Evaluating Ethics Of Bernie Madoffs Investment Securities Fraud Accounting Essay

Evaluating Ethics Of Bernie Madoffs Investment Securities Fraud Accounting Essay Every business has an ethical responsibility not only to stakeholders but also to society at large. This responsibility should be in line with stakeholder interest and societys welfare. The government and regulators have a responsibility of ensuring that firms follow these ethical objectives. Failure to do so may lead to losses which will not only affect stakeholders but society at large. The financial fraud which was experienced in Bernie Madoff Investments in the US is a clear example of the losses which may be incurred due to failure to observe ethical responsibility by firms. Bernie Madoff operated his company, Madoff Investments in an unethical way and this led to severe consequences to stakeholders and society at large which incurred losses amounting to billions of dollars. Although he was later arrested and punished for the crimes, his victims have not been able to recover from the financial losses incurred and several developed illnesses associated with stress and depression over the effects of the scandal. This paper will evaluate the Bernie Madoff financial fraud in relation to ethical responsibility of firms. The financial fraud practiced by Bernie Madoff will be analyzed in detail and the effects on stakeholders and society discussed. The ethical responsibility which firms have in relation to their stakeholders and society will also be analyzed in the paper. Finally, the measures which should have been taken by the government and regulators to prevent the Bernie Madoff scandal and other subsequent financial scandals will also be outlined in the paper. The discussed issues will be summarized at the end of the paper. Introduction Business ethics is an important aspect of any business environment since it ensures that the objectives of firms are achieved in ethically acceptable ways. It also ensures that firms perform their ethical responsibility towards society in order to safeguard its welfare. Businesses are expected to undertake activities in a legal way which conforms to principles such as prudence, honesty, full disclosure, social and environmental responsibility among others. They are also expected to operate in way which is environmentally and socially friendly to the local community and society. Failure to conform to ethical requirements is usually detrimental to various parties involved in the business activities. These include the shareholders, community, government, suppliers or other parties which have a stake in a business. Bernie Madoff is an American investment adviser and stock broker who operated Madoff Investments in an unethically acceptable manner. He used the company as a front to commit a Ponzi scheme which fleeced investors of over $65 billion (Arvedlund, 2009). This has been regarded as the largest Ponzi scheme ever. Madoff grew up in a humble background and he established the Madoff Investments Company with support from the father in law. A few friends and family members also supported Madoff with the operations and growth of the business. Madoff used the returns from investment to support several charitable and political causes which his firm believed in. However, in 1999, there was concern that the profits made by Madoff Investments surpassed the normal profits expected from a firm in such a venture. Markopolos, an expert in investments informed the exchange commission that it was not possible to achieve the level of profits which were achieved by Madoff Investments and it is possible that the firm engaged in fraud. Several investigations were undertaken during the next few years and in 2008, Madoff was unable to pay returns demanded by investors. It was then that he admitted that his investment scheme was a Ponzi scheme and he was later charged in court with fraud. Madoff was sentenced to 150 years and is currently serving his term. This paper will further discuss the Madoff securities scandal with reference to the ethical responsibility which organizations have against stakeholders. Bernie L Madoff investment scandal Madoff undertook financial fraud through misrepresenting the nature of his business to investors and encouraging them to invest in his company. Madoff founded a company, Madoff Investments which dealt with investment of securities and shares. He began operating with a capital of approximately $50,000 but in a decade, this sum had increased to hundreds of millions of dollars (Fred, 2009). Potential investors saw the company as successful and they invested billions of dollars in the business. However, Madoff did not deal entirely with financial investments but he carried out a Ponzi scheme, with the financial investment as the front. He used investments by new shareholders to pay returns to earlier shareholders without really making profit from the capital invested. It is important to understand how Ponzi schemes work in order to explain Madoffs strategies. Ponzi schemes are financed by capital from subsequent investors. For instance, if investor A invested in 2000 and investor B inves ted in 2001, Madoff used the capital invested by investor B to cover for the returns of investor A. Investor Bs returns would subsequently be paid by capital invested by a new investor, C and son on (Fred, 2009). In order to cover for the financial fraud, Madoff used the financial investments as a front for his fraud. He falsified return forms of investors and gave returns according to pre-determined rates in order to avoid raising suspicion. These returns, as explained, were financed by capital from subsequent investors. A computerized program was used to falsify the accounts and ensure that they balanced, to avoid suspicion from financial regulators. However, several people raised suspicion with the huge returns associated with Madoff Investments. It was seen as impossible to earn such high returns from trading in financial securities without engaging in fraud. In 1999, the first suspicions were raised although it took over ten years for the Ponzi scheme to be uncovered. This has been blamed by inefficiency by financial regulators and the US government. Effective investigations would have unearthed the scandal within the first five years of operation. However, as is common with Ponzi schemes, it collapsed. These schemes collapse when returns required by previous investors surpass the investments made by new investors (Beach, 2007). When this happened to Madoff Investments, he confided to his family that the investment firm was a just front for conducting fraud through the Ponzi scheme and it did not in fact exist. One of his sons reported this to the police. This led to his subsequent arrest and he was charged in court. He pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 150 years. His family, including his wife apologized to the public although their roles in the scandal were further investigated and they were cleared. Madoff is currently serving his term. Ethical issues regarding Madoff investments It has been discussed in the introduction stage that businesses are expected to undertake their affairs in ethically acceptable ways which conform to social values. Businesses are expected to conform to principles such as prudence, honesty, full disclosure, social and environmental responsibility among others (Diller et. al., 2006). They are also expected to operate in way which is environmentally and socially friendly to the local community and society at large. Ethics usually dictates the way business undertake their operations and it is determined by organizational objectives, any professional ethics and government regulations when operating within the business environment. Firms