Private, public and voluntary sector

Private, public and voluntary sector In my assignment Im going to look at the different between three types of organisation which divided to privet sector, public sector and voluntary sector. As we know about the organisation are group of people who are working together, and the privet sector is the organization who is making special profit to develop his/her own company and it made up of sole proprietor , partnership and franchise which I provide it on Tesco as an example . A public sector is owned by the government so it is a public corporations .finally the voluntary sector which is known by non-profit sector owned by both the government and individual charities and going to use Oxfam as an example. The mostly for-profit benefit is the privet sector and it gets the benefit to the maximum extent while the public sector is going out to meet the needs of individuals rather than for-profit and non-profit sector not-for-profit. In any organisation there must be a goal , which they target that goal or that objectives of the organisation so, there is no reason to meaning-based. Each type of organisition has goal and objective . Tesco was established as a local small business to sell goods and expand all over UK becoming a privet business and then after few years later they opened branches over Europe. Tesco has 3,751 branches all over the word and over 70 million costumers .Tesco aims to make profit they aim to do with launch of a new product and services. The purpose of Tesco is to sell products to customers in cases, even at a loss, but they make it through the sale of other products at mark up. SWOT analysis is a very useful tool for understanding and decision-making for all types of situations in business and organizations. SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The SWOT analysis headings provide a good framework for reviewing strategy, position and direction of the company or business proposal, or any other nation. SWOT analysis is mainly used for business planning, strategic planning, competitor evaluation, marketing, and business and product development and research reports. The SWOT analysis is an objective assessment of the data organized by the Coordinating Committee for the drudgery of a logical order that helps understanding, presentation, discussion and decision-making. Four dimensions is an extension of the useful list of two basic title for pro and con. SWOT analysis can be used for all types of decision-making, SWOT template can be considered proactive, rather than relying on the usual reactions or instinctive. The application of tools for more efficient, let us consider that the product is being launched in a foreign country Pestle: Designer originally from the work of environmental scanning, and pest or pestle analysis is an analysis of the external environment macro (big picture) in a business that works. These are often factors outside the control or influence in the business, but it is important to be aware of when doing product development, business planning or strategy. Analysis and pestle is often used to go public tool, and find out where the organization or the product is in the context of what is happening outside of this will have some impact at the point of what is happening within the organization. The analysis of the pestle is a business measurement tool, and considers factors external to the organization. Often used in strategic analysis within the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis). Address pestle analysis and a framework to review the situation, and can also be used to review the strategy or position and direction of the company, a proposal, marketing, or idea. There are many variables on this form, including an analysis of the lesions and analysis of the steeple.

Statement of Educational Goals and Philosophy Essay -- My Philosophy o

Statement of Educational Goals and Philosophy It is often said that the first impression you make on someone is the most important. It can never happen again and usually is not forgotten. I believe this is true for education also. Kindergarten or preschool is a child's first impression of school. Whether that impression is a good or bad one it will affect the child through the rest of their schooling. I was fortunate to have a great first impression of school which helped me to decide to become a teacher. There are many reasons why I have chosen Elementary Education as my major. The biggest reason is not only because I have always had a love for children but also for learning. Ever since I was a little girl, I would sit in my bedroom and play school. I had my own chalk board and I would teach to an imaginary class. I was continuously trying to learn new things and am still doing that to this day. The vision that I have for my classroom is like most of the classes I was in when I was in elementary school. They were very colorful, full of books and art projects, and made you feel like you were at home. I will arrange the seats in clusters, in which two students will set beside each other and then they will face two other students. I believe that this is a less intimidating arrangement and allows the students to gain social skills The bulletin boards will have every students art work or projects hanging up. The room will be decorated according to what time of year it is. My supplemental materials will include extra books for the children to read, craft supplies, and anything else that I can find that will make learning more enjoyable for the students. The projects that I will do will explore different cogni... ... we have, education has to be reformed. During reform initiatives as a teacher you need to decide if you want to take an active role. I feel that education is a very crucial part of every child. Every child deserves the right to have an equal education no matter what their race, sex, or socioeconomic situation. Education is very important in my life. I plan to continue to challenge myself and my education even after college. I have been very fortunate in my life. I was lucky to have some wonderful teachers who influenced and encouraged me to be whatever I wanted to be. I hope that I can be as important to mystudents as those teachers were to me. I believe that it is important to know my students and to know their learning abilities. I want all of my students to know that you learn something from every experience and that failure isn't failure if a lesson is learned.

