Employment Communication Essay

Work correspondence is the correspondence between representatives in an association which is supposed to be the most fundamental viewpoint that ought to be placed into thought for a superior coordination among the taskforces inside an association, this implies the representatives are set in a place to speak with their managers either in a conventional manner or casual approach to pass data. Through this the representatives are empowered to communicate their complaints, wellbeing matters, working condition and legitimate issues through correspondence to their managers. A solid and strong workplace is seen as the most critical factor in making vigorous business connections. Conversation Individuals with solid business connections will in general have accommodating and amicable collaborators, fascinating work, survey their work environment as both sound and safe, are bolstered in offsetting work with their own life, and have sensible employment requests. Elevated levels of worker trust and responsibility are connected to discernments that their manager thinks about them. In the event that the representatives are not happy with these perspectives, at that point they can require a gathering with the administrative work force and this is supposed to be a conventional method of speaking with the position. (Palmer and Akin, 2006) Communication is additionally utilized in the conveying of the assets expected to carry out the responsibility well this should be possible through the arrangement of preparing, hardware and data in this manner showing to representatives the firm’s pledge to workers needs who in this manner required to achieve their errands. Assets are likewise liable to make outstanding tasks at hand progressively reasonable and empower laborers to be increasingly gainful in their obligations. Through preparing one can convey to the workers on what is relied upon to be done to achieve their undertakings and the arrangements required to achieve all assignments. (Dale, 2001) Employment connections obviously matter for people and businesses. The solid business connections emphatically impact work fulfillment, expertise use and advancement, working environment assurance, and specialist truancy. By and large, solid business connections add to the nature of work life and the exhibition of the association to be of high regard. Then again, saw issues with pay and professional stability are progressively significant impacts on eagerness to work viably than it is for the quality of business connections (Palmer and Akin, 2006) Strong business correspondence is related with the more viable utilization of HR and aptitudes. The representatives who have solid business correspondence have more open doors in their business to create and utilize their aptitudes and capacities in a free situation that they have methods of communicating their musings and emotions. This backings the production of human capital that is so significant for both individual prosperity and sound associations objectives. . (Yeung, 1997) For this situation we find that this correspondence is typically influenced by numerous elements, for example, the hierarchical change which is said to may influence the workers adversely raising casual method of communicating their objection. Scaling back and rebuilding are related with diminished degrees of trust, responsibility, correspondences and specialist impact. The workers may down their apparatuses in fight or may likewise oppose change through strike. The progressions ought to be successfully imparted before they are set up with the goal that the representatives are not gotten uninformed of the progressions being affected. Managers or the authority should assume responsibility to persuade the businesses on the advantages the progressions will set up from the current association structure, approaches and techniques. (Yeung, 1997) Conclusion There are a few different ways to address this correspondence issues being experienced between the businesses and representatives, however first we need to make a work relationship that tends to this issues. Work connections must be made so correspondence is upgraded. The quality of work connections matters for people. This puts trust, duty, correspondence and effect on their rundown of occupation determination standards consequently there isn't a lot of that singular laborers can do shy of changing bosses or getting independently employed to improve their workplace. Those representatives in feeble business connections want better correspondence reasonableness, regard, acknowledgment, and a progressively strong workplace. They additionally need more open doors for significant info and cooperation. These are the issues they need businesses to address first. The businesses have presumably that making a strong and sound workplace sustains positive work connections. This involves investigating the physical, social and mental parts of the working environment everything from outstanding tasks at hand to regard and the assets expected to work admirably. The most significant issue is the manner by which the work is sorted out. Trust is related with rebuilding and scaling back additionally low degrees of duty. Most working environments are sorted out to give more extension for cooperation in order to have more grounded business connections. The substance of the activity is likewise a significant issue particularly giving gifted and fascinating undertakings with the goal that the objectives of the association can be adequately imparted. Arrangements and measures ought to be set up to address this correspondence issues so that the employee’s complaints or conditions can be addresses calm. With strategies the employee’s issues will surely reach to their bosses who will realize how to deliver them than going to outrageous responses like calling for strikes or the laborers having to set down apparatuses. The exacting results or measures set up will likewise keep them from settling the issues in a rough manner yet do it in a conventional manner. For instance representatives may confront a sack from work in the event that he goes in opposition to this methods of tending to the issues. A social viewpoint on work highlights the objective of making strong, prosperous, and by and by steady working environments and networks through viable correspondence implies. We can accordingly reason that characterizing attributes of a great job, the characteristics of trust, duty, correspondence and impact is significant methods for work connection between the business and his worker. Therefore both formal and casual ways ought to be set up to ease correspondence and stream of data in work is an association or business.

Free Essays on Mencius

We are completely influenced by our environmental factors and encounters, as these are the key structure obstructs on which we see our reality. It isn't unexpected, at that point, that two of Confucius⠁f most recognized devotees, Mencius and Xunzi, hold two altogether different perspectives on Human Nature. In spite of the fact that the Confucian thinker Mencius didn't live during an especially tranquil time in Chinese historyhe was a voyaging counselor during the Warring States time frame, enduring from 403 until 221 BCEthe time during which Xunzi (an individual from the accompanying age of Confucian researchers) lived was a lot darker and more crimson as he saw the wars paving the way to the Qin lines success in the late third century which where  galmost indefinably ruthless [as] the interests encompassing them [were] frequently seriously bitter.⠁h While Confucian never observed the need to make his musings on the character of human instinct unambiguously clear, demanding that  gby nature men are a lot of the equivalent, [and that] it is through training that they float apart,⠁h his supporters, Mencius and Xunzi, have tended to the inquiry substantially more obviously. The previous accepted that man was inclined to acceptable, and if a few people meandered from the correct way and went to insidious, it was on the grounds that outside impacts has  gperverted their hearts.⠁h He kept up that there exists a characteristic propensity for goodness, as unavoidable as the regular inclination of water to stream descending, (Mencius, 6A.3) and that individuals increase a characteristic feeling of joy from acting ethically. He puts a lot more noteworthy accentuation on the inborn decency of human instinct, which he demands is the endowment of Heaven to every single man. Likewise Mencius attempts to  grecall and expand the C onfucian thought of ren, or sympathy and the rule of yi, or rightness.⠁h Xunzi then again demands that Human Nature is naturally underhanded. He thought; individuals' characteristic propensities are degenerate, and good training runs against t... Free Essays on Mencius Free Essays on Mencius The thoughts and hypotheses that both Mencius and Hzun Tzu held involved to whether man’s nature was acceptable or detestable. Mencius guaranteed that human instinct was normally acceptable. Man was brought into the world honest and naã ¯ve and it was distinctly through time, war and experience that man got degenerate. In any case, Hzun Tzu felt that human instinct from birth was recolored with debasement and loaded with fiendishness and childishness. Mencius and Hzun Tzu’s perspectives towards human instinct were similarly easily proven wrong and disputable. These two extraordinary thinkers similarly added to Confucianism and were both unmistakable organizers of the Confucian conviction. Mencius’ see on man and his tendency were moralistic though Hzun Tzu’s see enveloped a more legalistic world (Liu, 2002). Hzun Tzu moved toward man through a legitimate way where a decision senator would train the individuals. Mencius felt it important to leave choices j ust as decisions to the individuals; he felt whatever ethics and qualities they have scholarly would help during the time spent legitimate dynamic. Every scholar has their own particular conviction regarding the idea of human instinct those of Mencius and Hzun Tzu albeit fairly concrete as he would see it and apparently convincing restrict and negate each other. Hzun-Tzu accepted that man was essentially insidious. Not at all like Mencius, he had little confidence in mankind and didn't feel that man could be relied upon though Mencius felt that great is found in humankind and man’s mind is eventually acceptable (Shun, 2000). Hzun Tzu felt that man was brought into the world malevolence and it would just be through instruction and study that a psyche quiet could rise. Mencius had an incredibly differentiating hypothesis; he felt that the brain was blameless and that no one but man could annihilate what was unadulterated. The beliefs of Hzun Tzu contradict the tenets idea and instructed by the Confucius confidence. Confucian adherents are to accept that man is acceptable and in no way, shape or form underhanded or awful. The Book of Mencius specifies how if ... Free Essays on Mencius We are totally influenced by our environmental factors and encounters, as these are the major structure hinders on which we see our reality. It isn't unexpected, at that point, that two of Confucius⠁f most recognized adherents, Mencius and Xunzi, hold two altogether different perspectives on Human Nature. Despite the fact that the Confucian thinker Mencius didn't live during an especially quiet time in Chinese historyhe was a voyaging consultant during the Warring States time frame, enduring from 403 until 221 BCEthe time during which Xunzi (an individual from the accompanying age of Confucian researchers) lived was a lot darker and more crimson as he saw the wars paving the way to the Qin lines triumph in the late third century which where  galmost incredibly merciless [as] the interests encompassing them [were] regularly strongly bitter.⠁h While Confucian never observed the need to make his musings on the character of human instinct unambiguously clear, demanding that  gby nature men are a lot of the equivalent, [and that] it is through training that they float apart,⠁h his supporters, Mencius and Xunzi, have tended to the inquiry significantly more plainly. The previous accepted that man was inclined to acceptable, and if a few people meandered from the correct way and went to malicious, it was on the grounds that outer impacts has  gperverted their hearts.⠁h He kept up that there exists a characteristic inclination for goodness, as unavoidable as the normal propensity of water to stream descending, (Mencius, 6A.3) and that individuals increase a characteristic feeling of delight from acting ethically. He puts a lot more prominent accentuation on the inborn integrity of human instinct, which he demands is the endowment of Heaven to every single man. Likewise Mencius attempts to  grecall and extend the C onfucian thought of ren, or compassion and the rule of yi, or rightness.⠁h Xunzi then again demands that Human Nature is naturally insidious. He thought; individuals' normal inclinations are degenerate, and good instruction runs against t...