usually follow business ethics to meet the needs of stakeholders while safeguarding the welfare of society (Beach, 2007). There are various ethical issues which arose during the Madoff scandal and which are contrary to ethical requirements of businesses. One of these issues is fraud. Businesses are not expected to engage in fraud since it is not only against business interests, but it is also illegal under law. When Madoff and his staff engaged in fraud, they broke the ethical responsibility towards organizational stakeholders and in addition, they committed a crime. This led to his jail sentence of over 100 years. The second ethical issue which arises when analyzing the Madoff case is misrepresentation. Firms are required to follow the ethical responsibility of full disclosure to all organizational stakeholders (Fred, 2009). Misrepresentation is not only a breach of ethical requirements but it is also a crime. Madoff misrepresented the state of his firms finances and a false belief that it was making profits. This is what attracted the thousands of investors to Madoff Investments. Misrepresentation als o enabled Madoff escape detection from financial regulators although there was suspicion on his illegal practices. The third ethical issue which arises from the case study is money laundering. This is the use of a legal source of revenue to hide illegal sources of revenue or revenues which have not been declared or taxed by the government. This is an unethical practice which is a crime and is punishable by many years in jail. Madoff used his investment firm as a front to hide the revenues which were received through the Ponzi scheme. The investment firm was used to portray the business activities are legal and to hide the true sources of revenue. Money laundering is a crime which Madoff was charged with and it contributed to his long jail sentence. How the investment negatively affected stakeholders There are several negative effects which Madoff Investments had on stakeholders. These will be analyzed on the basis of their relationship with the company. Investors Investors are some of the stakeholders who were worst affected by the scandal. The investment lost by investors surpassed $65 billion, which is huge by all standards. The small scale investors were most affected since many were families and households in the middle income status. Families which lost their investments suffered various adverse effects including health problems associated with stress and depression which emanated from the losses (Eamon, 2008). Some investors passed away due to health complications occasioned by the shock of losing their lifetime savings. Others had their lifestyle changing in order to accommodate the losses, some of which arose from borrowed finance used to invest in Madoff Securities. Employees Employees were also heavily affected by the Madoff Securities scandal since most lost employment opportunities. As a result of the inability of the firm to remain liquid, it was closed to ensure that further losses were not experienced by stakeholders (Eamon, 2008). Employees who relied on the firm for their livelihood lost jobs and many were unable to support themselves and their families. Some developed health complications from stress associated with loss of employment while others changed their lifestyle to accommodate their diminished income earning status. Although some employees secured employment in other firms, many suffered huge financial losses as the company was unable to compensate them for the job loss (Eamon, 2008). Creditors Creditors also suffered from the closure of Madoff Securities. There was over $100 million which was directly owed to creditors due to provision of outsourced services to Madoff Securities. It is important to note that these creditors were separate from shareholders. Some of the creditors were able to recover money owed while some could not (Eamon, 2008). This led to the closure of some of the firms which provided services and goods to Madoff Securities. Charities There are various charities which suffered as a result of the closure of Madoff Securities. Some of the charities which were affected by closure of the firm include JEHT Foundation, Robert Lappin Foundation and Chais family Foundation. These charities heavily relied on financial support from Madoff Investments and without adequate funds, some were forced to scale down their operations and provide charity services to fewer people. In addition, some of the causes which were supported by Madoff Securities such as lymphoma research also heavily suffered as a result of the liquidation of the firm. Madoff contributed over $4 million annually to support this research and the closure of Madoff Securities affected the funding towards lymphoma research (Eamon, 2008). Local communities The local community also suffered from the closure of Madoff Securities from the fraud scandal. Madoff Securities supported various social causes which the communities identified with. The firm contributed generously towards community projects which were geared towards empowering the population. This was achieved through the corporate social responsibility programs. The firm also funded education and training opportunities for needy children in the local community. After the closure of the firm, some of these causes which were supported by Madoff Securities collapsed due to absence of donors who would propagate the work which had been started by Madoff (Fred, 2009). Some of the children who would have been empowered through education also lost an opportunity after the firm was closed. Government Finally the government experienced adverse effects due to the Madoff financial scandal. One of the major effects is the loss of potential tax revenues from the firm. The firm usually paid millions of dollars in annual tax and this source of finance was lost by the government. This affected the development programs and infrastructural developed usually paid for through this tax source. In addition, the government faced adverse publicity especially due to its inability to detect the scandal and act on time even through several red flags had been raised on the issue. It was also suspicious that Madoff supported certain government causes and political parties which may have been construed to explain why he was not arrested immediately after the scandal began. The negative impact the investment had on the economy There is a macro aspect of the scandal which affected the overall American economy. Various costs were incurred by the government and economy at large, which negatively affected growth and development. The cost of the adverse health effects of the victims of the scandal including employees and investors were passed on to the economy. Investors and employees who became ill due to the stress and depression experienced partly increased the healthcare costs to the economy. The loss of manpower due to loss of jobs by employees compounded by losses incurred by investors and creditors was a huge cost to the economy. The government was partly responsible for settling these victims and it also lost revenues from the closure of the Madoff Investment firm. These indirect and direct costs which were passed on to the government reduced the available income for infrastructural and social development in the US. As a result, the economic development and growth levels were affected by the scandal. Th e weight of the funds involved which was over $60 billion, slowed down economic growth levels. Another adverse impact to the economy is a decline in investment. Many investors who had invested in Madoff Securities lost their investments and this made them reluctant to invest in future (Arvedlund, 2009). Other investors who had invested in