Transparency Essays (Examples)

The criteria established by the EITI for control of revenues and payments are follows:

egular publication of all material oil, gas and mining payments by companies to governments ("payments") and all material revenues received by governments from oil, gas and mining companies ("revenues") to a wide audience in a publicly accessible, comprehensive and comprehensible manner.

Where such audits do not already exist, payments and revenues are the subject of a credible, independent audit, applying international auditing standards.

Payments and revenues are reconciled by a credible, independent administrator, applying international auditing standards and with publication of the administrator's opinion regarding that reconciliation including discrepancies, should any be identified.

This approach is extended to all companies including state-owned enterprises.

Civil society is actively engaged as a participant in the design, monitoring and evaluation of this process and contributes towards public debate.

A public, financially sustainable work plan for all the above is…

Transparancy and Public Trust

Transparency and Public Trust

Each of the administrator examples given are a good representative of what it means to be transparent in order to gain and keep the public's trust. All three people work in different agencies so the steps that they take and the processes in place will be different from agency to agency. However, one example stood out from the rest. Not because it was so much better than the other examples, but because of the processes in place that is unique to the service provided. Maurice's transcript is chosen as the one providing an excellent example of transparency and accountability for his organization.

Maurice alludes to the fact that he works for a foster care agency and when children are involved, extra care and concern, in addition to transparency and accountability must be applied. He states that because of legal and financial obligations,…

Perception and Transparency

Food and Drug Administration recently embarked on an initiative to enhance transparency in research, pricing, and marketing of medical products through establishing its transparency taskforce. This initiative was also fueled by President Obama's directive due to the greater demand for transparency in various aspects relating to medical products. FDA's transparency taskforce is mandated with the responsibility of identifying ways through which the agency can make beneficial and understandable information regarding the approval procedures of medical products. Moreover, the taskforce is responsible for identifying measures through which transparency in this federal agency can promote and strengthen the innovation of medical products in today's healthcare system.

While the initiative is geared towards enhancing transparency with regards to product innovation and approval process, the demand for greater transparency in research, pricing, and marketing of medical products has been fueled by several historic factors. One of the historic factors that have…

Corporate Political Spending

The lack of transparency in corporate political spending has is an ethical issue, because the lack of transparency has very much worked in favor of corporate donors. This is a high moral intensity issue because corporations have unique ability to earn income, essentially unmatched by individuals. Individuals who control corporations -- people who are already rich and powerful -- then control an even greater amount of assets with which to influence the political process to their benefit. However, when political actions serve the interests of those who are wealthy and powerful, in general there is a trade-off and those who lack this wealth and power pay the cost. Evidence suggests that corporate political activity is positively correlated with financial performance (Lux, Crook and Woehr, 2011).

This is where the transparency issue arises. When corporations can donate as much as they want to any candidate, but have those…

S., France and publicity, Chad was able to renegotiate more favorable contracts with the Bank, expropriate over $450 million in taxes from the private Consortium firms which they claim they had already paid, under the threat of replacement with Chinese firms. Global oil prices spiked, and Chad cleared over $1 billion in revenues in the last year of the Bank's project in 2008. Much of this increased income coincided at least with increased arms imports (inters & Gould 2011: 240), no-bid contracts awarded to tribal Deby allies, pork projects like a new stadium and "inferior goods purchased at inflated prices" (inters & Gould 2011: 236). The Bank itself admits its objective of "reducing poverty and improving governance in Chad" with the revenues from the pipeline "was not achieved" (Thomas 2009: n.p.). "[T]he principal reason for its overall disappointing outcome was the lack of government ownership," concludes independent evaluator Vinod Thomas…

Clarity Chronicle -- Communication Transparency

Communication: Integrity and Transparency

Building Trust through Integrity and Transparency

Recently, TakeCareSM underwent a major cultural change; one of the most important parts of which is a shift toward emphasizing the importance of Integrity and Transparency in order to build trust throughout the organization. In principle, integrity means a consistency and uniformity of values and core beliefs: an organization with integrity expresses its core values and beliefs throughout every aspect of its operations and relationships. Transparency means openness to view and a commitment to full disclosure and the rejection of any form of secrecy. Generally, organizations that promote and live up to the principle of integrity and transparency are more responsive to their stakeholders and much less susceptible to some of the serious problems that plague organizations with less well defined core values and beliefs that lack a commitment to informational transparency and openness.

Recent…

The Importance of Transparency in Government
We live in an age where government, more and more, appears to be transparent and responsive on social media. It is possible to communicate with public figures through a series of clicks on Twitter or Facebook, and to read moment-by-moment accounts of their comings and goings via the 24/7 news cycle. Yet despite this technological innovation, concerns about the transparency and fairness of government are greater, not less than ever before.
It is important to note that there are many bright spots to increase the knowledge of the public about their governments. For example, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recently reported upon a policy conference designed to promote awareness of policy and dialogue about the creation of micro enterprises to fuel economic growth, and the need for government support of such emerging economic entities (ASEAN, 2019). The Internet not only offers information…

An increase in performance and delivery of quality services was noticed only after the benchmarking efforts and results were made available to the public in the 1997 industry-wide benchmarking initiative.

