...Memo addressing core issues on topic of Ethics in Finance Winter 2011 Hsiu Chang Ethic is useful because it makes business stable and predicable. In a game, a cheater who is not caught will continue to reap huge rewards. However, if the trend continue, it will encourage other players to cheat or leave the game because they are being driven out of business. If a business operator always has to wonder if the other side is playing by the same rule, if a customer constantly wonder if the vendor is overcharging for the invoice, then business slow down, becomes inefficient. However, many cheaters are not caught or punished. "Business Ethics" is the third episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office. One of the female purchasing officer has been sleeping with a vendor in order to get discount for the entire purchasing department, and Outback Steakhouse coupons. When this is discovered, the head of the company turned a blind eye because it is good for the balance sheet (Wikipedia, 2011). Having good ethic provides a clear conscience, and if there was an ethical problem, shared the advantage gained by cheating with the entire team will once again clear the conscience. Ethic in finance is important because it will provide a clear picture of the company. The leader of the company cannot see where the company can go if they do not know where the company is. However, accountant in a non-public company works for the leader and this agents’ fiduciary duty...
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...quite a large volume of greenhouse gases throughout the course of routine operations. Recently, at a quarterly shareholder meeting, a group of vocal shareholders voiced their opinion on this particular facet of GCI, declaring that they wanted to see the company’s tendency to produce these gases substantially decrease. They also inquired into GCI’s standing on the Kyoto accords, a recent treaty signed by several major world powers advocating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. I, a civil engineer for GCI, was asked to inquire into these accords, as well as investigate our company’s ethical responsibilities in this matter. I have researched the matter thoroughly, and have come to several conclusions on these topics. The purpose of this memo is recommend a course of action for GCI in relation to a response to these shareholders for the next quarterly meeting, as well as give a justifiable explanation for these conclusions. SUMMARY: I soon discovered after researching the Kyoto Accord and its related subjects thoroughly that opinions vary widely on the topic. Overall, despite enjoying a fair amount of popularity throughout much of the world, several countries, such as the United States and Australia, have issues with the agreement. However, it seems that these differences are more related to the fairness of the agreement between countries and the wording of the document than the subject of the agreement itself (the reduction of greenhouse gases). GCI has an ethical...
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...Rhetoric and Ethics Assignment "The Ethic of Expediency" by Steven B. Katz discusses the ethical problems of technical writing. The author suggest that the ethic of expediency enables deliberative rhetoric and gives impulse to most of our actions in technological capitalism. Katz explains that the problem with deliberative rhetoric and technical communication is epistemology and ethics. He uses a Nazi memo as a technical writing sample, which embodies the rhetoric and ethos of the Nazi Party but fails to take any account for ethics. He also uses Aristotle's Politic and Rhetoric to make the connection between rhetoric, ethics, technology, and expediency. Katz concludes that the deliberative orators aim is utility, to determine means to ends- a question of expediency. Aristotle believed that practical wisdom must be accompanied by moral virtue to supply the right end. Hitler used Aristotle’s work to form the ethos in Nazi Germany. However, with Hitler, there was no distinction between "practical wisdom" and "moral virtue", between expediency and the good as long as rhetoric serves its end, that is, the State. His belief in the efficacy of science and technology as the basis of ethics and politics resulted in mass extermination. Based on the ethic of expediency, rhetoric for Hitler was pure technique, designed not to encourage debate, but rather to indoctrinate. Hitler created an ethos of expediency to carry out his program for the “greater good” of Germany. Katz believes that to...
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...The Ethics Game Simulation November 11, 2010 The Ethics Game Simulation This paper will discuss the ethical issues, the decision-making steps, perspectives used, and lenses chosen which helped to influence management decisions. These concepts will show strong correlations within the current workplace environment. The Quality Control Manager is responsible for documentation of test results and drafts regular production reports. This position helps G-BioSports to maintain their high standards and quality assurance within their industry. The first scenario took place after the Lab Director informed the Quality Control Manager that specimens received at his lab were found with a trace contamination of 100% in all the samples. Unfortunately these results were two weeks late and products from these specimens had already been released and shipped out to consumers. Although the contamination found was well below FDA standards, the QCM is faced with many concerning issues and decisions to be made. A few examples are; who needed to be informed and how quickly, how would information should be disseminated without creating a threat or scare to the public and stakeholders. How serious was this contamination and how much product was actually sent out. This also includes to what degree of ethics and legal concerns would need to address. Nevertheless, there are many concerning factors. As a manager, gathering all the facts is an important first step. Who to inform and how this information...