Arthur Miller and his Distorted Historical Accuracies :: American America History

Arthur Miller and his Distorted Historical Accuracies In 1953, Arthur Miller wrote his famous play The Crucible, in response to a fear of Communism that had developed in the United States during that decade. The "Red Scare", as it was later called by historians was led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose paranoia of a communist takeover spread through the nation like a wildfire. Men and women alike fell victim to McCarthy's pointed finger and as a result of this hysteria, were mostly deported from the country, their careers and lives ruined. Some argue today that McCarthy's plan had been to use the fear of the American people to throw his enemies out of office and gain power himself. Whatever McCarthy's motives may have been, Arthur Miller realized the senator's ludicracy when he attempted to accuse the President himself to be Communist. Miller and the rest of the American people drew the line and McCarthy was seen a fraud. By the time the rest of the public had came to this realization, Miller's play was written. The Crucible is a play in which Arthur Miller parallels events of the Salem witch trials of 1692 to the problems that were plaguing his own society. The statement that most readers today bring out of the play is that history has a way of repeating itself. Miller's play was an extreme hit upon release and won a Tony award. The play is so popular today that many teachers in secondary schools use it to base their lesson around when teaching their students about 1692 Salem and there are multimedia activities based on Salem through The Crucible's view. Miller is often asked to speak at events where similar "witch hunts" occur, acting as a sort of expert on the subject of Puritan Salem and acts of hysteria. The question is, why is Arthur Miller revered by so many as "the man to ask" regarding the Salem Witch trials when his play had many inaccuracies, some very obvious? Miller's play is not a historical account of the events in 1692 Salem, but rather a work of fiction. It is important to realize that what Miller wrote is not fact by revealing where his play is historically flawed. Some of the more important discrepancies are discussed below: By examining Miller's main plot relationship between characters Abigail Williams and John Proctor, we uncover many discrepancies, mainly that there was no relationship at all.

Bhabhas Contribution to Postcolonial Theory Essay -- Sociology

Colonialism is and has been a reality during previous centuries. As a political and economical reality it entailed significant consequences in the colonized country's politics, geographical maps, and people's lives, fates and temperaments. As the consequences are hard to ignore the writers of the formerly colonized countries never forgot to write about it and their people's lives before, during and after their country's colonization. As Emecheta is one of these writer who is born and brought up in Nigeria, a colony of British Empire until 1960, postcolonial approach is one of the most appropriate critical methods to deal with her narratives. Besides, since she is focusing on women in the colonial and postcolonial setting trying to foreground their subjugation, utilizing ideas proposed by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Chandra Talpade Mohanty as pioneers of postcolonial feminism are helpful in coming to the desired conclusion in this thesis. In addition to Mohanty and Spivak Homi K. Bhabha's propositions regarding the colonized self and her/his dual subjectivity also are helpful. Central to feminist concerns among the postcolonial scholars such as Gayatri Spivak and Talapde Mohanty is Western feminism's inattention to the differences among women. Spivak exposes how the world is presented from the dominant perspective and geopolitical location of the First World to the exclusion of other disenfranchised groups. Regarding women in the Third World countries she believes that the everyday lives of many Third World women are so complex and unsystematic that they cannot be known or represented in a straightforward way by the vocabulary of Western critical theory. In this respect, the lived experiences of such women can be seen to pres... ...2 (2004):365-373. Schneider, Gregory. â€Å"R.K Narayan’s The Guide and Buchi Emecheta’s Kehinde† www.assosiatedcontent.com/article. Stanford Friedman, Susa. â€Å"Locational Feminism: Gender, Cultural Geographies, and Geopolitical Literacy†. www. Women.it/cyberarchive/files/Stanford.htm Ure Mezu, Rose. â€Å"The Perspective of the Other: Rape and Women in Buchi Emecheta's The Rape of Shavi". Bookbird 36.1 (1998): 12-16. Ure Mezu, Rose. Buchi Emecheta's "The Bride Price" and "The Slave Girl": A Schizoanalytic Perspective. Van Judith Alan. â€Å"Sitting on a Man: Colonialism and the Last Political Institutions of Igbo Women†. Canadian Journal of American Studies. 28.2 (1972): 165-71. Ward, Cynthia. â€Å"What They Told Buchi Emecheta: Oral Subjectivity and The Joys of Motherhood.† PMLA 105.1(1990): 83-97.