The third hypothesis of Braadbaart's benchmarking study (H3) was that the benchmarking exercises would enhance the utilities' economic performance, but only after the benchmarking results were publicized, shared, and made available to the public. Braadbaart's study confirmed this hypothesis as well. Why might the utilities' economic performance show improvement only after the industry-wide study in public benchmarking that occurred in 1997? It is possible that utility managers at these organizations were not yet accustomed to benchmarking measures and as such could not employ their lessons effectively. Another explanation for the time lag in benchmarking improving performance is that the utility managers only became serious about reform and enhancing performance after the benchmarking information was made available to the public at…

UK lawmakers consider probe into transparency of mining firms

This is a story that has recently made the headlines on the UK law maker's consideration to probe into the transparency of mining firms. This story was highlighted by euters and fox business among other online magazines. It focused on how the British government is really considering looking into the transparency of the mining and oil firm listed in London. This issue has been highlighted at the market miners that are emerging by corruption probes. This is an issue that has generated fear among lawmakers as it has dented the reputation of the stock market (Ferreira-Marques, 2013).

The news story was reported clearly and accurately only a certain level. It clearly reported on the proposal that was made by the chairman of the committee for business, skills and innovation to inquire into the issues such as governance and anticorruption in the…

Transparency and Governance

Many nations struggle with the issue of transparency, particularly the third world nations. This has been seen as one of the chief causes of poverty in the nations and also a contributor to bad governance. However, the bad governance is also seen to be recipe for lack of transparency, the two are inter-connected in such a manner that they are both cause and effect of each other. Transparency involves the long-term institutionalization of open and understandable procedures, rules guiding the procedures and understandable information. It means that official business is carried out in a way that the substantive and procedural information is made available to the society and understood by them, with the few exceptions to protect the security and privacy of a government (Johnston M., n.d:Pp2). It is only when these tenets are followed that the governance can be said to be transparent.

On the other…

Standardization and Priorities of Healthcare Organizations
Introduction
As Leotsakos et al. (2014) note, standardization of patient safety in healthcare organizations has not proceeded with a great deal of progress in recent years though monumental steps have been made to increase patient safety in the industry. For that reason the World Health Organization (2018) has made it a priority to address standardization by initiating the High 5s project “to facilitate the development, implementation and evaluation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) within to achieve measurable, significant and sustainable reductions in a number of challenging patient safety problems.” These developments are still needed and to improve safety, Gandalf and Merlino (n.d.) have discussed how transparency, healthcare reform, and critical issues such as market share play a role in the advancement of patient safety standardization in the industry. This paper will examine the points made by Gandalf and Merlino in their podcast “The State…

Nurturing Ethical Diverse Workplace Building Trust Workplace for assignment read required readings ethics module, including 2010 Deloitte LLP Ethics & Workplace Survey ( http://www.

Workplace Diversity Ethics

The productivity and ethics within the workplace environment are significantly influenced by leadership transparency. This issue has been revealed by studies on human resources in several companies. There are several types of leadership, like autocratic, democratic, transformational, transactional laissez-faire leadership and others. Each of these leadership styles has its advantages and disadvantages, and each of them can be successfully used in a certain type of organization. But transparent leadership is much more than a leadership style.

Transparency in leadership does not limit to the transparency of communication. Transparent leaders have been observed to focus on the facts, in comparison with finding someone to put the blame on. This means that these leaders are interesting in understanding the reasons that determine certain situations in…

Amin, B et al. (2013). Pitfalls of calculating hospital readmission rates based on nonvalidated administrative data sets. Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, 18(2): 134-138.

This study examines the University of California's Medical Center in San Francisco in order to determine if its all-cause readmission rates accurately reflect the readmission rates for spine injury patients. The secondary purpose of the study is to identify readmission predictors. The researchers collected data from 5780 consecutive patient visits. 5% of the visitors were readmitted within a month of their discharge. The researchers examined variables that led to their readmission and regression analysis was conducted in order to spot predictors. A t-test was also used to see if there was any difference in admission vs. non-readmission incidents. The researchers found that infection was the number one variable leading to readmission, inoperable management the second most common variable, and planned surgery the third most common variable for…

transparency seems to be a huge concern for the accounting profession and that many specialists (e.g. professionals and organizations in the accountancy profession such as Tilley (2010)) see transparency as remaining the next huge issue in the next decade, particularly as businesses outsource, become more complex, and powerful.

Regulations that are in order include the arbanes-Oxley Act (2002) that came into effect due to major accounting and corporate scandals that occurred in the last century such as from WorldCom, Tyco, Peregrine ystems; Adelphia, and Enron, each of which effected share prices of numerous impacted companies and caused the public's trust in security markets to falter (Greer. & Tonge, 2006).

Importance of the OX consists in the fact that it has restored public security in American capital markets and corporate financial statements as well as making corporate accounting more accountable for its actions and strengthening its responsibility. The OX has led…

3.2.3 Portfolio Diversification of Investment in Global Property Markets

ecause the global property markets are affected by globalization and specific country / regional factors, means that the overall amounts of risks will vary, the most notable include: transparency and efficiency. Where, each country / region has different on laws and regulations pertaining to the real estate markets. This means that the risks in a number of different markets will depend upon specific market conditions themselves, reflecting these two factors. To protect themselves against these kinds of risks, many investors will often seek to diversify their portfolio. Diversification is: when you are investing a number of different asset classes in real estate, across a variety of countries / regions. The idea is that if a risk occurs in a specific country or region, the other areas that you are diversified in will protect you against the severity of the declines. For…

The world's largest economy has seen much since the financial crisis of 2008 began the role toward the precipice in terms of the all Street corruption. Transparency president Nancy Boswell maintains that it is an "integrity gap "(Graham, 2010).