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...| Main Event Solutions | Memo To: CEO From: elementary division manager CC: Date: 9/1/2012 Re: Urgent Elementary Toy This memo is report about defective product being shipped. This memo also discusses how to handle the defective product and possibly saving Main Event Solution money without hurting customers. This memo also discusses the risk and reward for each situation. Decision Process When determine alternative choices for Main Event Solutions, I would use a decision making model. The first step would be to define the problem. Is this issue urgent or important to the company? The second step would be, gather all the information and understand the effects and causes. The third step would be, compare the pros and cons of each option. The fourth step would to choose the best option for the company. The final step explains your decision to the people involved and affected by this decision: I should follow up to ensure proper and effective implementation for this decision. Alternative choices I have used decision process to make a judgment regarding the defective whistle. The first choice would be to cancel the order and the shipment. The advantages of this choice would be, public image will be maintained, and prevent scandal. The disadvantage would be the company would lose money and have to remake the toys. This would help the company avoid legal cost. This would cost the company money, but it would save money in the long run, in case the school decided to sue...
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...communication and means adherence to the facts. Clarity is ensuring you produce a document that conveys a single meaning the reader can understand easily. Accuracy simply means getting your facts straight. It is a question of ethics. Comprehensiveness is providing all the information the reader would need. It should allow readers who are unfamiliar with the background to still understand it. Accessibility is making various parts of a document available. It helps a reader so they do not have to flip through pages or click unnecessary links. Conciseness is eliminating unnecessary phrases, choosing shorter words and using economical grammatical form to shorten a document. Professional Appearance is looking neat and professional to form a positive impression. Correctness is when a document adheres to the conventions of grammar, punctuations, spelling, mechanics, and usage. Technical Communication is the process of finding and using information and sharing meaning. Characteristics of technical documents include: addressing particular readers, helping readers solve problems, reflect the organization’s goals and culture, was produced collaboratively, uses design to increase readability, and consists of words or images or both. Chapter 2: Ethics is the study of the principles of conduct that apply to an individual or a group. Competence refers to the skills you obtain; you should have the training and experience to complete any job adequately. Diligence means working...
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...Re: Discussion on the process of selecting decision alternatives for the whistle issue of the toy company, evaluating theadvantages, disadvantages, legal, financial and ethical considerations involved in the various alternatives.The purpose of this memo is to outline three possible decision alternatives to address the problem of small lead traces tocontents of metal whistles produced by a U.S toy company due for shipment to South America; by discussing the methods forthe selection of decision alternatives, the advantages, disadvantages, ethical considerations, financial and legal prospective ofthe each decisions . The memo will further justify and analyze the impact of the recommended decision on customerrelationship as well as demonstrate the role of ethics and social responsibility in choosing this decision.While important financial or strategic information is used in the decision-making process, business ethics has become anincreasingly popular tool used in making decisions. Business ethics is commonly referred to as the professional judgment orethical perspectives used by an individual or a company executive team in resolving moral or ethical problems in business. Inresolving the problem of the lead-contaminated metal whistles, I will discuss three possible decision alternatives, methods ofselection of the alternatives, pros and cons of the alternatives as well as potential legal, financialand ethical consideration involved in the selection. Ethical decisions-making can be...
