...The Madoff Affair Bernard Madoff was a former stock broker who was involved in the largest Ponzi scheme in history from which he earned billions of dollars. A Ponzi scheme is an illegal operation in which all profit that each investor earns is actually just the individuals own money or another investor’s money that is just cycling through the system. There is not actually any profit being earned through the investment. A Ponzi scheme is able to stay in business as long as there is a steady flow of money being invested into it from the investors. The reason that so many people get involved with these schemes is because the investments are offered with very high interest rates. This scheme is not very sturdy however, because there are very few earnings to the amount of money owed to the investors. So the scheme will either fall apart on its own, or if it succeeds greatly it is usually detected by the authorities. The SEC was alerted three times in 2001 that Madoff was believed to be running a Ponzi scheme, but there were no actions taken. The first time that there were actions taken were in 2006. It is unbelievable that a man could get away with such a large crime for so long without being questioned. This may have been because at the same time he was running this scheme he was also operating another high-profile business; this one was of course legal. In this business Madoff was the middleman between buyers and sellers of stock. His Ponzi scheme was not questioned...
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...a lifeguard on the beaches of Long Island, Bernard Madoff founded “Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities,” a “trading power” house that would become one of the largest independent trading operations in the securities industry (Washington, 2012). In the year 2000 his company ranked among the top trading and securities firms in the nation. By age 70, his name had become legendary; he was considered to be one of the most “influential spokesmen” on Wall Street. But on December 11, 2008, Bernard Madoff was arrested and charged “in a 20 year Ponzi scheme, which would come to be known as “the most infamous fraud in Wall Street history (Leonard, 2008; Washington, 2012).” Mr. Madoff pleaded guilty to all federal charges filed against him, which included the following: “11 felony counts, including securities fraud, money laundering and perjury (Washington, 2012).” Judge Denny Chin was in charge of the proceedings, and on June 29, 2009, Bernard Madoff, former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange, was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 150 years. This paper will seek to analyze this case in its multiple dimensions in order to identify all ethical issues and propose potential alternatives to the moral choices that Bernard Madoff made. Facts Bernard Lawrence Madoff was born April 29, 1938. He grew up in a small Jewish community in Queens, New York. At age 22, in 1960, he founded his own wealth management business, “Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.” He made his business out of...
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...Vince Trav Paper #2 April 15, 2015 The Mix of Power and Responsibility “With great power comes great responsibility”, is an infamous line from the movie Spiderman, and even though it is cliché, I’ve always found that to be very true. Power and responsibility can be explored through Phillip Zimbardo’s “The Lucifer Effect”, and how his work is related to two major financial scandals of the 21st century, which involve Enron and Bernard Madoff. In both scandals, there were people in a position of power who carried a surmounting level of responsibility, but used their power in very manipulative ways for their own personal gain. The high level executives of Enron and Bernard Madoff were on a rampant quest for money, which was the key driver that led to a lot of destruction. In doing so, both Enron and Madoff acted with major lack of responsibility. It is easy to make the assumption that the aforementioned individuals in both scandals are clearly the one’s that will be held responsible for the mess they made, but it is interesting to see how through their power they shed as much responsibility as they could on other people. Their power also had an effect on a greater scale involving their control over many people, which is relatable to Phillip Zimbardo’s work on human nature. The film, “Enron: The Smartest Men in Room”, shows how there was such a great lack of responsibility by the people involved because of their determination to make as much money as possible,...
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...Bernard Madoff Affair By: Katelynn Pucci Born on April 29, 1938, in Queens, New York an ordinary male was born by the name of Bernard Madoff. During his teenage years, Madoff showed absolutely no interest in finance; he was intrigued in the school swim team at Far Rockaway High School. When he was not competing in swim meets, he was lifeguarding at a beach club in Atlantic Beach, Long Island. Madoff attended the University of Alabama up graduation in 1956 for one year before transferring to Hofstra University. He married in 1959 to his high school sweetheart Ruth, finance major at Queens College. In 1960, Madoff graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He then continued onto law school at Brooklyn Law School while his wife, Ruth, worked on the stock market in Manhattan. Shortly after he dropped out to begin his own investment firm using his earnings from his lifeguarding, job and side gig installing sprinkler systems. Together he and his wife founded Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC. Now, Madoff’s father-in-law was a retired C.P.A. who helped attract investors including famous clients such as Steven Spielber, Kyra Sedgewick, and Kevin Bacon. The Investment Securities became famous the reliable annual returns of ten percent or more. The firm handled up to five percent of the trading on the New York Stock Exchange by the 1980s. Just like every other business and company out there, Madoff Securities started using computer technology to develop their...