However, this author will identify a different issue. Indeed, this author's view is very long and will take a historical approach in order to prevent another Great Depression, the Congress under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt separated all Street investment banks and regular depository banks. This took away the potential to make incredible profits from trading mortgage-backed securities whose ratings were artificially high. These encouraged banks to take what otherwise would have been intolerable risks in the form of bad loans that were later termed "toxic debt." Under this regime, people were obtaining home loans too easily (known derisively as "liars loans") and that exacerbated the decline once it started (Krugman).

In…

Clearly, he companies engaged in this practice were operating with direct intention, and a roper governance system would have made this obvious and prevented it.

Software Spying

In another telecommunications case, a company was found to have included spyware in a company-sponsored "software upgrade" to users' cell phones, that enabled the company to collect confidential information from users' phones without their consent (Khaleej Times, 2009). Not only is this practice clearly unethical, but it is also illegal despite a lack of stringency in the detection of such crimes and the prosecution of large-scale corporate offenders such as telecommunications companies. Again, greater transparency and internal control would have allowed this practice to be discovered much sooner, and the risk of discovery almost certainly would have prevented this action from ever occurring. Corporate governance works best when it is so strong it is only rarely and usually accidentally tested; when purposeful actions…

Trust and Transparency Literature

The transparency power nexus -- observational and regularizing control by Flyverbom et al. is an article that considers the organizational importance of transparency in relation to power. Specifically, the article seeks to understand the relationship between transparency and power, and finds that essentially this relationship is facilitated by transparency acting as a means of control within an organization. Various ways that management can utilize transparency as a control are identified and explored.

Electronic customer relationship management: opportunities and challenges of digital world by Rad et al. (2015) analyzes some subtle issues of transparency that are prevalent when utilizing CRM (Customer Resource Management) systems in organization's general information technology infrastructure. Many of the challenges involve integrating data between sources and issues of transparency that occur while doing so. The benefits include better customer interaction and communication.

Designing sustainable work systems: the need for a systems approach by…

Strategic plan implementation - employees were periodically trained by attending retreats. They needed technical training. She was mostly given the resources to implement her plans. She was pleased with the outcomes of the plan - Strategic plan assessment and outcomes - and related her future requirements as consisting of improved communication and transparency and technical training for employees. I would rate the quality of her work and the quality of the interview high. She seems motivated and interested in her work.

The second interview sounds dispiriting. The answers are short and sullen. The man provided me with little insight about structure. His opinion was almost reverse to that of the woman where he thought that top management and middle management were motivated but that employees were demotivated. My opinion: This may have been due to the fact that he was guarded in his response. Poor motivation on employees part, besides,…

hile U.S., New Zealand and Denmark have many differences, they are basically capitalist, consumer economies. To combat the corruption inherent in such a system, we need to protect and nurture whistle blowing. Certainly, the more eyes there are on a situation, the more transparent it is, both in government and in business.

The corruption that the recent recession revealed in the U.S. banking system is simply a part of the bigger problem. As the Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell text puts it well, "The ability to recognize and deal with complex business ethics issues has become a significant priority…" (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2009). Enforcement takes human observation to fulfill this priority. There is not enough police to go around. However, the common citizen, armed with legal protections, will provide this.

orks Cited

Anti-corruption. (2006, November 8). Retrieved 11 August 2010 from http://www.um.dk/en/menu/developmentpolicy/anticorruption/

Caslon analytics guide secrecy and accountability. (2008, February).…

On the other hand, the industry will most likely insist on the service quality segment rather than on the price transparency. A constant improvement of the services provided within the healthcare facility will not only produce the appropriate competition on the market, but it will also provide the incentives for the other healthcare organizations, thus rising overall quality levels in the market. This will rather change the way hospitals price their services rather than price transparency.

Nevertheless, price transparency will change ridiculous situations in which the client is charged $35,000 to change a battery in a pacemaker. It will drive such prices lower, encouraging price competition.

ibliography

1. A Call for Transparency in Healthcare Cost and Quality. On the Internet at http://blogs.msdn.com/healthblog/archive/2006/05/16/599064.aspx.Last retrieved on June 30, 2007

2. Feld, Stanley. What Is Real Price Transparency? Medicine: Healthcare System. May 2007. On the Internet at http://stanleyfeldmdmace.typepad.com/repairing_the_healthcare_/2007/05/what_is_real_pr.html.Last retrieved on June 30, 2007…

This also implies inadequacies in fiscal sustainability, which influences investments in private sectors.

The second channel happens through the level, composition and quality involved within the public investment, which shows the level at which the public investment replaces the private investments (Schmidt- Hebbel, Serven, & Solimano, 1996).

The final channel regards the level of taxation on the corporate earnings and the rules applicable in depreciations.

There have been arguments that fiscal policy and public expenditure reduces the private investments in two different manners. These include increasing the interest rates or lowering the private funds involved in financing the investments.

