Learning the Italian Alphabet

If you choose to learn the Italian language, youll need to start by learning its alphabet. When you have an innumerable amount of other â€Å"useful† languages to choose from, why would you choose Italian -- a language spoken by about 59 million people, compared to, let’s say Mandarin’s 935 million Despite the fact that every day more and more Italians are learning English, there is still a huge appeal to learn la bella lingua. Many people feel drawn to Italian because it’s a part of their ancestry, and learning Italian can be a great tool to utilize as you dig deeper into your family history. While you can do a lot of research in English, actually visiting your great grandfather’s birth town in Naples will require more than just a list of survival phrases to truly get a feel for the locals and hear stories about what the town was like while he was alive. What’s more, being able to understand and tell stories to your living family members will will add a depth and a richness to your relationships. Learning the Alphabet The Italian alphabet (lalfabeto) contains 21 letters: Letters / Names of the lettersa  Ã‚  ab  Ã‚  bic  Ã‚  cid  Ã‚  die  Ã‚  ef  Ã‚  effeg  Ã‚  gih  Ã‚  accai  Ã‚  il  Ã‚  ellem  Ã‚  emmen  Ã‚  enneo  Ã‚  op  Ã‚  piq  Ã‚  cur  Ã‚  erres  Ã‚  esset  Ã‚  tiu  Ã‚  uv  Ã‚  vuz  Ã‚  zeta The following five letters are found in foreign words: Letters / Names of the lettersj  Ã‚  i lungok  Ã‚  kappaw  Ã‚  doppia vux  Ã‚  icsy  Ã‚  ipsilon Learning the Basics If youre pressed for time, focus on the fundamentals. Study the Italian ABCs and Italian numbers, learn how to pronounce Italian words and ask questions in Italian, and brush up on the euro (after all, youll have to reach into your portafoglio—wallet—eventually). However, the quickest and most effective way to learn Italian is the total-immersion method. This means traveling to Italy for an extended period, studying at any of the thousands of language schools throughout the country, and speaking only Italian. Many programs include a home-stay component that enhances the cultural exchange. You literally eat, breathe, and dream in Italian. Whether its reading an Italian textbook, taking a language course at a university or local language school, completing workbook exercises, listening to a tape or CD, or conversing with a native Italian speaker. Spend some time every day reading, writing, speaking, and listening to Italian to become accustomed to the target language. Slowly but surely, your confidence will build, your accent will become less pronounced, your vocabulary will expand, and youll be communicating in Italian. Maybe youll even start speaking Italian with your hands!

Essay on Empirical Literature Article Review of Leadership...

Empirical Literature Article Review of Leadership Ethics Lillie Johnson LDR 800, Ethical Dilemmas and Stewardship June 4, 2013 Empirical Literature Article Review of Leadership Ethics The opportunity to evaluate original research serves as one of the many foundations to both scholarly writing and research (Grand Canyon University, 2013). Therefore, to enhance this process I will critique empirical research articles for the purpose of demonstrating the effectiveness in understanding leadership ethics. So, using the literature presented within in the works of â€Å"Predictors of Ethical Code Use and Ethical Tolerance in the Public Sector† by Neal Ashkanasy, Sarah Falkus, and Victor Callan along with â€Å"Advancing Ethics in Public†¦show more content†¦Beeri, Dayan, Vigoda-Gadot, and Werner’s Approach In lieu of the goal to test the relationships between ethics and performance within governments locally, Beeri et al., (2013) used questionnaires to evaluate the long term effects of an ethics program on employees’ perceptions, and the behavior in one council of an Israeli region. This as a result, stems from awareness of ethical codes, and inclusion of employees in the ethical decision making process. Groves and LaRocca’s Approach Groves and LaRocca (2011) utilized voluntary community-based leadership programs that targeted educational values on ethics. The leaders of these community based programs were emailed a link with instructions for participation with an online questionnaire. The assumption here was that training on both transformational and transactional leadership, in addition to ethical decision making and CSR would now be implemented. Results Analysis All in all, the results displayed by the analysis of each study correspond to the overall effort of the posed research. For example, supported results aligned with study hypotheses, but signified that certain mechanisms underlie the criterion for each of the tested variables on different levels according to Ashkanasy, Falkus, and Callan (2000). Whereas, Beeri et al., (2013)Show MoreRelatedCase Study648 Words   |  3 PagesAssessment 2 of Managing Under Uncertainty (GSBS 6001) Individual Reflective Journal (Week 5-due on 26.06.2016). Topic: â€Å"Ethics in Management Decision.†-Ethical Decision Making. Done By Student Name: Khalid Bin Hossain Student ID# c3267875. Done For Lecturer: Nimay K. As we have to write an annotated bibliography on the topic â€Å"Ethics in management decision†, I along with my other group members (Poonam and Hilda) arranged a successful group meeting for week 5. On this meetingRead MoreExample Of Systematic Review1474 Words   |  6 Pagesresearching the effectiveness of training programmes in ethics and its influence on ethical leadership and ethical behaviour, previous systematic reviews on these topics were searched. However, no review protocols were found. Consequently, to ensure transparency with this systematic review, an evidence-based checklist was used to guide this review’s methodology. Specifically, this review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) statement, designedRead MoreEthical Behavior Is Distinguishing And Performing One s Actions1490 Words   |  6 Pagesaccording to individuals, customs, morals and beliefs. Ethical behavior represents a value system that has been developed from a logical analysis of society, established by fairness, integrity, the desires and privileges of people and oneself. Ethical leadership encompasses two aspects. First, ethical leaders have to perform and make ethical judgments. Secondly, ethical leaders should direct fairly, through daily interactions with others, through the motivations of employees and team members, and throughRead MoreLeadership Styles Of A Leadership1685 Words   |  7 PagesLeadership involves the capac ity to lead, influence, and motivate followers to accomplish goals effectively. This literature review will discuss the various leadership styles and linkage between the followers. The leadership styles of transformational, charismatic, servant, leader-member-exchange theory leaders share a common interest the follower. The servant leader serves others before self. The transformational leader inspires and charismatic leader charms the followers. A leader common goalRead MoreMy Vision And Plans For Personnel Psychology1575 Words   |  7 Pagesresource management, and organizational behavior were identified in the founding editorial. This broad focus is reflected in the diversity of topics published in the journal, including some of the most influential articles in the areas of personnel selection (Barrick Mount, 1991), leadership (Fleishman, 1953), motivation and work attitudes (Kunin, 1955; Weitz, 1952), person-organization fit (Kristof, 1996; Schneider, 1987), organizational c itizenship behavior (Organ Ryan, 1995), work teams (CampionRead MoreBusiness Ethics Annotated Bibliography2636 Words   |  11 Pagesperformance. Journal of Business Ethics, 97, 341-363.Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/docview/821301766 The authors of this business journal explore the recent activities of today’s retail giants and how their ethical behavior affects their brand, objectives, performance and stakeholders. The authors investigate the origins of certain variables that affect the ethical values of an organization. In addition, a review is performed on how both ethics along with these variablesRead MoreThe Leadership Quarterly Essay12152 Words   |  49 PagesThe Leadership Quarterly 17 (2006) 559 – 576 www.elsevier.com/locate/leaqua Leadership and the organizational context: Like the weather? ☆ Lyman W. Porter ⠁Ž, Grace B. McLaughlin 1 The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California–Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-3125, USA Abstract This article reviews the leadership literature from 1990–2005 in twenty-one major journals in order to determine the nature and extent of attention to the organizational context as a factor affecting leadersRead MoreEssay about Ethics in International Business1657 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ Ethics in International Business Abstract International business ethics challenges the corporate world to deal with questions of what to do in situations where ethical standards come into conflict as a result of the different cultural practices in the nation. Since, there is this dilemma that has progressively troubled the large multinational corporations, international business ethics has arisen to help address these adhesive subject matters. There are several international businessRead MoreTeam-Building Leadership Essay examples1863 Words   |  8 PagesLeadership SMART Goal Sherri Love Chamberlain School of Nursing Christle Shavers NR 447 Collaborative Health Care Team-building Leadership Core healthcare competence According to the Institute of Medicine, patient-centered is â€Å"health care that establishes a partnership among practitioners, patients, and their families (when appropriate) to ensure that decisions respect patients’ wants, needs, and preferences and that patients have the education and supportRead MoreLeadership Theories2745 Words   |  11 Pagesï » ¿Leadership Theories Leadership is more than just a skill set of an individual, it has also been conceptualized as a social process†¦[and] social awareness includes†¦empathy, service orientation, and developing others. Teaching implicit leadership theories develops leaders and leadership by raising awareness of this social context and of ones own implicit leadership theories and how they might or might not match the social context†¦ (Schyns, et al, 2011, pp. 397-98). Abstract Leadership is