other companies also pulled out their investments in efforts to avert a crisis similar to the one experienced at Madoff Investments. The market generally adopted a cautionary approach towards investment since the Madoff Scandal discouraged consumers from investment. The decline in investment levels directly affected economic growth. For the economy to grow there has to be high investment levels. The decline in investment due to the scandal reduced the economic growth rate. The government heavily invested in encouraging the market to invest more in securities and shares. How the scandal could have been prevented There are several measures which should have been taken to reduce the likelihood of the fraud scandal. Some of these measures should be implemented in future in order to discourage a similar scandal in the US business environment. Some of these measures will be discussed below; Audits Audits are effective in preventing fraud especially in cases where they are external in nature. Madoff did not carry out regular audits and he falsified documents in order to prevent the detection of the fraud which was being committed. External and internal audits should have been frequently undertaken in order to analyze the accurate financial position of the firm. These audits would have revealed the fraud in a timely manner and prevented further losses to the organizational stakeholders. Managers should undertake frequent audits in order to encourage ethical practices in business and to discourage fraud. Accounting technology Technology is also similarly effective in preventing accounting fraud. Technology should have been used to restrict access to information on Madoff Securities. Passwords, locks and others should have been used to restrict the confidential information and in the event that accounts were tampered with, it would have been clear on who gave authorization to access the records. Technology would also have been used to allow investors to access financial records of Madoff Investments online (Arvedlund, 2009). Access to such information would have revealed any illegal or unethical practices in the firm. Future managers should make use of technology to ensure that business operate in an ethically acceptable manner. Employee motivation Employee motivation is an effective tool in the operations of any firm. Employees have to be motivated if they are to operate in an ethical manner. This is because employees with high motivation levels are proud of firms they work in and are likely to only perform actions with are consistent with organizational goals. Such employees are therefore less likely to engage in fraud or other unethical behavior (Bateman, 2010). If the employees at Madoff Investments had high motivation levels, they would not have collaborated with Madoff in committing fraud and the scandal would have been exposed earlier. Managers should motivate employees by using both non financial and financial rewards in order to boost their performance and increase their loyalty to the firm. Government action on the Madoff Scandal The government took several measures in order to mitigate the damage caused by the financial scandal and as well as discourage further scandals in future. The first action taken was to strengthen financial regulations and investigations into market players in the stock exchange (Wilhelm Joseph, 2010). The government passed several regulations which firms were supposed to adhere to in order to ensure that they operated in ethically upright ways. Another step which was taken by the government was to develop legislation to discourage future financial fraud cases. The government developed harsh punishment for firms and people who are involved in financial fraud. This included heavy fines, prison sentences or both. These laws were passed by congress and they have been effective in discouraging fraud. The government also took steps to restitute the victims of the scandal. Various assets, revenues and accounts which were linked to Madoff Investments were frozen and funds consolidated in efforts to pay back investors (Wilhelm Joseph, 2010). Small investors received priority when being compensated although larger shareholders also received a share of revenue collected. Creditors were also compensated for the services which they had rendered to Madoff Investments. However, most investors were not fully compensated for the losses incurred due to previous money laundering strategies which Madoff had undertaken. Plea, sentencing, and prison life When Madoff was charged with the offense, he pleaded guilty for the offense. However he was not a cooperative witness and he did not reveal other people he conspired with to commit the financial fraud scandal. The judge had the option to fine him, jail him or apply both forms of sentences. The judge sentences Madoff to 150 years in prison, an equivalent of life imprisonment. How investors should protect themselves from fraud There are different measures which investors should implement in order to ensure they are not victims of fraud. The first step which investors should take is demand regular audits of their firm. Audits should be demanded through their annual AGM meetings and these will encourage the management to operate within ethically acceptable ways. The second step is consulting external experts. Experts particularly those in the financial services industry should explain the projected returns on investments over a period of time. For instance, an expert would have explained to investors in the Madoff Investment scandal that it was impossible to receive such large returns within short time periods and this would have made them suspicious of the operations of the firm. This would have prevented the losses of investment made by shareholders. Finally, investors should pressure the management to make the accounts public especially when there are media reports about an impropriety by the management. In the Madoff scandal, investors were aware of adverse reports on the operations of the firm but they ignored these reports. If they had pressured the management to release financial statements, the fraud would have been exposed earlier and saved the investors billions of dollars. The investors should ensure that they have a timely and accurate view of the financial position of their firm at any one time. Summary and conclusion This paper has discussed the Bernie Madoff financial fraud in relation to ethical responsibility of firms. The financial fraud practiced by Bernie Madoff has been analyzed in detail and the effects on stakeholders and society discussed. Bernie Madoff operated his company, Madoff Investments in an unethical way and this led to severe consequences to stakeholders and society at large which incurred losses amounting to billions of dollars. He used the company as a front to commit a Ponzi scheme which fleeced investors of over $65 billion. This has been regarded as the largest Ponzi scheme ever. However, in 1999, there was concern that the profits made by Madoff Investments surpassed the normal profits expected from a firm in such a venture. Several investigations were undertaken during the next few years and in 2008, Madoff was unable to pay returns demanded by investors. It was then that he admitted that his investment scheme was a Ponzi scheme and he was later charged in court with fr aud. Madoff was sentenced to 150 years and is currently serving his term. There are various ethical issues which arose during the Madoff scandal and which are contrary to ethical requirements of businesses. One of these issues is fraud. Businesses are not expected to engage in fraud since it is not only against business interests, but it is also illegal under law. The second ethical issue which arises when analyzing