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...John Sawyer Investments 14 April 2015 The Bernie Madoff Affair PBS’s frontline brings us another documentary investigating Bernie Madoff’s manipulative career of investment advising. He started trading stocks with his family working for him making money markets. Michael Bienes is hired by Madoff to recruit investors. Madoff ran his side business of investment advising completely under the radar. He promised high returns of around 18%. Immediately whole families were jumping in blindly at the high reward. He told Bienes that if he could recruit people to invest with Madoff, he could produce a 20% return and Bienes would get a portion. Within his business, no eyebrows were raised and Madoff called the shots and was extremely respected by everybody. Doubts started to occur when Madoff advised Avelleno and Bienes not to license under the SEC. As Bernie was calling the shots, Bienes didn’t license. Madoff continuously sold unregistered securities and Avelleno and Bienes eventually got caught up by the SEC. They were being questioned about their returns and were accused of running a Ponzi Scheme. The SEC shut them down. Many red flags were raised about Madoff’s trading model. Madoff claimed he didn’t want to expose his secret trading techniques. Persistent with taking down Madoff, an SEC investigator Marco Polos wrote a 21-page paper to investigate Madoff’s business and a possible Ponzi scheme. SEC finally launched an investigation. Two-years later, he was cleared. But...
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...Gritty Realism During the 1890s, many women were limited to what they were allowed to do. They could not go to school, have a job, or even vote. Men viewed women as though they were only meant to bear children and be a housewife. However, a writer by the name of Kate Chopin was a voice for women all the over the world. Two of her most famous writings are “The Storm”, and “Story of an Hour”. Within these two writings, she discussed issues that many other women writers would have avoided. Another writer who was famous for his portrayal of gritty topics was Ernest Hemingway. One of his most memorable writding is titled “Hills like White Elephants”. These writers were able to write about challenging realistic new ideas such as freedom after the death of a love one, abortion, and adultery. Although some of these stories are deemed gritty, Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” deals with realistic issues couples often face. These writings also have ironic undertones such as, when Mrs. Mallards dies from seeing from dead husband and the girl who thinks about abortion, but notices greener fields on the other side of the track. Furthermore realism is when an author intends to tell real life events to his/her audience. Realism can appear in many different aspects of society. When it comes to writing, realism focuses on the average individual, and can be heard as a voice for the ordinary human being. There is a focus on realistic people and events. For example in...
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...Tangled Web #2: Were the punishments for James Gansman, Donna Murdoch, and Gerald Brodsky fair? This is an opinion question in which everyone has their own judgment on. I personally think that the punishments for James Gansman and Gerald Brodsky were somewhat fair because they both did something wrong. The sentence for Gansman should have been harsher because he was really the one who gave out the information. Gansman was being really unfaithful to Ernst and Young by giving out private information. He had agreed that he wouldn't leak anything when he first joined the company. His sentence was not very big, but the fact that he was not allowed working for Ernst and Young anymore seemed very fair and a good punishment for him. I am sure that in the future if he tries to find another job it would be difficult for him. On the other hand, Donna should have gotten a sentence too because she shared the information to Gerald. She also was breaking the law. If she got a sentence, it definitely should have been harsher than Gansman's. Murdoch being freed is somewhat ridiculous. #3: Is Ashley Madison based on an ethical business model? In my opinion Ashley Madison is somewhat based on an ethical business model. They have turned the business into something that is in the limit of the law. It also replicates rules like any other business. Though, since it is a dating site it is also not totally on the business side. In my opinion it is kind of half and half. On one side...