Detention of Suspected Terrorists - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 718 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/07/30 Category Society Essay Level High school Topics: Terrorism Essay Did you like this example? Border controls are measures taken by a country or multiple countries to monitor its borders in order to regulate the movement of people, animals and goods. With the UK having voted to leave the European Union in 2016, it means that in the near future the UKs border security will be much tighter and more difficult to access. As for the EU, its counter-terrorism strategy was adopted shortly after attacks in Madrid in 2004 and in London in 2005. The attacks in Paris in 2015 accelerated the development of new measures. Almost 8,000 Europeans from over 20 different countries are believed to have travelled to areas in conflict in Syria and Iraq to join jihadist terrorist groups, according to Europol. Although there is a decrease in the amount of people travelling recently, the number of returning foreign fighters is expected to rise if Islamic State is defeated militarily or collapses. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Detention of Suspected Terrorists" essay for you Create order Deportation/Detention of Suspected Terrorists After the terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001, President George Bush declared a war on terror. He argued that the need to counter terrorism and keep people safe overrode the obligation to respect human rights. Guantnamo Bay is a prison camp that was established by the United States in January 2002 as a place for the US authorities to hold people who were believed to be enemy combatants in this war on terror. The first detainees were transferred to the prison camp on 11 January 2002. In October 2012 Abu Hamza was deported from the UK after a lengthy 8 year legal battle and many appeals to maintain his British passport. Abu Hamza (born Mustafa Kamel Mustafa in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1958) came to the UK in 1979 with a student visa. In 1980 he became married to Valerie Fleming, a British citizen who had now allowed Hamza to gain full access to the UK. The couple eventually got divorced in 1983. Hamza was infamously known for his radical hate speeches towards the west that he gave in London mosques including a speech he gave after the events on 11th September 2001, in which he praised the events and the plane hijacks. In February 2003 Hamza again caused outrage when he described the Colombia space shuttle, which contained Christians, Hindus and a Jewish person as a trinity of evil and said its destruction was a punishment from Allah. Having been 6 years since Hamza was extradited to the USA, it is still feared that his hate speeches might have inspired other radical islamist individuals to either make their own public speeches, or worse, cause an attack on a public place. Stop and Searches Stop and searches are most common within airports worldwide and were mainly introduced along with other security measures after 11th September 2001 and are used in many other public places such as concert venues, theme parks and even on the streets. They are most often used for Police officers to check whether or not the person they are searching has something that could be potentially harmful towards themselves or anyone else in the area. Many people believe that random searches can sometimes be racially discriminating towards minority groups as they feel they are often targeted to be searched rather than Caucasian individuals. Despite all of the racial allegations that stop and searches cause, people would argue that they do help with catching terror suspects and can sometimes make people feel safer knowing that theyre taking place. Cyber Security/terrorism Cyber terrorism is the use of the internet to conduct violent acts that result in or directly threaten the loss of life significant bodily harm in order to achieve either political or ideological gains using threats or intimidation. Methods in which cyber attacks occur most frequently include social media and private emails. According to a report found within an online news source said that There were 638 million attempted ransomware cyber attacks in 2016. These attacks were examples of ransomware attacks, in which peoples emails were frozen and were not accessible and were held under ransom unless the owner paid up. Cyber security groups have been said to be working on ways to prevent the attacks from even reaching people by using computer vaccines. Social media platforms also help to look out for suspicious activities and attitudes. These individuals and groups make pages on different social media platforms as a way to convince civilians that they are legitimate accounts/pages.

Why I Want a Wife - 2953 Words

Weddings are often a time of celebration, especially for my family. This past summer, as we prepared for my sister Gini’s wedding, the festivities extended to good-natured teasing of the bride- and groom-to-be. For example, WITH knowing smiles, my parents--self-proclaimed experts on marriage courtesy of their own wedding almost thirty years ago--dispensed advice about everything, including how to improve her cooking skills beyond instant rice and grilled cheese. Gini’s typical responses included That was a long time ago, Things are different now; times have changed, and Jason can do a lot of things for himself.† It was with particular delight that my family took to rubbing in one of Jason’s smoother moves. He waited until a few short†¦show more content†¦In my reading, the setting of the over-worked housewife will take the form of the narrator both being such a wife and of describing such as wife through mimicry. To indicate this setting, I will us e actions to reinforce the narrator’s words. For example, at the beginning, in the clause while I was ironing, the narrator slips in that she thought through her argument while engaged in domestic labor. When I read that line, I will direct a look at the audience that conveys just how thrilled I am to be pressing clothes. Which is to say, my look will suggest that yet again, while I was doing one of my many thankless jobs, I was thinking about that poor guy. A second way I intend to suggest the setting is to give the audience a withering look while I use my right hand to pick up and put away imaginary things as I read the lines I want a wife who will keep my house clean. A wife who will pick up after my children, a wife who will pick up after me. I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when need be, and who will see to it that my personal things are kept in their proper place so that I can find what I need the minute IShow MoreRelatedWhy I Want A Wife915 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Why I Want A Wife† is a one-sided essay about what a woman seeks out of a man, but also what a man should seek out of a woman. â€Å"I want a wife who keep the house clean. I want a wife who will take care of physical needs and wife who will take care of the kids†. Judy Brady is explaining in this essay what every woman should seek out of a man. She explains how this should be the new standards for all men and women who are searching for a partner. Judy explains that the responsibilities should be theRead MoreWhy I Want A Wife1070 Words   |  5 Pageswritingâ€Å"Why I Want a Wife†. She is able to captivate the reader into her writing by sparking an interest in what she has to say next. However, looking into her writing, the reader is easily able to see the flaws in her words. She over uses repetition, transitions points poorly, is over stereotypical, makes illogical claims, and is overly insensitive. It is often said in order for a person to retain information they need to read the given information at least three times. In â€Å"Why I Want a Wife† BradyRead MoreWhy I want a wife analysis860 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Analysis: Why I Want A Wife by Judy Brady 1. What is the tone of the essay? Is she serious? The tone in the essay is casual, humorous, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic. The author lists multiple jobs which a wife does and is expected by many to do in many instances. She does the same jobs in her life for her husband and children but now she seems to not like to do them anymore and wants a wife for her to help out. Also, she describes the attitude of men