Lehman Brothers Ethical Reasoning Essay Example

Lehman Brothers Ethical Reasoning Essay Example Lehman Brothers Ethical Reasoning Essay Lehman Brothers Ethical Reasoning Essay Describe the situation at Lehman Brothers from an ethics perspective. What’s your opinion of what happened there? The ethical issue here was that Lehman’s executives exploited loopholes in the accounting standards to manipulate their balance sheet in order to mislead the investing public. Using â€Å"Repo 105†, Lehman was able to clear huge amount unprofitable assets off its balance sheet instead of selling at loss. Evidence pointed out that the chief executive, Richard Ruld, knew about the use of it but faked ignorance in defence. Even the auditors from Ernst and Young knew about the use of the suspicious Repo 105 but chose to keep quiet. I believe that the prime motivation behind the act was to retain investors’ confidence by preventing a plummet in stock price. Hence, the implication was that Lehman was projecting a false image of its strong financial position, meaning that its stock price was overvalued. Through falsified accounting reports, investors were tricked into believing that their investments were safe, incurring huge losses when Lehman defaulted. Investors lost faith. The consequences were devastating as it created a systemic crisis of confidence in the banking industry as all other banks froze lending to reduce their exposure of Lehman’s undesirable Repo 105. Lehman’s employees suffered too as they lost their jobs overnight. Could anything be done differently at Lehman Brothers to prevent what happened? Explain. After extensive research, it was apparent that a written â€Å"Code of Ethics† was present at Lehman Brothers. However, for an ethics code to be effective, the tone at the top executives needs to be set right so that the entire organisation can feel connected to the firm’s ethical values and beliefs. The obvious failure we witness in Lehman’s case was that the top management, led by Ruld (CEO) and Erin Callan (CFO), were guilty of unethical negligence and wrongdoing. Therefore, it is vital for the Shareholders to screen through their selection of the Board of Directors extremely stringently to ensure the appointment of the right leaders. As the top management was already corrupted, the Ethics Programs at Lehman had limited use in ensuring the upholding of the Ethics Code, as these top executives can wield their axe down on any whistleblowers that puts their power in jeopardy. This was the exactly what happened at Lehman, when whistleblower Matthew Lee, was axed. Therefore, Lehman needs to ensure that ethical leaders are at helm for this control mechanism to work, so that the Ethics Code can be reinforced through compliance-based ethics programmes to serve as deterrence. Simultaneously, integrity-based ethics programmes must come into play to instill and influence an individual responsibility for upholding ethical behaviour, with compliance continuously playing the role of monitoring, to prevent any future reoccurrences. On top of this, Lehman could have adopted the Moral Rights Approach to base their decision on whether their behaviour was ethical or unethical. Using this approach, they would not have committed fraudulent accounting, as it violates the fundamental rights that investors deserve from the use of their accounting report – which is to provide a faithful and accurate representation of the company for investors to evaluate investing decisions. Another preventive approach is the Fairness or Justice Approach to assist Lehman in weighing their ethical decision. The top executives’ decisions impact many groups of stakeholders, and the fraudulent acts only brought about harm to all stakeholders involved, as could be seen from the negative repercussions of the bank’s default – shareholders losing money, employees losing jobs, other banks’ losses due to lending to Lehman, public’s loss of confidence and stock markets crashing. If they did go about reporting their losses honestly, perhaps their stock price and profitability will fall, but at least the negative impacts would be localised within the firm, instead of triggering a banking shockwave. After all the public uproar over Enron and then the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to protect shareholders, why do you think we still continue to see these types of situation? Is it unreasonable to expect that businesses can and should act ethically? Analysing from the concept of Organisational Code of Ethics, it can be easily deduced that ethical failures from organisations usually stems from the individual ethics component. Unlike societal ethics and professional ethics which are based on established social norm and a certain set of standards, individual ethics is the only component that is not conformed to a certain enchmark. Every individual’s ethics differ from one another as it is shaped from the influence of their upbringing. While honesty can be one’s core value, it can also be the most neglected value of another. As seen from the case studies of Lehman and WorldCom, personal interest and greed of the top executives to remain in power motivated them to trampl e on ethics, resulting in their obstructionist approach. Managers must first understand that ethical decision making is dynamic and every element must be carefully weighed to prevent unethical issues. In applying the five ethical notions, it can be argued in Lehman’s case that manipulation brings about apparent utilitarianism for everyone (higher stock price for shareholders, more bonuses for employees, stronger creditors’ faith and higher management’s bonuses) in the short run. However, it is not justified for the stakeholders to be denied their fundamental rights of having accurate information of the bank, nor is it fair and justifiable that it brings about harm for all stakeholders in the long run when it went bust. It is very reasonable to expect businesses to act ethically. This could possibly be achieved through a two pronged approach. The first, which aims to resolve unethical issues in the long run, requires the need for a stronger emphasis on education. Simple as it may sound, but the lack of ethical education is extremely glaring. In this profit driven world, where money speaks louder than anything else, there seems to be a shift towards higher reward and recognition for profits rather than ethical behaviour. Education serves as the most effective and fundamental way to resolve and prevent unethical issues altogether as it tackles the root of the problem to instill the right mindset. The second, perhaps shorter term measure, deals with governance. To prevent the evil temptation of dishonesty, there needs to be much harsher consequences and deterrence, such that temptation will vanish upon thought of the possible sentences that potential manipulators will face. Currently, the punishments of fines and jail terms are simply not severe enough to deter off such seduction of greed. With a softer but more effective measure through education to correct mentalities in the long run, and a harsher deterrence factor in the short term, ethical behaviour can be definitely be achieved.

