...Ethics and Compliance Paper Joe Williams (Team “A") FIN/370 Version 7 January 15, 2014 Ms. Nicolla Tebao Ethics and Compliance Paper Walmart is obligated and committed to following the rules and regulation of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). To understand Walmart’s compliance process, we must first examine the company's three basic beliefs. These beliefs have allowed them to become a valued-based and ethically led company. These three beliefs are “Respect for Individuals, Service to our Customers, and Striving for Excellence”. Based on these beliefs Walmart has established guiding principles for its stores in many countries throughout the world to follow. The guiding principles that influences the process of this company used to comply with SEC regulations are; always act with integrity, follow the law at all times, be honest and fair, reveal and report all information truthfully, without manipulation or misrepresentation. Because Walmart is listed as a U.S. public company, and a global business it must consider the laws in other countries when implementing any form of compliance policy and procedures. Walmart has made improvements to its compliance programs around the world in reference to its processes, procedures, and people. Though Walmart is addressing only 14 compliance subject matters in every business, these areas are common everywhere Walmart does business. The 14 compliance subject matters are “anti-corruption, food security, anti-money laundering...
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...Ethics and Compliance Paper In today’s business market, the role of compliance and ethics are very important. In Johnson and Johnson company ethics and compliance is very vital for their entire company with in the United States and around the world. Johnson and Johnson have a well written business code of conduct and ethics for directors and executive officers. Compliance with the government rules and regulations within the United States and around the world involving ethics is valued by the J&J’s company and held very strongly. The business code of conducts and ethics sets the rules for behavior related conflicts with interest, gifts, compliances, and fair practice. The conflicts of interest should be avoided at any cost even if it is not harmful to the company. The executives are not allowed to accept gifts or even give gifts such as a lunches or dinners, or any other gifts to the supplier, investors, or even the customers on behalf of the company ("Code of Business Conduct & Ethics For Members of The Board of Directors And Executive Officers", 1997-2013). It is stated in the policies of Johnson and Johnsons that the company will and should follow all the laws of each country in which the company does business. According to the ("Code of Business Conduct & Ethics For Members of The Board of Directors And Executive Officers", 1997-2013), every executive officers and directors must sign a certificate of compliance with the code of business conducts and ethics each...
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...Ethics and Compliance Paper Ethics and compliance with laws demonstrates the integrity of corporations that strive to advocate these. Ethics serves as the backbone for a company to sustain a secure financial environment. To do so companies have to comply and make it a priority to incorporate these laws into every day practices. This paper will evaluate the role that ethics and compliance plays in Wal-Mart’s financial environment, explain Wal-Mart’s procedures to follow ethical behavior. It will also identify the processes that uphold SEC regulations as well as evaluate and calculate the company’s financial performance for the last two years discussing how that describes Wal-Mart’s financial health. Wal-Mart’s Ethics and Compliance in its Financial Environment Ethics and compliance plays an essential role in ensuring Wal-Mart’s continued success. Wal-Mart delineates expectations clearly and in an open manner on its company website. All employees adhere to the Wal-Mart’s statement of ethics. According to Wal-Mart Stores (2008), “All financial books, records, and accounts must accurately reflect financial transactions and events. They must conform to generally accepted accounting principles, and to Wal-Mart’s system of internal controls. No Wal-Mart document or record may be falsified for any reason” (Financial Integrity, para. 1). By outlining responsibilities and going above what the law requires in terms of financial disclosures and records, Wal-Mart distinguishes...
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...Ethics and Compliance Paper Wal-Mart is one of the popular companies in all over the world for their products, customer service and integrity. Wal-Mart has been providing customers with great service that is possible because of their Ethics. Ethics is very important in a company because it defines the basic structure of the company. Ethics need to be in the right order and understood by employees then the company can make its name properly. Ethics gives employees ethical procedures that can help them behave in ethical manner. In this paper, we will be discussing the role of ethics and procedures, financial markets, SEC regulations, Evaluate different ratios to identify financial performances, and how these financial ratios affect the company’s future. Assess the role of ethics and compliance in your organization’s financial environment. Wal-Mart stores Inc. was founded by Sam Walton, who had always tried to give customers the best service and has fulfilled his dreams. It was because Code of Ethics that Sam Walton was able to run the popular grocery store in the world. The statement of Ethics applies to all associates worldwide, and all members of the board of directors of Wal-Mart stores, Inc. The code of ethics in Wal-Mart has provide guidance to decision and leadership and their believes are based on three simple rules: Respect for the individual, Service to the customers, and Striving for excellence. These simple rules has given a motivation and vision to all the employees...