How Video Games Affect Children

How Video Games Effect Children During the last decade, attention and accusations within the media have turned more to the meteoric rise in popularity of arcade-type home computer and console games. Considerable anecdotal evidence abounds about how teenagers are affected by shoot-em-up and beat-em-up games. Zimbardo (1982) remarked that video games are so addictive to young people that they may be socially isolating and may actually encourage violence between people. Another comment came from the surgeon-general of the United States, who expressed his personal view that video games were one of the root causes of family violence in America.He was quoted as saying that children â€Å"are into the games, body and soul – everything is zapping the enemy. Children get to the point where when they see another child being molested by a third child, they just sit back† (Koop, 1982). Because most research into television violence does demonstrate a relationship between the exposu re to aggression and subsequently exhibited aggression, investigations of the effects of video game playing usually have predicted a similar relationship. However, many variables are involved, and researchers offer no clear statement on the role of game playing and aggressiveness.Parameters include, for instance, gender, age grouping, expressed hostility (feelings of aggressiveness) versus exhibited aggression (overt behavior), the behavioral measurement (e. g. , toward a life-size doll, or in terms of shocks administered from an â€Å"aggression machine†), experimental duration of exposure (time spent playing), and personality traits. Also, studies may be laboratory based or observational. I know these are reliable sources because there is an author and also research was done on the topic. #2 This is my second article and it was written in 2010 and the title of it is Pediatrics for Parents.What makes the article reliable is the fact it’s only two years old. Here are s ome facts from the article. The article stated that at a theoretical level, there are reasons to believe that violent video games may have a larger harmful effect than violent video games. But, recent studies that directly compare passive screen media to video games tend to find bigger effects of violent video games. The article also stated that a well-adjusted child who plays violent video games is going to become a school shooter.When you separate studies into those that were well conducted versus those that had major flaws, you find that a well-conducted studies found bigger average effects of violent games on aggression than did the poorly conducted studies. (Anderson, 2010) Internet Source My first internet article is from an online publication for youth and what makes it reliable is the fact is partner of Santa Fe College and University of Florida along with two newspaper companies. First, one negative influence that video games have is that they can foster violence.This means that when kids play these games and see their favorite character commit some type of violent action, they want to repeat it. Second, video games influence youth negatively by supposedly giving children a negative image of women. Women are not usually used in video games, and when they are, their purpose is usually sex appeal. Lastly, social isolation is a negative influence of video games. It causes the student not to care about grades or learning and to want to stay as far away from the real world as possible because of how much the player likes the videogame world. Smith, 2006) #2 According the American Psychological Association, violent video games can increase children's aggression. Dr. Phil explains, â€Å"The number one negative effect is they tend to inappropriately resolve anxiety by externalizing it. So when kids have anxiety, which they do, instead of soothing themselves, calming themselves, talking about it, expressing it to someone, or even expressing it emotionally by crying, they tend to externalize it. They can attack something, they can kick a wall, they can be mean to a dog or a pet. Additionally, there's an increased frequency of violent responses from children who play these kinds of video games. Dr. Phil also points out that violent video games don't teach kids moral consequences. â€Å"If you shoot somebody in one of these games, you don't go to jail, you don't get penalized in some way — you get extra points! † This doesn't mean that your child will go out into the world and shoot someone. â€Å"But they do use more aggressive language, they do use more aggressive images, they have less ability to control their anger and they externalize things in these violent ways.It's absolutely not good,† says Dr. Phil. The reason I feel that this is a reliable because source because it is from the American Psychological Association and Dr. Phil. I have read many great articles from APA. I have also watched Dr Phil shows and I k now it is all true information. References Anderson, A, C. (2010, March 01). Violent Video Games and Other Media Violence, Part II. Pediatrics for Parents, (3/4), 21, Retrieved from http://elibrary. bigchalk. com. ezp-01. lirn. net Koop, E. (1982). Surgeon general sees danger in video games.New York Times, November 10th, p. A16. Dr. Phil (2012). Children and Violent Video Games, Retrieved from http://www. drphil. com/articles/article/297 American Psychology Association www. apa. org Scott, Derek (1995, March 01). The effect of video games on feelings of aggression†¦ Journal of Psychology, ({129}) 121(12), Retrieved from http://elibrary. bigchalk. com. ezp-01. lirn. net Smith, Blake 9th grade (2006, August 17) How Video Games Affect Kids, Retrieved from http://rolemodels. jou. ufl. edu/rolemodels/entertainment/videogames. shtm