wanting a wife in his life, so he canRead MoreRhetorical Analysis : Why I Want A Wife707 Words   |  3 PagesIn the 1970’s the average family had a wife that would take care of all of the cooking, the cleaning, everything concerning their kids, and even caring for her husband too. They did all of this without complaining, while their husband was at work. In those times nothing less was expected from them. In the article â€Å"Why I Want a Wife† Brady uses ethos, logos, and pathos to illustrate her opinion of what a wife do in a marriage, in which she infers that wives do too much for their families. Brady usesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Essay Why I Want A Wife 1056 Words   |  5 Pages Analysis of the Essay Why I Want a Wife? The main idea of the essay Why I Want a Wife by Judy Brady is that men s perceptions of women still adhere to traditional principles of male dominance and female submissiveness. The main purpose of this essay is to explain how men and society perceive the â€Å"idyllic woman† or better yet said, submissive wife, care giver and stress reliever. Judy Bradly effectively uses satire, repetition and the point of view to portray chauvinism and how women are exploitedRead MoreJudy Bradys Why I Want A Wife1128 Words   |  5 Pagesbest for them and their circumstances. However, in Judy Brady’s essay, â€Å"Why I Want a Wife,† she makes it seem like men have it easy because women do the majority of family work and have all of the responsibilities and that the workload is not balanced. She satirically states that she too would like a wife to do all of her responsibilities, but if her essay is any indication of what her marriage is like, she does not need a wife she, she needs a marriage counselor. Some readers may find her essayRead MoreWhy I Want A Wife, By Judy Brady1976 Words   |  8 Pagesfeministic essay, â€Å"Why I Want a Wife†, by Judy Brady. In particular, the author emphasizes and sheds light upon the truth that women, especially those that are married, have numerous responsibilities that they bear on their shoulders, which is unfair and unjustified. Men and women are differentiated right away. There has not ever been a day where I am seen equal to a man†¦ I am always seen as inferior, either intentionally or unintentionally. Society attempts to persuade me into thinking that I am less thanRead MoreAnalysis Of Why I Am Still Want A Wife By Judy Brady1515 Words   |  7 PagesIn her essay titled â€Å"Why I [Still] Want a Wife†, Judy Brady argues that wives are automatically assigned the role of primary caretaker and homemaker in a traditional marriage. Brady states that in her marriage, she is expected to earn an income while her husband pursues a higher education, she is expected to perform all parental duties exclusively, tend to all housework, her husband’s sexual needs and desires with no regard to her own, and be a hostess while keeping quiet and doing all the aboveRead MoreWife vs. Daughter in Only Daughter by Sandra Cisneros and Why I Want a Wife by Judy Brady544 Words   |  3 PagesWhat is a Wife ? What is a Daughter? Are they the same, or are they different? A wife supports a husband, but a daughter could also have the same position could she not? A daughter could marry and become a wife, and still be a daughter. Than again, a wife could be an only child, and a wife could have no father. A wife compares to a daughter in many ways, and differs in many different ways as well. All in all, it?s quite possible that all women, go through at least one of these titles, at oneRead MoreIn Judy Brady’S Article â€Å"I Want A Wife†, She Uses Repetition1231 Words   |  5 Pagesarticle â€Å"I Want A Wife†, she uses repetition greatly in her essay to make her point, why wouldn’t anyone want a wife. Judy Brady was born in 1937 in San Francisco and got a B.A at the University of Iowa in 1962. Brady’s article first appeared in the feminist magazine Ms., which was in Arlington County, Virginia in 1972. The author’s main idea was to show the amount of work that a wife is expected to do. She does this by strategically listing out what she looks for in a wife. She constantly says, â€Å"I want

Difference in Us Gaap and International Accounting Free Essays

IS IFRS a better Accounting Standard than US GAAP for achieving good financial reports? This research paper delivers an analysis of determining whether the International Financial Reporting Standards, hereafter known as IFRS, is a better reporting standard than the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP). Financial Statements have to provide high quality financial reporting information with regards to economic entities, primarily financial in nature, which are useful for economic decision making (FASB, 1999; IASB, 2008). International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have been extremely involved in making IFRS the international Accounting Standard. We will write a custom essay sample on Difference in Us Gaap and International Accounting or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been working on evaluating the implications of incorporating IFRS into the US financial reporting system, currently known as US GAAP. More than one hundred countries have moved to IFRS reporting, or have decided to require the use of these standards in the near future. (SEC,[2007]). Financial reports are a combination of four different key statements. They are balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements and the statements of shareholders equity. Currently, the FASB is the highest authority in establishing generally accepted accounting for public and private companies in the United States. Financial reports are a necessary tool used by current and prospective investors to see how a company function and stands financially. It is also used to analyze and assess a company’s potential areas of growth as well as its areas of weakness. US GAAP has many guidelines and rules to follow whereas IFRS is more based on basic principle. Comparing the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP) and IFRS might help to understand which standards will better serve the Goal of achieving good financial reports. Both IFRS and US GAAP have many rules in common and are significantly similar due to the conjunction efforts of both officials over the years. Despite this, numerous differences between US GAAP and IFRS also exist. The big four audit firms have been instrumental in developing a difference between the standards. The followings are the comparisons of rules between IFRS and US GAAP to remotely see the difference between two accounting standards in three different areas. The areas are A) Revenue Recognition, B) Business Combination and C) Inventories. A) Revenue Recognition: US GAAP revenue recognition guidance is extensive and includes a significant number of standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The guidance tends to be highly detailed and is often industry-specific. One of the most common general revenue recognition issues has to do with the determination of when transaction with multiple deliverables should be separated into components and how the revenue gets allocated to the different components. Under US GAAP, detailed separation and allocation criteria is focused whereas IFRS focus on the economic substance of the transactions (Ernst Young, 2011). Revenues are likely to increase with less detailed guidance under IFRS. B) Inventory Valuation: The US GAAP permits last in first out (LIFO), first in first out (FIFO), and weighted average cost. The inventories carried are recorded at the lower of the cost or market price. According to IFRS, first in first out and weighted average cost are only permitted. Companies that use last in first out must revalue inventory, which could result in tax liabilities due to the IRS’s last in first out conformity rule. C) Business combination: Business combination refers to the takeover of one enterprise by another. Business combinations are one of the important business activities carried out in current capital market (Bohusova, 2009). More than 13000 MA transactions were carried out worldwide in 2006 (IASB, 2006). Although US GAAP has largely converged with IFRS in this area, certain important differences have remained. The business combination standards under US GAAP and IFRS have two major differences: (1) Full goodwill and (2) the requirements regarding recognition of contingent assets and contingent liabilities. Different requirements for impairment testing and accounting for deferred taxes are among the most significant. The Business combination project has contributed to Mergers and Acquisition recording harmonization and to comparability of financial statement in the area of business combination (Svoboda, 2009). Importance of Good Financial Reporting: Financial reporting and disclosure quality are very important because it is linked with various economic consequences such as market liquidity, firms’ cost of capital, and corporate decision making (Daske, 2006). It is relatively impossible to compute all of the economic consequences that may have cause due to corporate decision. Additionally, all the effects are not properly understood nor will there be supportive evidence. Investors depend upon the financial reports provided by the companies for investment opportunities. Financial reports provided by the companies are the only evidence of the effectiveness of reporting