Business Ethics Case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Ethics Case Study - Research Paper Example He had aided the false representation of Enron inflated profits and pressed for dubious accounting practices plus fraud, with the intention of enriching himself and other executives. However, in spite of foreseeing the coming demise of Enron, Kenneth Lay lied to the public, the corporation investors and Enron workers to buy the company stocks, even as he and other senior executives were cashing in on the shares and bailing out. Some of the stakeholders affected by Lay actions include the company shareholders most of whom were pensioners who had invested their life savings in stocks that eventually amounted to almost nothing as they lost their personal investments plus pensions. Secondly, his actions had a lasting impact on most of Enron former employees, who not only lost their source of income and livelihood, but also lost their savings in terms of personal pension fund and stocks Discussion Shareholders Through a consequentialism approach Lay should have mentally examined the conse quences of his decision to allow false representation of the company financial position and other actions, since he owed the shareholders the duty to provide them with better and accurate information. He owed them the trust to make sure that the company is operated with their benefits in mind, and that it seeks to bring value to their investment. The shareholders needed intelligible disclosures which could be understood by even a lay person without the use of any specialized expert, or possession of an advanced degree as it is the duty of the chairman to make sure that they get such kind of information (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010). A consequentialist approach would have enable Lay to make significant ethical decision that would not have seen the shareholders value crumple. Notably, he owed them the duty to come up with adequately-designed controls measures, and provision of attentive oversight that would have stopped some of his employees from pushing the limits of their investments . Lay should instead have provided the shareholders with information that could help them to maximize their payback and at the same time minimize harms. He had the duty to net balance good outcomes over the bad consequences for the shareholders. If he had shared earlier what he knew, then the shareholders could have come up with decisions which possibly could have saved Enron, even if those decisions could have tuned out to be detrimental to his position in the company. Perhaps he may have lost his job and trust of the shareholders, but telling the shareholders the truth about the status of Enron could have helped them to seek solutions that would have at least save part of their investments (Brooks & Dunn, 2009). Based on non-consequentialism theory, Ken Lay had a fiduciary obligation to progress Enron shareholders interests exclusively. Lay obligation to shareholders was to avoid and avert harming their investment in the company by observing pertinent laws of the company and regul atory standards. As a leader entrusted by the shareholders to oversee the operations of Enron, he had the obligation of adding value to the corporation and contributing to the ethical success of Enron. Instead, Lay negated on his priority of re-establishing investor confidence (Mulgan,

View from the bridge Essay Example for Free

View from the bridge Essay The first presentations of the pair highlight it already with Eddie coming in from work and Catherine calling to Beatrice who is working in the kitchen. [Calling to the kitchen] Hes here, B.! This immediately emphasises the roles and stereotypes of The womens place is in the kitchen. Which obviously Miller wanted to present. Miller further presents the masculine and feminine roles with Beatrice, once hearing that her cousins are arriving that evening, panics about the appearance of the home. I didnt even buy a new tablecloth; I was gonna wash the walls - I was gonna wax the floors, [she stands disturbed] Miller emphasise Beatrices frenzy to highlight the role of women in that time even more to the degree that the male role, [Eddie] has to come in and save the day. Youre savin their lives, whatre you worrying about the tablecloth? Its an honour, B. Suppose my father didnt come to this country and I was starvin like them over there and I has people in America could keep me a couple of months? The man would be honoured to lend me a place to sleep. Beatrice then wells up with tears, complementing Eddie with angel; Godll bless you; you get a blessing for this! This shows that Eddie is the one who knows how to straighten things up in home and put things back into order. The role of a male. Beatrice and Catherine lay and dish out the meal then once the meal has finished, clear and wash the dishes, All whilst Eddie sits down and watched the work been done. This is very typical of the 1950s men and women roles and Miller plays with them, making the masculine role more evident and solid. When Beatrice and Eddie are together there is sometimes an air of tension which appears in imply that there is lack of sex in the relationship. [There is a slight pause and Eddie turns to Beatrice who has been avoiding his gaze] Eddie: What are you mad at me lately? Beatrice: Whos mad? Eddie: What worries you got? Beatrice: when am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie? This shows that the relationship between the two isnt as strong as a married couple should be. Eddie isnt living up to his expectations of a man, and giving Beatrice the feeling of being a complete wife. Eddie replies with I aint been feeling good. They bother me since they came Beatrice then fires back saying that the cousins have only been there for a couple of weeks where as Eddie hasnt been feeling good for three months. Eddie then retreats to himself with I dont know B; I dont want to talk about it. Eddie doesnt want to make an effort with trying to resolve this. He doesnt want to make an effort with Beatrice and he doesnt want to make an effort with the relationship. This can be said be a male trait, that when theres trouble with the missus, the first reaction is to avoid the situation and shut off. Through this way Miller presents another illustration of masculinity. When it comes to Catherine it is realised that Eddie takes quite an interest in her. With her appearance, behaviour and general relationship, making an effort to keep her under his wing, and when this starts to go wrong, he fights harder and harder to keep her there through different ways. Its already seen in the beginning in the play that Eddie is very concerned with Catherine through her dressing. I think its too short he says about a dress. I dont like the looks theyre givin you in the candy store. And with them new high heels on the sidewalk- clack, clack, clack. The heads are turnin like windmills These remarks express the way a father figure would say, which is thought about Eddie at first, and these comments are only looked at in an overprotective way. But as the play goes on, and situations arise that make Eddie to express his unlawful, latent love for Catherine, Eddie becomes more protective and aware of Catherines actions. For example when Eddie relises that there is obviously chemistry between Rooldfo and Catherine, he tells her to go take off her heels, causing her embarresment and looking small infront of Roldofo. Whats the high heels for, Garbo? I figured for tonight- Do me a favour, will you? Go ahead.