According to the neoclassical theory, the interest rate is also an imperative variable in finding the level of investment. Consequently, it results into a negative effect because it upsurges the interest payable in investments. Concurrently, McKinnon and Shaw, contends that this is likely to cause a positive relationship between the investment…

In this sense, it is not simply a matter of theoretical approach, but also one that is accompanied by data. More precisely, for instance, in the 1960s, when, as stated previously, the afflux of the development aid had not been significant, the real GDP per capita was $1,049. Compared to the 1990s when the development aid was more consistent, the real GDP per capita fell to $1,016 and in 1991 to even $970 (Andrews, What foreign aid can and can't do in Africa, 2010). This can be interpreted as being the result of a series of development strategies that did not improve the condition of the society. Also, this period was indeed characterized by increased political distress that only contributed to the way in which development programs were constructed, managed, and implemented.

In later years, through the United Nations programs, the increased donor contributions, the GDP per capita increased substantially,…

Corporate Sustainability

Summary of the purpose of Corporate Sustainability Reporting

Reporting corporate sustainability is one of the best ways to ensure that a company is not only doing well financially in the present but also in securing a better and more certain future. The reporting of corporate suitability ensures that the current needs of the organization are effectively met without comprising future needs of the organization. Reporting on corporate sustainability also ensure that organization are able to keep up with all changes in the industry, with ensuring that new innovations have been developed, maintained and employed in the daily operations of the organization. Corporate sustainability is developed on a grid developed to ensure that the future is secure, and that the organization will survive for a long time.

Corporate sustainability also encompasses the assessment of current and future risks that the organization is likely to endure. As such, a majority…

public corruption and its effect, including the claim that public corruption in an unavoidable side effect of development. Corruption in public service can be an ongoing concern in many areas. Corruption can lead to disorder, lack of trust in police or other public entities, and to ongoing problems with morale and citizen support. There is an argument that in countries with high levels of corruption, it has some benefit, but that is difficult to accept, as corruption only benefits those who participate in it, and it definitely does not benefit the general population.

The Transparency International Web site defines corruption as "Corruption is operationally defined as the misuse of entrusted power for private gain" (Editors, 2009). They go on to state that public servants (including criminal justice professionals), have a duty to remain above corruption. They note, "It is the duty of civil servants, managers and trustees to act visibly,…

" (Bawer, 2005) Thus, culture and a higher cost of going out both come into play. Europeans have more health care and social services than Americans, but they still also pay more in taxes. True, they have better public transportation as well -- but gasoline (in this oil-exporting nation) costs more than $6 a gallon.

Bawer's greatest complaint was his lack of ability to have an exciting nightlife at a decent cost, something he said that was easier in supposedly poorer Spain. But this highlights how European nations still differ in terms of what they value, either wine with friends, or a more frugal and 'saving' standard of living. However, Bawer was correct in the sense that culture and cost may fuse, when comparing Europe as a whole to other nations, as while the private-consumption figure for the United States was $32,900 per person, the countries of estern Europe (again…

Accountability

"Accountability refers to the mechanisms by which both law enforcement officers and the agencies they serve are held responsible for promoting social order, reducing crime, and treating each individual fairly and within the limits of the law" (Chambliss, 2011). The three dimensions of police accountability are accountability to the public, accountability to the law, and accountability to each other (other members of the police force. If one were to look at the most fundamental dimension of police accountability, such as accountability to the public, one would see just how crucial this is: "It both defines and protects citizens' rights while also promoting a collective sense of faith in the larger criminal justice system" (Chambliss, 2011).

The three E's are "Effectiveness -- whether police accomplish what they are supposed to do: A. Do they effectively control crime? B. Are they successful in arresting offenders? Efficiency-- whether they accomplish their tasks…

Arthur Andersen

Chapter four of our text explains the mandated requirements for legal compliance. The following requirements apply to the Arthur Andersen case. Certainly, accountants are very important in this mix because they are the watchmen for the system, making sure that the books are correct and transparent so that there will be confidence in the system by all of the stakeholders. The tragedy of Arthur Anderson (as well as in the present recession) is that the watchers have falsified the books. In the view of the author, transparency is a major component of faith in the financial system for all stakeholders. When auditing agencies act illegally and unethically, it shakes faith in the system and prevents the normal operation of capitalism because such uncertainty makes it virtually impossible to have normal business planning and day-to-day functioning.

Laws and incentives are instituted by governments to set minimum standards for business…

Teaming and Emerging Business Trends

Organizations and business in the 21st century are not like those of even the last part of the 20th century. Several factors influence this evolution: globalism, increased expectations of transparency, stakeholder comments and involvement, and governmental regulation. Many of these expectations are generational and part of the ongoing evolutionary process of culture and attitudinal change. For instance, the success or failure of a contemporary business or organization is quite dependent upon the management of diversity. Public and private sector organizations, both are involved in numerous federally mandated programs that are designed to reduce cultural and communication barriers within the workplace. Multiculturalism is no longer a "nice-to," with the era of globalization upon us, and rapidly growing, diversity training and maximization of multicultural understanding, combined with management and leadership commitment to provide a diverse workplace, is now the norm. The same is true in accepting and…

Marketing Will Affect Someone's Life in the Future

How Marketing Will Affect a Person's Life in the Future

The growing reliance on social media as a means to communicate has created a new level of collaboration between customers and the brands they trust. This, along with several of the trends identified and analyzed in this paper, are accelerating in their impact on people globally. Over the next decades and generation, these changes will also serve to redefine the relationships between customers and brands they choose to trust. One of the most significant of all factors that is emerging today and will continue to accelerate is the critical nature of trust. This is a galvanizing thread that runs through all of the trends and observations mentioned throughout this analysis. The net or aggregate effect of all of these factors and trends will be a truer, more accurate and purified form of…