the Madoff case is misrepresentation. Firms are required to follow the ethical responsibility of full disclosure to all organizational stakeholders. Madoff misrepresented the state of his firms finances and a false belief that it was making profits. The third ethical issue which arises from the case study is money laundering. There are several negative effects which Madoff Investments had on stakeholders. Investors are some of the stakeholders who were worst affected by the scandal. The investment lost by investors surpassed $65 billion, which is huge by all standards. Employees were also heavily affected by the Madoff Securities scandal since most lost employment opportunities. Creditors also suffered from the closure of Madoff Securities. There was over $100 million which was directly owed to creditors due to provision of outsourced services to Madoff Securities. There are various charities which suffered as a result of the closure of Madoff Securities. Some of the charities which were affected by closure of the firm include JEHT Foundation, Robert Lappin Foundation and Chais family Foundation. The local community also suffered from the closure of Madoff Securities from the fraud scandal. Madoff Securities supported various social causes which the communities identified with. After the closure of the fi rm, some of these causes which were supported by Madoff Securities collapsed due to absence of donors who would propagate the work which had been started by Madoff. Finally the government experienced adverse effects due to the Madoff financial scandal. One of the major effects is the loss of potential tax revenues from the firm. In addition, the government faced adverse publicity especially due to its inability to detect the scandal and act on time even through several red flags had been raised on the issue. There are several measures which should have been taken to reduce the likelihood of the fraud scandal. Some of these measures should be implemented in future in order to discourage a similar scandal in the US business environment (Wilhelm Joseph, 2010). Audits are effective in preventing fraud especially in cases where they are external in nature. Managers should undertake frequent audits in order to encourage ethical practices in business and to discourage fraud. Technology is also similarly effective in preventing accounting fraud. Technology should have been used to restrict access to information on Madoff Securities. Future managers should make use of technology to ensure that business operate in an ethically acceptable manner. Employee motivation is an effective tool in the operations of any firm. Employees have to be motivated if they are to operate in an ethical manner. Managers should motivate employees by using both non financial and financial rewards in order to boost thei r performance and increase their loyalty to the firm (Bateman, 2010). There are different measures which investors should implement in order to ensure they are not victims of fraud. The first step which investors should take is demand regular audits of their firm. Audits should be demanded through their annual AGM meetings and these will encourage the management to operate within ethically acceptable ways. The second step is consulting external experts. Experts particularly those in the financial services industry should explain the projected returns on investments over a period of time. Finally, investors should pressure the management to make the accounts public especially when there are media reports about an impropriety by the management. They should ensure that they have a timely and accurate view of the financial position of their firm at any one time. This will ensure that firms operate in ethically acceptable principles and discourage unethical practices such as financial fraud.

Conflict Management And Dispute Resolution

Conflict Management And Dispute Resolution Conflict can be defined as a struggle which is emanates from different ideas, values and beliefs. Most of the time, misunderstanding and miscommunication among people cause conflict. Furthermore, conflict lies not in objective reality, but in peoples minds (Fisher, 1981). Disputes, on the other hand, are such issues that are less deep than conflict but still very important. As human beings evolve and their technology grows through time, their awareness expands and they take more responsibility for making their own decisions. This is especially true of personal decisions. Humans want to be the ones that drive decisions in their lives; they do not want anyone else to decide on their behalf. Thus, conflicts arise. Often, conflicts occur because people differ in their ways of thinking. Because of this, conflicts can make people look at problems and issues not only from their perspectives but from others as well. Consequently, conflicts are not always negative; they can also bring about new ideas. These new ideas can help people to change, which is useful because everything in nature is changing in every moment. Conflict shows itself in every part of our lives. One of them can be the commercial activities that play an important role in todays world. For example, conflict can arise in commercial contracts. When this happens, the possibility of dispute arising is much higher. In this essay, we will discuss the conflict and dispute in commercial contracts and explain that whether or not they are inevitable. In addition, we will compare and contrast the different methods for resolutions of dispute in commercial contracts. Finally, we will present an example of dispute and explain how to solve it. Section A Are conflicts and disputes inevitable on commercial projects? Conflict and dispute definitions Before we can determine whether or not conflict and disputes must be avoided, we must first define both terms and determine the differences between the two. Conflict and dispute are two common terms. Although sometimes they are interpreted as equal types, there are some differences that will be mentioned. Conflict First, we will discuss the definition of conflict. There exist many definitions of conflict (Foss, 1979; Gelles, 1978; Straus, 1978) cited by Straus (1979). Mary Parker (1925) states that we can summarize conflict in one word: difference. A more comprehensive definition by Strauss (1979) suggests three distinctions: conflict of interest, conflict, and hostility. Conflict of interest A conflict of interest means that each member of the group prefers to seek their own interest, which is often different from other people. In other words, they want to live out their own lives from others. According to Straus (1979), the relationship between the amount of conflict (conflict of interest) and the well being of the group is curve linear. It means that existence of conflict can have a positive impact on the well being of group. However, if it exceeds more than the optimum point, it would be detrimental. Conflict Coser (1956) uses conflict to refer to the means or behavior used to pursue ones interest rather than conflict of interest, itself Straus (1979). According to Straus (1979), conflict means tactics which are used by a person in the response to the conflict of interests. Hostility Hostility occurs when feeling of dislike takes a place of sympathy among the members of the group. Often this fact is also named as conflict but in paradox of this idea, there exists some conflict theories that believe that hostility will not appear if conflict exists. This is because it can protect people from getting hostile in a way that can express their point of views and interests and do not let anyone to force them. Consequently, the author considers hostility as a negative fact in groups. Conflict exists in every part of our lives such as