The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart Essay Example for Free

The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart Essay The Wicked Day, Mary Stewart’s concluding volume of the four-book series called the Arthurian Saga proved to be another fantastic display of mastery in Middle Ages inspired literature. Stewart’s primary modification the original Arthurian legends is making Mordred, originally Arthur’s twice-removed cousin, into Arthur’s bastard son to his half-sister Morgause. Although I initially did not like this alteration, this book proved to be an enchanting version of the original legend of King Arthur and his knights after all. What I liked about it most is its non-typical approach to the characters. In the original legends which I’ve also read, the dialogue used was not very exciting, and the emotional impact of events that unfolded was not so intense. Stewart’s take on Arthur is a lot more mature, making her book stand heads and shoulders above the bland mass of other fairy tales whether in book or screen which is based on the story. She presents Arthur, Mordred, Morguese and the rest as three-dimensional characters in a realistic world. Arthur himself was not shown as a faultless leader, neither was Morguese shown as evil incarnate as she usually was in the original where she also wasn’t portrayed to have had an affair with Arthur. Morguese in Stewart’s book was shown more like a victim of circumstance, and even Mordred was humanized in Stewart’s tale, a man without lack of conscience who must battle his own demons and settle his grievances against a father who abandoned him. I think these elements make the entire saga and its inevitable ending portrayed in this installment as a lot more morally gray, it makes it hard for me to judge whether a particular character is good or bad and I ended up not doing so at all. Truly a treat for Arthur lovers everywhere, the magic in her book is subtle yet captivating. Source: Stewart, Mary. (1983). The Wicked Day. Ballantine Books.