Corporate Governance in ussia

Accountability of Corporations

Delivering a financial report in a timely manner is quite important. Financial report becomes stale quickly, so informing while the information is still new and relevant is important. The longer one waits to post financial information, the less significant it is[footnoteef:1]. Timeliness of financial reporting and channeling is one of the benchmarks the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has began to show the quality of a corporation's corporate governance practices. The present research shows the timeliness of financial posting of the ussian banking sector and contrasts it to the timeliness of financial publishing for selected banks in the U.S. And Europe. [1: Guriev, Sergei and Andrei achinsky, "Ownership concentration in ussian industry," Background paper for ussia CEM 2003 March 2004]

Approach and characteristics of the system

Ten years of improvements, during which the economy in ussia has undergone historical changes, have…

Policy Efficacy: Terrorist Activity since 9/

Terrorism

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 changed the world forever. This one of the most successful and large-scale attacks in the history of transnational terrorism. These attacks sent effects and shockwaves into the everyday lives of Americans and New Yorkers for over a decade. This paper asks how the counterterrorist policies measure up? Are they working? How do we know if they are or not? The paper clearly defines the terms to be used and considered over the course of the discussion as a means to add transparency to an already vague and opaque topic. The paper concludes that counterterrorism tactics as they currently stand are ineffective for several reasons including lack of political, international cooperation and no standard by which to gauge policy efficacy.

esearch & Policy Efficacy: Terrorist Activity since 9/11

Criminology is a truly a science of the nature…

Sociology -- Human Services

Governance and Leadership

Steven Ott (2001, p.1) defines governance as an "umbrella term that includes the ultimate authority, accountability, and responsibility for an organization." However, literature and several case studies have identified that leaders play a significant role in supporting governance (Lord et al., 2009) and there is a two-way link between leadership and governance. Leadership not only provides the direction for governance by promoting a shared understanding but also clarify the roles between the local and national actors (Craig, 2005). It also encourages interagency collaboration, team working and commitment at all levels of governance (obinson et al., 2008).

According to ANAO (2003, p.15), "Leadership sets the 'tone at the top', and is absolutely critical to achieving an organization-wide commitment to good governance."

This paper discusses the case of "Tainted Blood Scandal" in result of which public lost trust in the Canadian ed Cross. This trust…

There were certain moments in my life which did not allow me to pursue my study programs as desired; yet it was precisely this set of obstacles which consisted a challenge for me and determined me ever more strongly to pursue my goal. Therefore, I am due to graduate in May 2008 with a presentation entitled "Have Central Banks and Private Agents Become Wiser?" conducted under the supervision of Dr. Dennis Novy who has also offered me considerable support in trying to address issues such as inflation, the role of central banks, and their relation with private agents. His precious advice has led me to follow lines of thought different from the ones already addressed by the literature and has opened new research directions I intend to analyze in my future studies.

Aside from the traditional academic environment created by the universities I attended, another important input represented the experience…

Sears Organization's Strategy And Structure:

Sears Holdings is regarded as one of the most significant broadline retailers with more than 4,000 full-line and specialty in America and Canada. The organization is the leading retailer of home appliance, consumer electronics, tools, automotive repair and maintenance, and lawn and garden. One of the major features of this organization is that it operates through its subsidiaries like Sears, Kmart Corporation, and oebuck and Co. The company is committed to enhancing its customers' lives by providing quality products, services, and solutions resulting in trust and development of long-term relationships. As part of its organizational culture, Sears and its associates value positive energy, integrity, and teamwork.

Sears Organizational Strategy and Structure:

In attempts to improve its satisfaction of customer needs, Sears recently transformed its organizational structure in various ways. The company adopted a more flexible structure that embraces change in line with the various elements…

Ethical Issues at Apple

Apple Inc. is one of the leading global companies, but in spite of its success, it is also faced with some legal and ethical issues, such as the employment of under-aged workers in ten of its plants in China. The company is striving to address these issues as apart of a wider commitment to transparency and sustainability, but more dramatic measures might be necessary.

Apple Inc. is one of the largest companies of the globe, having in fact the largest capitalization of al companies -- 563 billion (Y Charts, 2012) -- and also being the largest company in the IT field, generating more revenues that Microsoft and Google combined (Goldman, 2012). Apple is mostly popular due to the high level of technologic innovation it has made fun and easily available to the larger market. But aside from its success, the company has also been blamed for…

Translation Adjustment

Accounting Statement Translation Adjustments for Foreign Subsidiaries

As demonstrated on the attached spreadsheet, when preparing financial statements from a foreign subsidiary of a U.S.-owned company, which will typically conduct business in a foreign currency (the domestic currency of the subsidiary's country of operation), there is a somewhat complex series of adjustments that must take place to account for currency exchange rates during the period covered by the statements. In order to meet current U.S. GAAP standards, the historic rate of exchange -- i.e. The actual rate of exchange at the time of a specific transaction -- must be used, while for other items the current rate of exchange -- i.e. The rate of exchange at the time the statements are being prepared/translated -- is preferred. To complicate things further, at times the average exchange rate for the period as a whole should be used to reflect the value…

egulating Internet Privacy

Privacy regulation has remained pinnacle of issues that got birth with internet. Every innovation in technology is at the expense of privacy; it is no more there as most of technicians believe. A layman using internet does not find how and when his personal information is can be traced by someone else; privacy at workplace that was once enjoyed by the employees is no more at one's disposal, and the never ending cookies and internet bugs allow heightened levels of internet surveillance. General public, heedlessly, isn't aware of such issues and is jolted only when such issues are raised on media. Marc otenberg tells us about its importance, "Privacy will be to the information economy of the next century what consumer protection and environmental concerns have been to the industrial society of the 20th century" (Spinello, 2003).