How to Sign up and Enable AdSense on your blog

How to Sign up and Enable AdSense on your blog AdSense is Google's content targeted advertising platform. Where AdSense will enable you to earn money from your Blog. This is the most reliable andtrust ableAdvertisement platform where I will 100%assure you that will get money. There are many advertising platform with good payment but ultimately you will see that they aren't paying a single penny. So the wise decision is to use Google AdSense formonetizingyour Blog. In this tutorial I will show you that how we can sign up or enable ourAdSense account from Blogger dashboard. This is really easy. Signing up for AdSense you have to go through 3 steps that designed by Google AdSense team- Select your Google Account Tell us about your content Submit your AdSense application Step 1Log in to your BloggerAccount and Go to yourBloggerDashboard Step 2Now click on-Template-EditHTML Step 3Now Click on orange color Sign up for AdSense button. Step 4This will redirect to another page, from there just click on Yes, proceed to Google Account sign in. If you wish to create a new account for your AdSense then you can click on No, create a new Google Account button. Step 5Now you have to Tell Google about your content. Your site will be automatically selected by Google and just you have to select your site language. Click on Content language drop down option and select your site language. Step 6After that click on blue color Continue button. And instantly you will be headed to AdSense application page. Step 7In application form select your Country or territory, Account type. Under payee name type your name and fill up rest of the form with necessary information. There must be provide your phone number. Because AdSense will verify your account through phone number. Step 8 Finally click on blue color Submit my application button. A message will appear that Your AdSense account is awaiting approval. That's it, your application will be submitted to Google AdSense team. And now they will review and visit your site for granting approval. If everything isOK,then you will get approval soon. Remember thatuntil getting approval from AdSense team not any ad will appear in your Blog. Hope you will able to apply for the AdSense and get approval. Thank you.

Operation Urgent Fury - 1058 Words

On October 25, 1983, the President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan, along with the United States Military, organized a mission known as Operation Urgent Fury. Their mission was to stop a Cuban inspired coupe and also to rescue stranded American students on the island of Grenada. Grenada, a small Caribbean island in the lesser Antilles is well known for their spices, their tropical climate, and being the smallest independent country in the Western Hemisphere, was about to face the United State’s in one of the shortest wars of the twentieth century. This was also the United State’s most recent war after their failure in the Vietnam War. The mission in Grenada took a total of four days to complete, resulting in the deaths of nineteen American soldiers, forty-five Grenadians, and twenty-four Cubans. Although the operation was short and the casualties were small compared to previous conflicts with the United States, the impact it left on the tiny country of Gr enada, as well as the rest of the Caribbean was quite large, strangling the spread of communism in the backdoor of the United States. The successful invasion of Grenada eventually lead to the small island no longer being under Communist rule, and once again having their own prime minister. This then strengthened America’s influence of foreign governments, creating a democratic government in Grenada. Grenada, like many Caribbean islands, had a large amount of its history shrouded in slavery. It was not untilShow MoreRelatedOperation Urgent Fury Essay1838 Words   |  8 PagesEvaluation of Operation Urgent Fury and How the Utilization of Intelligence Assets May Have Changed the Outcome Operation Urgent Fury was a response by the U.S. government to the socio-political situation happening at the time on the island of Grenada. Due to anti-government upheaval, a growing communist presence in the area and a significant number of Americans on the island, the Reagan administration felt the need to intervene with military force to normalize the situation. Operation Urgent Fury couldRead MoreCommanders Intent 1393 Words   |  6 Pagesintent, must blend the art of command and the science of control that integrates all joint warfighting functions. ADM Wesley McDonald, Commander US Atlantic Command (LANTCOM), failed to convey the commander’s intent to the joint force for Operation Urgent Fury. This failure promoted misunderstanding and mutual trust issues among the joint force that affected the integration of joint functions such as intelligence and sustainment. ADM McDonald failed to clearly and concisely convey his commander’sRead MoreThe US Invasion of Grenada Essay1366 Words   |  6 PagesThe U.S invasion of Grenada, also known as Operation Urgent Fury was an invasion of the Caribbean island nation by forces led by the United States. It resulted into victory for the United States in just a few weeks . Grenada is a nation inhabited by approximately 91,000 people. The invasion was prompted by a military coup, which ousted the revolutionary government, it restored the constitutional government. The invasion was also as a response to the request for help by the Organization of AmericanRead MoreEssay on The U.S. Invasion of Grenada2215 Words   |  9 PagesIntroduction Few have heard a little island called Grenada and the swift little war called Operation Urgent Fury. Thirty-one years ago as I sat in the fourth grade listening to Mrs. Sebastian tell us that America had invaded Grenada. It was only the previous month my tiny Island nation had gain its independence from Great Britain. People were still high off this great accomplishment. It was not until I migrated to the United States and studied history that I fully understood the reason why weRead MoreThe Invasion of Grenada839 Words   |  3 PagesThe invasion of Grenada also know as â€Å"Operation Urgent Fury† was a U.S invasion to the Grenada Island in 1983 that Overthrew the communist government in favor of a pro-Western one in a period of less than two months. On October 13, President Reagan was made aware of possible trouble in Granada. Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard had removed Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and recognized military rule. Six days later, Bishop was murdered. Bi shop was a socialist and had bonds with Cuba; he spent hisRead MoreThe Invasion of Panama Essay930 Words   |  4 Pagescommunication between the three services: army, navy, and air force, were not compatible, causing decision makers to a have a lack of consistent and instant knowledge of the operations. When the time came for the Panama Invasion came around, the preparedness was far better, even though it was primarily a â€Å"one-service operation conducted by the army† (Decision-Making).The most elusive aspect for planners was the enemy, Manuel Noriega. The primary purpose of the invasion was to remove President ManuelRead MoreThe United States Armed Forces Rotary Wing Aircraft1562 Words   |  7 Pagesrole in special operations with its low level flight capabilities. The UH-60 was also versatile, with more power and strength compared to the Huey. It had the latest in avionics equipment and was fitted with the M60 machine gun manned by the two crew chiefs. The versati lity of the Black Hawk gave it a wide range of missions that called for a high demand of crew coordination among the crew flying it. In 1981, the Black Hawk became the perfect match for the 160th Special Operations Aviation RegimentRead More3-4 ADAR History Essay1461 Words   |  6 PagesNC, as part of the 82nd Airborne Division. In 1983 3-4 ADAR deployed to Grenada in support of Operation Urgent Fury. The unit would have the mission to provide air defense against hostel Cuban forces. 3-4 would also help in the efforts of evacuating American, student hostages in the area. It would not be long until the unit returns to combat. Battery A, 3-4 ADAR deployed to Panama for operation Just Cause. They were a part of the initial assault to capture General and Politician ManuelRead MoreLetter For Support For Recognizing My Husband, Frank R. Gilman1357 Words   |  6 PagesBattalion where I also worked as a Construction Equipment Mechanic. While assigned to the 548th Engineer Battalion he deployed with an Engineer Task Force to Grenada, West Indies as part of Operation Urgent Fury. He received his â€Å"Combat Patch† and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for the Grenada Operations. Master Sergeant Norwood was discharged from the Regular Army in 1985 and immediately rejoined the 262nd Engineer Battalion in the Maine Army National Guard. He was hired in the Active GuardRead MoreTheu.s. Invasion Of Grenada2143 Words   |  9 PagesThe U.S. invasion of Grenada was the first major U.S. military operation ever since the end of the Vietnam War. Undeniably, many have concluded that it may have in part been an assessment of the purported Vietnam syndrome, the alleged condition that makes it problematic for the American public to support U.S. military interference deprived of a just cause. As with Iraq, the early defences for the invasion proved to be either extremely debatable or obviously false, hitherto it still received bipartisan

