...Ethics and Compliance Paper of Microsoft Vincent Borja, Bonnie Broughton, Carrie Holland, Bonejean Jordan, Kat Kegley FIN/370 June 17, 2013 Beth Gannouni Introduction – Carrie In this paper Microsoft’s filings for the SEC and their annual reports will be analyzed. It will show the role of ethics and compliance in the financial environment of Microsoft, and describe what procedures Microsoft has in place to ensure that their actions are done with ethical behavior. It will also show what processes Microsoft used to insure they are in compliance with the regulations of the SEC. It also shows an evaluation of Microsoft’s financial performance for the past two years, the trend of each ratio, and what the financial health is for Microsoft. Role of ethics and compliance of Microsoft’s financial environment - Kat Microsoft is an organization that handles issues of technology through the production of computing products, which are useful for many organizations. The financial environment of Microsoft plays an enormous role in determining and analyzing the future status of the company. In this case, compliance committee within the organization helps in meeting set rules and objectives set by the company. Ever since the formation of Microsoft by Bill Gates, financial environment has been sustainable (Biegelman & Biegelman, 2010). This means that all people who work within the organization work hard to ensure that goals are achieved rather than working in order to be paid...
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...Role of Ethics and Compliance As learned from the company’s website, Microsoft was founded in 1975 and has the NASDAQ symbol "MSFT". This company is the worldwide leader in software, services, and solutions. Because having a strong presence and leadership in the software engineering industry, Microsoft has a need for the role of ethics and compliance in the organization’s financial environment. The consequences can be permanent if not for the success history of the finance ethics and compliance team. The primary focus of Microsoft finance team’s mission includes providing world class financial leadership to optimize long term shareholder value as well as be recognized in the industry as setting the utmost highest degree of leadership in using innovative processes, tools, and systems. Microsoft Finance team members uphold values in each role of the company in order for each job be in compliance with the ethical policies and guidelines that includes finance service, integrity, results, and assisting other individuals be successful through their efforts. Ethical and compliance practices are maintained through Microsoft’s Overview that includes the Finance Code of Professional Conduct, Shareholder Accountability, Corporate Policies and Guidelines, and Board of Directors. Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Corporate Controller, and the employees of the finance organization uphold important and prominent roles in corporate governance that ensure...
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...Ethics and Compliance Paper Microsoft was founded in 1975 and is a worldwide leader in software and solutions that help companies and individuals attain their full potential. Microsoft has long sustained its place at the top due to its organization strength, financial and strategic planning as well as conducting business in ethical and proper manners. The following paper will discuss the company’s role and processes to comply with governmental regulations that allow the growth and success it has endured to this point. The Role of Ethics and Compliance Procedures at Microsoft Microsoft strives continually to be a great business. This is reflected in the internal ethical and compliance standards developed and implemented over the years of doing business. The Microsoft Corporation also includes the same ethics and compliance codes when doing business in foreign countries. Microsoft incorporates these codes into business contracts. Microsoft’s core values are the basis for the Business Code of Conduct. The core values include Finch (n.d.), “integrity, compliance with regulatory requirements, maintaining the trust of customers and shareholders, responsible management of Microsoft's assets, diversity, and respect for the environment.” According to the Microsoft Corporation “the Standards of Business Conduct are an extension of Microsoft’s values and the foundation for our business tenets. They reflect our collective commitment to ethical business practices, and regulatory compliance...
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...Ethics and Compliance Paper FIN/370 FINANCE FOR BUSINESS Dr. Terry Dowdy Univ. of Phoenix Leslie Morris Mauney, Derek Mazon, Stephanie Landry, Victoria Wilbert, Donna Spoljarick, Tihesha Horton Ethics and Compliance Paper Microsoft In today’s fast pace society corporate America seems to be above scrutiny. The time of the watch dog presence seems to have become lack and almost non existent. Giant corporations offer extremely attractive salaries and bonus packages to their employees. Employees in exchange do a good job but loyalty to the company is the most important thing. One mega giant is Microsoft as a company they boast of integrity, honesty, openness, and personal excellence. The company holds itself accountable to their customers and all of their employees by providing the best product at the most economical price possible. Microsoft is focused on employee training as well as employee promotion from within. These guidelines are the reason that Microsoft feels the employees will do noting to jeopardize the reputation of the company or any of its subsidiaries. Ethics and Compliance Microsoft values the employees and the values that were created in a foundation for the business. Microsoft Company manages their business in compliance with laws and regulatory requirements. They obey laws and regulations that are governed by global management. When it comes to their financial integrity...
