Founded initially as a small company named Long Distance Discount Services in 1983, it merged with Advantage Companies Inc to eventually become WorldCom Inc, naming its CEO as Bernard Ebbers.WorldCom achieved its position as a significant player in the telecommunications industry through the successful completion of 65 acquisitions spending almost $60 billion between 1991 and 1997, whilst also accumulating $41 billion in debt. During the Internet boom WorldCom’s stock rose from pennies per share to over $60 a share as ‘Wall Street investment banks, analysts and brokers began to discover WorldCom’s value and made “strong buy recommendations” to investors.’ During the 1990’s WorldCom evolved into the ‘second-largest long distance phone company in the US’ mainly due to its aggressive acquisition strategy.… Read the rest
Business Ethics
Business ethics (also known as corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and business organizations as a whole. Business ethics can be both a normative and a descriptive discipline. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. In academia descriptive approaches are also taken. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the degree to which business is perceived to be at odds with non-economic social values.
An Overview of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
About Sarbanes-Oxley Act
The Sarbanes—Oxley Act of 2002 was passed on July 30, 2002 and only the public companies are now feeling its impact. This act frequently called the “most significant accounting or auditing legislation since the securities exchange Act of 1934”. After the implementation it has established its demands to the companies for proper management and disclosure of risk.
There have been found a number of corporate financial scandals (e.g. Enron Accounting Scandal) that provides various type of weakness in the governance and auditing practice in the organization. It represents the failures in controlling the reliability and integrity to the stock markets.… Read the rest
About Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 commonly known as Sarbanes-Oxley Act or SOX Act was enacted by US Congress to handle concerned issues surrounding business management and financial reporting as a way to restore and maintain investor confidence in the US capital market grappling with corporate scandals and accounting irregularities. With the integrity of the market further compromised by the failures of Enron’s bankruptcy and WorldCom, the act considered as the most significant corporate regulatory reform since the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, sought to curb the ongoing-spectacular corporate failures and scandals occurring in North America.… Read the rest
Ethical Behavior in Business
Ethics in business is not a new trend. In fact, it is already present for over four thousand years now. With the changing trends in the business world, the society is getting more concerned about the corporate responsibility of businesses. Debates have also been conducted focusing on the social issue of poverty among the workers and the corresponding responsibility of the employers about the issue. Even in the ancient times, issues on ethics in business can be observed just like in the teachings of Aristotle about the harmful effects of the gaps that exist between the economical utilization of goods and the profit making objective of many merchants.… Read the rest
Case Study on Business Ethics: The AIG Scandal
American International Group, Inc is a company whose operation began back in 1919. It was established back then by Cornelius Vander Starr as an insurance agency in Shanghai, China. AIG left china in 1949 after Starr had established himself as the westerner the sell insurance to the Chinese people. AIG headquarters then shifted from china to New York City, which is still the headquarters up to date. It is from here that AIG began its expansion tapping into other markets such as the Latin America, Asia, Middle East and Europe through use of its subsidiaries.
It was in 1962 when Starr transferred management of AIG United states holdings to Maurice R.… Read the rest
Cause Related Marketing (CRM)
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a subject of much current interest within the managerial world. CSR has the attention of the business community, investors, customers, and the business media. CSR as both the philosophy and practice of for-profit organizations voluntarily acting to positively assist society in ways beyond that required to obtain profit objectives. The concept of CSR is becoming transformed such that it is no longer a radical concept concerning the responsibilities of corporations to society, but simply a tool of managing stakeholders and improving reputations. CSR is the idea that it reflects the social imperatives and the social consequences of business success.… Read the rest