What is the extent of privacy erosion? Where is it…

Ethical Behaviors of Mattel in the Toy Industry

The ethicacy of corporate behaviors are influenced by a myriad of factors yet most strongly reflect the internal culture, alignment of leadership to vision, and accumulated trade-offs made by management over years of ethical decisions, trade-offs and outcomes. In the study Mattel, Inc.: Global Manufacturing Principles (GMP) - A life-cycle analysis of a company-based code of conduct in the toy industry (Sethi, Veral, Shapiro, Emelianova, 2011) the authors successfully provide insights into the moral and ethical dilemmas of operating a multinational corporation (MNC) that is highly dependent on Global Manufacturing Principles (GMP). The life-cycle analysis of company-based code of conduct also illustrates how creating a solid ethical foundation using a Corporate Social esponsibility (CS) platform is only as effective as the aligning of senior management, vision and mission, and manufacturing, sourcing, supply chain and distribution is (Sethi, Veral, Shapiro, Emelianova, 2011). When…

Shared value as a business approach is integral in conducting business because it both creates economic value and societal benefit. Businesses create shared value when they can make profit while also meeting important social needs like improving environmental performance, reducing health related problems, improving nutrition, reducing disability among other factors. When businesses create shared value to make profit and meet societal needs. Shared value should not only be thought of in the context of doing more good. It also encompasses aspects of capitalism (Driver, 2011). Capitalism has relegated many important aspects of society like improvement of environmental performance, safety, and focus on the local community to the periphery of the business operations because of a notion that these are social and not business related activities. The shared value concept includes all these social items into capitalism. For profit firms that engage in these social activities stand to gain a lot…

The conclusions posited by Schulz and Sanocki warrant further study, as the integration of the preconstancy and postconstancy positions represent a major shift in Gestalt grouping research. By establishing the theoretical foundations of multiple grouping processes, and providing empirical evidence to support this emerging notion, the work of Schulz and Sanocki provided the basis for additional study on Gestalt grouping during early- and late-stage vision.

6.) Design an experiment that will look at perceptual grouping using another Gestalt principle of grouping (e.g., proximity) or another type of constancy (e.g., size, shape) (maximum 1-page, 7 points as detailed below)

The following experiment is intended to examine the Gestalt grouping principle of closure as it relates to the type of shape depicted. Participants in the study will be exposed to a rotating assortment of incomplete shape outlines, including the familiar (square, circle, and octagon), the obscure (rhombus, kite, and trapezoid), and the…

Conversation -- "Undemocratic Curriculum"

This paper will argue that Gerald Graff is correct: the university and college system is secretive and vague. This secrecy, opacity, and lack of democracy ultimately contributes to the failure of students at the university level and likely in the professional realms. It is true that a portion of the responsibility to be prepared is upon the student. There is no doubt about that. Yet education, particularly in the 21st century, has increasingly failed students in preparation for and success in college. As Graff argues, there is a distinctive lack of transparency in academic at the university level and it is a problem with several systemic effects.

Graff writes:

"The college curriculum exposes students to a rich menu of disciplines courses, texts, ideas, and methods and says, in effect, 'Come and get it, but you're on your own as to what to make of it; and…

Open Systems Models

The company that I am going to study is Google. Their primary business is online advertising, where they are the industry leader. Google owns many of the world's top websites, and uses its immense database of information about user preferences to give it competitive advantage in this business. The company has also proven to be one of the most collaborative and innovative companies. Two of its other products -- the Android mobile operating system and the Chrome browser, are also market leaders, even though they do not generate significant revenue for the company. This paper will focus on open systems as Google, to illustrate how the principles of open systems work.

Open Systems Elements

There are several elements to systems, including inputs (resources), organization culture, organization structure, behavior, processes and technologies. All of this lead to outputs. When these elements work well together -- when they are…

There needs to be a more thorough focus on how CS programs in India require disclosures, how these disclosures need to be handled, and guidance on how best for the CEO to respond and be responsive to them (Dizik, 2009). A press release will not solve this issue, yet a strategic plan aimed at averting problems like this in the future will. The CS requirements in India are among the most stringent and extensive globally for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and also require an Indian national to be on the board of directors (Sharma, Tyagi, 2010). Coca-Cola needs to make a formal apology to the Indian people and provide very concrete, step-by-step directions as to how they will alleviate this problem going forward, including their key board members as well. A comprehensive plan is necessary to turn around the situation and place it on a better overall path of progress.…

This can only be accomplished by first focusing on the entire value chains' unmet needs, and given the monopolistic approaches of De Beers in this industry, channel partners and retailers will have many unmet process needs that once served could turn into a significant competitive advantage. The initial visits to each export market would need to be on a regular basis to build trust with each member of the value chain and also stabilize distribution channels first, and second, looking for innovative and creative ways to make adaptation and customization strategies successful in each market. Only by working to create these unique competitive advantages and most importantly, building trust throughout the entire value chain can a new market entrant be financially viable against cartels like De Beers in the long run.