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...their partnership as Micro-soft. In June 1980, Microsoft got their first break through, when IBM contracted Microsoft to develop languages for the PC operating system. Gates and Allen bought an existing operating system from Seattle Computer Products for $50,000, renamed it to Microsoft Disk-Operating System, and modified for IBM’s purpose. Before doing the job for IBM, they made an agreement that they can sell MS-DOS to other companies also. After a while, MS-DOS became the industry’s leading OS. After the successful of DOS, they continued to work on DOS to convert it to graphical user interface and it would work on top of DOS, making it user-friendly by working with icons rather than commands. They named their new operating system Windows, which was a huge success and it still being used around the Globe even today. By 2010, with more than 90,000 employees and anticipated year-end revenues of up to $38 billion, Microsoft continued to hold a strong lead in the computer software industry. Social Responsibility a. Since 1999, Microsoft has worked closely with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to provide people in dozens of countries with access to technology tools, skills training and other essential services. Microsoft attorneys have also helped dozens of refugees make a fresh start by providing pro bono legal counsel in hearings before U.S. immigration courts. In 2007, Microsoft launched Unlimited Potential, which brings together...
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...The Ethics of Social Media – Part I: Adjusting to a 24/7 World Posted by admin2 • December 14, 2010 • Printer-friendly This is the first of a two-part series. The second part is available here. by James Hyatt So your company hasn't had an OMG moment over Facebook ethics? As they say, Good Luck With That. It has been almost a decade since Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the wake of the Enron, Tyco and WorldCom scandals, seeking to put in place a variety of measures to protect investors and address standards of behavior. Over the years, once-controversial practices about disclosure and ethics have become generally accepted standards. But the social media explosion - from email and Facebook to blogs and Twitter – is making a hash of once-resolved issues and creating all kinds of new dilemmas. --Businesses have less and less control over how they communicate with the public, while 24-7 bloggers feel free to snipe away. --Job seekers find their private lives may no longer be private and employees worry that the boss is electronically looking over their shoulders. --Consumers can't be sure their account information remains safe and have no way to tell whether favorable on-line comments about products and businesses are legitimate. --Professionals of all sorts -- psychiatrists, attorneys, school teachers, reporters, and even NFL players – are learning to live with new, often controversial, social media rules. A customer's irate blog can undo months and years of...
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...Microsoft Supplier Code of Conduct Microsoft aspires to be more than just a good company—it aspires to be a great company. Toward that goal, we are committed to our mission of helping people and businesses throughout the world realize the highest levels of productivity and success. Achieving our mission isn’t just about building innovative technology. It’s also about who we are as a company and as individuals, how we manage our business internally, and how we work with customers, partners, governments, communities, and suppliers. Through the Standards of Business Conduct (www.microsoft.com/mscorp/legal/buscond), Microsoft has established company standards that include ethical business practices and regulatory compliance. These standards apply to all Microsoft employees, directors, and officers. Similarly, Microsoft expects its suppliers to embrace this commitment to integrity by complying with and training its employees on the Microsoft Supplier Code of Conduct. COMPLIANCE WITH THE SUPPLIER CODE OF CONDUCT Suppliers and their employees, agents, and subcontractors (collectively referred to as “Suppliers”) must adhere to this Supplier Code of Conduct while conducting business with or on behalf of Microsoft. Suppliers must promptly inform their Microsoft contact (or a member of Microsoft management) when any situation develops that causes the Supplier to operate in violation of this Code of Conduct. While Microsoft Suppliers are expected to self-monitor and demonstrate their...
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...Licensed to: iChapters User Licensed to: iChapters User Business Ethics: A Stakeholders and Issues Management Approach, Fifth Edition Joseph W. Weiss VP/Editor-in-Chief: Melissa Acuña Acquisitions Editor: Michele Rhoades Developmental Editor: Daniel Noguera Editorial Assistant: Ruth Belanger Sr. MarComm Manager: Jim Overly Marketing Manager: Clinton Kernen © 2009, 2006 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, scanning, digitizing, taping, Web distribution, information networks, or information storage and retrieval systems, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For product information and technology assistance, contact us at Cengage Learning Academic Resource Center, 1-800-423-0563 For permission to use material from this text or product, submit all requests online at www.cengage.com/permissions Further permissions questions can be emailed to permissionrequest@cengage.com Text Permissions Manager: Timothy Sisler ExamView® and ExamView Pro® are registered trademarks of FSCreations, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation used herein under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple...