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...the receiving audience while projecting the senders leadership style; for the following I will be evaluating the four communiqués my team submitted. In the communiqué sent to the CEO of Riordan Manufacturing, John, the accounting manager, was to advise the CEO of the financial instability of JJJ Company and recommend not moving forward with the acquisition. For this communiqué our team collectively agreed that a formal memo would be the best communication for the audience and purpose, I stand by this decision. The memo was a more formal approach as it was intended for the CEO, which showcased his leadership style more direct and to the point. The structure and layout of the memo was assembled with less of a personal feel as is seen common in e-mails or text to a coworker. The information conveyed in the memo was factual pertaining to the purpose of the memo in regard to the financial instability of JJJ Company. I do not think this memo shared too much or too little information. There was no question of ethics present in the memo as it was examining the instability of the company and it was specifically sent to the CEO. Emails were chosen as the communiqués for the other three audiences. Emails are shorter reports that, “should enable the reader to easily focus on the content as well as easily retrieve it," (Leisker & Flatley, 2008,...
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...HRM 531 | InterClean, Inc. | Memo | | [Type the author name] | 6/21/2010 | InterClean-EnviroTech merger scenario memo to the three first level managers under my responsibility. It explains how a manager’s behavior can affect the productivity of his or her workers. It reviews a few employment laws, and describes best practices for working within a diverse work environment. | | InterClean, Inc. | Memo To: Supervisory Team From: Date: [ 8/9/2010 ] Re: Importance of the Behavior exhibited by managers. My fellow team members, we have a unique opportunity to show our outstanding leadership abilities during this exciting merger with EnviroTech. I am excited about you three on my team leading the way with energy unmatched by anyone else within this company. Our job is to lead the way and make this transition time smooth and seamless while still accomplishing our goal of being successful on our daily tasks of managing our sales force. It is key for us as leaders to understand how a manager’s behavior can affect the productivity of our workers. As leader we must show exemplary attitudes along with support and positive reinforcement but still hold each one of our employee’s accountable to their daily tasks. InterClean, Inc. and EnviroTech in the past have been separate companies but now come together as the leader in our industry. As we combine our teams together we will be learning new training tools to expand our knowledge and skills to be head...
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...Memo To: CEO From: elementary division manager CC: Date: 9/1/2012 Re: Urgent Elementary Toy This memo is report about defective product being shipped. This memo also discusses how to handle the defective product and possibly saving Main Event Solution money without hurting customers. This memo also discusses the risk and reward for each situation. Decision Process When determine alternative choices for Main Event Solutions, I would use a decision making model. The first step would be to define the problem. Is this issue urgent or important to the company? The second step would be, gather all the information and understand the effects and causes. The third step would be, compare the pros and cons of each option. The fourth step would to choose the best option for the company. The final step explains your decision to the people involved and affected by this decision: I should follow up to ensure proper and effective implementation for this decision. Alternative choices I have used decision process to make a judgment regarding the defective whistle. The first choice would be to cancel the order and the shipment. The advantages of this choice would be, public image will be maintained, and prevent scandal. The disadvantage would be the company would lose money and have to remake the toys. This would help the company avoid legal cost. This would cost the company money, but it would save money in the long run, in case the school decided to sue the company. Financial...
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...ETHICAL ISSUES INVOLVING WAL-MART STAKEHOLDERS Employee Stakeholders DISCRIMINATION The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed fifteen lawsuits against Wal-Mart since 1994. Of these, ten are still pending, and five have been resolved. FEMALE EMPLOYEES Although women account for more than 67 percent of all Wal-Mart employees, women make up less than 10 percent of top-store managers. Wal-Mart insists that it adequately trains and promotes women, but in 2001 a Wal-Mart executive conducted an internal study that showed the company paid female store managers less than men in the same position. In June 2004, a federal judge in San Francisco granted class-action status to a sexdiscrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart. It is the largest class-action lawsuit and involves 1.6 million current and former female employees at Wal-Mart. It claims that Wal-Mart discriminated against women in promotions, pay, training, and job assignments. Even Wal-Mart concludes in its annual report that if the company is not successful in its appeal of the class-action certification of the case, the resulting liability could be material to the company. DISABLED EMPLOYEES In January 2000, Wal-Mart agreed to pay two deaf applicants $132,500. The two applied to work at a Wal-Mart in Tucson, Arizona, but were denied employment because of their disabilities. Wal-Mart agreed to hire the two men as part of the settlement and to make corporate-wide changes in the hiring and...