Your Future with an Online Business Administration Degree 2019

If your career is not moving forward or is lagging behind the others, all you need is a leap to get your career going. Obtaining an online degree in business management could provide you with the necessary impetus that is needed to drive you ahead. You no longer need to sulk while every one is getting ahead around you. The opportunities are limitless and there is no need to shirk or give up your responsibilities to get a degree. Excuses such as lack of time or money will sound silly when you realize that your dreams were never as far as you always perceived them to be. You will observe a complete change in your career and the possibilities that have opened up in front of you. The business world influences each and every one around us. A business administration degree might be just the thing needed for your growth. No matter what your career focus is, a degree in business management can give you a boost, augment your career and result in dramatic changes in your profession and boost your income as well as your image in your organization. .udc24c2e9bf50fa8270da670becedd764 { padding:0px; margin: 0; padding-top:1em!important; padding-bottom:1em!important; width:100%; display: block; font-weight:bold; background-color:#eaeaea; border:0!important; border-left:4px solid #34495E!important; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -o-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); text-decoration:none; } .udc24c2e9bf50fa8270da670becedd764:active, .udc24c2e9bf50fa8270da670becedd764:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; text-decoration:none; } .udc24c2e9bf50fa8270da670becedd764 { transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; } .udc24c2e9bf50fa8270da670becedd764 .ctaText { font-weight:bold; color:inherit; text-decoration:none; font-size: 16px; } .udc24c2e9bf50fa8270da670becedd764 .post Title { color:#000000; text-decoration: underline!important; font-size: 16px; } .udc24c2e9bf50fa8270da670becedd764:hover .postTitle { text-decoration: underline!important; } READ Mechanical Engineering Technology Degree Discover a Career with the CIAMost of the online degree programs acclaim the hard work done and experience already gained. And some of them can be completed within a year to 18 months. The professors and teaching staff of Warren National University, for example, are from Stanford, UCLA, Purdue, Penn State, NYU, Pepperdine and more. The course fee is also cost affective. It costs a third of what a campus course would cost and provide the benefits of a full time on campus course. like Saint Leo University, offer the same curriculum, professors, and textbooks as those offered to the traditional, on-campus students. Online degrees in this fast changing times are becoming a norm. Universities like Saint Leo University provide the same curriculum, professors, and textbooks as those offered to the regular, on-campus students. Saint Leo has been nominated as a leading Southern University by the U.S. News World Report. This is an apt example of the fact that online degrees are considered at par with the regular on campus degrees. .u7a98eb3c06f61384a531440c93539217 { padding:0px; margin: 0; padding-top:1em!important; padding-bottom:1em!important; width:100%; display: block; font-weight:bold; background-color:#eaeaea; border:0!important; border-left:4px solid #34495E!important; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -o-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); text-decoration:none; } .u7a98eb3c06f61384a531440c93539217:active, .u7a98eb3c06f61384a531440c93539217:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; text-decoration:none; } .u7a98eb3c06f61384a531440c93539217 { transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; } .u7a98eb3c06f61384a531440c93539217 .ctaText { font-weight:bold; color:inherit; text-decoration:none; font-size: 16px; } .u7a98eb3c06f61384a531440c93539217 .post Title { color:#000000; text-decoration: underline!important; font-size: 16px; } .u7a98eb3c06f61384a531440c93539217:hover .postTitle { text-decoration: underline!important; } READ What is Human Resource DevelopmentAnother very popular online program is offered by the University of Phoenix Online. It has more than 18 years experience in providing online education making it one of the oldest universities to do so. It was fashioned with the cooperation and support of business leaders. This university also constantly updates and revises its course curriculum to help the students to succeed in the present business world. Sometimes in order to succeed, it becomes very important to go back. Go back to school and start all over again to succeed. Related ArticlesSucceed with a Marketing DegreeA Career in Accounting Can Really Add UpWhy not an MBABachelor Degree in Business AdministrationA Doctor of Business Administration Degree Unlocks the Door to the Global EconomyThe Perks of Joining the World of International Business Degrees

Naval Aviation Program And The Pilot s Making The System...

Since the dawn of aviation in the United States Navy, training aircraft have played an integral role in the progression of both the aviation program and the pilot’s making the system run smoothly. These planes can not only be seen as stepping stones in a pilot’s aviation timeline, but can also be viewed through history as landmarks on the evolution of the Naval Aviation program as a whole. The shifts in technology and needs of the program can be seen when the history of the multitude of training aircraft is analyzed. Naval Aviation began in 1911 once it was proven that an aircraft could launch and be recovered by or near a ship. The first plane the Navy ordered was the A-1 Triad, built by Glenn Curtiss. Along with some experimental tasks, the main mission of the A-1 was to train new pilots, starting the extensive line of training aircraft. The A-1, along with all of the early aircraft in the Navy were very simple flying machines, with low power and simple technolog y. The Triad, which vaguely resembled the Wright flyer, was only 925 pounds with a 75 horsepower Curtiss V-8 engine powering a pusher propeller that allowed for a maximum airspeed of 60 mph (A-1 Triad, 2014) (Grossnick, n.d.). In 1914, Glenn Curtiss created a new aircraft for the Navy, the JN-3 â€Å"Jenny†, with a propeller that pulled instead of pushed, a â€Å"tractor† design. It was originally designed for battle missions, but after copious amounts of testing, it was found that the plane was incredibly unstable.Show MoreRelated65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays 2nd Edition 147256 Words   |  190 PagesBUSINESS SCHOOL HARVARD SUCCESSFUL 65 APPLICATION SECOND EDITION E S S AY S APPLICATION BUSINESS SCHOOL HARVARD SUCCESSFUL 65 ECSNS A IYI O N S SE O D ED T With Analysis by the Staff of The Harbus, the Harvard Business School Newspaper ST. MARTIN’S GRIFFIN NEW YORK 65 SUCCESSFUL HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL APPLICATION ESSAYS, SECOND EDITION. Copyright  © 2009 byThe Harbus News Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of AmericaRead MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pagesmajor crime? Ericsson – innovation from the periphery: the development of mobile telephone systems. Direct Care – strategy development in the multistakeholder context of public sector services. BBC – structural changes to deliver a better service. Sony (B) – more structural changes at the high-tech multinational. Web Reservations International – growth of an Irish SME company through its online reservation system and business model. NHS Direct – using communication and information technology to provideRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesUnited States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the pu blisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you mayRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 PagesCourier/Westford. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright  © 2009, 2006, 2004, 2001, 1998, 1995, 1992, 1989, 1986, 1981, 1976 John Wiley Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission

Ethics for Multinational Retail Corporation

Question: Discuss about the Ethics for Multinational Retail Corporation. Answer: Introduction Walmart Stores, Inc. is an American based multinational retail corporation. This corporation operates a chain of supermarkets and grocery stores in about 28 countries. According to the list of companies announced by Fortune Global 500 in 2016, Walmart is the largest company in the world from point of view of revenue(Times Inc, 2016). The company has been a target of media and press since its foundation either for its achievements or for its scandals. The company has been received a lot of criticism for its unethical behavior with the employees and suppliers, and economic impact on the society. Several attempts have been made by the company in order to rectify its brand image in the form of charities and promoting healthy food items, sustainability, and environment protection. In this paper, we will analyze and assess the initiatives made by the Walmart in order to rectify its tarnished image in the eyes of investors and other stakeholders. The objectives of assignment are as follows: To evaluate measures taken by Walmart to become sustainable. To discuss ethical issues confronted by Walmart in past. To analyze Walmarts Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities utilizing four part CSR model. To identify Walmarts key stakeholders Discussion Evaluation of sustainability activities of Walmart The intentions of the Walmart to achieve its sustainability seem to be satisfactory enough to sustain society and the environment. In order to achieve its sustainability goals, it is providing more emphasis to the utilization of renewable energy sources, applying zero waste techniques, and sale of products made from recycled materials. Walmart has made several efforts and took assistance of various influential supplier companies, NGOs and government and together they have framed Sustainable Value Networks (SVN) in order to analyze the benefits of using renewable energy sources and recycling practices (Stanford University, 2016). To safeguard environment and to reduce the electricity consumption, Walmart had installed hundreds of rooftop solar panels in seven countries by 2012 and various fuel cell installations in the United States itself. Research is going on for the utilization of various other renewable energy sources such as micro-wind and solar water heater projects on other locations also. The company is getting involved in long-term contract with the companies providing renewable energy. In addition to it, the company has financed renewable energy projects of its own too. Around 22 percent of the electricity requirement of the company is being provided by these projects. The Green Power Partnership Program of the agency of Environmental Protection has ranked the company as the second largest consumer of green power among all its competitors in the U.S.(Stanford University, 2016). It emphasizes on the conservation of energy by including "day lighting" feature in all the new stores and centralized contr ol of temperature in the Walmart stores in the U.S. To reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, the company is attempting to use secondary loop refrigeration system instead of open freezers. The selling of products made from recycled materials has already begun and packaging of products has also reduced. In order to achieve its zero waste goals, Walmart of Mexico has successfully compost thousands of metric tons of organic waste. In order to sustain society and to enhance an ethical corporate culture in front of all the stakeholders, Walmart is continuously improving its ethical reputation. The company has established its Global Ethics Office and mentioned its Statement of ethics in 2004. Furthermore, the company has its Ethical Standards Team which examines the obedience of the ethical standards by the suppliers and the employees(Walmart, 2014). The company has also made various contributions in the disaster management projects and for the empowerment of women in the society. For providing aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy, the company provided grants to the employees for repairing their residences. To increase the job opportunities for women, Walmart made partnership contracts with various factories and employed millions of women over there(Walmart, 2015). To improve the productivity of factories, company framed the Supplier Development Program, under which every year the working efficiency of hundred s uppliers is to be enhanced(Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources , 2016). To sustain its employees, the CEO of Walmart has put more emphasis on the reliability in functioning and behavior of employees and rewarded the employees following the order. Assurance was given to the employees and other stakeholders that strict action will be taken for unethical issues such as bribery and that company will provide its full cooperation to the judicial department of the U.S. regarding such kind of unethical issues(Sethi, 2013). Through these efforts made by Walmart towards improving its brand image in the society and among employees, Walmart will most probably become more sustainable in the eyes of the society. Significant ethical issues faced by Walmart in the past The way of treatment with the employees has been the most controversial aspect of the Walmart since long time. The company has always been criticized for giving less remuneration and benefits to its associates. The company has not been providing health insurance to its employees. The negative publicity of Walmart during the period of 2000 to 2005 in press and media reduced the market value of the company. In response to it, Walmart took actions to improve the situation of the company. It announced the appraisal of employees in around one-third of its stores and improved its health policies also by implementing a standard prescription plan and fewer deductions(Business Practices, 2015). The other aspect of criticism of Walmart is about reducing its workforce while the company is expanding. Dissatisfaction among the employees of the company leads to the customer dissatisfaction. Quality customer services require an appropriate number of employees and due to reduced staff, various customer complaints had occurred regarding long queues and availability of fewer items on the shelves. Although Walmart refused to accept all these claims and said that customers experiences of their stores were quite good. The Union formation has been discouraged by Walmart since its foundation on the point that there is no requirement of unions to behave as a bridge between the employees and management. The founder of Walmart believed that unions might create partition in workforce and reduce competitiveness of the company. On the other hand, Walmart claims that it believes in open-door policy according to which employees can consult management for the solutions of all the problems and there is no space for third parties. However, the decision of Walmart to prevent unionization had not always continued to be similar for all the countries. In countries such as China, it had become necessary for the Walmart to accept unionization due to formation of labor laws and strength provided to trade unions by the government(Davis, 2007). A most significant ethical issue that rose over Walmart was the allegation of the employees regarding workplace conditions and discrimination among them. As a result of various class-action lawsuits against the company, Walmart was ordered to pay a huge amount of compensation to its employees in California. In order to settle the allegations by the employees that the company had knowingly altered their time cards to prevent them from earning through overtime as well as denied to provide them meal breaks, Walmart compensated a huge number of employees in various states. Accusations of sex-discrimination against Walmart had been a serious issue in which female employees of the company claimed that Walmart discriminated against them regarding remunerations, promotions, and tasks. The Supreme Court allowed the plaintiffs to sue the company individually on the argument of the company that they decide promotion on an individual basis. Dissatisfaction among the employees led to the formatio n of the Organization United Respect Walmart (OUR Walmart). OUR Walmart protested against the company for six months with various issues and were funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW). In response to it, Walmart sued UFCW and the other Protestants for anti-labor practices and trespassing. The matter of fraud in Walmart against the vice chairperson of the board Thomas Coughlin was also a topic of discussion in 2006. Although, he was given appropriate punishment for his crimes, the confidence in leadership of the company was lost among the investors. The reputation of the company got another blow after the disclosure of a bribery scandal in Walmex. It has been claimed that a huge amount of bribe was paid by the executives of Walmex in order to acquire license and zoning permits in Mexico. Such allegations not only destroyed the brand image of Walmart, but also had serious impact on other overseas retailers in the country. Assessment of Walmarts corporate social responsibility using the CSR model Walmart is considered as an active contributor in regulation of the legislation regarding CSR policies and it has been referred as global legislator by various authors. However, Walmart has faced various hindrances in the past. It appears that due to such issues, company took strict actions to frame a code of conduct and display its annual report. In Walmart Stores Inc. v. Dukes et al. the company was alleged to be involved in discrimination on the basis of gender and was paying less to the females than male employees at the similar position (DeWeese Rumpf, 2011). Another blow was the announcement by the Radio Canada programme Zone Libre that Walmart was utilizing children as labors in Bangladesh(Maquila Solidarity Network, 2005). According to the information, children below the age of 14 years were found to be working in the company at extremely low wages. In response to it, Walmart terminated all its contracts with the factories involved in the misconduct immediately and claimed t hat it was making serious efforts to implement its code of conduct in all its branches (CBC News, 2005). Instead of all these conflicts, Walmart have stated its commitment towards CSR. In its Global Responsibility Report of 2013, the company stated that it has been committed to accept the ways through which world could lead a better life(Torres et al., 2012). In order to achieve this target, various initiatives have been made by Walmart which concentrate basically towards its local, social, environmental, and company responsibilities. As its local responsibility, company has framed microloans facility, implemented nutrition programs in schools, contributed in disaster relief programs, and promoted local farming techniques. The Walmart Foundation contributed approximately $1 billion in charity funds all over the world. To fulfill its social responsibilities, Walmart has been continuously promoted economic empowerment of women in society and promoted selling of healthy food items. The company has been providing training to the women in order to enhance career opportunities for them. Walmart put a great emphasis on the utilization of renewable sources of energy and avoiding plastic packaging. The company has been emphasizing on the sale and purchase of local made items (University Alliance, 2013). It has established strict guidelines regardi ng product sustainability in order to perform its environmental responsibilities. Walmart has been concentrated on promoting ethical values, safe work environment, stakeholder engagement, and proper management. Almost 30% of the staff of company includes women. Therefore, Walmart has already taken its first foot forward to fulfill all its Corporate Social responsibilities. Mitchell et als three key relationship attributes Stakeholders of a company are the social groups that are considered to be a significant capital resource and possess the power to influence the success of the company. According to Ronald Mitchell, Bradley Agle and Donna Wood, power, legitimacy, and urgency are primary relationship aspects among the stakeholders and managers(Alves et al., 2014). It is the legal and moral responsibility of stakeholders to claim for their welfare according to their value in the company. Stakeholders are the first investors of the company and their welfare must be observed by the managers of the company(Sitaru, 2009). Walmarts key stakeholders The stakeholders of Walmart can be classified on the basis of their shared interests in the company and they possess different level of priorities also on the basis of policies and beliefs of the company. Although, in the decision- making of the company, all the stakeholder groups are taken into consideration, investors are considered to be on the highest priority while suppliers possess the lowest priority. The key stakeholders of Walmart are its investors, customers, employees, and suppliers on priority basis. Investors possess interest in acquiring profit from the company. Moreover, they also take a lot of interest in reducing the companys operational cost which in turn lead to the higher profits. All the strategies of Walmart provide priority to the investors. Due to this reason, the company is continuously emphasizing on minimizing the costs, for example in the form of minimization of wages(Meyer, 2016). Customers are considered as a stakeholder group in business. In case of Walmart, the key interest of the customers is low prices of goods and good quality of products. The company offers lowest possible prices of the goods in the market maintaining its cost leadership generic strategy. Through this effort, Walmart has effectively succeeded in accomplishing the interests of the customers. The decision-making in the management of the company gives a great importance to the employees also. The company is taking initiatives to fulfill the two basic interests of the employees i.e. job securi ty and higher remunerations. There are various policies and programs being implemented by the company in order to provide a considerable amount of job security to the employees. As a guarantee that Walmart provides to the employees to consider them as a part of their company, the issue of job security gets resolved. However, the company has not succeeded in providing higher salary to the employees. Hence, it can be said that the company only partially succeeded in considering the interests of the employees as its stakeholders. The interests of the suppliers lie in the best-selling of their products in Walmart stores as well as in a profitable manner. Suppliers require the company to sell their items at increased costs so that they can be benefitted. In the priority list of Walmart, suppliers remain at the bottom but they supplies the goods required by the company. Being a biggest retailer all over the world, Walmart possess the power to influence the suppliers. Due to this reason, s uppliers do not achieve the amount of benefit according to their expectations. On the contrary, Walmart demands from them to supply their goods at lower costs and the suppliers have to fulfill these demands in order to sell their goods. In this way, it is clear that Walmart has set the priority of the stakeholders according to its advantages. Walmart to be ethical in its communications and practice For the promotion of culture of integrity of Walmart, global ethics is responsible that includes the development of policies for ethical conduct which should be applicable on all the stakeholders in all branches all over the world. Global ethics serves as a guideline for all the companies for the purpose of decision-making and its reporting system is also highly confidential(Walmart, 2016). The Statement of Ethics introduced by Walmart specifies certain policies and principles under which all the major ethical issues can be covered. The Statement of Ethics will be applicable on all the employees and the members as well as the Board of Directors of Walmart. All the stakeholders and service providers of the company are expected to follow the guidelines of the Statement of Ethics. There are certain obligations that are applicable on all the employees or associates of the company such as to follow the legal procedure and never to violate the law as well as to report against any kind of l egal violation within the company. It is expected from all the employees that they have gone through the ethical principles and policies of the company and have understood its application in their job. The employees must cooperate in the investigations against violations of Statement of Ethics. Management associates are given the responsibility to monitor the ethics compliance(May, 2012). They are required to become an example for the associates and to give more priority to ethics whenever conflict occurs between ethics and the objectives of the company. It is expected from the management associates that they will praise the associates for raising ethical issues and will never retaliate against them. There is a provision of disciplinary action against those who are found to be involved in unethical behavior or violated the Statement of Ethics. The disciplinary action will include compensating the grieved party and the termination of person who will be proved guilty. Being a responsible organization, Walmart has ascertained some of the responsibilities to the shareholders as well as on the company itself according to its company policies. The company is committed for the advancement of the benefits of its shareholders and in accordance with the ethical standards and legal conduct in trade and dealings. The company requires fair and accurate disclosure in all the reports and records having financial information and ensures the shareholders to follow the same. Walmart provides all required disclosures in reports and documents filed in the Security and exchange Commission as well as in public communications. Walmart follows a separate Code of Ethics for CEO and Senior Financial Officers of the company(Wal-Mart Ethics Office, 2005). This code of ethics binds these officers regarding their financial reliability. Taken into consideration the Code of Conduct and Statement of Ethics framed by Walmart, it is commendable on the part of the company that it has proved itself as an organization being ethical not only in communication but also in practice(Sethi, 2013). Recommendations for Walmart to emerge as a more ethical organization in future Walmart should follow the path of sustainability which means to develop in order to meet the requirements of present taking into consideration the ability of the future generations and not to compromise with their requirements in future. In order to follow this path, Walmart should continue to follow CSR policies which comprises of its legal, social, ethical, and environmental responsibilities(Zadek, 2004). To establish consumer confidence, Walmart should focus on accountability and transparency(McConnell Hughes, 2015). The company should expand its profitability performance indicators. The role of ethics should be enlarged to include modes of production and social impact of daily operations(Daft Marcic, 2010). The company should set and meet the highest standards of ethical conduct in order to be economically stronger. The company should focus on improving its purchasing and marketing behaviors through sale and purchase of environmentally sustainable or renewable products. It shou ld support social and environmental issues and step forward to safeguard the environment. It should give more emphasis to the charities for social causes, sponsorships, and employee voluntarism(Govindarajan Gupta, 2002). The company should concentrate on conducting its business operations in a highly responsible manner. It should focus on developing innovative ideas for solving various social and environmental issues. By following these recommendations, Walmart will possibly be emerging as a more ethical organization in future. Conclusion The brand image of Walmart has been destroyed due to some scandals and ethical issues. Walmart is continuously making efforts to rectify its tarnished image. The company is implementing CSR policies and has framed the Statement of Ethics to resolve all the ethical issues. After analyzing and assessing the efforts made by Walmart to get hold of its customers and other stakeholders, it can be held that Walmart will proved to be a more ethical organization in future. References Alves, E.R., Gomes, E.R. Corsini, L.F., 2014. The Characteristics of Power, Legitimacy, and Urgency of Stakeholder and The Actions of Corporate Social Responsibility of Companies. Asian Journal of Business and Management Sciences, 3(7), pp.34-46. Business Practices, 2015. WalMart Unethical Business Practices. Cnbc-tvn-biznes. CBC News, 2005. Walmart to cut ties with Bangladesh factories using child labour. [Online] Available at: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2005/11/30/walmartbangladesh051130.html [Accessed 31 August 2016]. Daft, R.L. Marcic, D., 2010. Understanding Management. 7th ed. Ohio: Cengage Learning. Davis, N.D., 2007. Corporate Reputation Management, The Wal-Mart Way: Exploring Effective Strategies in the Global Market Place. Senior Honors Thesis. The OAKTrust Digital Repository. DeWeese, N. Rumpf, J., 2011. Walmart Stores Inc. v. Dukes et al. [Online] Available at: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/10-277 [Accessed 30 August 2016]. Govindarajan, V. Gupta, A.K., 2002. Taking Wal-Mart Global: Lessons From Retailing's Giant. [Online] Available at: https://www.strategy-business.com/article/13866?gko=e19cb [Accessed 31 August 2016]. Maquila Solidarity Network, 2005. Walmart caught using child labor in Bangladesh Bangladesh. [Online] Available at: https://en.maquilasolidarity.org/currentcampaigns//walmart?SESS89c5db41a82abcd7da7c9ac60e04ca5f=mrdvpcufw [Accessed 30 August 2016]. May, S., 2012. Case Studies in Organizational Communication: Ethical Perspectives and Practices. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications. McConnell, W. Hughes, M.., 2015. Enviro-ethical Dialogism: Implications for CSR and Consumer Engagement. In Proceedings of World Social Marketing Conference. Sydney, Australia, 2015. Meyer, P., 2016. Walmarts Stakeholders: Analysis Recommendations. Panmore Institute. Sethi, S.P., 2013. The World of Wal-Mart. [Online] Available at: https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/ethics_online/0081 [Accessed 30 August 2016]. Sethi, S.P., 2013. The World of Wal-Mart. [Online] Available at: https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/ethics_online/0081 [Accessed 30 August 2016]. Sitaru, D.A., 2009. Corporate Governance. Lex ET Scientia International Journal, XVI (2), pp.186-213. Stanford University, 2016. The Greening of Wal-Mart. Stanford: Stanford University. Times Inc, 2016. The Fortune 2016 Global 500. [Online] Available at: https://beta.fortune.com/global500/ [Accessed 31 August 2016]. Torres, C.A.C. et al., 2012. Four Case Studies on Corporate Social Responsibility:Do Conflicts Affect a Companys Corporate Social Responsibility Policy? Utrecht Law Review, 8(3), pp.51-73. University Alliance, 2013. Walmart Reports on Global Responsibility Efforts. [Online] Available at: https://www.usanfranonline.com/news/supply-chain-management/walmart-reports-on-global-responsibility-efforts/#.V8aJNlt97cd [Accessed 29 August 2016]. Wal-Mart Ethics Office, 2005. Statement of Ethics. Wal-Mart Ethics Office. Walmart, 2014. Walmart Global Responsibility Report. Bentonville, Arkansas: Walmart. Walmart, 2015. Walmart Highlights Progress in 2015 Global Responsibility Report. Bentonville, Arkansas: Walmart. Walmart, 2016. Ethics Integrity. [Online] Available at: https://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/ethics-integrity [Accessed 29 August 2016]. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources , 2016. Supplier Sustainability Assessment. [Online] Available at: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/SmallBusiness/documents/caseStudies/WalmartSupplierSustainabilityAssessmentFullPacket.pdf [Accessed 31 August 2016]. Zadek, S., 2004. The Path to Corporate Responsibility. Harvard Business School Publishing.