quality. Less informed investors are worried about the better informed investors. This causes less informed investors to lower the price of the security to protect against the losses from trading with better informed financiers. The unwillingness of the less informed investors reduces the liquidity of the securities market. Corporate disclosure can alleviate the problem and increase market liquidity by leveling information among investors (Verracchia, 2001). Good reporting and disclosure can affect the cost of capital. Better disclosure can improve risk sharing in the economy, either by making investors aware of certain securities or by making them more willing to hold them, which again reduces the cost of capital (Diamond and Verrecchia, 1991). It is also very likely that better reporting improves corporate decision making. For instance the efficiency of firm’s investment decision would improve. There have been a number of studies conducted suggesting that better reporting leads to higher investment efficiency. However, the evidence on the effects of reporting quality on corporate decisions is still in its early stages (Biddle et al, 2008). The disclosure of one firm can be very useful to other firms for decision-making purpose but it can also help reduce agency problems in other firms. The disclosure of operating performance and governance engagements provides useful standards that help outside investors to evaluate other firm’s managerial efficiency or potential agency conflicts and doing so lowers the cost of monitoring. Another very important element of corporate reporting is its comparability among firms. Corporate reporting can be precisely useful to the investors and other stakeholders if they are using similar accounting standards. More comparable reporting makes it easier to differentiate between less and more profitable firms, which in turn reduces information asymmetries among investors and provides lower risk to the investors. These improvement resulting from greater comparability can also increase market liquidity and reduce firms cost of capital (Daske, 2006). Better comparability can also have positive effects on corporate decision making. More comparable reports allow firms to make better informed investment choices due to a better understanding of competing firms, both within a country and across countries. Growing numbers of firms with comparable financial reports increases the number of two ways communication linkages in the â€Å"Financial reporting† network. This enhances the value of the overall network to both the investors and firms (Meeks and Swann, 2008). Although there are many benefits of more comparable reporting and disclosure, there are also costs to improving corporate reporting. The reporting and disclosure costs include the preparation and certification. Regulators should carefully weigh the convergence of costs and benefits to firms, investors, and other parties in the economy. The benefit of high quality and more comparable reporting may also vary significantly across industries and markets. Impact of IFRS in Foreign Countries: Financial reporting quality is affected by many factors other than just the accounting principle adopted. These include legal and political systems, reporting incentives and other market incentives. Ball, Robin, Wu, 2003). The quality of financial reporting also depends on the relevance and reliability of the financial and non-financial information recognized and disclosed (Ferrari, Momente, and Reggiani, 2011). Empirical research conducted by Ferrari, Momente and Reggiani studied the earning quality in relation between the German companies practicing IFRS and German companies practicing German accounting standards (HGB). This res earch has been conducted based on German companies, excluding financials and utilities listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange. German is the only large country in Europe with a strong set of local GAAP where a substantial quantity of firms applied IFRS on a voluntary basis before 2005. Out of 746 German companies 368 were following IRFS and 378 companies were following HGB (SEE APPENDEX 1). The mathematical finding articulates that the analyses supports the idea that the IFRS adopter are generally characterized by a level of earnings management lower than or equal to the HGB adopters. Another study conducted by Daske, Hall, Leuz and Verdi looked for evidence on economic consequences after mandatory IFRS Reporting. The analyses were based on market liquidity and cost of capital in 26 different countries. Their research provides us with the synopsis on the capital market effects after introducing the IFRS in 26 countries around the world. The study analyzes the effects in stock market liquidity, cost of equity capital, and equity valuations. The results propose that the mandatory adopters experience statistically significant increases in market liquidity after IFRS reporting becomes compulsory. These research and results indicate that results have mixed results on quality changes after the adaption of IFRS in different countries. Whether IFRS can work properly in markets that are disciplined mainly by regulators rather than the market mechanism can be verified by observing the adoption of IFRS by China (DING SU, 2008). What’s more, a single set of standards may not be suitable for all settings and thus may not improve reliability due to differences among countries (Soderstrom Sun, 2007). The adoption of IFRS in the Chinese economy has significantly improved the quality of accounting and reported earnings (Liu el at, 2001). Evidence also reveals that value significance of reported earnings increased while earning leveling decreased with the standard change. Empirical evidence showed by Daske et al. ’s (2008) claim that quality improvement from IFRS adoption is expected to be higher for adopters with poorer quality as firms audited by the Big Four before the standard change. This clearly shows that IFRS has been the preferable accounting standards for foreign countries. Is Conversion to IFRS economically advantage? Quality reporting and more comparable reporting and disclosure can create economy-wide benefits. Therefore it is safe to say that it makes economic sense for regulators to access the current reporting environment within a market or country to determine if any changes to the reporting environment could move reporting quality and comparability closer to the peak. My question is, what role the accounting standards play in achieving good quality and comparable reporting practices? How will policymaker achieve these goals? The capital markets and investors appreciate higher transparency and high quality reporting. However, the evidence from academic studies suggests a limited role of standards in influencing reporting practices (Daske, 2006). To further support this point, we need to highlight the role of reporting incentives and institutional frameworks in shaping firms’ reporting practices. We can also assume that changing the accounting standards can also lead to undesirable effects depending upon the economy. Studies steered by Ball and Shivakumar (2005) illustrated the importance of firms reporting incentives, rather than accounting standards, as key drivers of observed reporting quality. The studies identify that accounting standards give firms considerable reporting choice because the application of the standards involves considerable judgment since accounting measurements rely on management’s private information and involve an assessment of the future, making them subjective demonstration of management’s evidence set. Firms reporting inducements are molded by many factors which includes the capital market forces, the law of the nation and a firm’s compensation on performance to the management. It is relevant for the IFRS debater that the studies show that even the firms with the same accounting standards, reporting practices fluctuate considerably across firms and countries (Ball and Shivakumar, 2005). Studies also shows that even if these standards are strictly enforced and implemented, moving to a single set of accounting standards is not enough to produce comparability of reporting and disclosure practices (Ball and Shivakumar, 2005). This proves that accounting standards are more limited than often thought. They are just one of many factors which help shape actual reporting and disclosure practices. Accounting standards are a very important organized element that affects financial reporting practices in a country. In a good economy, these elements are most likely to help one another because accounting information plays an important role in financial contracting (Ball, 2001). Investors in public equity markets use financial statements to witness their entitlements, make speculations, or use their rights at shareholder meetings. Therefore, it is practical to think that corporate reporting improvements in conjunction with other institutional factors to enable financial transaction and contracting (Ball, 2001). IFRS is favored because of the idea behind its effects on capital market and investors. Another thing to consider is that the adoption of IFRS can also improve financial reporting to outside investors. We can conclude that IFRS leans more toward capital markets which is more relevant to investors. Tightening the accounting standard can reduce the level of earning management and improve