commercial activities. Contrary to popular belief, commercial conflict is important to a countrys economy. Dorussen (2006) concluded that trade in some commodities will have a strong impact on conflict in comparing with other goods. The reason for this fact is that some commodities have much more significant important on the security of states than others. Recently oil industries as well as high tech ones, have the importance impact though. And also (Park, 1976; Abolfathi, 1976; Ward, 1976; Polachek, 1980) cited by Dorussen (2006) have reached to the conclusion that when the amount of trading oil increases, the exporting country will become more hostile toward oil importers. There exists three ways of dealing with conflict: domination, compromise and integration (Parker, 1925). First, domination arises from victory of one party to another one. Second, compromise means to get along with each other to settle peace. In this case, one side loses something and gets something in order to agree to end up the conflict. According to Parker (1925), compromise is the basis of trade union tactics, in collective bargaining, the trade unionist asks for more than he expects to get, allows for what is going to be lopped off in the conference. Thus we often do not know what he really thinks he should have, and this ignorance is a great barrier to dealing with conflict fruitfully. Third, integration is when two parts decide to integrate with each other. This is the most efficient way of dealing with conflict. There is no need to sacrifice, and both parties will benefit from each other and become satisfied. Dispute The distinction that is made by Burton (1993) cited by Fenn (2006) between conflict and dispute, is based on two parameters: time and content. He considers disputes as short term disagreements which can be solved easily. On the other hand, conflicts are deep-rooted, long term problems which need much effort to be solved. These types of disagreements can occur independently and, in some cases, dispute can exist inside the long term conflict. Are conflict and dispute inevitable? Considering the evidence presented above, conflict and dispute differ from each other. They both can occur and deserve our consideration. In this section, we will discuss how conflicts are inevitable and how disputes can be avoided. According to Parker (1925), conflict exists in the world which we are living. Instead of ignoring its existence, it is better to find a way to embrace it. We can change the unpleasant situation in a way that benefit from. Conflict is one of the issues that is better to be accepted and get advantage of it. In some cases, dispute can exist inside the long term conflict Burton (1993). The school of western thought believes that: conflict is part of dynamic capitalism and an integral part of commercialism (Fenn, 2006). If conflict cannot be managed properly, dispute may rise. In other words, in contrast with conflict, dispute can be avoided. Therefore these two areas should be considered: First, conflict management or dispute avoidance; and second, dispute resolutions. Some conflict theorists believed that conflict is an inevitable part of human beings life and without the changes which are caused by conflict, the risk of collapse among the social groups such as academic departments, or family will get higher (Adams, 1965; Coser, 1956; Dahrendorf, 1959; Scanzoni, 1972; Simmel, 1955; Sprey, 1969) cited by Straus (1979). If conflict fades away, there will be no hope to adapt to changed circumstances and therefore hostility will arise. Conflict is defined as a process that arises when group of people or a person believes that other groups or other people are thinking frustrating (McKenna, 2006) and Fisher (1981) has defined that everybody has different perception and different way of thinking. By analyzing theses two theories, we can understand that conflict is inevitable; because people are different. Suggestions to prevent dispute Regarding to this section, we can conclude that conflict is inevitable. If we cannot manage conflict properly, dispute will arise. Disputes are caused by conflicts and sometimes they exist inside long term conflicts. (Burton 1993) the same story exists in commercial contracts and because they are important facts, there are some suggestion on how to manage conflict and consequently avoid disputes. By reviewing dispute resolution guidance published by office of government (United Kingdom) commerce (OGC, 2002) we can understand that contractual disputes can destroy the relationships between the client and supplier. In some cases, they have been spends lots of time to build it. Thus, this kind of dispute is time consuming and expensive. One of the roles of government is to emphasize on the importance of the good relationships between both parties of a commercial trade or the client and suppliers. There are three facts that are advised by OGC (2002) to prevent dispute in commercial contracts: 1. Stating the expectations and intentions at the beginning of the contract. Everything must be clear. Besides, dispute resolutions which both parties agree to provide in the time of dispute, should be mentioned. 2. Managing the contract is one of the most important facts that should be paid attention during having the contract. Both parties should be aware of any kind of disputes that may occur. Try to find the sign of dispute before it arises. 3. Considering the importance of managing the contract which is near to be expired, is one of the significant things that both parties must learn. Section B Compare and contrast of dispute resolution techniques Dispute resolution methods It has been concluded that conflict is inevitable but dispute can be avoided in commercial contracts. Although it can be avoided, there still some probability of happening. Therefore here are dispute resolution methods which can be used in commercial contracts. ADR is an alternative dispute resolutions .It does not mean the same to all the people. In Europe and much of the rest of the world it connects to those resolutions that exclude arbitration and litigation. On the other hand, in the Unites States, ADR conclude arbitration (Moses ,2008). Negotiation Negotiation is a common way of dispute resolution which both parties try to solve their problems without the need of others (OGC, 2002). Mediation Mediation is a nonbinding and confidential process (Moses, 2008). In this kind of resolution, the third party will meet each party privately and express their point of views to each other. Mediation sometimes known as an interest based procedure whereas arbitration is the right based procedure. Adjudication Adjudication is a quick and relatively inexpensive way of resolving a dispute, whereby an impartial third party adjudicator decides the issues between the parties. It will almost certainly be quicker and less expensive than arbitration or litigation. Section 108 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act (1996 ) gives the right to parties to virtually all construction contracts to refer any dispute arising under the contract to adjudication at any time. If the contract does not contain any adjudication procedure, or it does but the procedure does not comply with the Act, then before you can refer a dispute to adjudication you need to make sure that the contract is a construction contract as defined by the Act;(Construction Umbrella Bodies Adjudication Task Group,2003). Litigation: Litigation is a formal process which is a binding and non confidential procedure, which is held in the civil courts (Moses, 2008). Arbitration: Arbitration is a formal and nonbinding (sometimes binding) dispute resolution .where the third party exists to make the final decision for two other parties (Moses, 