...Enron and Apple – A Financial Tale of Failure and Success Enron and Apple – A Financial Tale of Failure and Success 2 Abstract This paper analyzes accounting concepts that contributed to Enron’s demise and inclusion on the list of Fortune’s top ten largest bankruptcy filings in US, and in contrast, looks at Apple’s inclusion on the list of Fortune’s top ten most admired companies and reason for its success. Enron and Apple – A Financial Tale of Failure and Success 3 The Fall of Enron Introduction As a Fortune 500 company, Enron Corporation made the “Fortune’s Top Ten” lists seven times: six times as “America’s Most Innovative Company” and one, and last time, as the “Top Ten largest bankruptcy in the US” (Fortune Magazine, 2001, 2009). Within 10 months, Enron’s stock declined from $83 to 26 cents. When the nation's largest energy, electricity and natural gas company filed for bankruptcy in December 2001, shareholders lost tens of billions of dollars, over four thousand employees lost their jobs, and thousands more lost their retirement savings (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2011, pg 419). Enron’s History and Business Model Enron was formed in 1985 though the merger of two natural gas companies and initially earned its revenue by producing and distributing natural gas. Under the leadership of Ken Lay and later Jeffrey Skilling, the gas company evolved adding electricity, communications, and energy trading to its offerings and continued its development, construction...
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...five of which were still active at the time of his death. He was due in court on a possession charge on April 24, 2015. Freddie Gray died on April 19, 2015, due to injuries to his spinal cord. On April 21, 2015, pending an investigation of incident, six Baltimore police officers were temporarily suspended with pay. On May 1, 2015, state prosecutors in Baltimore received a medical examiner’s report ruling Gray’s death as a homicide. Was it foul play that was intentional, gross negligence, or inflicted self harm by the prisoner? We identified “Rae’s first step in making a moral decision is to gather the facts.” Much of the other information had conflicting reports and statements. So what are the “ethical issues that Rae has for level two” in the model for making moral decisions? The formal charge filed by Office Garrett Miller accused Gray of violating statute 19 59 22, “unlawfully carry, possess, and sell a knife commonly called a switch blade knife, with an automatic spring or other device for opening and/or closing the blade within the limits of Baltimore City.” The prosecutor alleged that Gray’s arrest was unlawful because the switchblade the arresting officers reported he had in his possession was actually a spring-assisted pocket knife that is legal under Maryland state-law. The prosecutors stated that they had probable cause to file criminal charges against the six police officers who were believed to be involved in his death.’ Did Freddie Gray break the law to...
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...Inside apple is a book where the author lets us discover the whole new strategic world of Apple directed first by Steve Jobs. It introduces the original way Apple manages its company. We learned that the business strategy model Apple is using is completely different from what we learned in school. We’ve always learned that a company has to have free flow information contrary to Apple that faces a large secretly managerial structure. By the time you finish reading the book, you will have a completely different idea of what you thought about apple, and you will probably be afraid of working for that firm. The author shares with us many interviews he has done to Apple employees and they help you discover how they feel working there. Overall, this book will please anyone interested in International Business, and personally, it pleased me. I had no preference to any chapter, as they all conform the history of the company and how it woks, but I did pay more attention to Chapter 4 “Stay Start-Up Hungry” because it explains how Steve Jobs reentered his own company and did all the necessary changes to make it the best company in the market. After analyzing the chapter, I figured out Steve Jobs changed the company’s culture and make employees work at what they were best and nothing else. Apple created an atmosphere where employees where supposed to think big and mediocrity was not allowed in that place. In this chapter Lashinsky reminds us that in Apple, you can rapidly know who is...
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...The Marvel and DC franchises are two of the most popular comic book and movie companies. Being rivals has made choosing a side very difficult. With countless comic books in their past, but eventually, every fan must choose a side. The story of mythical heroes with extraordinary powers saving their kin from villains dates back to ancient history. The Greek Scribe Homer gave us earthly warrior heroes battling with one-eyed monsters and women with snakes for hair. In the Middle Ages, the enduring tale of a mythical hero was that of King Arthur, a man who wielded a magical sword to save his kingdom from ruin. These days, the average person might be hard-pressed to suspend belief in such gloriously bloody stories, but that hasn’t stopped us from telling tales in which Good is pitted against monstrous Evil. The most prevailing of these modern heroic tales have been the creations of storytellers whose medium is the comic book, and in turn, the film industry. Today we’ll compare two of the champions of the comic book genre, in this episode of The Infographics Show, Marvel vs. DC. First we’ll start with an introduction to DC, which is often hailed as ‘the...
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...Monster of the Sea period 4 Alex Rosales Do you ever wonder what may lay beneath the ocean, where myth and reality come to life? What is the giant squid aka; “THE KRAKEN” as told in tall tales. In ancient myth, sailors told of giant squid attacking the boats. Now movies make them come to reality more feared and scary. Finally a group of scientist called the “squid squad” are looking for the giant creature aka “Kraken” in the big blue ocean. In the beginning ancient sailors told tales of there ships being attacked by a giant squid. They said that some squids would be larger than whales, towering over there ships. Sailors also told tales of the giant squid being stronger than...