An Analysis of Early Years Philosophies The WritePass Journal

An Analysis of Early Years Philosophies Introduction An Analysis of Early Years Philosophies and is the full document guiding those involved in the provision of years education is seen as merely a minimum standard that they are required to meet and any underlying aims and objectives that should be in mind when establishing their own methods and philosophies. This was given its statutory status by virtue of the Childcare Act 2006. There are underlying aims associated with the guide, including the desire to provide consistency and equality of opportunity for all young children, which will ultimately then provide a secure foundation upon which every child can develop in an appropriate manner and according to their abilities and desires and become well adjusted young adults, in the future. Basic safeguarding welfare requirements are also fundamental to this guidance and, although the focus here is on educational theories, it should be noted that early years’ education theories should, at all times, consider welfare issues and how these may interact within the educational environment (Helm, and Katz 2001). Overarching principles recognise that each child is unique and will be in a constant state of learning and development, and will therefore need to be adaptable and taking the lead from the child in question. Furthermore, the establishment of positive relationships, both with their peers and adult groups is crucial and educational environments should be enabling and positive, regardless of precisely how they are set up or managed. Depending on the nature of the early years provider there may be more specific requirements when it comes to learning and development. For example a childcare provider for wrap-round services, e.g. outside of school hours, would have a lesser requirement to support learning and development, as it would be presumed that the learning and development has been covered within the educational environment. In order to ensure sufficient flexibility, while also ensuring equality and consistency with policies produced in the area of learning and development down into three key subjects: communication and language; physical development; and personal, social, emotional development. All providers of early years’ education need to provide basic supporting literacy, mathematics, general understanding of the world and expressive arts and design. To a certain extent, the rigidity of the current requirements would prevent total freedom within the educational environment and this would disallow a pure theory, such as that of Montessori, to be used although many of the elements of this educational theory can still be present, despite the constraints of the statutory guidance. When establishing methods of learning and development the guidance requires the use of a mixture of directed   and free play within any education establishment and this prevents the approach from begun being entirely focussed one way or the other. The binding agreement to deliver the statutory framework requires that there are three characteristics which must be applied to all the activities that are undertaken by those involved in early years’ education. Firstly, there is the need to encourage playing and exploring which is supportive and congruent with the earlier theories of Steiner and Montessori and which encourage every child to explore and develop during their early years. Secondly, there is the need for active learning which encourages children to concentrate and to continue to strive to achieve the results that they are after (Anning et al 2004). Thirdly, there is the need to encourage the creativity and critical thinking of the children, in order to develop their own thoughts and ideas, as well as making links between ideas which they can then use in the future. Although the statutory guidance has a relatively large level of structure attached to it, on the whole, it follows the educational theories on early years’ education advocated by Steiner and Montessori. Certain requirements are also placed on early years’ education providers; for example, a pupil must have an allocated key person with whom they interact and who has responsibility for ensuring that they are developing and learning in an appropriate manner; this is also seen as a welfare and safeguarding issue, where this is a non- negotiable requirement. Certain standards are expected of children at any stage of early years’ education, such as the requirement that, by a specific age, sentences should be constructed and the children will be regularly reviewed and tested, in order to ascertain whether they are meeting the requirements, exceeding the requirements, or falling short. Although it is not expected that every child will develop at the same place, regular monitoring in many areas which are deemed to be weak is critical and a fundamental part of the current framework, so that the child in question can then be supported to develop in these weak areas. The main assessment is undertaken in the final term of the academic year in which the child becomes five years old is provided to the child’s carers / parent and other professional that are relevant during the early years. This assessment has several purposes other than to simply ascertain the current stage of learning for the child in question and provides information for the teacher who will be dealing with the child, as soon as they enter into compulsory education. This indicates that the early years’ agenda does in fact have the underlying aim of placing children in the best possible position to enter Year One (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment 2004). Another important aspect of the statutory guidance which is relevant to this discussion is the heavy emphasis placed on partnership arrangements, with the requirement for early years’ education providers to engage with the local authority, where appropriate, particularly for welfare and safeguarding issues. The essence of the policies here, therefore, is to fulfil certain requirements for having the statutory, basic standards in place, while also offering freedom to the early years’ educational establishment, in order to allow them to adjust, depending on the nature of their establishment and the types of facilities available to them. This would seemingly be a combination of theories, as discussed above, and goes largely along with the early focus on freedom and independence, but with slight constraints put in place. Based on this it can therefore be argued that the closest educational theories discussed above to the current situation are that of High Scope, where the adult operates as a form of scaffolding around the independent and free learning of the children. There does however need to be clarity, on a day-to-day basis, but the children themselves are given the freedom to develop at their own pace. A Personal Philosophy By looking at the educational theories explored in the first part of this report and also looking at the way in which the government has established guidelines, both compulsory and optional for educational establishments, the author here has been able to develop their own personal philosophy for early years’ education. This personal philosophy also draws, to a certain extent, on reflective learning from the author’s own experience within the early years teaching environment. As a result, and in the opinion of the author, it was found that the educational theories that support the notion of entirely free play are not as effective as the current educational agenda. However, whilst there are merits in the notion of entirely free experiences for very young children, as advocated by Montessori, it is suggested here that there needs to be a degree of structure, as this is more reflective of the educational experience which the children are likely to receive in the future. Moreover, there is an underlying aim within early years’ education to present children with the best possible foundation before branching into compulsory education and this would seem to be the main focus. The author also believes that the most appropriate philosophy is a combination of Waldorf and High Scope, stating that there needs to be at least some degree of structure and expectation, in order to ensure that there is sufficient consistency. Each child leaving early years’ education needs to be in position to undertake compulsory education; therefore, without having at least some boundaries and expectations laid out for all involved in education, this would result in some children not being able to achieve basic standards. This could ultimately impact, not only on their educational knowledge, but also on their self-esteem, if they were to enter compulsory education considerably behind others, in terms of attainment (Hohmann, 2002). Applying the statutory rules which are in place within the UK also supports this philosophy and recognises the fact that the ability of children to learn and develop will be different, particularly within the early years, and there needs to be at least some   freedom for the children to explore and make up their own minds. This does, however, need to be structured and facilitated by the educational professionals, so that any individual weaknesses can be identified and supported in such a way that would not be possible, if total freedom were given to the students. Educational theories provide a strong background to the way in which education should be delivered, both from a physical environment perspective, through to how the adults responsible for delivering education interact with the children in their care. Despite the need for structure, it is noted here that a strong emphasis should also be placed on freedom of choice for the children when building social and self-esteem factors, which are arguably going to be the foundations for future learning, far beyond technical skills such as the ability to read and write (Penn, 2005). By looking at the broader developmental issues, such as those set out in the statutory guidance, those involved in delivering educational standards can adapt to deal with any issues that arise, rather than being constrained to delivering a specific curriculum. Based on this, my own personal philosophy of education is a hybrid between High Scope and Waldorf, with a bias towards increasing structure, so that basic standards are achieved, regardless of the underlying skills and personalities of the children involved. References Anning, A., Cullen, J. and Fleer, M. (eds.) (2004). Early childhood education: society and culture. Delhi, New York and London: Sage Publications Cadwell, L. B., and C. Rinaldi. (2003) Bringing Learning to Life: A Reggio Approach to Early Childhood Education. New York: Teachers College Press. Catron, C. E., and J. Allen. (2007) Early Childhood Curriculum: A Creative Play Model, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall. Department of Education (2012) Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/2716/eyfs_statutory_framework_march_2012.pdf French, G. and Murphy, P. (2005). Once in a lifetime: Early childhood care and education for children from birth to three. Dublin: Barnardos. Helm, H and Katz, L (2001) Young Investigators: The Project Approach in the Early Years, New York: Teachers College Press. High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. (2001). The physical learning environment: Participants guide. Michigan: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation Hohmann, M., et al. Educating   (2002) Young Children: Active Learning Practices for Preschool and Child Care Programs. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press. Montessori, M (1994). From Childhood to Adolescence. Oxford, England: ABC-Clio. pp. 7–16 National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. (2004). Towards a Framework for Early Learning. Dublin:   National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. Penn, H. (2005). Understanding early childhood. Glasgow: Open University Press. Roopnarine, J., and J. Johnson. (2005) Approaches to Early Childhood Education, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Simple Japanese Phrases