How to be yourself at work

How to be yourself at work If you’re like most people, you’ve encountered at least one situation at work in which you’ve wondered, â€Å"How should I behave?† â€Å"Can I be myself in this situation or do I need to act a certain way?† These situations can be challenging to navigate and can make an already stressful job experience harder than it is- or needs to be. The truth is, for most people, the subject of workplace behavior can be a tricky balancing act. On one hand, you want to approach your job- whatever level or industry you’re currently in- as a rung on a ladder. At the top sit your ultimate professional and career goals, and you want to align your on-the-job behavior in a way that will best help you climb gracefully and easily. On the other hand, you don’t want to create an artificial or disingenuous work persona that’s so far removed from who you really are that you make yourself miserable.Your main goal is to strike a positive and productive ba lance, using your well-honed workplace instincts and your true sense of self to become an effective and genuine employee that your coworkers appreciate having around. The following are some proven strategies to help you stay on track.Be situation smart.Truly successful employees make it a point to learn the unique â€Å"ins and outs† of their specific work environments. On top of doing their jobs effectively, they study their colleagues and their particular work styles- how they like to collaborate, their preferred communication tools, the tone and topics they typically respond best to.Once you get a good handle on your work environment, you can best understand when and where you can be your true self. Are you a lighthearted employee who prefers face-to-face conversations and a casual tone when discussing work-related issues? If so, be sure to figure out which of your colleagues this style works best with and feel confident that you can be your â€Å"true self† when de aling with them.And what about those more serious coworkers who prefer everything to be handled over email with a minimum of witty banter? It can really be in your best interest to modulate your approach to best suit their needs and preferences- not only will this increase your chances of handling work issues effectively, it should also score you some points with these folks, which is never a bad thing.Pay attention to clues.The most effective employees are truly self-reflective workers- they make it a habit to analyze their behaviors across situations in an effort to discover what works best. This gives them a tremendous advantage when encountering any type of work issue. From what to wear on any given day or event to how aggressive or laid back to be in a meeting and how freely you should share constructive criticism or new ideas, they truly make an effort to analyze a situation and tailor their approach accordingly. There’s a time and a place for most things at work- the t rick is to learn the crucial when, where, and with whom.Learn from mistakes.Let’s be honest- no one is perfect, and we all have done things that we’d love to take back or erase, given the chance. But those who tend to be most successful in their work environments are those who learn from mistakes- both theirs as well as the mistakes of others. It stands to reason that the best measure of what works and what doesn’t is history, and this holds true for the world of work as well. Did you or a colleague deliver a presentation that fell flat? Do you know someone at work who coworkers tend to avoid whenever possible- or perhaps you’re this person?If so, analyze the situation and take an honest look at things in an effort to figure out what’s wrong and where you can get back on the right track moving forward. Strong employees don’t approach this as a moment to declare, â€Å"I just can’t be myself when I’m at work!† or, â€Å" I’m stuck in a hopeless situation!† Instead, they take it as a helpful inflection point, a time to address challenges head on and make improvements in an effort to get further up that career ladder. Oftentimes, the truest way to discover the right approach is by learning which ones are wrong. Trial and error are great guides in life.The Bottom LineIt’s been said that effective employees are like chameleons. They have an uncanny ability to adapt and blend into all sorts of situations. While this may or may not mean that you can completely and totally be â€Å"yourself† in every situation you’ll encounter at work, the truth is that most of us have a wide range of behaviors that comprise who we are- at various times, we’re serious or playful, focused or multitasking, talkative or quiet- the trick to being your â€Å"true self† at work is to know which aspect of your personality is appropriate given the situation. Follow the strategies out lined here and before long you should find yourself climbing higher and higher up that ladder to career success.