2008). Choosing a resolution method By comparing the dispute resolutions that discussed before: Mediation is not a binding resolution. -litigation is not a confidential resolution. Adjudication is a resolution that has some limitations. (Not being useful for all kinds of contracts as discussed in the previous part). These days, in many commercial contracts, parties choose arbitration as the default dispute resolution. As they got clear vision about the courts and their actions, they preferred to rely on the courts to solve their commercial disputes; Because of its confidentiality, and also in some case the need to continue their relationships. (Fenn, 2006).In Mentschikoff (1961) idea, the reasons that why we use arbitration in commercial groups are: speed, lower expense, more expert decision, and greater privacy. According Moses (2008), there exist two main reasons that why commercial parties choose arbitration as a dispute resolution. First, the forum is neutral. it means that it is possible to stay out of the other partys court. Second, the parties which are included in 140 countries that are under the control of New York convention must obey the award that comes out of the arbitration and that is the reason that we mentioned before that arbitration is sometimes a binding process. As Charles Newton Hulvey(1929) mentions ,there are 2 classification of agreements to arbitrate in commercial disputes.1:agreements to just submit existing commercial disputes.2:agreements to submit all commercial disputes including those will may occur in future. Arbitration has more advantages (Moses, 2008).One of the important advantages of arbitration is its confidentiality. Besides, parties choose arbitration because they can freely choose the arbitrator. Another advantage is that the discovery fact is less in arbitration therefore it takes shorter to get to the conclusion. One of the points of arbitration in the past was that it was less expensive in compared with litigation. Many companies do not think that it is the advantage any more. Buhring-uhle (2005) cited by Moses (2008), mentioned:more than half (51%) of the respondents thought that the cost advantage did not exist. However with considering all the facts, parties tend to choose arbitration because of its advantages and it still worth the cost. Besides the advantages, Arbitration has some disadvantages as well. If the advantage of fewer discoveries can be viewed from different point, it would become a disadvantage. Especially for those kind of disputes which need much more discovery and are extended. Fewer discoveries mean here less chance for the claimant. Moreover, in arbitration there is lack of requesting multiple appeals. This can be considered as a disadvantage when the arbitrator has made a wrong decision it would be frustrating to a party to accept this award with lack of ability to have an appeal. To wrap up, we got to the conclusion that, although we can prevent dispute in commercial contracts with some methods, it can be take place in some situations. Knowing how to deal with commercial disputes is important and one of the significant methods in dispute resolution is arbitration. Section C Example of use One of the dispute resolution methods is negotiating. Positional bargaining is a negotiation method in which each party only focuses on what they want, and dont pay attention to hidden interests. According to Fisher and Ury (1981), there are three trends through positional bargaining in the conflict resolutions between parties: Hard, Soft, and Principled Negotiation. Principled negotiation is suggested to parties to get better results more amicably. This method is separated into four parts (Fisher and Ury, 1981): 1. People: separate the people from the problem. 2. Interests: focus on interests not positions. 3. Options: generate a variety of possibilities before deciding what to do. 4. Criteria: insist that the result be based on some objective standards. In order to understand principled negotiation, we will review a fictional case study below. By reviewing this case, we can understand better how to use the stages of principled negotiation. Note: The following case study was created based on a true past experience of an employee in a construction company. Some details and events were modified to fit with the goals of this essay. Please note that the case study is written in the first person. In April 2009, I was working as a civil engineer in one of the building construction companies in Iran. One day something strange happened to me. While I was working in the construction site, a woman came to the site and asked me whether I could help her to find the project manager. I showed his room and told her that she was lucky that she came that day, because the project manager was not in a meeting. I brought her in the room and stayed along to introduce her to the project manager. The woman then proceeded to explain that she was one of the customers that had bought one of the apartments in advance. She wondered if she could get her apartment earlier than the specified time. She wanted the project manager to finish her apartment earlier. (It was possible but a somewhat costly).The project manager, instead of listening carefully to her, just said no. She repeated her request once more and the project manager interrupted her and said:No; it is completely impossible. The woman repl ied: You do not even pay attention to me. Why dont you listen to me to solve the problem? He answered: Because it is impossible. We have never done such a thing in our projects. When I saw this, I immediately thought that there was a problem with the project managers behavior: he didnt separate the people from the problem (Stage 1 of Principled Negotiation). In fact, he was very hard on the woman and did not even spend time to get the problem. After a 10 minute discussion, he listened completely to her. At last he said:It is impossible because we cannot finish constructing one apartment completely and then working on other flats; it is too costly for us. When he said this, he forgot that he should have focused on interests instead of positions (Stage 2). It would be better if he listened to her and paid attention and instead of not listening. If he did, he could tell her the issues and also asked her if she had solution to solve the problem. After few minutes, the client said you just say it is impossible. What if I pay all the additional costs? The project manager just kept saying:it is impossible and against the rules. We have never done such a thing in construction projects. In this stage, the project manager should have known that, he could invent options for mutual gain (Stage 3). He could have thought more about her suggestion and also presented his own suggestions. He also could not reach to the final stage of principled negotiation which is invent options for mutual gain (Stage 4). The woman got frustrated and without saying good bye went out of the room. After a week I understood that we should work harder to complete that apartment earlier. It was the order of the board manager. He told the project manager she is one of our best clients that we get so many benefits from her. If we keep her satisfied, that would be point for us in future projects. The project manager somehow got shamed. Because he did not know how to negotiate properly with her and actually if he had done so, he would have got benefit from the good negotiation by getting the money that the woman has suggested and spent it in the project. To conclude, as far as the conflict is inevitable, knowing how to negotiate properly is an advantage that only some people have. Principled negotiation is the best way that everybody can use and get benefit from the negotiation and conflict.