Question 2 - Operations Management Questions for creating De Beers as a New Brand

Part I Process Map: Using…

IAC (iordan)

Any company that is a leader in an industry knows that what they sell had better be both quality and innovative in order to compete within their designated industry. iordan Manufacturing is no different. iordan has long been a company that offers both quality and innovative products in the plastic molding and parts industry. It also has a strong internal structure that works harmoniously with the objectives of the company. Despite iordan's position as a leader in their industry, the company does face some internal challenges, which work against their company objectives. This paper will look at these areas that require improvement, including finance and accounting, training budget, shipping and receiving, human resources, and the new pyramid bottle cap design for The Taylor Group. The paper will utilize the Issue, ule, Analysis and Conclusion (IAC) method in each distinct area.

Finance and Accounting

Issue: One of the chief…

Risk Management Issue

Over the last several years, the issue of patient safety has been increasingly brought to the forefront. Part of the reason for this, is because a number of high profile accidents have taken place. This has increase the chances that patient will develop complications. Evidence of this can be seen by looking no further than the most commonly reported cases involving malpractices lawsuits to include: incidents involving misdiagnosis, prescription medication errors, Obstetrics and surgery. As, these different events account for a total of: 62% of all medical malpractice cases. ("CRICO Coverage," 2011) This is significant, because it shows how the underlying risks facing many health care organizations have risen exponentially. In the case of the health organization we are studying, they have taken different steps to address these kinds of issues that they are facing. To fully understand the overall scope of their strategy requires: looking at…

Organization

Given how turbulent and uncertain nearly every industry is today every organization is engaging in several different forms of research to lessen risk and gain in greater insights into potential opportunities. Many are researching their competitors at varying levels, from the cursory review of their website to the more in-depth reverse engineering of their products and unethical access to their pricing, customer bases and weaknesses in sales cycles (Mulki, Jaramillo, 2011). Across the many methodologies used for completing research that encompass primary and secondary research approaches, there is the common need of ensuring a very high level of ethicacy and transparency as well (Zabriskie, Huellmantel, 1994). Many times business managers and owners forget that the results of their research, if done to just support a point or position, is actually worthless on all counts and only serves to further confuse and potentially cost a company valuable time and financial…

Decisions in Paradise

The many infrastructure and culturally-based challenges that Nik, his team and Mr. Morales face illustrate how challenging new business development can be in an island nation the size and location of Kava. What is immediately apparent from the case is that there is ample opportunity to enrich the island's economy and people while also building a strong, scalable business at the same time. Today however the island nation has an infrastructure that is lacking, an economy that is for the most part agrarian, and a young inexperienced workforce lacking advanced skills and education. It's going to be very challenging for Nik and his team to build a business on Kava, making the selection of a common vision, strategic plan and objectives, and core values of the team critical for their success. The decision making tools used, and the selection of vision, mission and goals all need to…

He sees a lack of honesty being a major detriment not to just the character of a company but to its operations as well.

In one of the most interesting areas of the interview, Mr. Huang discusses how he goes through the interview process at Nvidia. What he's looking for is a person passionate about what they are doing, sees the vision of where the company is going, and also is resilient to adversity enough to survive in a rapidly changing environment. He sees these three elements as absolutely essential to a person excelling in their role. His comment that he loves to hear that people love doing the work they are being considered for, that they have an innate passion for it. From the conversation with the interviewer it is clear he hires based on the skill level of the applicant, the fascination or passion they have with the…

The project manager should at all times be present to monitor and ensure that it's the correct mixing of materials being done, it's the right quality of material being used, and it's the right amount of time being given to the treatment process in the different construction phases. In the event that this is not observed, and the building is erected, there's a high probability that the building will deteriorate at an early stage before its lifespan or even collapse as witnessed almost daily Zwikael and Ahn, 2011()

As a construction is ongoing, a major contribution to its success is the relationship between the different stakeholders. This includes the architect, the engineer, the owner, the contactor and the workers. In order to smoothly run the project and limit malice and incorporation, there should be a union and set goals and objectives between all these parties so as to ensure everyone…

5% unemployment figure, 7.6% inflation ratio, and $4.5 trillion in debt, Guatemala is forced to rely on external factors to survive.

National exports are coffee, sugar, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom, meat, apparel, petroleum, electricity and the 9/11 events in the United States have severely impacted tourist trade.

Venezuela

Venezuela is a federal republic with over 24 million citizens, 67% of which live in poverty and 14% are unemployed.

The GDP is made up primarily of services with petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, and agricultural products composing the primary exports. Tourism is impacted negatively by the events of terrorism and the typical 587,000 visitors each year has dwindled considerably.

The Argument

ECLAC's annual calendar reflects multiple meetings, lectures, educational workshops, conferences, seminars, and training sessions. Nowhere is there found a work initiative, a concerted on-site initiative or focused fund raiser, or any effort of measurable practicality.

According to the…

As a result, he was called upon to conduct internal investigations. Because of his loyalty to the police department and to his fellow officers, these investigations were challenging for Melvin. Anyone involved in an internal investigation is subject to different treatment by his peers. However, to Melvin, a police officer without integrity damages the whole group of police officers.