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...Ethics and Compliance Analysis FIN375 – Business Finance Ethics and Compliance Analysis The Lowes Company was established in 1921 by L.S. Lowes as a local hardware store selling products such as power tools, electronics, paint, lawn care products, as well as other forms of hardware products. Later L. S. Lowes passed away and L.S. Lowes’s son and son -n –law took over the company later selling most of the merchandise to reorganize the store allowing the store to sell both hardware and building supplies (Lowe’s Companies, Inc, 2010). Selling both hardware and building supplies allows the company to be more flexible attracting a larger more versatile customer base and expanding the number of stores throughout the word to over 400 store locations (Lowe’s Companies, Inc, 2010). The following will discuss their code of ethics, compliance with SEC regulations, and an evaluation of the company’s financial status. Code of Ethics The Lowes Company has a policy of adhering to a stick code of business conduct and ethics which are designed by a series of people on the Board of Directors which are not employed by the Lowes Company. The ethical behaviors required by the Lowes Company are to be followed by all employees of the Lowe’s Company both internal and external employees (Lowes, 2010). The rules of the policy include: compliance with laws, and regulations, conflict of interest, fair dealing, corporate opportunities and loyalty, confidential information, social networking...
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...Starbucks’ Ethics and Compliance Paper Ethical behavior within a company is very important to its future and success. This type of behavior is not just important for the employees to follow, but for the entire company. In 2001, a failing company called Enron was involved in numerous unethical behaviors. For example, Enron’s Chief Financial Officer temporarily suspended their “code of ethics” not once, but twice in order to partake in personal financial gain. Enron’s actions eventually resulted in bankruptcy and assisted with the creation of a new set of guidelines for companies to follow. The so-called guidelines were called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Titman, S., Keown, A.J., & Martin, J.D. 2011). The SOX helped institute a set of rules for companies to follow, one being the creation and compliance of a code of ethics within every company. One company that seems to do a very good job with complying with the guidelines of SOX is Starbucks Corp. They have a strong program set in place to support their mission of making ethical decisions at work. The use of their program “Business Ethics and Compliance” might just be the very reason why their SEC filings show a relatively successful business. Financial Environment In regards to the finance environment, Starbucks plays an active role in ethics and compliance. Not only are their employees offered ways to voice concerns of unethical issues in the work place, but also Starbucks’ partners as well. Starbucks holds a meeting...
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...Ethics and Compliance Paper FIN/370 Ethics and Compliance Paper In today’s business world, all businesses, organizations, and corporations must conduct business with the utmost honesty and in an ethical manner. This paper has been designed to discuss the Walmart Corporation, its role of ethics and compliance, the procedures used to ensure ethical behavior, the processes Walmart uses to comply with SEC regulations, and a review of Walmart’s financial performance over the last two years. Role of Ethics and Compliance of Walmart The Walmart Corporation prides itself on its ethics and compliances to standards and regulations. Walmart shares all of its strategies and performance ratings in its annual reports, news releases, public filings, conference calls, and Internet resources so that all information is readily available to the public and potential and current stockholders. In regard to financial ethics of Walmart, the requirements are that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Senior Financial Officers (SFO) must supply fair, full, understandable, and timely release of financial rankings in the periodic reports, which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) examines. The CEO and SFOs of Walmart are responsible for reporting information that there may be in regard to deficits in operations in specific or general areas that could have a negative impact on the accurate reporting of financial data. Fraud involving associates who may be acting...