MCI WorldCom Scandal Essay

Introduction MCI WorldCom was one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. Bernie Ebbers founded WorldCom in 1983, after that WorldCom began as a re-seller of long-distance telephone services. WorldCom is located at Mississippi. After Ebbers bought around 50 other small long-distance firms, he set his sight on MCI. Thus MCI WorldCom would have become the second biggest telecom service provider in 1997. MCI WorldCom was formed on September-15-1998. WorldCom merged with the $37 billion MCI Communications Corporations, the company’s operations were organized around three divisions: * MCI WorldCom * U.S. telecommunications * WorldCom International The MCI WorldCom division is the second largest long distance company in the United States (after AT&T). It has fibre optic network of 45,000-mile long, which provides local phone service in more than 100 markets and offers services such as data, Internet, and other communications services. UUNET WorldCom has a highly trusted & reliable backbone network which provides local access to the Internet to a reach of more than 1,000 locations in and around the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. WorldCom International is not only a local but also facilities-based competitor in 15 countries outside the United States, connecting to the company’s overall global network to more than 5,000 buildings in Australia, Ireland, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico Belgium, Brazil, France, The Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Company – Timeline: Corporate founding 1983: Businessmen Murray Waldron and William Rector devise a plan to create a discount long distance provider called LDDS (Long-Distance Discount Service). 1985: Early investor Bernard Ebbers becomes the first chief executive officer of LDDS. 1989: LDDS becomes public through its first acquisition of Advantage Companies Inc. 1992: LDDS merges in an all-stock deal with discount long distance service provider Advanced Telecommunications Corp. MCI acquisition 1993: LDDS acquires long distance providers Resurgens Communications Group Inc and Metromedia Communications Corp. in a three-way stock. This creates cash transaction that becomes the fourth-largest long-distance network in the United States. 1994: LDDS continues its acquisition spree acquiring domestic and international communications network IDB Communications Group Inc. in an all-stock deal. 1995: LDDS acquires voice and data transmission company Williams Telecommunications Group Inc. for $2.5 billion and changes its name to WorldCom Inc. 1996: WorldCom merges with MFS Communications Company Inc. and UUNet Technologies Inc. 1998: WorldCom completes three mergers: with MCI Communications Corp. ($40 billion)—the largest in history at that time—Brooks Fiber Properties Inc. ($1.2 billion) and CompuServe Corp ($1.3 billion). Proposed Sprint merger 1 999: WorldCom and Sprint Corp. agree to merge. 2000: U.S. and European regulators block proposed merger with Sprint; WorldCom and Sprint terminate agreement. Accounting scandals & Bankruptcy 2002: A small team of internal auditors worked together secretly at WorldCom. During the night time, the auditors’ secret investigations revealed a $3.8 billion worth of fraud. WorldCom files for bankruptcy protection, listing some $107 billion in assets and $41 billion in debt, on a consolidated basis as of March 31. It was the largest such filing in U.S. history. 2003: The Company’s total assets had been inflated by about $11 billion. Creditors had lost faith in the organization. 2004: MCI officially emerges from bankruptcy, 21 months after filing the largest Chapter 11 case in history. 2005: Verizon Communications Inc. announces a $6.75 billion deal to buy MCI Inc. Former WorldCom Inc. chief executive Bernard J. Ebbers is found guilty of conspiracy, securities fraud and making false filings with regulators. Worldcom Top Management Team during Scandal: CEO – Bernard Ebbers CFO – Scott Sullivan Comptroller – David Myers Director of General Accounting – Buford â€Å"Buddy† Yates Pre-Scam Days At WorldCom LDDS changed its name to WorldCom in 1995. WorldCom was the second largest benchmarked long distance telecom provider in the USA and the biggest internet traffic carrier in the world, with a network stretching over 150,000km, and business presence in more than 65 countries. WorldCom faced explosive growth, at a scorching pace over the 15 years of its existence by acquiring many companies like MFS Communications Inc. and UUNet Technologies Inc. in 1996, MCI Communication Corp, Brooks Fiber Properties Inc., CompuServe Comp in 1998. In 2001, it made the largest merger with Intermedia Communication Inc., an internet and data services provider. With the acquisitions of UUNet and MCi, WorldCom had control over more than 50% of the Internet backbone infrastructure. Every acquisition led to higher stock price which in turn made way to finance another acquisition. The share price of WorldCom was at an all time high of $63.50, on June 18, 1999, with market value of $125 billion. Its value rose to $180 billion during the peak of the telecom boom. As long as the stock market was booming and the dot com bubble was expanding, no one cared to look into the fundamental