Another skill that Melvin developed as a police officer was the ability to be flexible. As most people are aware, police officers rarely work a normal schedule. His flexibility involved more than his schedule; he also had to learn how to be flexible in his approach to problem-solving. Every scenario he faced presented new challenges for him. Therefore, he had to learn how to approach things in an innovative manner, while still following the rules and regulations for police officers.

In fact, attention to rules and regulations is a critical part…

H.B. Fuller in Honduras: Street Children and Substance Abuse

The discussion of ethics in business is one that continues to receive increased attention in today's society, especially in viewing the ever-increasing technological business facets that exist in today's business environment. With the increased transparency of the internet age, as well as growing emphasis on a connected, global economy, the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one that has risen to the forefront in the minds of many business owners and stakeholders, alike. Ethical issues in the business world occur quite frequently in the business world today, and certain courses of action must be taken in order to ensure that a business fulfills its duties, not only to itself but to its stakeholders, in undertaking a course of action on such ethical dilemmas. In these situations, each step -- or misstep -- can alter the future of a company forever,…

Sears Organization & Systems

Sears Organization

The organizational structure of a company reveals a substantial amount of information about its strategy, change attitude, and the environmental and competitive landscape. A company's organizational design should correspond to their core competencies and strategic orientation. Sears is a company focused on stability and prosperity and is an organization that is prepared to embrace change.

Organizational Style

Overholt (2003) developed a framework for analyzing the organizational subsystems of an organization. The subsystems delineated by Overholt (2003) include: Genetic core, philosophy, formal organization, and information, technology work & processes. An organizations genetic core is its source of individual or team-based decision-making. Its philosophy is the level of contingent or pre-set rules that are used in the organization. When analyzing formal organization, the hierarchical levels, degree of control, and the reward systems are of interest. Information, technology, and work processes is fairly self-explanatory, including the decisions…

VD industry, located in Singapore, offers manufacturing services of components for the auto industry in both GM in the U.S., Europe and other U.S. automakers. In the recent past, this industry expanded in the exporting its products to GM in China. This illustrated a massive growth in terms of marketing for its business. The VD industry operates as a three product divisional strategic businesses, located within the same business complex, which includes; electrical and energy, automotive parts and infotainment (Burnes, 2000, p. 15). As an external change consultant for the VD industry, several factors or assumptions based on the problems experienced by the industry develops acting as an aid in boosting the growth of the company at a much higher scale. Several assumptions emanate from the group level, individual level and the organizational level of the VD industry, thus, the need to develop ideas, which in turn helps in improving…

Progress and Impact Assessment Report

The MEDINA project seeks to assist the people of Shibam and Zabid in acquiring new skills that will improve living conditions in a number of areas. Ideally, these skills would initially assist individuals with producing useful services and household items for personal use. However, once these skills have been perfected, they can be used to supply goods and services to the worker's community, and, eventually, a broader market.

The key candidates for such training are women; particularly, women who reside in poor households. They cannot work outside the home, have limited marketable skills, and often live far from markets. Women living in rural areas cannot easily travel to city markets, and thus must rely on their husbands for information and necessary purchases. Illiteracy also restricts them in their dealings with the outside world which can include possible business dealings. Women are also not allowed to…

Global Business Cultural Analysis

Nigeria

Nigerian History

Synopsis of Nigerian government

Nigerian monarchy to presidential system

The evolution of Nigeria from British control to a civilian democratic government

Nigerian major commodities

Oil

Food

The major elements and dimensions of culture in Nigeria

Cultural dimensions

Individualism

Power distance

Masculinity

Uncertainty

Model of culture

Universalism or Particularize

How is the integration of elements and dimensions that Nigerians doing business in the country?

The effects of governments on the prospects for its business around the world

How the elements and dimensions compared with the United States, culture, and business?

The role of women in the workplace

Business visitors must be dressed in an elegant and tie (for men!)

Cross-cultural business transactions between the United States and Nigeria

Conclusion

eferences

Abstract

Thurstan Shaw and Steve Daniels, who are the founder for archaeological research proved in their research that Nigeria has been developed since 9,000…

Ethics in esearch

For organizations of all types, the last three decades have been crucial in changing the manner in which organizations interact with each other, stakeholders, the government, and themselves. Most of these changes occurred because of the evolution of globalization, which after the Cold War, increased cooperation between nations and regions while, at the same time, increased stakeholder expectations, opened hundreds of new markets, and now requires that organizations operate on a new level. Particularly after the Enron scandal, stakeholders expect more transparency and honesty from organizations. In fact, a recent survey found that 74% want to know more about the ethical stance and nature of a company prior to purchasing from them. At the same time, 92% of FTSE 100 companies provide no metrics, benchmarks, or quantitative measurements within their annual report (Suter, 2012).

Because of advances in technology and communication, this has also bled over into…

likeability is effected by management in the international workplace. It assumes a phenomenological approach to the notion of likeability, and is based on the idea that likeability in management is fundamental to achieving "connectedness" among employees and to inspiring the drive needed to ensure an organization's success. By conducting a survey of employees and managers from every major business continent of the globe (Asia, Europe, America, the Middle East), it seeks to understand the different ways in which likeability is manifested, discerned, appreciated, and utilized in the cross-cultural international workplace. Its aim is to fill a gap in likeability research regarding the importance of international managerial likeability and hopes to raise awareness about the essentiality of likeability to success. It also aims to identify the phenomenon of likeability as it appears in different cultures. Identifying that phenomenon and coming to terms with it will help business managers to better develop…