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...Strategic Initiative FIN/370 Finance for Business Strategic Initiative Microsoft like many other organization have developed a very strong systemic approach in order to achieve success. This systemic approach incorporates strategic planning with financial planning so that goals associated with these types of planning can help to strengthen operations, control the net value of the organization to stay in line with meeting profit goals, setting priorities to meet expectations, and ensuring that employees from the CEO downwards including the stakeholders are all working towards to help the company meet both their long-term financial obligations as well as short-term financial obligations. In this paper we will be describe how the relationship between strategic and financial planning can help Microsoft meet business needs while focusing on the needs of their customer wants. STRATEGIC PLANNING INITIATIVES AFFECTING FINANCIAL PLANNING There are several things that Microsoft must do in order to stay afloat and grow within itself. When it comes to the market price Microsoft does have to lower their prices this is mainly because their our other competitors that have come out with similar product and order to beat them and draw more business they need to lower the process. Besides the market price there are other things that can cause a decrease such as sales, volunteer’s price reduction, operating cost, advertisement, sales incentives. Also with the decrease it can cause lower...
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...1 ! ! ! ! MICROSOFT V THE WORLD Marc Mattison Colorado Technical University ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Author Note This paper was prepared for [PHIL301], [CS13-01], taught by [Carolyn Geiser] on [October 20, 2013]. CASE 7 !2 ! MICROSOFT VS THE WORLD Long before Google was born and before Apple was the most powerful company in the world there was Microsoft. Microsoft was the leader in software, services and solutions. Unfortunately for the competition Microsoft didn’t seem to like to play fair or enjoy competition. Microsoft’s competitors constantly called its business practices both monopolistic and anticompetitive. With Microsoft bringing in annual revenues of more than $66 million a year, a strong case could be made that Microsoft’s competitors were absolutely right. Microsoft had a practice of selling Windows to original equipment manufacturers (OEMS) at a 60 percent discount if they agreed to pay Microsoft for every computer sold. Microsoft was using its large share of the market to squeeze out smaller companies. Then when Microsoft battled Apple Computer, Bill Gates threatened to stop making Apple compatible products if Apple didn’t stop developing competitive software. Eventually both Apple and Microsoft worked out their differences. So in 1998 Microsoft paid $150 million of non-voting stock in Apple and $100 million for access to Apple’s patents. Microsoft used its market power to force another competitor to play by its rules. Microsoft seemed to like bundling...
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...Instructor's Name Course Title 2 February 2016 Microsoft Microsoft Corporation Introduction Microsoft Corporation is a multipurpose and multinational company based in America. The corporation is headquartered in the Redmond, Washington. It mainly focuses on the development, licensing, supporting and selling of the computer electronics, computer software, personal computers and the affiliate services. The corporation is mainly recognized for its software products including the operating systems, the Microsoft office suite among others. It has a high profile reputation of quality services and products that are consumed by both large-scale and small-scale consumers. The paper intends to analyze and deduce the factors of operation of the corporation. That includes the mission statement, the vision statement, culture, SWOT analysis amongst other attributes that determine the extent in which the corporation is an outstanding performer. Mission, Vision, Goals, and culture Mission At Microsoft, the central mission is to enable the people, as well as, the businesses across the international borders to realize their absolute potential. Particularly, the corporation considers it a mission to focus on the commitment to the customers. As such, the corporate attempts to articulate the full measure of the mission by striving to ensure that it creates outstanding technology. The technology is also developed...