Constructing a Greenhouse Window :: Papers

Constructing a Greenhouse Window Building and testing a sensor to determine number of degrees to which a window is open Introduction When making use of a greenhouse to grow plants out of season or on a large scale for commercial reasons, the temperature within the green house must be carefully regulated, in order to ensure that the plants are under the optimum growing conditions. With the windows shut permanently, the temperature may become too high, and the windows need therefore to be opened. This will allow the temperature to drop back to the correct level. Different numbers of degrees to which the window is open have different cooling effects. For example, if the window is open by 50 degrees, then there is probably a more rapid cooling effect upon the greenhouse than if the window was 10 degrees open. Thus, it is important to know how many degrees the window on a greenhouse is open. It could however be very time consuming for people to check the greenhouse(s) manually, or particularly problematic if the temperature should become a problem during unsociable hours. It would be extremely useful, then, if a sensor could be attached to the windows of a greenhouse, and a reading sent back to a control room as to how open the windows are. Someone could then either use a motor attached to the window to alter the setting, or adjust the window manually. My sensor could be used in conjunction with a number of other sensors, e.g. temperature sensors and moisture sensors, to send all the required reading back to a control room, thus allowing the control of the climate within in the greenhouse to be totally automated. [IMAGE] Text Box: Windows need to be opened and closed according to temperature [IMAGE] Above: a typical greenhouse Alex Furber 12HW Sensing Project 20-02-02 PLAN There a number of ways in which a sensor could be built to measure the angle at which a window is open.

The Importance of Football in the Movie Varsity Blues Essay -- Varsity

The Importance of Football in the Movie Varsity Blues Sports play such a huge role in our society; many people form their lives around watching or playing a certain sport. In my house, when football season starts, my dad and brother watch football religiously every Sunday and Monday. On Sundays some of my dad’s friends come over to watch the game, my mom prepares snacks and lunch for â€Å"the guys†. When the game is on they are so interested in it, that they have no idea what is going on around them, I try to talk to my dad when the game is on and he always seems to ignore me. I love how they get so into the game, and cheer really loud and yell at the television. For them like many other people, they have found football to be a hobby, something to do in there past time. They have formed habits around watching the game. In the movie â€Å"Varsity Blues,† football isn’t just a past time for the town, but it is a way of life, the whole town is involved in the high school football team. â€Å"Varsity Blues† takes place in a small town in Texas called West Canyon, in this town if you are a healthy boy, then you are a football player. Young males have tons of pressure from their families, friends, teachers, and others in the town to play football, and take the game very seriously. But how did this town get so involved in the sport, why do they make such a huge deal about the game, and what happens if you are a male in West Canyon and you do not believe the world revolves around a high school football team. Jonathan Mox grew up in this town, with all of these pressures, but he did not agree that high school football was the most important thing in life. His father really pressures him because he used to play football as well and takes it very seriously, and thinks that Mox should as well. The movie begins with Mox explaining how football means everything to the town he says, â€Å"football is it’s own society in West Canyon.† Mox started playing football at a young age with his other friends and team mates. They were taught to listen to what the coach says and to win at all costs, football is how they are brought up. The coach at West Canyon is Bud Kilmore, who has been the coach for 30 years, and has never lost a game. He has coached generation after generation of football players. Kilmore also coached Mox’s father, him and some of the other fathers go to the practices ... ... Kilmore coach them, and winning the game without a coach. He was on the inside, he saw the affect that the game was having on his friends and wanted to do something right to fix it. That took a lot of guts for him to do that. Although I think being involved in a sport is a positive thing, but in this situation it was not. Being involved in a sport was one of the best things I ever did. I starting playing soccer at the age of 7 and did not stop until I was out of high school. I loved to play soccer more than anything, I would play fall soccer, spring, winter, and summer leagues, and I could never get enough of soccer. I too, just as Mox had a couple of coaches I did not agree with, I hated to play for them because I felt that they had other motto’s besides just coaching the team. I would still play because I loved the game but did not agree with what they had to say. If I had a good coach I would play my hardest to help the team out. Sports really shape our society, and culture. You will not find very many people who do not have some love for at least one sport or another. There are so many sports out there that people love and will always watch the sport of their choice.

Essay --

Hamlet is a classic example of a story that has a tragic effect. In order for a story to have this effect it must have a tragic hero that receives sympathy from the audience members. To be a tragic hero a character must possess good characteristics: bravery and loyalty, but they also can possess a bad one like pride. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet became the tragic hero after his father is killed. His father, King Hamlet, is killed by his brother Claudius so that he could inherit the throne and everything that came with the kingdom of Denmark. After his father’s death, Hamlet avenges his father’s death by trying to kill Claudius. Hamlet is the tragic hero because he is brave and loyal, but he could not move past his father’s death quick enough which ultimately play a key role in his death. The audience feels sympathy for the predicament that hamlet is in which makes him the perfect tragic hero of the play Hamlet. At the beginning of the play Hamlet is going through a hard time in his life. His father just died, and his mother just married his uncle less than two months later. Hamlet’s ...