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...Ethics and Compliance Paper Obtain a copy of the organization’s annual report and SEC filings for the past 2 years. Write a 1,400- to 1,750-word paper in which you analyze the data in the annual reports and SEC filings. Address the following: Assess the role of ethics and compliance in your organization’s financial environment. JIMMY w INTRO No matter what your age when you pass through the turnstiles entering the “Magic Kingdom” in Orlando, California, or any of the other now international theme parks people become entranced and reborn from the magic and spectacle that has been a trademark of Disney for many years and generations. Reality is that customers seeking audience with “Mickey Mouse” have no interest in the financial aspects that make Disney a major company and probably never review the company’s financials or examine their ethics and compliance functions. Team C in this paper will examine, asses, and conclude in its review of Disney and how they utilize ethics and compliance in their daily operations. “Large corporations are managed by a team separate from the firm’s owners. Though management is expected to make ethical decisions that reflect the best interest of the firms owners, this is not always the case. Indeed managers often face situations where their own personal interests differ from the interest of the shareholders. Some of these situations can be viewed as a straightforward test of the financial...
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...am Scam and Ethics Running head: ETHICAL ISSUES IN SATYAM SCAM 1 A Study of Ethical Issues in Satyam Scam Haresh M Patel (Roll No.2234) B.K.School of Business Management (Evening Programme) ?Ethical Issues in Satyam Scam Abstract “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition: oft got without merit, and lost without deserving”. Failed institutions, including Lehman Brothers, Enron and Satyam, would stand a testimony to this affray in a post-mortem analysis. This paper discusses corporate ethical issues involved in ‘Satyam Scam’ from a compliance perspective. It makes a distinction between legal and ethical compliance mechanisms and also shows that the legal compliance mechanism has clearly proven to be inadequate as it lacks the moral firepower to restore confidence and the ability to build trust. The concepts of freedom of indifference and freedom for excellence provide a theoretical basis for explaining why legal compliance mechanisms are insufficient in 2 dealing with fraudulent practices and may not be addressing the real and fundamental issues that inspire ethical behavior. The focus of the virtues in governance is to establish a series of practical responses which depend on the consistent application of core values and principles as well as commitment to ethical business practice. In my opinion, No one makes it to the top ranks of corporate management without a healthy amount of self-assurance. Confidence underlies decisive, strong leadership, but does overconfidence...
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...Code of Business Ethics Third Edition Reprint Third Edition tA B L E o F C o n t E n t S oUR EtHICAL FoUndAtIon, oUR CoRE VALUES And oUR KEy dRIVERS ........................1 Our Code of Business Ethics ..........................................2 We are passionately focused on business results and customer success. ........................................14 Fair Dealing .....................................................................14 SECtIon I EtHICAL BEHAVIoR We uphold the highest ethical standards and are accountable for all we do. .................................5 Antitrust and Competition .............................................5 Anti-corruption and Bribery ..........................................6 Gifts .....................................................................................7 Integrity of Commercial Transactions ..........................7 International Trade Laws ................................................7 We are good citizens, protect employee health and safety, and manage natural resources responsibly. .......................................................8 Our Expectations in Doing Business ...........................14 Competitive Information ..............................................14 SECtIon III oUR CULtURE We treat each other with dignity and respect, and believe in diversity of thought, culture and background. ...............................................16 Our Responsibilities...
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...Create an original Code of Ethics for your company or organization; a fictitious company or organization. Codes of conduct for military do not qualify for this assignment. Include the following: Guiding principles Purpose of the code Core values Training and education Definitions What employees it covers How it will be implemented/communicated How it will be enforced and reported Mission statement Other pertinent elements you feel necessary to have a comprehensive Code of Ethics Include a short introduction and background of the company/organization Include a summary of the Code in your paper. This assignment must be 6-8 pages in length. The title page and reference pages are not included in the required paper length. Use the APA format; APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed. The paper should contain at least three references in addition to the textbook and may include Internet sources, books, and professional journals or other pertinent resources. Do not copy or plagiarize others materials. Use references less than four years old. Submit a comprehensive outline by e-mail to the professor for approval prior to initiating writing. Points can be deducted if your assignment is submitted without an approved outline. "The very exercise of developing a code is in itself worthwhile; it forces a large number of people...to think through in a fresh way their mission...