Simple Japanese Phrases   This is a collection of easy Japanese phrases. Speaking Japanese shouldnt be too complicated even for beginners. Try these simple phrases whenever you have a chance. The more you practice, the better you get! The Japanese writings for each phrase are included for your reading and writing practice. If you have any questions, please  email me. For your convenience I have broken the phrases into three sections. Please scroll down to see all sections. Level 1 *  Question Words*  Ã‚  Responding*  Ã‚  Responding in  Agreement Part1*  Ã‚  Responding in  Agreement Part2*  Ã‚  Disagreement Responses*  Ã‚  Refusal*  Ã‚  Request/Command*  Ã‚  Unfavorable Responses*  Ã‚  Praising Appearance*  Ã‚  Praising Characteristics*  Ã‚  Praising Intelligence*  Ã‚  Emergency*  Ã‚  Useful Expressions*  Ã‚  Useful Adjectives*  Ã‚  Basic Verbs*  Ã‚  Useful AdverbsLevel 2 *  Greetings*  Partings*  Asking How*  Various Questions Part 1*  Various Questions Part 2*  Responding in  Agreement Part 1*  Responding in  Agreement Part 2*  Disagreement Responses*  Refusal*  Command*  Command (Dont ~)*  Encouragement*  Surprise*  Happiness*  Anger*  Sadness*  Weather*  Useful Expressions - At the Restaurant*  Useful Expressions - Shopping*  Useful Expressions - At a Party Level 3 *  Greetings*  Various Questions Part 1*  Various Questions Part 2*  Responding in Agreement*  Disagreement Responses*  Refusal*  Permissions*  Command*  Common Expressions for the Unknown*  Exclamatory Expressions*  Expressions of Disappointment*  Asking Permissions*  Happiness*  Anger*  Weather*  Useful Expressions - At the Restaurant*  Useful Expressions - Paying the Bills*  Useful Expressions - At a Party/Celebration*  Useful Expressions - At the Hotel*  Meeting a Famous Japanese Person

Brownfield and Redevelopment in China Research Paper

Brownfield and Redevelopment in China - Research Paper Example Environmental Protection Agency). It is further defined as† a parcel of land contaminated by one or more hazardous substances, but has potential to be reused once it is cleaned up† (China Development Gateway, 14 January 2011) . In the past several years, hundreds of polluting enterprises have been relocated away from city centers in Beijing, Shenyang, Guangzhou and other large Chinese cities. As a result, a large number of abandoned industrial brownfield sites can potentially be "recycled" for contemporary urban use, appropriate to the safe levels achieved after the clean-up. These could be anywhere from abandoned factories or manufacturing plants, factories or gas stations where substances were once used. The Brownfield become an obstacle for city expansion. Aside from this, Brownfield causes environmental risks due to possible pollutants that may still be present, yet redevelopment of these sites will contribute to urban development, create jobs, and develops green spac es and working land. Seeing the importance of these properties for development, China had to ask the World Bank for assistance in developing a sustainable program of development for these areas. As an insight, the history of the problem will be presented, the types of hazardous elements and contaminants found in abandoned areas will be categorized, the actions taken by the government is shown, and the recommended solutions formulated by World Bank is presented. Brownfields started in the Great Leap Forward era of 1950s wherein many of the state-owned factories were constructed within the city perimeter. (Zhang Xian, January 22. 2011) Reports said that these factories used antiquated equipments and had improper management and inadequate environmental services. As such, there was much pollution in the area, and in some instances pollution was 100 times higher than regulations permit. Report said that some underground organic pollutants have developed into non-aqueous phase liquids, wh ich, if not dissolved in water, can be a source of new pollutants. It is also feared that contaminants can transfer in the underground water, thus leading to a widespread distribution of poison. Four types of contaminants were found in the Industrial brownfield areas, and these are: Heavy contaminated sites. These come from steel, iron and smelting plants, ore tailings . Heavy metal contaminated sites. Typical contaminants are arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, and chrome. Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) contaminated sites. China produces, and widely uses, pesticides such as DDT, HCB, Chlordane and Mirex. Although certain pesticides haven’t been used for many years, some remain in the soil. New pesticide-contaminated sites continue to be discovered in China, in addition to other types of POP contaminated sites, such as PCB capacitor dismantling and burial sites. Organic contaminated sites such as petrochemical, coking etc. Substances include organic solvents, benzene and hyd rocarbons, often mixed with other contaminants such as heavy metals. Electronic waste sites. Incorrect disposal of electronic waste can affect human health. The main contaminants are heavy metals and POPs (bromination flame retardants and dioxin). Source: Xie, Jian and Li Fasheng, 2011 In the past, there was little attention given to Brownfield areas and its harmful effects because of

CIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CIS - Essay Example These features are what connect people as social beings. It is through real conversation that one can express their real emotions and people can be able to express their deep concern. It is a sad state that this new technologies are converting people into asocial beings. Teenagers subscribe to unlimited texts and are always on the phone even when having real conversation with people around them. It is not possible to concentrate on one’s phone and at the same time maintain eye contact with the person one is conversing with. This passes as a rude kind of behavior making the other person feel less appreciated and has ruined our relationship with people around us (Turkle 2013). It is thus possible to stay connected with other people through texts, tweets, FaceBook but at the same time be alienated from people around us. It follows that during conversation, no one really listens to the other causing a disconnection. What is even more scaring is the fact that people do not even get time to be alone. We are always bombarded by emails, text or even tweets during working hours, during our free time and even at night. The exchange of information never stops. This then implies that people never really get time to reflect on their own life and meditate. It has become even more difficult for people to create their own identity as our actions are shaped by these electronic means of communication (Turkle 2013). It is feared that in the end, we will have a world full of people with identical behavior and way of thinking and this blocks creativity and development in general. From this talk, it can be seen that in the near future, people will not be able to make simple personal real life conversation and this will have unimaginable consequences on our social structure. Staying connected has had its advantages in ensuring immediacy of information which has promoted businesses and other operation. Life has become very fast. This situation is scaring and measures need to