Brand Obsolesce

Brand is a valuable intangible asset of an entity. It takes a large span of time to build up a brand. Reliability and permanence of a brand depends directly upon goodwill and performance of an entity. There may be slight variations in its value in monetary terms but marketing tools such as advertisements and word-of-mouth publicity can help in regaining its status. There is no particular reason for a brand to be obsolete once it’s built up in its entirety. A brand can only be successful if its owner company possesses some goodwill in the market.A company’s goodwill depends upon factors like its past performance, integrity, objectivity and ethical values. These factors are mostly regulated by frameworks which possess legitimate power and it becomes a responsibility of a company to respond to the requirements of such frameworks. If a company succeeds in complying with the standards and other regulations, its goodwill becomes stable. Once a company’s goodwill is est ablished, it keeps growing with the passage of time. A quite familiar example might be of a very successful brand, Coca Cola.This brand has been around since 1944 and it’s getting more and more successful by the minute. There have been slight variations in its value, but such variations did not hamper its growth. A brand needs to be acclimatized with the changing behavioral patterns of the market. The brand stewards are accomplished detectives, constantly searching for what works, and what works against, the cause (Lynn B. Upshaw, p. 42). One factor which may pose threat to the existence of a brand is its competitor.In case of Coca Cola, Pepsi has been its rival since inception. This scenario leads to ‘Brand War’ which should be handled sensitively while constructing long-run policies of a company. Advertisement is the most effective tool for faming or defaming a brand, this tool should be used to handle such situations. A company should adjust its marketing poli cies in a proactive way. Pro-active policies help a company prepare for any expected or unexpected attack on its brand, before it actually happens.Everyone agreed brands were a good thing, but no one thought much about measuring the value of a brand as a stand-alone asset (Hill & Lederer, p. 61). Brands should be quantified and valued on a regular basis. This assessment highlights any impairment in its value or any change in market trends. Continuous assessment of the value of a brand helps a company decide whether any modifications are needed in its marketing policies and what steps should be taken to regain the value of a brand, in case it has been impaired.Organizations need to develop internal alignment with their brand amongst internal stakeholders and resources, and build strong external alignment with external stakeholders, consumers and partners (Thomas, 2010). Managing brands has always been a challenge for a company. Either it is a newly created brand or it has been in exi stence for ages, it needs regular acclimatization based on feedback from the external as well as internal environment of a company.If a brand is evaluated on a regular basis and proactive steps are taken to save its value, there is no reason left for a brand to be obsolete. References Hill, S. and Lederer, C. (2001). The infinite asset: managing brands to build new value. First Edition. Harvard Business Press. Thomas, G. M. (2010). Managing brand performance: Aligning positioning, execution and experience. Journal of Brand Management, 17, 465-471. Accessed on August 19, 2010 from Upshaw, L. (1995). Building Brand Identity, John Wiley and Sons.

Concepts of Business Education Essay

Presentations: The nurses will be shown presentations by experienced nurses and doctors. 5. Quiz: There will be quizzes held for the nurses on the things taught. 6. Evaluation: The nurses will be evaluated according to their performance. 7. Demonstrations: The nurses will be given demonstrations by the experienced nurses on care giving. 8. Implementation: The nurses will have to demonstrate whatever they have learnt under the supervision of the department head. 9. Post evaluation: Depending on the performance of the nurses, they will be posted in the required departments. The most basic problem of philosophy of education is that concerning aims: what are the proper aims and guiding ideals of education? What are the proper criteria for evaluating educational efforts, institutions, practices, and products? Some of the AIMS proposed or involved in the educational endeavor are †¢cultivation of curiosity and the disposition to inquire fostering of creativity †¢production of knowledge and of knowledgeable students †¢enhancement of understanding †¢promotion of moral thinking †¢feeling and action †¢enlargement of the imagination fostering of growth, development, and self-realization Based on the AIMS concept we are building an online learning system for our employees: Ideally, the learning outcomes in order of priority are ?Translated into course content, resources and an approach to the teaching and learning process that will enable a student to achieve those outcomes. ?Once these basic parameters have been thought through, the courseware development team will share the responsibility of translating the theory and intentions into courseware and online learning functions. These courses will then be delivered by the learning management system (LMS) ? LMS will interface with the library and other digital resources & related services along with the student information system (SIS) ? This activity will be done through a secure server that can authenticate the student login. From the students’ point of view, they will connect to the LMS and the related services through a user-friendly users’ portal, with a single login, they can have access to their courses and can be linked to all related resources and services. Finally, to ensure ongoing improvement, an evaluation process for the effectiveness of the system, based on achievement of the learning outcomes and students’ feedback will be put in place, in the form of an independent quality assessment process, which also provides feeds back into the development cycle. Through the above steps the organization plans to provide quality education by making them online, the courses would cover organizational development programs like oTime Management oLeadership Skills Training oConflict Management Workforce Development Relating LMS ; Courses to AIMS as per John Dewey †¢AIMS always relate to results, the first and most important thing is whether the work assigned possesses intrinsic continuity †¢AIMS implies an orderly and ordered activity, one in which the order consists in the progressive completion of a process †¢AIMS means foresight in advance of the end or possible termination †¢AIMS as a foreseen end gives direction to the activity; it’s not an idle view for the spectator but influences steps taken to reach the end. How each prior event leads into its successor while the successor takes up what is furnished and utilizes it for some other stage, until we arrive at the end, which summarizes and finishes the process? †¢Foresight functions in 3 ways ?Involves careful observation of given conditions and means available to reach the end. ?Suggest the proper order or sequence in the use of means, facilitating economical selection and arrangement. ?Makes choice of alternatives possible