stability of the company. Auditors also failed to perform thorough due diligence. WorldCom, in the late 1990’s was also an attractive takeover target for Nextel Communications, before the scandal. Scam – How it all happened? WorldCom, the second biggest long-distance telecom company in US and also the biggest carrier of Internet traffic in the world was the new economy company when it was launched. In its operation of 15 years, the company grew at a very rapid pace, majorly due to the ambition of its former chief executive officer (CEO) Bernard J. Ebbers. It majorly expanded by acquiring other smaller companies who had a potential to be their future competitors. The stock market supported them and the company growth was exorbitant and no one cared about the fundamentals of the company as it was giving high return year on year. Below mentioned is the chronological order of occurrence of events and the exposure of fraud. * March 2002 – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) questioned WorldCom about its accounting procedures and about loans it had extended to its officers as it was curious about the rationale behind the offers. * April 2002 – The first sign of weakness came when company announced job cuts, the number was 3,700. Following the even, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch downgraded WorldCom’s credit rating and it was the beginning of the Justice department launching a probe into the scandal. * April 2002 – This month itself J. Ebbers resigned as CEO after the shocking revelation of lending of $339.7 million to Ebbers to cover loans that he took to buy his own shares. * June 25 – The Company revealed that improper accounting of $3.8 billion in expenses had covered up a net loss for 2001 and the first quarter of 2002. The company also announced that it planned to shed more than 20% of its workforce counting to be around 17,000 jobs. * June 26 – The case was filed by SEC against WorldCom alleging them for a securities fraud. It alleged that WorldCom’s top management â€Å"disguised its true operating performance† and â€Å"misled inve stors about its reported earnings†. Method that WorldCom adopted is been classified as an accounting scandal, the company used its balance sheet to boost revenues and profits while hiding expenditures. It did so by * Classifying ordinary day-to-day expenses and long-term expenses associated with the acquisition of capital assets as investments which led to WorldCom having a significant tax advantages. * WorldCom also tried to hide expenses to the amount of nearly $4 billion and instead showed them as profits in their account books. * Another ploy it employed was using WorldCom’s major operating expenses related to its â€Å"line costs†, the fees that it pays to third party telecom network providers for the right to access their networks. WorldCom capitalised these fees, terming them as investments, when, in fact, they were one of the most important day-to-day expenses. Financial experts pointed out that WorldCom’s accounting practices, made it impossible for investors to gauge the performance of the company. They not only overstated profitability they also misled the investors by the opaque nature of its regular operating performance. The shock for the people accentuated with revelation of Arthur Andersen, the disgraced auditing and consulting major as WorldCom’s auditor too. The WorldCom’s own internal audit department was the first one who unearthed the fraud of approximately $3.8 billion in June 2002. The company’s audit committee and board of directors were notified of the fraud and acted swiftly: Sullivan was fired, Myers resigned. By the end of 2003, it was estimated that the company’s total assets had been inflated by around $11 billion (WorldCom, 2005). Post-Scam Days At WorldCom Around 17,000 jobs were cut in order to save $1 billion. The company had yet to pay many of its creditors. Many of the small creditors included former employees, primarily those who were dismissed during June 2002. On August 7, 2002, the exWorldCom 5100 group was formed. It included former WorldCom employees with a common goal of seeking the benefits and full payment of severance pay under the WorldCom Severance Plan. The â€Å"5100† signifies the number of WorldCom employees dismissed in June 2002 before WorldCom filed for bankruptcy. In 2004, the company emerged from bankruptcy, with $5.7 billion in debt and $6 billion in cash. It was renamed MCI. About half of the cash was intended to pay various claims and settlements. Previous bondholders were paid 35.7 cents on the dollar, in bonds and stock in the new MCI company. The previous stockholders’ stock was cancelled, causing huge loss to stockholders. On February 14, 2005, Verizon Communications acquired MCI for $7.6 billion. On March 15, 2005 the CEO , Bernard Ebbers, was found guilty of all charges and convicted of fraud. He was accounted for the $11 billion accounting scandal, conspiracy and filing false documents with regulator. Many other officials were also charged with criminal penalties in relation to the company’s financial misstatements. These included former CFO Scott Sullivan (entered a guilty plea on March 2, 2004 to one count each of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and filing false statements), former comptroller David Myers (pleaded guilty to securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and filing false statements on September 27, 2002), former accounting director Buford Yates (pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges on October 7, 2002), and former accounting managers Betty Vinson and Troy Normand (both pleading guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud on October 10, 2002). On July 13, 2005 Bernard Ebbers received a sentence of imprisonment for 25 years. At that time, Ebbers was 63 years old. On September 26, 2006, Ebbers surrendered himself to the Federal Bureau of Prisons prison at Oakdale, Louisiana, the Oakdale Federal Corrections Institution to begin serving his sentence. During March 2005, 16 of WorldCom’s 17 former underwriters reached settlements with the investors. During December 2005, MCI joined Microsoft Corporation by providing Windows Live Messenger customers â€Å"Voice Over Internet Protocol† (VoIP) service to make telephone calls. This was MCI’s last new product—- called â€Å"MCI Web Calling†. This product was renamed â€Å"Verizon Web Calling†, after the merger. Corporate governance Failure In 2002, when world’s second largest telecom giant WorldCom filed for bankruptcy at federal court in Manhattan, United States witnessed one of the largest accounting frauds in history. Former CEO of WorldCom, Mr. Bernie Ebbers was held responsible for orchestrating the USD 11 billion accounting fraud and sentenced to 25 years in federal prison on July 13, 2005. WorldCom fiasco is a clear case of corporate governance failure. How could a fraud of such enormity go unnoticed by the Board of Directors at WorldCom? What happened to industry watchdogs? In WorldCom’s case, most of the deviations from proper corporate behaviour resulted from the failure of Board of Directors to recognize and effectively deal with the aftermaths of â€Å"greed culture†. WorldCom’s former CEO Bernie Ebbers’ desire to build and protect his personal wealth was the driving factor behind the fraud. For this reason, he had to show continually growing net worth in order to avoid margin calls on his own WorldCom stock that he had pledged to secure loans [1]. While probing this enormous failure in corporate governance and what could have been done to evade it, we came across an interesting document entitled â€Å"Report of Investigation† dated March 31, 2003. This Report was prepared for, among others, the Federal Bankruptcy Court overseeing WorldCom case [1]. From the report, we have drawn various points to understand the corporate governance failure at WorldCom. Accounting Misstatements WorldCom made major accounting misstatements that hid the increasingly perilous financial condition of the company. The Report described the accounting tomfoolery as follows: â€Å"†¦ As enormous as the fraud was, it was accomplished in a relatively mundane way: more than $9 billion in false or unsupported accounting entries were made in WorldCom’s financial systems in order to achieve desired reported financial results.† Drivers of the fraud The motivating factor behind this fraud was the business strategy (personal) of WorldCom’s CEO, Bernie Ebbers. Here was a man who put his personal gain above organization’s growth. In the 1990s, Ebbers wanted to achieve spectacular growth through a series of acquisitions. But, there was a catch – He did NOT have the necessary resources to fund his acquisition binge. So, he used WorldCom stocks to accomplish his shopping (acquisition) spree. But, the most important thing was, WorldCom stock had to continually increase in value to be of any use to Ebbers personal agenda. He felt the need to prove ever-growing revenue and income. His only option to accomplish this end was financial gimmickry. However, he faced the age-old problem which all conmen face – It is difficult to sustain deception in the long run! Complicating Ebbers’ circumstances was an industry-wide slump in telecommunications. During this time, Wall Street had continuing expectations of double-digit growth for WorldCom. After all, they had accomplished so much in such a relatively short period of time. But, WorldCom needed time to learn managing the new businesses it had acquired. To continue on the path of double digit growth, WorldCom had to consolidate the acquired businesses and turn them into money minting machines. However, Ebbers did not have the backbone to stand up and accept that WorldCom needed time. Instead he went ahead and presented Wall Street what it expected from WorldCom – Ever-growing revenues and income even when in reality none existed. He fudged the company books and met Wall Street’s expectations. Another major reason motivating this fraud was Ebbers’ very obvious aspiration to build and guard his personal financial situation. For this reason, he had to show continually growing net worth in order to avoid margin calls on his own WorldCom stock that he had pledged to secure loans [1]. He did that. While most of the reports blame Ebbers for the entire episode, the Board of Directors are not blameless. WorldCom supported revisionist model of Corporate Governance – though the Board reigns (de jure), the imperial CEO rules (de facto). WorldCom’s corporate governance failure resulted in the following: * Company filed for bankruptcy * CEO was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment * Shareholders saw their shares become useless * Lenders were strained to take losses on their loans * Employees lost jobs Court Ordered Fix The Bankruptcy Court directed the newly constituted Board of Directors and the newly appointed Corporate Monitor to fix this horrible example of corporate failure. The measures suggested.., * A corporate culture of openness, in which ethical conduct is encouraged and expected, as exemplified by the ethics pledge that the Company and the Corporate Monitor have developed and that senior management has signed * A corporate culture in which the counsel of lawyers is sought and valued; * Formalized and well-documented policies and procedures, including a clear and effective channel through which employees can raise concerns or report acts of misconduct References: 1. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/10/MCI-WorldCom-Inc.html#ixzz2IriwULfD 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MCI_Inc. 3. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/mci-worldcom-inc-history/ 4. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49156-2002Jun26.html 5. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/45542.html 6. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/723527/000093176303001862/dex991.htm 7. http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1915/19150810.htm 8. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2002/aug/09/corporatefraud.worldcom2 9. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/22/us/worldcom-s-collapse-the-overview-worldcom-files-for-bankruptcy-largest-us-case.html 10. http://voices.yahoo.com/worldcom-scandal-look-back-one-biggest-225686.html?cat=3 11. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/22/us/worldcom-s-collapse-the-overview-worldcom-files-for-bankruptcy-largest-us-case.html 12. http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CDkQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2005%2F03%2F15%2Fnews%2Fnewsmakers%2Febbers%2F&ei=yOkAUZbcKcbirAeVwIC4BA&usg=AFQjCNHSfWmXHV-ryl3POQ1NU_MMYLmvjA&bvm=bv.41524429,d.bmk 13. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/22/us/worldcom-s-collapse-the-overview-worldcom-files-for-bankruptcy-largest-us-case.html 14. http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CDkQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2005%2F03%2F15%2Fnews%2Fnewsmakers%2Febbers%2F&ei=yOkAUZbcKcbirAeVwIC4 BA&usg=AFQjCNHSfWmXHV-ryl3POQ1NU_MMYLmvjA&bvm=bv.41524429,d.bmk

Earthquake located on the San Andreas Fault line Essay

An Earthquake that registered 7.8 on the Richter Scale which lasted approximately 1 minute caused catastrophic damage to the City of Berkeley and LPHG. As a result of the Earthquake 31 employees perished including 1 as a result of the H1Z1 virus which had an outbreak in the wake of the catastrophe. The damage and loss of life has caused significant delays to the release of LPHG’s release of EFHG. DRP Documents: (e.g., disaster  recovery plan, backup plans etc.) Include specific details about the documents, including completeness. The Disaster Preparedness plan was not written as thoroughly as possible and left little direction to the disaster recovery team. it was missing major information, such as a list of critical services, Employee contact information and vendor contact information. see more:summary of san andreas movie The Business Impact analysis for this type of scenario or any disaster was never completed so there was little information to help the disaster preparedness team as far as how this disaster will impact the organizations operations. The Backup Policy was written thoroughly and included information on the backup schedule and storage locations. It also listed the backup methods used and the length of time full backups were kept for. The document also included instructions to restore data from both differential and full backups, but did not address what to do in a disaster scenario such as this. Lastly, the document does not address data storage at an offsite location, which would be beneficial if the whole campus is lost during an emergency. Post-Disaster Response Summary: Because the DRP was not completed properly there was not enough information available to employees, and they were not able to respond properly. They had to find employees names and addresses on their own since this information was missing from the DRP. Since no Business Impact analysis was done for this type of situation there was no relevant information available to help the DR team members through this specific situation. One bright spot is that they organizations data has been protected. Strengths of Disaster Response EVALUATION Strength #1: Strength Details: Summary of Strength: The Backup plan was set up and in place and data was protected and stored in multiple locations to ensure its safety. Additionally, the data retention policy made sure that full backups were kept for a period of at least 2 weeks and that differential backups were used in addition to full backups.  Contributing Factors: Plans There was a data backup plan in place Policies Policies were clearly outlined in the Backup and Recovery Policy document, and were being followed Documents The Backup and Recovery Policy was able to provide enough documentation to explain procedures for backing up data. Positive Consequences: Because the Policy was in place and was being followed, the Organization was able to retain all of its data through this disaster. once normal operations resume that data can be restored. Ways to Improve: The locations of data storage should be revised to allow for an offsite storage location. currently both data storage locations are located on campus. At least one of these locations needs to be changed to an offsite location to allow for greater chance of data retention in case a disaster strikes that wipes out the whole campus. Strength #2: Strength