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...Consensual Relationship Agreements Case Study The Purpose of this project is to examine the Consensual Relationship Agreement Case (CRA) Study. In developing the project concepts will be identified in the areas of organizational behavior models of individual, group, and organizational processes; how ethical decisions are made, and concepts of individual differences, personality traits, and perspectives. According to Hellriegel & Slocum (2011) the characteristics of a Consensual Relationship Agreement is defined as an written agreement in which consenting romantically involved staff members acknowledge their relationship is consensual and voluntary; to avoid actions that others may find offensive in the office; follow the employers workplace rules of conduct to include anti-harassment and anti-discrimination; relationship must not affect work performance and behave professionally; report actual or perceived harassment immediately; and not engage in favoritism. After reviewing a second CRA on the internet, an employer and employee confirms that a sexual or romantic relationship between employees is consensual and voluntary. (Bloomsbury Business Library, 2007) In analyzing the case, Consensual Relationship Agreements, the following categories will be addressed: (1) Argue for the use of Consensual Relationship Agreements in Your current (or future) Workplace; (2) Create a counter argument against the use of CRAs in your current (or future) workplace; (3) Discuss...
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...Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary”, but also short stories by the Russian writer Anton Chekhov. The topic of adultery could be explored in many different ways and where most writers focused on the social problems of infidelity, especially when committed by a woman, Chekhov presented the relationships between the lovers and their families. Furthermore, I feel like the characters always give some kind of justification for being unfaithful, may this be a sensible reason or not. Therefore, for the purpose of this paper, I would like to further explore the “justifications” given by the cheating parties, the way it affects their relationships with their spouses and family, but also the role that society plays in the way that they handle their respective affairs. Furthermore, I will take a look at the way in which the characters deal with the guilt that they have, concerning their spouses and personal consequences. For this reason, I will be examining two short stories by Chekhov, “The Grasshopper”, published in 1892 and “The Lady with the Dog” from 1899, as well as the play “Three Sisters” from 1900. Furthermore, I would like to start with a brief look at the socio-historic context that the texts were written, in particular, what women social status was and how it was affected by adultery and give a short overview of three important novels on adultery. 1 Overton, Bill. Fictions of female adultery. 1684-1890: theories and circumtexts. 1st Ed., New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2002, p. 3. 1 ...
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...dominance-based relationship in their marriage. They lived customary lives in which Kimiko was loyal and dependent of her husband. Though in his absence, infidelity caused a rift between the two sides of the family. Kawase disregarded his family's "loneliness" (56) the night in San Francisco where Asaka "stayed the night" (54). Kawase and Kimiko have a relationship in which their roles are similar to those of a samurai and geisha. Although they are married, Kawase only gives so much concern for his wife while staying in San Francisco. Instead of returning home to her, he put it off to spend time with a woman whom he had an affair with. The samurai, similar to Kawase, did not fully commit to a geisha as she was used for pleasure or entertainment. Kimiko likewise respected and highly regarded her husband as would a geisha to a samurai. The two's extramarital affairs exemplify the samurai and geisha's satisfying but disloyal relationship. Though the geisha and samurai's roles and Kimiko and Kawase's roles contrast, aspects of the marriage are what make up the other association. Considering that Asaka was originally a geisha, her relationship with Kawase was one of brisk "expediency" (53). Kawase made sure "all his relations with women contained a tacit understanding...
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...Bernie Madoff It seems like they all start the same – with Secrets and Lies. With secrets and all the don’t tell anyone because it is exclusive talk - that’s the stuff that makes soap operas, scandals and the greatest ponzi schemes. Everyone likes feeling like they have a great opportunity that not everyone gets to have and that it is exclusive, especially when it feeds their financial greed. Those are the ingredients that helped Bernie Madoff build the biggest Ponzi investment scheme in history. Madoff maintains that he never meant for it to be anything more than him investing for close friends and family however the secrecy and not accepting just anyone are part of what made so many people want to be a part, thereby becoming one of the best marketing tactics ever. The first question I wanted to know was who is this man that earned the respect of some of the biggest names on Wall Street, the trust of friends, family and strangers and where did he come from? • Start of firm senior in college The firm that Madoff started in 1960 with the $5,000 he saved was a trading business that specialized in the trading of penny stocks – Continued to earn money as a life guard and landscaper until his business took off • Bernard Madoff is a former financier, American hedge-fund investment manager, chairman of the NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) stock exchange, and chairman of the firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment...
