual base salary but also receive bonuses
for huge scales and high end clients. Lastly, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. offers great training
opportunities to their employees. They offer tuition reimbursements and scholarships for
employees who want to further their education in their field so that they can increase all the
information and skills they need to perform to their highest level. In conclusion, Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. offers amazing benefits, pay and training.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. not only gives its employees a great environment and
benefits, it also gives back to the world. One way that they give back is by allowing all of their
employees to take one day off to volunteer at a team-based project with a nonprofit
organization. They also match donations that employees raise and give the money that is
raised to a nonprofit organization. A couple of other ways that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. helps
out is by running a program called 10,000 Women, and 10,000 Small Business. 10,000 Women
is a program that is a five-year investment by Goldman Sachs to provide 10,000 underserved
women around the world with a business and management education. This program, they
hope, will allow more women to be able to get an education and get a good stable job in the
business world. 10,000 Small Businesses is a program to start small businesses in hopes of
4
creating more jobs and help boost the economy. To sum up, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. not
only takes care of its employees but works hard to take care of our world too by giving back.
When Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says, “Our assets are our people, capital and
reputation. If any of these is ever diminished, the last is the most difficult to restore,” they really
mean it. They work hard every day to maintain their status as one of the Fortune Magazine
“Best Companies to Work for.” They also work hard to make their sure that every employee is
happy by providing amazing pay/ benefits and creating a work environment that follows their
principles based on many years of experience and training. Lastly, their attitude to help others in
the community and positive company history makes them stand out as one of the best
corporations not only in the United States but around the world. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is
and always will be an astounding company to work at.
5
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cable News Network. “Fortune 500.” CNN. N.p., 2009. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. <http://money.cnn.com/
magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/snapshots/10777.html>.
Goldman Sachs Group. “Goldman Sachs Group.” Compnay Statements. N.p., 2008. Web. 17 Dec. 2009.
<http://www.company-statements-slogans.info/list-of-companies-g/goldman-sachsgroup.htm>.
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.” Funding Universe. N.p., 2009. Web. 17
Dec. 2009. <http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/The-Goldman-Sachs-GroupInc-Company-History.html>.
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. “Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. .” Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. . N.p., 2009. Web.
17 Dec. 2009. <http://www2.goldmansachs.com>.
Google. “Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.” Google Finance. N.p., 2009. Web. 17 Dec. 2009.
<http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NYSE:GS>.
Great Place to Work. “2009 FORTUNE’S 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR.” Great Place to Work.
N.p., 2009. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. <http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-bestusa.htm>.