reporting quality (Soderstrom, 2007). Hence, IFRS helps to lower the quantity of reporting discretion comparative to many local GAAP. However reducing the level of reporting discretion can also makes it more difficult for management to track their private information through the financial statements. Using a similar accounting standard across the world likely improves foreigner’s ability to notice earnings management and accounting manipulations. Hence, a shift to IFRS does in fact increase the comparability of a firm’s report, and it can also improve market liquidity. In contrary, Daske et al. 2008) verifies that the capital market effects around the mandatory IFRS reporting are not evenly distributed across countries because countries with weak law enforcement and reporting incentives are most susceptible to remain substantially unaffected by the IFRS mandate. There is evidence of constructive capital market outcome by the IFRS mandate in several countries. However, there is significant variance in the ef fects across firms and countries. IFRS adoptions in the US economy rests on whether the quality of US firms reporting fluctuate in the capital market. Therefore, it is necessary to acknowledge such changes in reporting quality are likely to occur. IFRS is now similarly compared with US GAAP and the remaining differences are minor (Krishnan el at 2012). Both standards have a similar fundamental viewpoint and capital market positioning. In 2002, the two standard setting bodies issued a Memorandum of Understanding (â€Å"Norwalk Agreement†), agreeing to make the two financial reporting standards more compatible and to coordinate their future work program in order to maintain compatibility (FASB (1999). IFRS and US GAAP have converged in many areas bringing both standards closer to each other. The US is one of the largest economies in the world. The institutional framework of the US economy is very unique. US firms typically rely heavily on publicly traded external finance (Juang el at, 2012). Directly or indirectly, a larger portion of US household hold debt and equity securities through mutual funds compare to other countries. Retirement savings represents a substantial amount of those securities. Hence, the regulators have a great responsibility to support this financial system. Therefore, the current securities laws and the US GAAP primarily are geared towards supporting public debt and equity markets. The US economy and its capital market are diverse. Reporting outcomes under US GAAP are generally considered to be high quality because of its ability to reflect economic events in a timely manner (Ball et al, 2001). The public enforcement system is supplemented by robust private administration, intimidating lawsuit, and potentially substantial financial consequences for managers, directors, and corporations that engage in reporting crimes. FASB standards and additional SEC filing rules requires a more substantial amount of disclosure than in any other countries (SEC). Hence, a switch to IFRS can bring a dilemma weather to maintain disclosure requirements mandated by the SEC or stick to IFRS limited disclosure (SEC). Cost Analysis of Adopting IFRS-From the preceding discussion, the capital market benefits of IFRS and the effects on U. S reporting practices are likely to be small. However, let’s take a look at the cost consequences of adopting IFRS. In the first year of publishing IFRS reports, companies will have to train their employees in the preparation of IFRS financial statements. Hiring outside specialists and consultants and upgrading the software are other major expenses companies will have to bear. It should be noted that there will be additional revenue for the firms who does the advisory and auditing of those firms. Not surprisingly, many of the accounting firms take very optimistic attitude regarding the potential adoption of IFRS by the US. The cost for US firms would be substantial. According to ICAEW, 2007 per firm estimates ranging from 0. 31% of total sales for firms with sales below $700 million to . 05% of total sales for larger firms. This amounts to an average onetime cost of $430,000 for small firms and $3. 24 million for large firms. Based on these estimates, the US economy as a whole could cost up to $8 billion. The cost might go up if SEC requires firms to provide reports under both standards. Although the one-time conversion costs are likely to be substantial, there is no guarantee for any recurring cost. There might be periodic costs associated with inconsistencies within the US legal and institutional system (ICAEW, 2007). To my understanding issues like this wouldn’t be easily to fixed. One can argue that there are also many reasons to believe that adoption of IFRS could also save money because of a single global reporting system in the long run. The foreign US holdings multinationals often have to fulfill with the domestic reporting standards of their residence which is most likely to be IFRS. If foreign multinationals that use IFRS no longer have to maintain US GAAP reporting then they will save money on the conversion. The adoption of IFRS could save money to many US firms indirectly. Effect on Education System due to conversion: The accounting professionals and educators need to be brought up to speed in an adequately time frame in order for smooth conversion to IFRS. As mentioned earlier, China and Germany were able to convert the standard smoothly; the same should be possible in the U. S. The big four accounting firms have been releasing a number of reports that IFRS education is lagging behind. The big four accounting firm have reported that U. S. investors and issuers are not yet appropriately educated with IFRS, and that at present college curriculums, text books and other instructional tools do not adequately train students and other interested parties in IFRS proficiencies (Ernst Young, 2007b; KPMG, 2008b). Writers Point of View: This research paper has mentioned a few times about the issues related to the compatibility of IFRS with the US institutional framework. The country’s financial reporting system is a very important determinant of aggregate economic effects. Hence, the financial reporting system is one of the basics of country’s organized framework which is likely to detect the performance of a country’s financial and economic system. A switch to IFRS by US regulators can cause unwanted concerns for the US economy if there are any incompatibilities with other elements of the organizational framework, even when IFRS are thought to be high quality and perform well in other countries. Financial markets are a network where one is reliant upon others’ financial reports. It is difficult to ascertain and quantify the complexity that can caused due to the adoption of IFRS. As countries institutional frameworks play a key role in determining manager’s reporting inducements and the use of discretion, it is significant to know whether the amount of reporting preference in IFRS creates a problem for the US litigation system since it is moderately exclusive. Because IFRS has less specific standards and guidance, executives have to apply more judgment in interpreting IFRS. IFRS could lead to uncertainty about litigation outcomes which could even induce executives to make conservative accounting decisions. A vital issue is whether a single set of accounting standards is necessary and would benefit firms, investors, and additional stakeholders. Striving for a single set of accounting standards can generate some cost savings and comparability supports, but the adoption of IFRS in the US would also eliminate the existing competition between IFRS and US GAAP. This could also mean the monopoly of IFRS. Monopoly has never been a good sign in the business world for a consumer. As I have mentioned earlier in my paper, US GAAP and IFRS have very small differences. Hence, it makes perfect logic that comparability of US GAAP is likely to increase globally because additional countries plan on adopting IFRS. US investors will be in better position if they are capable of understanding the IFRS due to growing adoption around the globe. Alternatively, FASB could keep up with the work on adapting the favorable principles of IFRS into the US GAAP yet not converting completely into IFRS. U. S investors and executives will have sufficient time to adapt with the change if U. S GAAP is slowly modified to converge with IFRS. This could possibly be the most inexpensive and least disruptive option for the US economy. CONCLUSION: A vital role of accounting standards is to cut back the transactions cost of communicating data among various shareholders, permitting them to make more effective judgments and to undertake transactions within, outside, and among firms. There are pros and cons for adopting IFRS. Comparability could be seen as pros whereas higher initial cost for convergence and monopoly of IFRS could be seen as cons. Since US economy is very complex, the effect of IFRS could not be forecasted in its eternity. It is better for US regulator to slowly convert the favorable principle of IFRS into US GAAP. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ball, R. , A Robin, and Wu, 2003, Incentives Versus Standards: Properties of Accounting Income in four East Asian Countries, Journal of Accounting and Economics36, 235-270. Ball, R. , 2001, Infrastructure Requirements of an Economically Efficient System of Public Fianncial Reporting and Disclosure, in Brooking- Wharton papers on Financial Services, R. Litan, And T. Herring (eds), Brooking Insitution Press, Washington, 127-169. Ball, R. , Shivakumar, 2005, Earning quality in U. K Private Firms, Journal of Accounting and Economics 39, 83-128 Biddle, G, G Hilary and R. Verdi, 2008, How does Financial Reporing Quality Improve Investment Efficiency.? Working paper, University of Hong Kong, Hong kong university of science technology and MIT Sloan School of Management. Bohusova, Hana, and Patrick Svoboda. â€Å"IFRS AND US GAAP CONVERGENCE IN AREA OF MERGER AND ACQUISITION. † Economics Management 14. 1822-6515 (2009): 20-27. Print. Daske, Holger. â€Å"Economic Benefits Of Adopting IFRS Or US-GAAP – Have The Expected Cost Of Equity Capital Really Decreased?. Journal Of Business Finance Accounting 33. 3/4 (2006): 329-373. Business Source Premier. Web. 6 Aug. 2012. (65 pages) Daske, H. , Hail, L. , Leuz Verdi, R. (2008). Mandatory IFRS reporting around the world: Early evidence on the economic consequences. Journal of Accounting Research, 46, 1085-1142. Diamond, D and R, Verrecchia, 1991, Disclosure, liquidity and the cost of capital, journal of finance 46, 1325-1359. Ding, Y. , Su, X. (2008). Implementation of IFRS in a regulated market. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 27, 474- 479. Ernst Young, 2007b, IFRS- An option for U. S Issuer? , Hot Topic, Professional Practice Group, Ernst young LLP. Ernst Young, DEC 2011, US GAAP versus IFRS: The Basic, Ernst Young LLP. FASB (1999). International standard setting: a vision for the future. Norwalk Ferrari, Mascia, Francesco Momente, and Francesco Reggiani. â€Å"Investor Preception of the International Accounting Standards Quality: Inferences From Germany. † Journal of Accounting, Auditing Finance (2011): n. pag. Business Source Complete. Web. 03 Aug. 2012. Hail, Luzi, Christian Leuz, and Peter Wysocki. â€Å"Global Accounting Convergence and the Potential Adoption of IFRS by the United States: An Analysis of Economic and Policy Factors by Luzi Hail, Christian Leuz, Peter Wysocki :: SSRN. † Social Science Research Network (SSRN) Home Page. N. p. , n. d. Web. 4 Sept. 2012. http://ssrn. com/abstract=1357331. IASB (2008). Exposure Draft on an improved Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting: The Objective of Financial Reporting and Qualitative Characteristics of Decision- Useful Financial Reporting Information. London ICAEW, 2007, EU Implementation of IFRS and the Fair Value Directive: A Report for the European Commission, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, London. Juang, Yuan, and Guochang Zhang. â€Å"An Examination of the Incremental Usefulness of Balance-Sheet Information Beyod Earnings in Explaining Stock Returns. † Journal of Auditing Finance 27. 2 (2012): n. pag. EBSCO. Web. 03 Aug. 2012 Krishnan, Sudha, and Lin Ping. â€Å"Inventory Valuation Under IFRS And GAAP. † Strategic Finance 93. 9 (2012): 51-58. Business Source Premier. Web. 6 Aug. 2012. (8 pages) Liu, chunhui, lee J. Yao. Nan Hu and Ling Liu. The Impat of IFRS on Accounting Quality in Regulated Market: An Empirical study of China. † Journal of Auditing Finance 26. 4 (2001): 659-76. Business Source Complete. Web 04 aud 2012 Ramanna, Karthik , and Ewa Sletten. â€Å"Why do countries adopt International Financial Reporting Standards?. † Harvard Business Publication 5 Jan. 2009: 09-102. Print. Rodrigo Verdi, et al. â€Å"Mandatory IFRS Reporting Around The World: Early Evidence On The Economic Consequences. † Journal Of Accounting Research 46. 5 (2008): 1085-1142. Business Source Premier. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. Securities and exchange commission(SEC). Sec soliciting public comment on role for IFRS in the U. S Washington, DC: SEC, July 25, 2007. http://www. sec. gov/news/press/2007/2007-145. htm SEC â€Å"How the SEC Protects Investors, Maintains Market Integrity, and Facilitates Capital Formation (Securities and Exchange Commission). † U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Homepage. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. http://www. sec. gov/about/whatwedo. shtml. Soderstrom, N. S. , Sun, K. J. (2007). IFRS adoption and accounting quality: A review. European Accounting Review, 16, 675-702. Verrechia, R. , 2001, Essay on Disclosure, Journal of Accounting and Economics 32, 91-180. How to cite Difference in Us Gaap and International Accounting, Essay examples

Enrone Leadership failure free essay sample

Enron stands out as one of the biggest failures in business history. In 2001, Americans were appalled to learn of the unethical practices carried out by leaders and other employees of Enron. Enron used various methods of deception to appear more profitable than it really was, including through creating off-the-book entities to which Enron transferred its substantial debt. (Jennings, 2005). Enron implosion took the world capital markets and Shake the investor confidence in accounting and financial reporting. It even caused the world’s renowned international accounting firm Arthur Andersen to collapse. The most important gatekeeper could not predict Enron’s collapse before it occurred. It was then discovered that Enron senior management had employed complex creative accounting techniques to manipulate the company’s financial figures and hence boost up the financial performance. (Cruver, July 2002) This essay explores the internal culture and leadership practices of its top management. It includes a particular emphasis on charismatic leadership, in people like Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. The compelling vision of these leaders, expressed in a recruitment system designed to activate a process of conversion and the promotion of culture by conformity and penalizing of dissent. Introduction Enron went bankrupt and disappeared thirteen years ago, the impacts it has made on the ethical standards never faded. It took Enron 16 years to go from about ten billion dollar assets to more than sixty-five billion dollar assets, and took twenty-four days to go bankrupt. Enron, which once ranked as the seventh-largest company on the Fortune 500 and ranked as the sixth-largest energy company in the world, on December 2, 2001, filed for bankruptcy protection in the biggest case of bankruptcy in the United States up to that point. By November 2001, the company’s stock, which once peaked at $90, was down to less than $1. It was a disaster for the thousands of employees and investors. Employees lost their jobs and pensions, and investors lost billions of dollars. Enron’s ethics code was based on respect, integrity, communication, and excellence. Respect. We treat others, as we would like to be treated ourselves. We do not tolerate abusive or disrespectful treatment. Ruthlessness, callousness and arrogance do not belong here. (chairman, 2000) Integrity. We work with customers and prospects openly, honestly and sincerely. When we say we will do something, we will do it; when we say we cannot or will not do something, then we won’t do it. We have an obligation to communicate. Here we take the time to talk with one another and to listen. We believe that information is meant to move and that information moves people. (chairman, 2000) Excellence. We are satisfied with nothing less than the very best in everything we do. We will continue to raise the bar for everyone. The great fun here will be for all of us to discover just how good we can really be (chairman, 2000) As per this code of conduct and Ken Lay’s professed commitment to business ethics, how could Enron have collapsed so dramatically, going from reported revenues of $101 billion in 2000 and approximately $140 billion during the first three quarters of 2001 to declaring bankruptcy in December 2001? The answer to this question seems to be rooted in a combination of the failure of top leadership, a corporate culture that supported unethical behavior, and the complicity of the investment banking community. (chairman, 2000) The Enron History Enron found in 1985 as a pipeline company, there power supplier to utilities. Enron business start through the merger of Houston Natural Gas. In the following years, Enron improve quickly and became one of the successful energy trader in the world. Enron identified as a one of the world’s leading electricity, natural gas, and communications organization. (The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron, January 5, 2003) In the following years, with the increase of competition, Enron decided to use diversification and international investment to keep its market position. Actually, these activities brought Enron an unexpected large amount of losses rather than profits. In 1999, after a foray into fiber optics and the broadband market, which was a wrong decision again, Enron suffered too many substantial losses and began bleeding quickly. However, Enron had never declared any information about its losses until October 2001. Besides manipulated the financial statements, Enron never mentioned the risks, which it should disclose to its investors. On the contrary, the executives of Enron disclosed a great earnings forecast through the media and encouraged investors to purchase Enron’s stocks. They also suggested their employees invest their pensions in Enron’s stock or stock options. Arthur Andersen, the audit company for Enron, helped Enron hide these frauds for five years. Every time