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...also study regulatory compliance issues for an organization, as well as the associated business consequences. The readings focus on workers’ compensation, occupational safety, and other worker protection laws, with a specific attention to the Family and Medical Leave Act. This week also covers the collective bargaining agreements and labor law, as well as several laws and decisions a company must make regarding these labor law issues. In addition, you examine equal opportunity in employment and Title VII, including what comprises this significant law. You review regulatory laws, environmental protection and global warning, as well as antitrust laws and unfair trade practices. The readings focus on introductory concepts and the laws that support these concepts. Employment and Regulatory Risk OBJECTIVE: Differentiate between types of employment relationships and the associated legal considerations. Resources: Ch. 31 & 32 of Business Law: Legal Environment, Online Commerce, Business Ethics, and International Issues Content • Ch. 31: Employment, Worker Protection, and Immigration Laws o Introduction to Employment, Worker Protection, and Immigration Laws o Worker’s Compensation • Case 31.1 Workers’ Compensation: Medrano v. Marshall Electrical Contracting Inc. o Occupational Safety • Ethics Spotlight: Company Violates OSHA’s Safety Rule o Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) • Ethics Spotlight: Fair Labor...
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...Ethics and Social Responsibility at Microsoft This section opens up by covering all the ways Microsoft has contributed to what the author has claimed to be a “positive reputation”. It covers everything the company has done to give back to society and how the company prides itself on its ethical standards, antitrust compliance and responsible competition. Microsoft is even quoted in the case that “it is committed to responsible and sustainable business practices that consider the social and environmental consequences of its actions”, but this after a decade of ethical and legal problems stemming from antitrust issues and several patent infringement complaints. The question is, would Microsoft have such a “positive reputation” today if we didn’t have the Sherman Act 1890, the Clayton Act 1914 and the Federal Trade Commission Act 1914 and if the Federal Trade Commission never began investigation Microsoft back in the early 1990s. Legal Issues Impacting Microsoft In the United States, Courts have held that a market share below 50% precludes finding monopoly power, and the leading treatise suggests that a share of over 70-75% for at least five years is required. While the law in the US allows creation of a monopoly, the courts have interpreted this to mean that monopoly is not unlawful “per se”, but if acquired through what the courts consider prohibited conduct, then it is unlawful. The Supreme Court also says, that a monopoly may engage in practices that any company...
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...Barnes and Noble: A Brief Report on Ethics, Compliance, and Financial Performance Gigi Garcia, Tarika Jackson, Osvaldo Ayala, and Lashaunda Kirkland April 17, 2014 FIN/370 Monique Johnson Barnes and Noble: A Brief Report on Ethics, Compliance, and Financial Performance Founded in 1965 by Leonard Riggio, Barnes and Noble was originally a small college book exchange. In 1970, Riggio had grown his small exchange by taking over the declining New York business trade name: Barnes and Noble. Only a few years later, Barnes and Noble became the premier book sellers of Manhattan, New York. Currently, Barnes and Noble (listed as BKS on the New York Stock Exchange) is a Fortune 500 company with over 700 stores in 50 states. The company includes: one of the largest digital media subsidiaries (Nook Media, LLC) partnered with Microsoft® and Pearson® (textbook publishers); online retail shopping; retail stores; an internet channel; over 600 on-campus university bookstores; and the recent acquisition of Sterling Publishing (Barnes and Noble, 2011). This brief report will: assess the role of ethics and compliance in Barnes and Noble’s financial environment and describe the procedures set in place to ensure ethical behavior; explain how financial markets work in the United States; identify processes used to comply with SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) regulations; evaluate Barnes and Noble’s financial performance during the past 2 years using financial ratios while discussing...
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...SAMSUNG Company’s Profile Samsung Group is a South Korean multinationalconglomerate company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It comprises numerous subsidiaries and affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand. On March 1, 1938, founding chairman Byung-Chull Lee started a business in Taegu, Korea, with 30,000 won. At the start, his business focused primarily on trade export, selling dried Korean fish, vegetables, and fruit to Manchuria and Beijing. Over the next three decades the group diversified into areas including food processing, textiles, insurance, securities and retail. Samsung entered the electronics industry in the late 1960s and the construction and shipbuilding industries in the mid-1970s; these areas would drive its subsequent growth. Following Lee's death in 1987, Samsung was separated into four business groups – Samsung Group, Shinsegae Group, CJ Group and Hansol Group. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in the production of consumer electronic products. It operates in three business divisions: consumer electronics (CE) division, which involves in the color televisions (CTVs), monitors, printers, air conditioners, refrigerators, laundry machines and others; information technology & mobile communications (IM) division, which involves in the production of computers, handhold phones (HHPs), network systems, digital cameras and others, as well as device solutions (DM) division, which is divided into semiconductor and...
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