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...the first child to her parents Isabel Berlin Yolen and Will Hyatt Yolen. Her brother Steve Hyatt Yolen was born three and a half years later. Jane at an early age discovered her love for writing and arts. In high school she was the News Editor of the school paper. After high school she went to Smith College where she won all the poetry-writing awards. To date Jane has written over three hundred books. Take a look at the works of Jane Yolen. | Non-fiction about women pirates, including Anne Bonney and Mary Read (see Ballad of the Pirate Queens), this was my very first book. But it wasn’t the first time I’d written about women pirates. In fact I’d included two of them (Bonney and Read) in a little book I wrote in 7th grade. The greatest pirate in the world was a woman, Madame Ching, who lived at the beginning of the nineteenth century and commanded 2,000 boats and 70,000 men. | An original fairy tale set in Thailand and based on a line in my kite research, which said that the king had kite mandarins who flew his kite at night to keep his soul above the terrors of the night. The story, written during my Quaker phase, is about speaking truth to power no matter what the cost. ("Speaking truth to power" is a Quaker phrase.) Young’s artwork here is dark and strong, more allegorical than straightforward illustration. The book was a Junior Literary Guild selection. An original fairy tale, this story is about a girl whose overprotective father tries to keep her from all things...
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...Running head: Husker memorabilia Unit 9 Angie Reynolds Kaplan University MT359: Advertising in the 21st Century Prof: Kevin Cojanu November 21, 2012 I selected Husker Memorabilia and my product or products; at any of the two husker hound stores here in Omaha Nebraska you will find any type of husker gear, memories, and items for your house, your vehicles, your pets, more less you name it you will find any husker gear you want and if you can’t find it then husker hound will find it and order it. Husker Hound started back in the spring in 1995, Scott and his girlfriend then wife now stared selling husker’s memorabilia out of the back of a minivan. We would go to county fairs and different locations around the Omaha area to sell Husker Memorabilia. He says it didn’t take long for me to fall in love with what I was doing! Memorabilia oozing out of the walls! Scott says it didn’t take long for me to fall in love with what I was doing! Memorabilia oozing out of the walls! This state of the art storefront has its own "Tunnel Walk" coming in from outside with a red tile flooring leading your way into its walls. We have built our Husker Nation storefront from the ground level up and now are proud to announce that we have the absolute best selection of Husker Memorabilia anywhere in this great state of Nebraska! We now carry over 5,400 items in the Big Red from t-shirts and sweatshirts to sweaters and dog bones for your pet! We have from Husker Toilet seats to sexy...
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...Killings Analysis Style and Technique “Killings,” one of Dubus’s best-known and most respected stories, was the basis for the film In the Bedroom (2001). Although the story revolves around passion and violence, Dubus tells the tale in a flat, calm way. The first two acts of violence are dropped into the story unexpectedly and without emotion. The story opens with Frank’s funeral, then moves on to the conversation between Willis and Matt about how Matt wishes he could kill the man who murdered his son, but the reader does not know who killed Frank, how, or why. Next, in a long descriptive paragraph, Richard is introduced. He is first connected to Frank by the flat opening line of the next paragraph: “One night he beat Frank.” Only then does the reader learn about Mary Ann, and Matt’s and Ruth’s differing feelings about her. In a lovely, lyrical scene, Mary Ann joins the Fowlers for a barbeque after a day at the beach. Matt’s love for his son is mixed with a wistful attraction to Mary Ann. She is beautiful, but Matt sees in her eyes a sadness and pain that he and his family have been spared, and he wishes he could help and comfort her. The next paragraph starts with, “Richard Strout shot Frank in front of the children.” Such jarring shifts of mood are used to emphasize how quickly life can turn from sunny to violent and how swiftly the good things in life can be taken away. The story’s point of view is that of the limited omniscient narrator. The reader sees the events through...
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...Welcome to Florida’s 2nd To no surprise, Florida’s 2nd District turned out to be one of the closest House races this past election, between Republican Steve Southerland and opposing Democrat Gwen Graham, where Graham trumped the incumbent by just over 1 percent of the votes (Ballotpedia). What each of these candidates hoped to accomplish within their represented district differed dramatically, and now that it’s nearly six weeks past Election Day, its clear that Gwen Graham will have the opportunity to show the people of Northern Florida what she’s capable of. It’s an interesting case that a Democrat, and a female nonetheless, has secured her seat in a district that has been predominantly Republican in regards to congressional elections. The rural makeup and political landscape has naturally favored the Right in recent decades, but Graham was able to raise, and therefore spend, significantly more money within the region. The democratic victory was significant in an election that was defined by an overwhelming red republican wave as shown in Table 1. The money aspect of Florida’s 2nd, coupled with the image that each candidate aimed to display during their campaigning are two of the main concepts that will be discussed more in depth throughout the remainder of this study. As previously mentioned, North Florida, including Florida’s 2nd District is ultimately rural and has a constituency that is 71% Caucasian, stretching a whole thirteen counties. Although mainly republican...