Poem Analyze Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poem Analyze - Essay Example The description he gave to the woman is lampoon or could be compared to caricature of the conventional love sonnet. Analysis of Sonnet 130 Shakespeare symbolic use of terms in describing his mistress is manifested in Sonnet 130. Some of the comparisons are: (2) corals are more reddish compared to his lips/, (3) the breast is brownish gray compared to the white snow/, (4) the hair is black and not golden brown/, (8) compared to perfume the breath of his mistress is nasty or unpleasant. However, to Elizabethan, reeks would only mean simply â€Å"breaths forth’/. Those were some of the physical attributes Shakespeare gave to her mistress and this is extra ordinary to consider. It would be so hard to distinguish whether it is a compliment or an insult considering that this is an attribute being given to the beloved one. According to Shakespeare, (9) the voice of her mistress is not pleasing compared to music/ and the latter part of the Sonnet, (11) Shakespeare compared his mistre ss to a goddess that walk on the ground which expresses his admiration to the mistress/ and has considered his mistress to be rare among those that could be given false representation and ridiculous comparison (Hale, J. 2002). In line three, (3) Shakespeare uses the word dun in comparison to his mistress brownish gray breast.

Request for proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Request for proposal - Essay Example There are diverse set of foods provided by Chipotle from which various customers would choose. The brand will be appealing to different travellers at FLL Airport Clients at the airport demand quick services, an aspect that Chipotle promises to deliver. Its four-step plan is a robust package to reduce delays. The company runs nearly 350 transactions per hour at its fastest restaurants to ensure fast service to its clients. The company has employed expediters, personnel to coordinate rolling of the burrito and coordination of the order by getting drinks to the customer. Part of the staff, linebackers, patrols the countertops to ensure seamless service provision to the customers. The â€Å"Mise en place† policy ensures zero tolerance to absolutely nothing in place for the customer during peak hours. At Chipotle, the â€Å"Aces in their places† policy is effective and functional. The policy ensures that only top serves operate during peak hours (Ferdman 1). In essence, at Chipotle, a burrito can be prepared and ready to serve in less than 2 minutes (mikem301s12 1). Chipotle regards consumers’ health as a vital factor and part of its service delivery considerations. Its fast foods are health-conscious and conform to set standards set main regulatory institutions and bodies. Chipotle will uphold regular inspection of its fast foods to ensure compliance with required levels of value and accreditation standards. Furthermore, the personnel at Chipotle are qualified to provide the services required by diverse consumers of fast food and travellers at the airport (Bhasin 1). Bhasin, Kim. How Chipotles Assembly Line Makes Your Burrito So Ridiculously Fast. Business Insider. April 23, 2012. Web. Web. April 19, 2015. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-chipotles-service-line-is-so-fast-2012-4 Ferdman, Roberto. How Chipotle is going to serve burritos faster, and faster, and faster. Quatz. February 1, 2014. Web. April 19, 2015.