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...overview………………………………….….3 3. Code of Ethics Beiersdorf AG…………………………………………………….………3 4. Code of Ethics Procter & Gamble...…………………………………………….………..5 5. Code of Ethics related business issues in comparison………………………………..7 6. Summary………………………………………………..…………………………………..8 1. Introduction This paper is presented as the option B term paper for the Business Ethics elective course within the MBA program. The goal is to give an overview and an analysis of the codified Codes of Ethics of two major companies within the business field of consumer goods. The respective companies will be the Beiersdorf AG as the requested German example and actor in this field and Procter & Gamble as the world leading competitor in this area of business. The term paper will be structured in the following way. First the aim is to give a brief overview about the companies in question and the area they are doing business in. In a second step the Codes of Ethics of both enterprises will be analyzed using the framework and criteria for an effective Code of ethics which were presented in class. Thirdly, the aim is to give a personal opinion on the presented facts and compare the companies in their approach. The paper is going to be concluded with the presentation on historical and current issues of ethical questions which are applicable for Beiersdorf and P&G. 2. Organization and business environment overview Both companies which are analyzed in this paper have their focus of business in the ...
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...Whistleblowing and ethics helplines in the 1Modes of Managing Morality Model Leon J van Vuuren Department of Human Resource Management University of Johannesburg Abstract The Modes of Managing Morality (MMM) model provides a heuristic device to assist business ethics scholars and practitioners to make sense of the differences that exist in the ways in which different organisations manage their ethics. Although it is difficult to demonstrate a clear distinction between ethics advice and whistleblowing, these activities are often fused in organisations and the seeking of ethics advice may of necessity sometimes spill over to a need for whistleblowing. The extent and ways organisations are tolerant to and utilise ethics communication in each of these modes were illustrated in this paper. In particular, the varied prominence of whistleblowing and ethics advice facilities in each of the reactive (some whistleblowing), compliance (ethics advice supplementary to whistleblowing) and integrity (whistleblowing supplementary to ethics advice) modes were indicated. The seamless integration of ethics talk and ethics advice in the TAO-mode makes whistleblowing superfluous in this mode. The necessity for leaders and managers to acquire an ethics management competence that would, among others, allow them to actively engage in and encourage ethics talk, was emphasised. Keywords: Ethics, ethics talk, hotlines, help lines, help desk, whistleblowing, Modes of Managing Morality Model, compliance versus integrity...
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...Ethics Program Outline Shalonda Floyd Ethical Issues in Business and Accounting Professor Gates February 26, 2013 Ethics Program Outline In a business, an ethics program is a set of guidelines to assist with company’s values. A code of ethics is a set of principles and rules used by companies, professional organizations, and individuals to govern their decision making in choosing between right and wrong (http://reference.yourdictionary.com/word-definitions/Define-Ethics.html). This program allows the company to set standards, expectations, and consequences for every employee. This program offers an explanation of the company values and appropriate steps to take if any employee has questions. A business that has chosen not to be ethical and compliant may be confronted with a variety of consequences from numerous sources, including current and prospective customers or employees, regulators, business partners, investors, competitors, vendors, lenders, and the media. An ethical compliance program can also assist businesses to achieve their corporate governance accountability and transparency duties (Wiest, J., 2007, p. 12). The most significant factors of an ethics program are ethical leadership by executives and supervisors, official policy and procedures, training programs, reinforcement policies, disciplinary for unethical behavior and whistleblower policy. There are several factors that compose an ethics program for a company but always should include the main factors...
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...Ethics and Compliance Paper FIN/370 June 18, 2012 Introduction Ethics and compliance play an important role in a company’s financial environment. In large corporations, such as Wal-Mart, who employ 2.1 million employees worldwide and 9029 retail units fewer than 60 different banners in 15 different countries is a prime example of how ethics and compliance practices are used effectively (Walmartstores.com) (2011). An assessment of the role ethics and compliance plays in Wal-Mart's financial environment along with procedures Wal-Mart has in place to ensure ethical behavior will be examined and discussed in this paper. Also covered in this paper: An explanation of how financial markets work in the United States and identifying the processes Wal-Mart uses to comply with SEC regulations, and an evaluation of Wal-Mart’s financial performance during the past two years using financial ratios and the trend each ratio tells about the financial health of the company. Assess the role of ethics and compliance in your organization’s financial environment The role of ethics and compliance in Wal-Mart’s financial environment is founded on the three Basic Beliefs set forth by Sam Walton (founder of Wal-Mart). The three Basic Beliefs as stated in Wal-Mart’s ethics statement are: Respect for the individual, Service to our customers and striving for excellence (Wal-Mart, n.d.). The open door communications process is another role of ethics and compliance in Wal-Mart’s financial...
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