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...little tales that won't make a difference in our lives. Reread the first story: what is the significance of this first anecdote? What lesson should the listener take away from it? This is significant because Jobs is talking about his beginnings how he was starting. The reader should learn that in the present he is making the dots and that in the present the dots do not add up but in the future the dots are going to add up and everything is going to make sense. What lesson(s) does...
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...lSTU L201 | The American Labor Union | A Dying Institution | | Steve Scarlett | 11/28/2013 | | There is no question that the once strong and powerful American labor unions are now in a slow but steady decline and have been so consistently since the 1960’s (See chart below). Today union membership is at an all-time low. According to a National Review article dated January 28, 2013 “the unionization rate is now 11.2 percent of all workers. Private-sector unionization fell from 6.9 percent to 6.6 percent, and the government unionization rate dropped from 37 percent to 35.9 percent.” Sources: W. Craig Riddell, “Unionization in Canada and the United States: A Tale of Two Countries”; ICTWSS Database A major factor in the weakness of the current labor legislation can be seen in Section 8(b) of the National Labor Relations Act Contributing factors: According to a National Review article dated Jan 28, 2013: by John Fund entitled The Decline of Unions “the unionization rate is now 11.2 percent of all workers. Private-sector unionization fell from 6.9 percent to 6.6 percent, and the government unionization rate dropped from 37 percent to 35.9 percent.” “The last time union membership in the private sector was below the 7 percent it is today was before FDR’s New Deal entrenched mandatory collective bargaining into law through the Wagner Act.” “Unions are in an “inexorable decline,” Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer said on Fox News this...
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...This August, Disney announced all of its films to be released through 2017 at its three-day D23 fan convention. But now, Disney has gone even further and published their film lineup all the way through 2019. Working with Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm, this diverse lineup includes some sequels, superheroes, kid-friendly animations and of course - Star Wars. Here is everything you can expect to see from Disney, from November 2015 to November 2019: The Good Dinosaur - November 22, 2015 This film imagines a world where dinosaurs never went extinct and live among humans. Cast: Raymond Ochoa, Jeffrey Wright, Steve Zahn Director: Meg LeFauve Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens - December 18, 2015 This action-packed continuation of...
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... Competitive Strategies pg 2 The U.S offers a free market where businesses are able to have free enterprise to open and operate an ideal to provide a product or service to the public. There are many businesses that offer similar products and create competition (2013, 02). Consumers are able to have options in the marketplace. Apple Inc. and Microsoft are two companies that offer similar products to consumers. Apple, created by Steve Jobs, is an American multinational cooperation headquartered in Cupertino, California that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software and personal computers. Microsoft, created by Bill Gates, is an American multinational software cooperation headquartered in Redmond, Washington that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services related to computing. This paper will discuss how the cooperate culture of these two companies differ, three ways that each unique culture has benefited by the other’s competition, and how these companies will potentially thrive in the future. The cooperate culture of these two technology giants are very different in that Apple is more conservative, distinct, and expensive, whereas in Microsoft is more personalized, flexible, and affordable. Apple has masterfully executed a plan to sell high-priced, high margin products to the wealthier segments of the buying public (2013, 04). Apple is a culture in which they pride themselves on fostering individuality...
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...Deception can be on a large scale or a small scale. It could affect one person or it could affect many. A recent breaking news story has caught the nation’s attention dealing with a well-known news anchor embellishing a story. The New York Times writes, “NBC News anchor Brian Williams embellishing a tale about a helicopter journey in Iraq” (Pogrebin 1). Williams was suspended for six months for creating a false story about a “dangerous” helicopter ride in Iraq. He added details claiming that his helicopter was under fire while covering a story in Iraq (Carroll 1). He did this to make his story more exciting and to deceive his viewers. His motives were to glamorize his originally ordinary ride in Iraq. The story was edited and created to be this big white lie that spiraled out of control into this war story, where Williams luckily made it out alive. When in reality, there was no immediate danger. In this case, this little white lie was used for deception, and definitely not to spare someone’s feelings. Most little white lies can be contained...
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...An example of this would be how our society glorifies Chris Kyle for his 255 confirmed kills and how Achilles was glorified by the greek society of the time for being an unstoppable warrior. A parallel between our society and society at the time of The White Snake is glorification for overcoming great odds. Overcoming great odds has always been glorified in societies and literature of all types. Examples of this in our society that are comparable to the story of The White Snake are the lives of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. These two mens stories of success are related to the servant's story of rising up from the bottom of society because both men started their businesses in poor conditions and worked to form two of the largest most successful companies in the...
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