Management Seminar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management Seminar - Essay Example ial scandals from the leading companies such as –the Enrons, Worldcoms, Adelphia and Tyco’s over spending as well as distortion of accounting statements. SOX stipulate that there should be several checks and balances in the companies to provide accurate financial record to the public. Financial officers are required to provide accurate financial statements that should be monitored by both internal and external auditors. For that reason, they are held accountable for their actions; and lest there be any incorrect financial information, and then they are liable for high fines and imprisonment. This act very important to both the public and the companies as well, this is through establishing a more energetic shareholder’s environment. The common public has more confidence that organizations will not swindle their money as they are subject to federal regulations. It is due to this reason the firm financial officials have opted to submit accurate financial statements. As required by this act, any unethical actions in the organization should be punished; employees, therefore, have been encouraged to report any wrong doings in the organization because it is the same act that will defend them. However, The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has been challenged by a number of negative aspects. Many companies have decided not to go public as they do not need to be SOX compliant if they are privately held. Once this Act was passed, many companies have become privately held, and some public companies have also removed their names from the stock exchange list. Moreover, the exercise has also proved to be very expensive; the cost involved in hiring the qualified accounting, legal, and technology expertise to support maintaining accurate records of the organizations’ financial statements is high. In addition, the maintenance fee that is required for this act has really squeezed the bottom-line profits of many organizations; as some mid-size companies are unable to afford the fee

Currently Ethical Issue in Business Research Paper

Currently Ethical Issue in Business - Research Paper Example This has mainly emanated from the absence of transparency, consistency; accountability, coupled with institutional weaknesses within judicial and legislative systems have been a primary cause of corruption within companies. The paper explores ethical challenges associated with corruption and bribery in business. Business ethics has overtime attracted significant interest partly owing to the perception of crude capital tendencies, which elevate the making of profits relative to ethical making of such profits. The realization of corporate goals and objectives necessitates that business managers design relevant policies and strategies, which enable them to attain the set objectives and cope with the overriding business environment. Nevertheless, some of the corporate policies may offend ethical sensibilities (Trevino & Nelson, 2011). Background Corruption is a complex phenomenon covering a wide range of and its origin lies deep within political and bureaucratic institutions. Although, t he costs of corruption may differ and systemic corruption may be accompanied by sound economic performance, studies on corruption demonstrates that corruption is bad for development. Bribery represents one of the core tools of corruption and can be employed by businesses as a mode of â€Å"buying† things availed by governments or other entities such as contracts, government incentives, lower taxes, legal outcomes, and licenses (Myint, 2000). Ordinary business practices when abused can be construed as corrupt payments. Bribery and corruption in companies limits competition, corrupts the society, and damages innovation. In most cases, â€Å"corrupt† and â€Å"illicit† can be employed interchangeably, which implies that corrupt behavior contravenes a principle of legality; nevertheless, not all illegal behavior is corrupt and not all corrupt behavior can be deemed as illegal (Kochan & Goodyear, 2011). Transparency International differentiates forms of corruption by motive, whereby corruption behaviors injurious to the firm can be labeled as dysfunctional corruption while that beneficial to the firm can be labeled as functional corruption (Myint, 2000). Such a distinction is relevant when discussing international business and corruption given that some acts such as bribes and kickbacks may enable the firm to operate profitably, especially in the short-term (Loughman & Sibery, 2012). Discussion The World Bank estimates that close to 0.5% of GDP is lost via corruption each year. Bribery is mode common form of corruption, which creates a leeway where organized crime can flourish, corroding of trust in institutions, and undermining the rule of and democratic practices. Corruption can be highlighted as endemic within emerging economies causing chaos in economic development. In recent years, there has been a surge in high-profile cases of corporate corruption and bribery, which have given rise to colossal fines for companies engaged in corruption su rpassing $ 1 billion and increasing diplomatic tensions between countries. In response to increasing incidences on corruption, the U.S. Justice Department has increased prosecutions of alleged acts of foreign bribery by U.S. corporations. For instance, in 2009, over 120 companies were under investigation representing a stark contrast from what was happening in the previous years. Recent trends toward vibrant enforcement of