Details: Summary of Strength: Data recovery plan was written and procedures were in place to restore data in case of emergency. Since this was prepared the organization can restore operations successfully and resume work when normal operations begin again Contributing Factors: Plans Data restoration plan was written and in place Policies Policies were clearly defined in Backup and recovery policy document. Documents Backup and Recovery document provides clear instructions to follow in case of emergency and outlines step by step process to restore data Positive Consequences: Since the Backup and recovery document was in place and provided clear instructions this allows for a quicker recovery time to restore data once normal operations resume. Ways to Improve: The Data recovery document should be refined to include the priority of data restoration when all business functions have been compromised Strength #3: Strength Details: Summary of Strength: Disaster Recovery team had previously prepared Disaster preparedness plan, a Backup and Recovery Policy, and a Business Impact Assessment. Contributing Factors: Plans Having these plans in place give the Disaster Recovery team the instructions they need when disaster strikes Policies There were policies in place for the Disaster Recovery team to follow these documents Documents Documents were readily available and helped provide basic guidance to Disaster recovery Team Positive Consequences: Having the documentation available helped the Disaster Recovery team kick off the process to restore the organization to operational status. Ways to Improve: These documents need to be thoroughly reviewed after the organization is restored to operational status. When they are reviewed they need to be more thoroughly filled out and include any lessons learned from the current disaster. Areas for Improvement of Disaster Response EVALUATION Area for Improvement #1: Area for Improvement Details: Summary of Area for Improvement: Documentation needs to be improved and completed. The Documentation that existed, though helpful did not provide any comprehensive guidance to the disaster recovery team. Contributing Factors: Plans The Disaster Preparedness plan and the Business Impact analysis were not completed properly. Policies Policies for developing proper disaster recovery documentation were not in place and as a result the documentation to support it was not correctly done Documents Disaster recovery documentation was not complete and did not give employees enough information to used during the disaster recovery process Consequences: There are multiple scenarios that can be created from the lack of preparedness. At the very least the lack of documentation and foresight into planning can cause a delay in the recovery process for the organization. On the more extreme side this can put the organization out of business because the organization can take an extraordinary amount of time to return to normal operating conditions Ways to Improve: Review existing documentation and ensure that is it done completely. This is an incredibly important and clearly necessary approach. Additional documentation will have to be created in order to assist the Emergency Response team in the future. Area for Improvement #2: Area for Improvement Details: Summary of Area for Improvement: Data storage and Business Continuity plan did not identify the need for an off campus site to store data backups and allow for restoration of IT services in case of emergency Contributing Factors: Plans A plan needs to be developed that involves identifying an off campus site in case of emergency Policies Policies will need to be created to identify when an alternate site is needed to be used and how to go about restoring services from that site. Documents Documentation will have to be written to support proper procedure for bringing alternate site up during emergency situations. Consequences: Without an off campus secondary site, the organization runs the risk of total destruction should an emergency happen that destroys or compromises the main campus. Ways to Improve: A secondary site with proper equipment that is far enough away from main campus could enable the organization to continue operations even if the main campus is compromised. Area for Improvement #3: Area for Improvement Details: Summary of Area for Improvement: There is no process in place to validate and review the various documents for the Disaster Recovery Plan. Additionally no Disaster response teams have been identified to review and execute these plans when needed. Contributing Factors: Plans All Disaster Recovery documentation should be completed and review periodically. A process to validate and test the plan should be put into place. Policies Policies and procedures should be created to ensure that documentation is completed and reviewed Documents All documents involving Disaster Recovery need to updated and reviewed on a regular basis. Consequences: Since the documentation was done so haphazardly, the ability to return to normal operation status in a timely manner is put in jeopardy. Even worse, this can cause the organization to cease to exist. Ways to Improve: Create a Disaster Recovery team and put them in charge of documenting and planning all facets of disaster recovery. Have them update and add the required documentation and have disaster recovery drills to verify the plans. Additionally, the team should take their findings from testing and continually update and try to improve the policy.