Corporate governance Essay Example for Free

Corporate governance Essay Corporate governance is concerned with the structures and systems of control by which managers are held accountable to those who have a legitimate stake in an organization. It has become an increasingly important issue for organizations for three main reasons. The separation of ownership and management control of organizations (which is now the norm except with very small businesses) means that most organizations operate within a hierarchy, or chain, of governance. This chain represents those groups that influence an organization through their involvement in either ownership or management of an organization. Increased accountability to wider stakeholder interests has also come to be increasingly advocated; in particular the argument that corporations need to be more visibly accountable and/or responsive, not only to ‘owners’ and ‘managers’ in the governance chain but to wider social interest Corporate scandals since the late 1990s have increased public debate about how different parties in the governance chain should interact and influence each other. Most notable here is the relationship between shareholders and the boards of businesses, but an equivalent issue in the public sector is the relationship between government or public funding bodies and public sector organizations. As the key purpose of Corporate governance drive the benefit of shareholder of the company all members of corporate governance model responsible and accountable for driving this primary objective. 1.1 Five Golden Rules of Corporate Governance And best corporate governance practice is not simply about a battle between distant, disloyal institutional shareholders and greedy directors but about the ethos of the organization and fulfilling its clearly agreed goals. 5 golden rules of Corporate Governance of successful organization are: 1. Ethics: a clearly ethical basis to the business 2. Align Business Goals: appropriate goals, arrived at through the creation of a suitable stakeholder decision making model 3. Strategic management: an effective strategy process which incorporates stakeholder value 4. Organization: an organization suitably structured to effect good corporate governance 5. Reporting: reporting systems structured to provide transparency and accountability 2 Objectives of study Objective of this case study is to understand and critically examine flaws, failure of Corporate Governance on Satyam Computer’s strategic decisions. Also analyze what are the areas those can be influenced by proper Corporate Governance. This case also helps understanding Governments roles to tackle firms or intervene in firm’s functionality in the interest of internal and external stakeholders. Not only were there failures at the regulatory level, but also at the executive level. With no express code for corporate governance in India, the company failed to follow the industry standard best practices and as a result, collapsed. This study would be useful in identifying the different kind of failures in a family owned business like Satyam and to policy makers in designing and implementing corporate governance frameworks for professionally managed as well as family managed businesses like Satyam. This case also reveals how wrong decisions can damage entire organization and dent the image of company. This case also focuses certain legal issues related to roles and responsibilities of Chairman and other top management including critical role of independent directors of organization. This Case Study focuses laws and gaps in the Indian context. 3 Historical Evolution of the company Satyam was incorporated on June 24, 1987 as a private limited company providing software development and consulting services based out of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama Raju were the promoters of the company. Before starting Satyam these duo were involved in other businesses like construction and textiles. This company was started with 20 employees 1991, this company went in for IPO where it was oversubscribed by 17 times. Same year it could bag clients like John Deere co which is fortune 500 company. This is the first time it adopted offshoring model. 1993, Satyam formed joint ventures with clients like D B and also with GE. In 1996 Satyam started its on shore offices in US and Japan. And its first development center in New Jersey, 1998. By 1999 it had operations in 30 countries and was assessed SEI CMM Level 5, one of the very few companies to get this accreditation by then. In 2000, Satyam grew by 10000 employees and got listed in NASDAQ ( National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) in 2001. 2004 Satyam was providing services in 45 countries with employee base of 15000. At that time Company was operating in various verticals with 18 development centers. Company crossed 1Billion revenues by 2006. Satyam’s revenues grew to 2 billion by 2008 with a net income of 417mn. Gained 186 of fortune 500 customers. Sailing in the industry with 46000 employees by March 2008 with operations across 66 countries. By September 2008 it recorded revenue of 28.19Bn. 3.1 Corporate Governance Practice at Satyam To explain the level of commitment and ethics to society it was mentioned by both inside and outside members of Satyam that on the day of Ramalinga Raju father’s cremation he attended shareholders meeting. Company’s ethics and level commitment were stressed in many annual reports. Corporate Governance was driven by its core values Associate Delight Investor Delight Customer Delight Pursuit of Excellence Company stated that† it believes that corporate governance practices provide an important framework to help the board of directors to fulfill its responsibilities† Main duties of the board were to set strategic direction to the company and leading the organization in the right direction there by ensuring long term interest of investor and other stakeholders of the company. Source: Satyam Computer Services, Report on Corporate Governance 2006-07 For independent functioning, the board comprised of both executive and non-executive members. Board also comprised several committees like Investor Grievances committee Compensation Committee Audit Committee The board was governed by code of conduct, which specified that all employees, directors needed to carry out their duties legally, honestly and ethically. It also specified all clauses that avoid any code of conflict etc.., Company’s Whistle Blower policy was also in place. According to experts though sound policies were in place none of the directors were objecting Raju’ s decisions even though they are against the interest of investor. It continued till the time when Raju was planning to acquire Maytas where the biz of Target Company was not aligning to Satyam and also those companies are promoted by Ramalinga Raju’s family members. 3.2 Role and Powers of Independent Directors (clause 49 of SEBI) SEBI had constituted a Committee on Corporate Governance under the chairmanship of N R Narayana Murthy to improve standards of corporate governance in India. SEBI introduced some major amendments based on the report on this committee on 26th August, 2003, in clause 49 of its listing agreement. Applicability of Clause 49 All companies which were required to comply with the requirement of the erstwhile clause 49 i.e. all listed entities having a paid up share capital of Rs 3 crores and above or net worth of Rs 25 crores or more at any time in the history of the entity, are required to comply with the requirement of this clause. This clause does not apply to other listed entities, which are not companies, but body corporates, incorporated under other statutes. Clause 49 will apply to these institutions as long as it does not violate their respective statutes, guidelines or directives. Clause 49 of the SEBI’s listing agreement relates to Independent Directors. Clause 49 Corporate Governance The company agrees to comply with the following provisions: I. Board of Directors (A) Composition of Board (i) The Board of directors of the company shall have an optimum combination of executive22 and non-executive23 directors with not less than fifty percent of the board of directors comprising of non-execu tive directors. (ii) Where the Chairman of the Board is a non-executive director, at least one-third of the Board should comprise of independent directors and in case he is an executive director, at least half of the Board should comprise of independent directors. (iii) For the purpose of the sub-clause (ii), the expression ‘independent director’ shall mean a non-executive director of the company who: a. Apart from receiving director‘s remuneration, does not have any material pecuniary relationships or transactions with the company, its promoters, its directors, its senior management or its holding company, its subsidiaries and associates which may affect independence of the director; b. Is not related to promoters or persons occupying management positions at the board level or at one level below the boardx` c. Has not been an executive of the company in the immediately preceding three financial years; d. Is not a partner or an executive or was not partner or an executive during the preceding three years, of any of the following: 1. The statutory audit firm or the internal audit firm that is associated with the company, and 2. The legal firm(s) and consulting firm(s) that have a material association with the company. e. Is not a material supplier, service provider or customer or a lessor or lessee of the company, which may affect independence of the director; and f. Is not a substantial shareholder of the company i.e. owning two percent or more of the block of voting shares. OTHER DEFINITIONS The Department of Company Affairs (DCA) had appointed a Committee headed by Mr. Naresh Chandra along with the distinct professionals from various fields. Apart from this, the Kumaramangalam Report also has suggestions about Independent Directors. Some definitions on Independent Directors. THE CADBURY REPORT (1992) Apart from their directors‘ fees and shareholdings, they should be independent of management and free from any business or other relationship which could materially interfere with the exercise of their independent judgmentâ€â€". THE KUMARAMANGALAM REPORT (1998) ―Independent directors are those directors who apart from receiving director‘s remuneration do not have any other material pecuniary relationship or transactions with the company, its promoters, its management or its subsidiaries, which in the judgment of the board may affect their independence of judgment THE NARESH CHANDRA REPORT (2003) Apart from receiving director‘s remuneration, does not have any other material pecuniary relationships or transactions with the company, its promoters and senior management.â€â€" It is significant to mention hear that the Naresh Chandra Committee report has opined that the recommendations made by the Kumaramangalam Committee in relation to independent directors are not precise and cannot fulfill the requirement of the independency as compared to the International best-in-class definitions and other pragmatic factors.25 An independent director is characterized by the following principle features: COMPANIES ACT, 1956 INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS Under the Companies Act,1956 the powers and duties of directors has evolved under interpretation of various Sections such as 291, 297, 299, 397, 398, 408, 629A, to name a few which have recognised and upheld directors‘ fiduciary duties to shareholders, to act with due care, skill and good faith. Sections 297 and 299, for example, are intended to eliminate possibility of conflict of interest. Unfortunately, the Act does not envisage a proper remedial regime, providing for rescission of underlying transactions, compensation for corporate and stakeholder losses, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains etc. Theoretically, some of these reliefs can be agitated for before the Company Law Board – but courts are hesitant to pass such drastic orders, in cases of such large, reputed companies ROLE OF INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR TOWARDS SHAREHOLDERS Corporate Governance principles all over and listing requirements assign tasks that have a potential for conflict of interest to independent directors, examples of these are integrity of financial and non-financial reporting, review of related party transactions, nomination of board members and key executives remuneration. The shareholders, especially the minority shareholders, look to independent directors providing transparency in respect of the disclosures in the working of the company as well as providing balance towards resolving conflict areas. In evaluating the board‘s or management decisions in respect of employees, creditors and other suppliers of major service providers, independent directors have a significant role in protecting the stakeholders interests. One of the mandatory requirements of audit committee is to look into the reasons for default in payments to deposit holders, debentures, non-payment of declared dividend and creditors. Further they are required to review the functioning of the ―Whistle Blower mechanismâ€â€" and related party transactions. These, essentially, safeguard the interests of the stakeholders 4 Major strategic decisions and its consequence December 16th 2008, Chairman Ramalinga Raju in a surprise move announced intent to acquire Maytas Properties and Maytas construction companies for a whopping 1.6Bn. While it is evident that these two companies are promoted by Ramalinga Raju’ s family in the industry circles it was not clear why should a IT services company focus on infra and property business. As the decisions