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...Solutions to selected exercises from those assigned in outline (Chapters 1, 2 & 3) Message for Analysis (p. 31) Students will recognize this document as ineffective because it presents so many barriers to communication. The memo • Creates emotional barriers right from the first sentence (accusing employees of lying and cheating, later calling them names), preventing readers from perceiving the intended message • Presents a restrictive and authoritarian attitude, reflecting an environment that discourages open communication and thus discourages employee candor • Expresses bias or prejudice (in the slur against women employees) • Reflects the author’s anger and defensiveness (“I simply have no choice”) • Assumes bad intentions on the part of the employees, underlining the lack of audience-centered thinking • Uses vague, confusing language (More than three times during what period? Will have to answer to the author for what specific penalties?) • Polarizes workers by inciting conflict between “punctual” employees and others 1.2 The tasks described have the following communication directions: a. Downward, upward, and horizontal—since the entire company is involved. A memo is the best choice (either printed or electronic) to ensure that everyone receives the message (as opposed to, say, a blog posting, which is more passive). b. Upward. Depending on the situation, could be a formal proposal or a presentation at an executive meeting. c. Horizontal. Because this situation...
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...wrong, we could conclude that the decisions of Whitewater Brewing Company’s board are immoral by applying the test of universal law. On one hand, if there is a maxim that all brewers would produce cheap high-alcohol malt drinks which teenagers can easily get and affordable. The CEO Ralph Jenkins himself and the families of the company board would resist those products because their children are under the same risk of adolescent alcohol abuse. On the other hand, in order to maximize profit, capitalism is often criticized for the ignorance of its responsibilities toward the human society and environment. In this case, Mr. Jenkins had written Davis a memo on the board’s behalf instructing her not to comment publicly about malt liquor before clearing her remarks with him (337). Davis felt threatened because she had to either conform to the memo or...
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...The problem to be investigated is looking into shades of gray when it comes to ethical behavior. For years, companies have been operating within the law yet displayed very questionable behavior. Companies like Goldman and Sachs utilizing questionable trading techniques in order to gain a financial profit while leaving behind companies in the dust and eliminating hundreds if not thousands of jobs in the process. Ethics is more than doing what’s right or wrong. It’s a way of life and how we can have an effect on others. Question 1: Go back through the case and make a list of each action or practice that could be called a gray area. The Layering Strategy: This was formulated in the late 1920 as a way to utilize one company’s money to invest in another. In the case of Goldman, he used his own customers to make money. He created an investment company and buys 90% of the shares in that company with its own money. Because the shares have sold so well, the public wants a piece of the company. So, the shares that Goldman initially bought for, say, $100, it is able to turn around and sell to the public for $110. He would then continue the cycle with another company and the price would climb. The Laddering Strategy: In 1990, the birth of the Internet age just started its peak. Goldman found another way to capitalize on this boom. Much like Goldman’s layering strategy, the Laddering strategies end result is also a crash. With the laddering strategy, this was reserved for Goldman’s...
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...PRESENTATION: Pending Case summary: Dennis felt Zack invaded his privacy by reading his personal emails The little communication and emphasis put on the personal computer usage guidelines and implementation Summary of Recommendation: Listen to Dennis and Zack story to understand their reaction Review the email and internet policy to make sure it fits the corporate culture Make sure all employees understand the Vitruvius code of conduct and usage guidelines Case Analysis: Vitruvius Sportsware is a menswear and casual clothing midscale retail outlets throughout Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona. Rick Sanchez, IT System Engineer gave Dennis Gardner, marketing manager a heads up that Zackary Crowell, newly appointed vice president for sales and marketing. He told Dennis that Zackary was reviewing traffic of emails. Zack was interested in emails between Dennis and his doctor. Dennis believes he had complied with personal employee computer usage guidelines, he feels that his privacy has been violated. Rick told Dennis that system administrator can look at the message traffic any time. If the company owns the system they own the content. Dennis was upset because he was briefed on email use but he was told that personal messages were fine, as long as they did not overload the system, operate a business for profit, or pass along inappropriate content. Dennis went to speak to Mr. Kelleher, one of the founding officers of the corporation was executive vice...
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