Romeo and Juliet Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliet Essay During the first scene of the play we are introduced to several character and the setting for the play. The story is set in the Italian city of Verona. Italy was regarded as a wealthy and romantic country where extravagant love affairs took place. Verona is a town that was popular with the rich and classical civilisation. This makes Verona an ideal setting for the tragic romance. The play was written in the 16th Century (1595) and is about forbidden love. A pair of star crossed lovers, find themselves facing death due to their feuding families. We are introduced to two different families with one major thing in common. They despise the other family. Both families will go to extreme lengths to out do the other. They will do anything from biting their thumb at each other, to fighting to the death. Both families take any opportunity to hurt/ destroy the other family. Sampson and Gregory, Capulet servants, are roaming Verona looking for trouble. Well not carry coals. They come across Abraham and another servant from the Montague household. A fight breaks out; Benvolio one of the Montague family tries to stop the fight (part fools). Matters are made worst as Tybalt a Capulet arrives and sets on Benvolio. Talk of peace? I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. The fighting threatens to get out of hand as Lord and Lady Capulet and Montague arrive on the scene. Prince Escalus arrives and orders the families to stop or they will suffer a grave penalty. They are told to throw their mistempered weapons to the ground. The Capulets are ordered to leave. Lady Montague finds out from Benvolio what had happened and expressed her pleasure that Romeo was not there. Benvolio describes Romeos recent strange behaviour and general sadness to Lord Montague. Benvolio discovers that Romeo is in love but that the women he loves has resolved to do nothing with men. Benvolio suggests that Romeo should forget her and examine other beauties. Romeo assures him this is impossible. At the beginning of the scene Romeo is noticeably absent. We discover he is suffering from love sickness, the object of his unanswered devotions being Rosaline. This was the reason why Romeos fit of depression was brought on. He is adamant that there is no other woman for him. This accounts for the confusion that we see in his conversation with Benvolio. His speech is crammed with oxymorons and contradictions as he struggles to make sense of his predicament. Romeos love sounds very artificial, its not true its almost as though he is over reacting and being too false. He is acting very emotionally and in the opposite way to what a respectable young man should act. We first see Benvolio in the market place trying to stop the fight. This shows Benvolio is the opposite of Tybalt and does not want to start a fight. Benvolio is a close and sensitive friend to Romeo able to judge his affections with his own. His response to Romeos dilemma is sympathetic and practical, forget to think of her. He addresses Romeos situation in a very masculine way. He tells Romeo to forget her and examine other beauties. In contrast to Benvolio, Tybalt is hot tempered, vindictive and aggressive. He appears first when Benvolio is endeavouring to separate the aggressive parties. He goes for his sword rejecting Benvolios plea to keep the peace. His response sums up all you need to know about his part in the play: What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. He is obliged to withdraw by the entry and strong words of the Prince but his seething hatred for the Montagues are not eased. Tybalts first appearance establishes him as one who enjoys a fight and will never back down to a fight. Lord Capulets first appearance is him rushing in wearing a night gown calling for his long sword to join the fight. This shows him to be a comic figure in the play (Shakespeare wanted his plays to be humorous and make the audience laugh and jeer) especially when his wife remarks he would be better off with a crutch. The Prince Escalus is a victim of circumstance; he is always just too late to do anything. He is plainly angered by the families feud yet lacks the strength to reconcile their differences. After the third civil brawl the prince threatens Capulet and Montague with their lives. The prince has no real power in the city and finds it hard to stop the families fighting. The families are becoming a major problem in the city and are disturbing everyday life, and injuring innocent people. So far in the play we have been introduced to two rival families. Whose goals are to become the most important family in Verona and destroy the other family. The first family being the Montagues (Lord Montague, Lady Montague. Romeo, Abraham, Balthasar and Benvolio) and the other the Capulets (Lord Capulet, Lady Capulet, Juliet, Sampson, Gregory and Tybalt).