was opposed by investors and clear indication of market fluctuation made Ramalinga Raju to revert his decision in 12 hours. Share prices plunges by 55% on concerns about Satyam’s corporate governance. In a surprise move, the World Bank announced on December 23, 2008 that Satyam has been barred from business with World Bank for eight years for providing Bank staff with â€Å"improper benefits† and charged with data theft and bribing the staff. Share prices fell another 14% to the lowest in over 4 years. The lone independent director since 1991, US academician Mangalam Srinivasan, announced resignation followed by the resignation of three more independent directors on December 28 i.e. Vinod K Dham (famously known as father of the Pentium and an ex Intel employee), M Rammohan Rao (Dean of the renowned Indian School of Business) and Krishna Palepu (professor at Harvard Business School)6. At last, on January 7, 2009, B. Ramalinga Raju announced confession of over Rs. 7800 crore financial fraud and he resigned as chairman of Satyam. A week after Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju’ s scandalous confession, Satyam’s auditors Price Waterhouse finally admitted that its audit report was wrong as it was based on wrong financial statements provided by the Satyam’s management’s On January 22, 2009, Satyam’s CFO Srinivas Vadlamani confessed to having inflated the number of employees by 10,000 Satyam share price have seen sharp decline within hours of the outburst of the incident and further deteriorated after Ramalinga Raju’s confession Source: http://akpinsight-ijcbs.webs.com 5 Implementation of strategic decision On 30th Sep 2008, Satyam reported that it had cash reserves of 1.2Bn and on December 16th company expressed intent of acquiring Maytas Properties and Maytas Constructions for 1.6Bn. While Maytas infra a public listed company operating for two decades Maytas properties s only 6 months old which declared a revenue of 7.37Bn and net profit of 370 mn. On December 16th 2008 Satyam board approved acquisition of Maytas. The cash reserve to be used by Satyam to buy 51% of equity stake in Maytas infra for 1.3Bn USD and for Maytas properties 300 mn USD. Satyam planning to acquire 31% of the holding of the Raju family in Maytas Infra and another 20% through open offer to shareholders. The promoters held 36.64% equity stake in Maytas infra . Satyam planning to pay 475 Rs per Share which was 1.25% less than closing value December 16th and open offer made at 525 rs from the existing Maytas infra shareholders. After approval from board Ramalinga Raju announced this as a strategic move to de-risk core business by bootstrapping a new business vertical. He also called out that this would de-risk the recessional impacts on the current vertical of core business. Announcement however trigger negative reaction from industry, investors and stock markets. Satyam’s stock got severe beating on December 16;.The ADR fell from 12.55 to 5.70 after this announcement . On Bombay Stock Exchange the stock fell from 226 to 158 rs. It went down further to 134 on December 24th 2008. The decision attracted lot of criticism that promoters who has only 8.74% equity stake in the company were being allowed by the board to transfer a considerable amount of money from Satyam to Maytas where Ramalinga Raju’ s family own more stake. Analysts called that this is act of siphon to move cash from Satyam into a place where Raju’ s family has more stake. Experts also called that if board is convinced with the deal then it is their responsibility to inform major investment institutions which is a good sign of proper corporate governance. Valuation of Maytas was not transparent and this was not even informed to investors in advance. Investors called this process as act of misuse of Satyam funds and it’s a nepotism. Registrar of Companies asked Satyam to submit minutes of board meeting for validity and review held on December 16th 2008. However Satyam could not provide minutes of meeting in the said deadline given by RoC. These reactions compelled Satyam to roll back the decision within 12 hours .These accusations lead to few international issues where the long battle between British Virgin Island Based Upaid system and Raju and Satyam CFO. There are three cases breach of contract, forgery filed by filed by UPaid and one disparagement filed by Satyam. On December 23 2008 World Bank announced that it will bar Satyam to take any of its contracts for next 8 years due to improper invoice and benefit to employees. It was reported that Satyam sold its preferential shares to World Bank CIO. Before Maytas controversy got over DSP-Merlynch announced that it is terminating its advisory agreement with Satyam. In its communication it said considering various strategic options it had terminated its advisory agreement also quoted that it was to their understanding that there are accounting irregularities which prompted them above decision. Analysts said that this move compelled Raju to confess as SEBI asked DSP-Merlynch asking why it had to withdraw the agreement. 6 Merits/Flaws of implementation Following are the Governance Flaws noticed in the case of Satyam computer Services Limited 6.1 Unethical Conduct It is evident that founder of the company wanted to make money any which way by avoiding taxes, cooking books , creating false payrolls and pay offs. Shareholders, employees and clients realized steady diet of (A)Satyam. He was not following the spirit behind its name. Along with his brother Rama Raju who is his also managing director of the company disguised all this from company’s board , senior managers and auditors for several years. Confession revealed the fraudulent and unethical behavior of the duo who bagged many awards and rewards for his best corporate governance including prestigious Golden Peacock award. Both CEO and CFO charged for putting self-interests ahead of company’s interests. 6.2 A case of insider trading Both central and state investigation agencies and also audit firms revealed and established that promoters indulged in the nastiest kind of insider trading of company’s shares to raise money for building large land banks. It was established that money raised by Ramalinga Raju and Rama Raju along with his relatives used to buy lands in 330 binami companies. 6.3 Case of False Books and Bogus Accounts The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), 23 a multi-disciplinary investigating arm of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, set up in 2003 with officials from various law enforcement agencies, was asked to investigate the fudging of accounts as admitted by B. Ramalinga Raju. the consent of the board was unanimously accorded after which Raju proposed the merger of MIL and MPL to the shareholders, which came in for stiff resistant, and issue of corporate governance was raised.† A couple of weeks later, Ramalinga Raju dropped a bombshell by sending a letter of admission to SEBI and the board of directors that he had fudged the accounts of Satyam and that the balance sheet as on September 30, 2008 carried an inflated (non-existent) cash and bank balances of Rs 5040 crore, non-existent interest of Rs 376 crore and understated liability of Rs 1230 crore Source: http://www.applied-corporate-governance.com/best-corporate-governance-practice.html 6.4 Lax Board The Satyam Board was composed of ‘chairman-friendly’ directors who failed to question managements strategy and use of leverage in recasting the company; they were also extremely slow to act when it was already clear that the company was in financial distress. The glue that held the board members together was Ramalinga Raju. Each of the board members were there on his personal invitation and (that) made them ineffective. The Board ignored, or failed to act on, critical information related to financial wrongdoings before the company ultimately collapsed. It was only when Ramalinga Raju in the December, 2008 announced a $1.6 billion bid for two Maytas companies i.e. Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties, and while the share market reacted very strongly against the bid and prices plunged by 55 % on concerns about Satyam’s corporate governance, that some of the independent directors came into action by announcing their withdrawal from the Board 6.5 Unconvinced Role of Independent Directors The Satyam episode has brought out the failure of the present corporate governance structure that hinges on the independent directors, who are supposed to bring objectivity to the oversight function of the board and improve its effectiveness. They serve as watchdogs over management, which involves keeping their eyes and ears open at Board deliberations with critical eye raising queries when decisions scent wrong. Stakeholders place high expectations on them but the Satyam’s case reveals such expectations are misplaced. Six of the nine directors on Satyam’s Board were independent directors including US academician Mangalam Srinivasan (the independent director since 1991), Vinod K. Dham (famously known as father of the Pentium and an ex Intel employee), M Rammohan Rao (Dean of Indian School of Business), US Raju (former director of IIT Delhi), T.R. Prasad (former Cabinet Secretary) and Krishna Palepu (professor at Harvard Business School). They were men of standing reputation. To avoid any controversy, the two founder directors did not participate in the decision making process for the reason that the provisions of the Companies Act and SEBI regulations mandate presence of only disinterested directors in board meeting where the agenda of such a nature is discussed. This naturally causes suspicion on the role performed by the independent directors present in that meeting. What concerns everyone is that those independent directors allowed themselves to be party to the mysterious designs of the promoter directors. It is hard to believe that such eminent and experienced personalities could not discover the well-planned massive fraud and manipulations. 6.6 Questionable Role of Audit Firm/Committee The true role of audit committee in prà ©cis is to ensure transparency in the company, that financial disclosures and financial statements provide a correct, sufficient and creditable picture and that, cases of frauds, irregularities, failure of internal control system within the organization, were minimized, which the committee failed to carry out. The timely action on the information supplied by 18 a whistleblower to the chairman and members of the audit committee (an e-mail dated December 18, 2008 by Jose Abraham), could serve as an SOS to the company, but, they chose to keep silent and did not report the matter to the shareholders or the regulatory authorities. The Board members on audit committee who failed to perform their duties alertly be therefore tried out under the provisions of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (an unimaginable fine extendable to rupees 25 crore by also including imprisonment for a term, which may extent to 10 years). 6.7 Suspicious Role of Rating Agencies Credit rating agencies have been consistently accused of their lax attitude in assessing issuers and giving misleading ratings without thorough analysis, as has been the case of Enron and now in Satyam, they failed to warn market participants about the deteriorating condition of company. On December 2, 2001, Enron Corporation, the USA’s 7th largest corporation declared bankruptcy when it was rated investment grade by all the credit rating agencies even four days before its bankruptcy. None of the watchdogs barked, including the credit rating agencies, which had greater access to Enron’s books. In the case of Satyam, credit rating agencies have been heavily criticized as regards their role and for the accuracy of their ratings. The rating agencies were allowed to look into company’s books for making assessments but they never investigated the financial condition of Satyam. The rating agencies displayed lack of due diligence in their coverage and assessment of Satyam. They based their analysis on fraudulently prepared and audited financial statements and thereby failed to warn investors about Satyam’s deteriorating condition. 6.8 Questionable Role of Banks The ICAI Probe Panel has hit out at banks for not doing due diligence on Satyam Software Services Ltd before giving it loans. While sanctioning short term loans why not the banks posed any question as to why the company which was supposedly cash rich as per the financial statements was taking loans from them. The Panel wondered why the government put Deepak Parikh on its Board despite his HDFC group being a major creditor to the company. The banks that gave loans to Satyam during 2000-08 despite the company claiming huge surpluses were HDFC Bank (Rs 530 Crore, Citibank (223.87 Crore), Citicorp Finance (Rs222.28 Crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 40 Crore), and BNP Paribas (Rs 20 Crore) totaling Rs 122.161 Crore. 6.9 Fake Audit PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)’s audit firm, Price Waterhouse, was in the auditor for Satyam and have been auditing their accounts since 2000-01. The fraudulent role played by the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the failure of Satyam matches the role played by Arthur Anderson in the collapse of Enron. S Goplakrishnan and S Talluri, partners of PwC according to the SFIO findings, had admitted they did not come across any case or instance of fraud by the company. However, Ramalinga Raju admission of having fudged the accounts for several years put the role of these statutory auditors on the dock. The SFIO report stated that the statutory auditors instead of using an independent testing mechanism used Satyam’s investigative tools and thereby compromised on reporting standards.