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...current (or future) workplace. Organizational culture reflects the shared and learned values, beliefs, and attitudes of their employees. In reality, organizational culture is the personality of the organization—which sometimes is difficult to fully express in words. This is the norm for most employees in the organization, they sense it and know it is their daily behaviors. Organizational cultures may vary from having a weak ethical culture to a strong one. "Consensual relationship agreements," the legal name for the love contracts, became the office buzz word about eight years ago in the wake of former President Clinton's relationship with former-White House intern Monica Lewinsky. White House Corporate counsels grew fearful that an affair involving one of their executives could end in a big-bucks liability payout. “Consensual relationship agreements” help employers avoid legal liability if an office romance has an adverse outcome for the parties involved. This relationship is voluntarily and occasionally involuntary which brings about sexual harassment. It should be encouraged that most workers, especially senior executives, sign a "love contracts" that shield employers from liability if intimacy later congeals into a sexual harassment lawsuit or some other discord. The contracts, most common in the entertainment industry, also act as a formal way for a couple to disclose a relationship in case their dalliance could affect the bottom line or generate negative publicity...
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...health issues and other disagreements can strain a marital relationship but such problems may not cause as much heartache and desolation as infidelity (Fife & Weeks, 2008). This is because unfaithfulness undermines the foundation of a relationship. Nevertheless, an affair does not necessarily have to mean the end of a relationship. Given time to heal and with a common goal to rebuild the relationship, it is possible for a couple to emerge from infidelity with a relationship that is stronger and more sincere than before. It is difficult to determine exactly how many couples have had affairs, but one study found 37% of men and 20% of women admitted to being unfaithful (Rutherford, 2008). Men tend to have affairs for sexual reasons while women stray more for emotional reasons. In other words, men may be seeking sexual gratification in an affair while women may be seeing emotional gratification of the need to feel special. Does the discovery of an affair mean the marriage is over or irreparably damaged? Not necessarily. Fifty percent of marriages stay together following the discovery of an affair. Two thirds do not divorce if the couple seeks counseling (Rutherford, 2008). Living with the after effects of an affair may be very unpleasant. The fact that one’s partner committed infidelity is likely to destroy that individual’s self-respect. He or she may begin to wonder about their own personal value. Surviving an infidelity must begin by repairing one’s self-respect. It is common...
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...Healing and Surrender: Two different ways of coping with emotional impasse and self-induced isolation Compare and contrast essay Student Number: T00557209 Assignment 3 ENGL 1001 Nir Light July 20th, 2015 “Death by Landscape” by Margaret Atwood and “To Room Nineteen” by Elizabeth Lesser are both stories of self-induced isolation, in which the protagonists are unable to expose their predicaments to the people around them. Lois, the protagonist in “Death by Landscape,” isolates herself due to the traumatic disappearance of her childhood friend, Lucy. Suzan, the protagonist in “To Room Nineteen,” is trapped in an emotional impasse caused by conforming to her roles as wife and mother, and being reasonable and intelligent, unable to express her true feelings. While Lois surrounds herself with landscape pictures, and finds a resolution in them, Suzan’s isolation progresses, until she surrenders to her predicament and ends her life. Despite the different ways they resolve their predicaments, both protagonists find relief in their choices. In “Death by Landscape”, Lois is traumatized by Lucy’s disappearance and by being condemned wrongly for causing her death. Enveloped by her trauma, she lives her life in emotional detachment from her husband and children. She can hardly remember getting married or nursing her boys (35). Wilderness provokes her trauma, and she avoids it. She does not expose her predicament to people in her social circle, and they think she purchases her...
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...There are many reasons relationships can break down, Duck suggested 3 main reasons in 1999. Firstly, lack of skills; this refers to to inability to connect with one another for example if someone lacks social skills they will be unable to communicate their satisfaction or attract with their partner, this leads to an unrewarding outcome and the relationship may breakdown. This theory of thinking your partner isn't interested is supported by extramarital affairs, Boekhout(1999) used university students to say what would lead to an affair; for males it was lack of sexual stimuli and for women it was lack of emotional satisfaction. Both suggesting that their partners aren't interested in them either sexually or emotionally. This study lacks population validly as only university students were used, therefore it can't be generalised to the majority of the population. The reasons for to have an affair may change with age and the marital statues of the couple. This is supported by real world application, couples who struggle with social skills can take part in a Couples Coping Enchantment training, this sensitises couples to the idea of equity and aid them in communicating. Cina et al (2003) compared to groups of couples a controlled group who didn't receive CCET and the test group who did, she found that the test group had a better quality of marriage after receiving the training. This study despite having a large participant number can not be generalised to the entirety as it has cultural...
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