Internet2 Essay example -- Internet Computers Technology Essays

Internet2 Internet2 was formed in 1006 with an original 34 institutions participating. With Internet2, the Clinton Administration was trying to advance technologies for many people. Their first step was to connect 100 institutions at 100 times the speed of the current internet. The applications generated by this research have already had a positive affect on fields such as health care, national security, distance learning, energy research, environmental monitoring, and manufacturing. Internet2 is an extremely interesting subject. One very important fact to keep in mind throughout learning about Internet2 and its different goals and purposes is that Internet2 is not meant to replace the present day form of the Internet, but rather to improve tomarrow's form of the Internet. Internet2, today, has grown into a consortium, or agreement that is being carried out by a group of 206 universities all across the United States. These various universities are working as partners along with industry as well as the government in hopes to develop and eventually deploy more advanced network applications and technology. This newly created network applications, along with the technology, will help to better the forms of Internet that will be available in the future. What Internet2 is really doing is completely recreating the partnership between education, industry and the government, which is what brought the Internet to its current state. There are three primary goals that Internet2 is aiming to accomplish. The first goal is to create a leading edge network capability for the national research community. The second goal is to enable revolutionary Internet applications. The thrid goal of Internet2 is to ensure the ... ...ng that he or she has absolutely no past knowledge of. I not only learned what Internet2 is, but I learned a lot about the current Internet and how it actually functions. To me, the Internet has always just been out there. I log on, and then I have immediate access to pretty much anything I desire. Now that I know and understand what gives me that access and how I get it, I will never look at the Internet or World Wide Web the same way. Just as e-mail and the World Wide Web are legacies of earlier investments in academic, industry and federal research networks, the legacy of Internet2 will be to expand the possibilities of the broader Internet. I believe that within the next four to five years, the world will see and have access to the use of an entirely different and advanced Internet due to the developments made by Internet2 and its actively working members.

Draft a Definition: Family Essay

Our ever-changing environment has impacted everything that it has even resulted to people having their own definition of words such as the word â€Å"family†. People now make their own definition of the said word based on their own personal and domestic experiences and circumstances. Gone are the old days of having one specific formal definition for the word â€Å"family† where it was also universally applied. The word family before was simply defined as a social unit â€Å"consists of a male wage earner, a non-working wife, and kids† (Lewin). It was considered as the simplest form of social organization where each member occupies a position, like being a father or mother to one’s children, husband or wife, the eldest or the youngest child. However, today there is more to the said definition. A family is defined as not only inclusive of the presence of a father or a mother with children but could also be any two or more persons living together regardless of sex orientation and preference but have commitment with each other, share the same values, and pursue the same goals. This definition may not have a legal standing in our society but various social groups asserted for its acceptance. These social groups would like to liberate the definition of the word family to pave the way for society’s acceptance as well as legal recognition especially for those who are involved in homosexual partnership where a relationship anchored on a long and deep commitment between partners was already established yet are not legally recognized. I still recognize family as a social unit but I hold a deeper meaning for it. For me a family is one that molds the character and personality of its member and in his contribution to the society. It is the building block of any society. The strength and durability of any society stems from the cohesiveness of this social unit called a family. As such I viewed family as the main link between the individual and the society. This is where the person or the child first gains experiences in love, affection, kindness, sympathy, and the like. The child gets oriented into the culture of the group, its norms, goals and types of consensus and sanctions. Indeed, the family is that social unit which has a pervasive influence on the individual’s behavior, even up to adulthood. It acts as the social laboratory which prepares the child for life in the bigger society, and that it is the family which is the first, the closest, and the most influential social group in the child’s life. Also, a family being a social system makes each member, from the youngest to the oldest, regardless of other personal circumstances essential to the working of the said system. Further, a family is one that provides a child with a fertile ground to build a solid foundation of who he will become in the future. It prepares the child to the outside world and also to the next life cycle. A family is something that is always there for its member no matter what and no matter when. Indeed, a healthy family may not necessarily have a father or a mother or both but it can bring people out of themselves as they recognize others. They heal, bind, and foster intimacy. They bring the sense of belonging, of feeling worthwhile, and develop a sense of individuality. Members of the family realize their unique dignity. These virtues are often overlooked in families, or are considered secondary or only expressed to friends, when they truly are the foundation of a healthy, functioning family. Reference List Lewin, Tamara. Suit Over Death Benefits Asks, What is a Family? Retrieved March 10, 2007 from http://www. cs. cmu. edu/afs/cs. cmu. edu/user/scotts/domestic-partners/family. html.