when analysts or Enron’s employees expressed their doubts about Enron’s financial condition, Enron would try to keep them quiet and fired them later. Meanwhile, top executive embezzled. The executives also drove up the stock price and put a large amount of money into their own pockets through trading stocks. (Mclean, 2004) Because of those frauds, from 1998 to 2001, the stock price peaked at $90 US. â€Å"By December 2000, Enron’s shares were selling for $85 each, its employees had their 401(k)s heavily invested in Enron Stock, and the company [had] a matching program in which it contribute additionally shares of stock to savings and retirement plans when employees chose to fund them with Enron stock† Therefore, both investors and employees suffered heavily from this disaster when Enron collapsed. Problems began erupting in 2001. Jeffrey Skilling, the CEO, left in August of 2001. Then in October 2001, Enron reported a loss of million $. Following that, Chief financial officer Andrew Fastow was replaced, and the Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating the Enron. After about one month, in late November, the SEC found off-the-books entities and overstated revenues, and then the company’s stock was down to less than $1 US. Finally, on December 2, 2001, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection. Investors lost billions of dollars. (The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron, January 5, 2003) The Enron 1985 | To be the first natural gas company in North America 1990 | To be the first natural gas company in the world 1995 | To be best performing energy company in the world 2001 | To be the best performing company in the world 2002 | To recover from bankruptcy The Enron Culture Enron’s corporate culture developed inside its office during the heady days of its success and has revealed many signs of how things could go wrong. In general, the top management developed arrogance due to its success, the tone was set at the top and it percolated to the lower level and finally became a culture of the corporation. Enron’s top management, Kenneth Lay and it associates gave its executives freedom to pursue the corporate goal and left them to be and was only questioned when goals were not met. (William, 2002) â€Å"These controls were not rigorous enough, implementation and oversight was inadequate at Management and Board levels, as no one took responsibility for oversight; controls were not execute properly and structural defects became apparent over time. No one in Management addressed issues as it arose or brought it to the Board’s attention† Skilling instituted the performance review committee which known as the harshest employee ranking system as associates had to â€Å"do deals† and post earnings to be ranked high. Secrecy became order of the day for many of the company’s trading as well as disclosures†. (Thomas, 2002) Who to blame for Unethical Leadership Enron top executives lay and Skilling are mainly to blame for the Enron collapse. As intemperate leaders, Lay and Skilling were surely able to lead an effective and efficient Enron, but they lacked self- control and in turn followed a path down a slippery and slimy slope to disaster. They fostered a competitive environment that crushed any little creativity employees had and had them constantly worried about the permanence of their job. Not only were Enron’s top executives intemperate, they were also just plain toxic. Lay blatantly lied to employees, sending emails of false hope. He also conned his employees into keeping all stocks they held in the company all the while he sold millions of dollars’ worth of his stock. As employees of Enron, many were making a decent living. Many shut themselves off from the utter corruption they saw. Speaking out would surely cost them their jobs and possibly their childs college fund. (Cruver, July 2002) Looking back, many would want to say they would have been the whistle blowers, they would have spoken out, but personally, I do not think I would have. Maybe if I did not have a family or anything to live for I would, but I do. It may be selfish, but I believe that too much was at stake. I also find that the auditing firm Arthur Anderson played a key and pivotal role in this collapse. Ordering all Enron related documents to wipe after the scandal illustrates. Fault of Arthur Andersen’s There is no single answer for who is responsible for Enron downfall. There are many different people and groups at vault all varying degrees. Chairman and Jeffery Skilling are most certainly at fault, but I do not think you can blame a man for acting in his own best interests and for doing what he â€Å"thought† would protect a the organization. However, you can blame an organization whose sole job is to audit the books, for screwing up the auditing of the books. For this reason, I put Arthur Andersen most at fault. As a separate entity from Enron, the firm was the only check put in place on Enron’s’ accounting. However, it failed to properly report those findings as evidenced by not only the tragedy that was Enron’s finances, but also by the shredding of documents. Arthur Andersen not only had the information to stop the Enron train wreck, it also had the means of doing so. They expected to remain objective in the auditing of the finances but by instead became too invested in the company and the fees it generated. Whereas Ken Ley faltered in his attempts to keep the company afloat, he still â€Å"tried. † The job of Enron was to produce earning for its investors and they attempted to do so. Arthur Andersen’s job was to keep the books clean and they failed at just that. (The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron, January 5, 2003) †¢Way of Leadership Failure and Leaders The Top leaders were Kenneth Lay, CEO and Jeffery Skilling, COO/then CEO. However, Andy Fastow, who eventually became CFO, also played a leadership role in the development of special purpose entities their leadership failed on a number of Stages. (Cruver, July 2002) Ambition and greed created a culture of revenue growth at all costs, Poor financial controls allowed bad business decisions to be masked over, Unethical â€Å"quid pro quo† partnerships with auditors and other external reviewers were developed, and Compensation and bonuses went to the top without correlation to earnings. Enron failed in many different aspects but primarily due to the failure of the leadership team and people in different positions within Enron and other organization to act reputably and responsibly. Key issues were Transparency, protection of shareholder rights, and responsibility of the boards of directors. (The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron, January 5, 2003) †¢Leadership influence the organizational culture The best examples in which the leadership beliefs shaped the culture can found in the work of Andrew Fastow. He had tremendous authority to create the Special Purpose Entities. These organizations became a dumping ground for bad assets and a source of cash flow to please Wall-Street: â€Å"First, by selling troubled assets to the partnerships, Enron removed them from the balance sheet, taking pressure off the firm’s total indebtedness and simultaneously hiding underperforming investments†¦Second, the sale of the troubled investments to the partnerships generated income which Enron could then use to make its quarterly earnings commitments to Wall Street† In Enron’s case, SPEs were used widely to conceal the real performance some troubled assets and investments. SPEs were a way of securing capital funds and are very deceptive as we learned later on because it can deviate from the main purpose of creating SPEs. Jeffery Skilling was the first who employed this concept through the creation of Cactus Fun in 1991. Later, Fastow (CFO) took this concept to a new level and created these SPEs mainly for the purpose to sell troubled investments to partnership and remove these troubled investments from its balance sheet. Enron’s leadership was positively rewarding many people who participated in flourishing its corporate balance sheet starting from Andrew Fastow himself through promotion and compensation to other influential outsiders by rewarding them with multimillion consulting projects. By doing so, the leadership encouraged deceptive and shady practices within its corporate governance systems. Whether Lay and Skilling overlooked the SPE practices or encouraged them outright, the culture was such that Fastow could go forth recklessly as long as he returned revenues. The SPE solution would only provide short-term relief from swelling debt pressures. In the end, the SPE’s helped to undo Enron. (Mclean, 2004) †¢Corporate culture and organizational leadership support or undermine Enron vision According to the New York Times, Enron’s vision was to operate â€Å"as a global corporate citizen† conducting business with â€Å"respect, integrity, communication and excellence. † Enron wanted to become â€Å"the world’s leading energy company-creating innovative and efficient energy solutions for growing economies and a better environment worldwide (CSUS). The corporate culture and organizational leadership undermined this vision in that the business did not operate with integrity; instead Enron focused more on off-balance sheet accounting to unjustly enrich the pockets of its top management and meet/exceed Wall Street’s expectations. Such focus diverted Enron’s resources from creating innovative and efficient energy solutions. The culture can easily be summarized as aggressive which lead to unethical behavior in the form of issuing worthless stock options to employees. In addition, during Enron’s takeover in India over 200 million people in India experienced a massive blackout which further lead to Enron demanding more than â€Å"three times the normal rate for supplying power† to re-power the electricity stations. (The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron, January 5, 2003) †¢The Most parts of the corporate governance system that failed in Enron Enron failed because appropriate internal governance failure, especially since the SPE’s were specifically designed to write-off bad assets and hide poor profits. The focus on revenue above real earnings was the fault of upper management. Of course, external governance failed to acknowledge warning signs. Clearly at fault, the auditors and legal counsel did not serve the Enron community of stakeholders well. Rather, both accounting and legal entities overlooked discrepancies and errors and favored the relationship with Enron to continue the revenue streams for their own professional services companies. Without appropriate financial information from the auditors and legal counsel the SEC and SYSE (external corporate governance systems) cannot be held accountable for their failure to notice Enron’s illegal practices. If I am in Enron If I am Enron employee. I will have many questions about the condition of the company, and depending on our business intuition, I feel there must be some problems at Enron. But if I ask questions or mention my opinions, I will be hurt right now, such as lose my job, or receive unfair reviews. In the Utilitarian Theory, Philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill argued that â€Å"resolution of ethical dilemmas requires a balancing effort in which we minimize the harms that result from a decision even as we maximize the benefits† (M.J, 2009) In this theory, when we make decisions, we should consider the interest of all the parties who are affected by our decision and choose the actions which can maximize the benefits. We can just do the most good that we can. It is an ethical dilemma—protecting our own interest with a predicted harm to all the investors, or just protecting most of stakeholder’s interest and give up our own short-term interest. According to the Utilitarian Theory, the answer is obvious. The Categorical Imperative and Immanuel Kant theories stated a standard â€Å"you cannot use others in a way that gives you a one-side benefit† (M.J, 2009) I ask myself the following three questions: Is it legal? Is it balanced? How does it make me feel? If I were an employee of Enron, I would think about the answers for the three questions above. 1. According to our business intuition or some threads, I feel the Management may commit fraud. It’s illegal to help the Management to hide fraud. 2. If I disclose this information to public, I may lose my job. Otherwise, if I hide the information, more people will suffer, such as the investors and stockholders of Enron. 3. I need to disclose these to public and try best to stop the fraud of Enron although I may lose my job. Hiding the facts I know and letting others suffered from that facts, make me feel guilty. Conclusion Enron the weakness is bad leadership. The executives of Enron are really smart guys, but they destroyed the fortune they built in 16 years and also hurt many investors. The fundamental cause of this disaster is that they lack the idea of the business ethic. Therefore, when the executives encounter dilemmas, they chose the wrong way. To avoid another Enron, I have three suggestions for organizations in today’s business world. 1. Organization has to think about their corporate culture carefully because organization’ culture will impact the decision of both the employees and employers when they face ethical dilemmas. As discussed in the third part, Enron’s culture brought many bad results and contributed to its fraud and bankruptcy. Enron had competitive environments and rigorous performance evaluation standards. Besides that, Enron only focused on its financial goals. If Enron gave more job securities to their employees, there might be less cheating on work. Additionally, employers could not make so many decisions if they cared about the interests of their employees and other stakeholders. Therefore, organizations should build a healthy corporate culture. 2. Organizations need to build a robust ethics infrastructure and follow it in the daily business. Only having ethical codes is far from enough. Enron had a well written code of ethics, but many unethical behaviors still happened. So organizations should write a code of ethic and communicate it to all the employees. If you have an ethical code, you should try your best to follow it. Don’t make your code of ethics be window dressing. Instead, organizations should make ethical standards common sense in every person’s mind. 3. Organizations need to learn business ethics theories and models because they are the ethical basis in all the situations. For example, in these theories and models, the impacts of your decisions and the interests of related parties are emphasized. These ethics and models give out good ways of balancing the interests of all the related parties, so they can help you make the right decisions when you face ethical dilemmas. Executives of business should have a good knowledge of business ethics. Then when they encounter dilemmas, they can know what to do. Therefore, to avoid another Enron, organizations should consider whether they have a healthy business culture, whether they have a well-written code of ethics and also follow the code, and whether the employers and employees have enough knowledge about business ethics.

Juno Soundtrack free essay sample

â€Å"Juno† is a comedy/drama about a smart, witty teen who gets pregnant with her classmate/best friend Paulie. Since its 2007 release, it has captured the hearts of movie-goers across the United States. â€Å"Juno† is a warm and heartfelt film without being the least bit cheesy. Not only is this an amazing movie, but the soundtrack is one of the best I have ever heard. It is a compilation of indie-rock classics that music lovers will enjoy, including songs by Kimya Dawson, Cat Power, The Velvet Underground, Moldy Peaches, Antsy Pants, Sonic Youth, and many more. This album can be played from track one through 19 without disruption or the necessity to change a song. It’s that good. Despite that fact that in the movie, Juno (Ellen Page) has a love for Iggy and The Stooges, Patti Smith, and The Runaways, most of the songs are mellow and acoustic, with sweet and harmonious vocals that will most certainly have the listener singing along. We will write a custom essay sample on Juno Soundtrack or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The album also features â€Å"Anyone Else But You† as sung by Paulie (Michael Cera) and Juno at the end of the movie that is sure to be an instant classic among indie-rock lovers. I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes indie rock, folk rock, or music in general. Some soundtracks are disappointing, I must admit, even those from some of my favorite movies. I have regretted purchasing a soundtrack in the past, but not this one. It is the wisest way to spend $9.99, and you won’t be disappointed. Juno Soundtrack free essay sample Juno Soundtrack An Indie Rock Soundtrack: An Instant Classic Juno is a Comedy/ Drama about a smart and witty teen girl who gets pregnant by her classmate/ best friend Paulie Bleeker. Juno was released in limited theaters on December 5, 2007 but has since captured the hearts of movie goers across the United States. By a popular demand, the comedy is now playing in theaters everywhere. The film was directed by Jason Reitman who also directed Thank You for Smoking back in 2006. Juno is a warm and heart felt film without being the least bit cheesy. Not only is Juno an amazing movie, but the soundtrack is one of the best soundtracks for a movie I have ever heard. It is a compilation of indie rock classics that music lovers will enjoy. The album features Kimya Dawson, Cat Power, The Velvet Underground, Moldy Peaches, Antsy Pants, Sonic Youth and many more. This album can be played from track one through track 19 without disruption or the necessity to change a song. We will write a custom essay sample on Juno Soundtrack or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Its that good. Despite that fact that in the movie, the main character, Juno (Ellen Page) has a love for Iggy and The Stooges, Patti Smith, and The Runaways, most of the songs are mellow, and acoustic sung a sweet and harmonious voice that will most certainly have the listener singing along with very song on the album. The album also features â€Å"Anyone Else but You† as sung by Bleeker (Michael Cera) and Juno (Ellen Page) at the end of the movie that is sure to be an instant classic amongst indie-rock lovers. I recommend this album highly to anyone who likes indie rock, folk rock, or music in general. Some soundtracks have been disappointing in the past I must admit, even the ones to some of my favorite movies. I have felt sorry and regretted purchasing a soundtrack before, but not in this case. It is the wisest way to spend $11.99 and you wont be disappointed.