Liberal Concepts to Promote Peace

Liberal Concepts to Promote Peace Dele-Adelodun Mobolaji Critically evaluate the claims made by Liberals regarding how we might best promote peaceful cooperation between states. INTRODUCTION Liberalism can be described roughly as the ‘freedom for the individual’ as it believes that humans are good natured beings.[1] It is often perceived as the only true â€Å"persuasive and alternative view† of International Relations.[2] The core of the liberal peace theory constitutes a definition of long-term peace and security which is based on both the values of democracy and justice. Liberals have made certain claims as to how its theories can help create peaceful cooperation among states. The concept of liberal peace was first suggested by liberal classical analyst Immanuel Kant[3] in the late 18th century. His dream was that all countries become incorporated into a web of political, commercial and organizational arrangements that are mutually reinforcing and rewarding and thus reduce, if not eliminate the probability of conflict.[4] Kant suggested that economic mutuality and trade creates favourable conditions for international cooperation among states. His s uggestion also includes the implementation of democracy functions as the basis for global peace, democracy will also check the power of leaders and states, wars are likely to become less prevalent when and if democracy flourishes throughout the world. Lastly, through the formation of international organisations for the regulation of the international interdependence, their good relationships are secure. It is not individual factors, which lead to a more peaceful world, but rather all the element working in conjunction which eliminates conflict. Where these settings are present, state liberalists believe there is peace or these conditions are ideal for building peace. Their main claims are democracy, interdependence (commerce through trade), and international organizations systematically and symbiotically enhance the absence of warfare and the creation of enduring peace. The core concepts, claims and foundations liberals came up with will be explained in this essay, how Interdependence, democracy and formation of international organisations would help attain world peace. BODY Democracy The concept of liberal peace was first suggested by liberal classical analyst Immanuel Kant and referred mainly to democratic states. This association of democracy with peace is based in Kant, who believed that lasting peace would only occur after states had a representative government with separation of powers and civil constitutions respecting private property and asserting equality before the law.[5] Leaders of democracies as well as the citizens generally benefit from avoiding conflict especially with one another because the political cost of fighting wars are higher for democratic leaders.[6] If they win a costly war, the domestic political cost may be high. Jack Levys famous assertion encapsulates the idea behind Democratic Peace Theory as well as any written, which is perhaps why it is referenced so often: The absence of war between democracies comes as close to anything we have to an empirical law in international relations.[7] Liberals suggests that democracies will rarely g o to war against one another or even threaten each other. This has almost become a statement of truth. Arguably one of the forerunners of modern liberal democracy, the United States, has an international policy based upon the principles of the democratic peace theory, President Clinton stated in his 1994 state of union address that ‘Democracies do not attack each other’ meaning that ‘ultimately the best strategy to insure our security and build a durable peace is to support the advance of democracy elsewhere’[8]. Democracies do not usually go to war with each other mainly because of institutional constrains and because of the democratic norms and cultures they have. The first institutional constraint, explains that democratic governments are reluctant to go to war because they must answer to the citizens, Michael Doyle builds on Immanuel Kant proposition.[9] The second institutional constraint include checks and balances, it looks at three specific features of a state’s domestic political structure: executive selection, political competition and the pluralism of foreign policy decision making process. States with executives answerable to section body should be more highly constrained and hence less likely to go to war.[10] The democratic norms elucidation holds that â€Å"the culture, perceptions and practices that permit compromise and the peaceful resolution of conflicts without the threat of violence within countries come to apply across national boundaries toward other democratic countries.†[11] This means that democratic states have developed a positive view of other democratic states. Many liberal theorists are of the view that it is only when there is an end of tyranny around the globe and universal liberal democracy and respect for human rights that international peace will prevail.[12] They also make claims that when democracies come into conflict with each other, they only rarely threaten to use force, because it is illegitimate to do so and believe that conflicts are to be resolved peacefully by negotiation and compromise.[13] According to Doyle â€Å"liberal democracies are uniquely willing to eschew the use of force in their relations with one another.†[14] There have been debates in International Relation about whether democracies are generally more peaceful than other types of systems. The issue of the proposition that democracies do not fight one another does not mean that democracies do not fight at all. For example the Second World War could be seen as a fight against fascism and therefore for democracy. More controversially one justification for the Vietnam War of the 1960s and the 1970s was that it was necessary in order to protect the values of the free world.[15] The argument here is that liberal democracies are much more inclined to conduct the ir relations with others on a peaceful basis. From this it follows the best way to ensure a long lasting peace in international relations through the spread of liberal democratic government on a global scale. Economic Interdependence Economic interdependence has similarly made a contribution to our understanding of peace. There have been harmony of interest between the states and people of the world, these mutual interests are rooted to mutual benefits which arise from commerce through trade. As Angell suggests, war can become obsolete if trade flourishes between countries because trade brings mutual gains to all the actors, irrespective of how powerful they are.[16] Moreover, free trade mitigates barriers and tensions between countries and propels interaction, friendship and understanding.[17] Trade is a one of the major parts of liberal tradition as well as of Kant. Other theorists like Montesquieu claim that â€Å"Commerce is the cure for the most destructive prejudices,† and â€Å"Peace is the natural effect of trade.†[18] There is evidence that trade helps to reduce interstate conflicts, The World Trade Organisation (WTO) list ten benefits of the trading system it manages, the first being that it helps to keep the peace between states because ‘sales people are usually reluctant to fight their customers’.[19] Trade depends on the expectation of peace from with the trading partner. Liberals have always argued that interdependence lowers the likelihood of war by increasing the value of trading over the alternative of aggression meaning that independent states would rather trade than evade.[20] The use of force reduces the gains from trade and imperils the flow of information necessary for the development of mutual understanding.[21]The pacific benefits of economically important bilateral trade seem well illustrated by the experience of the United States with China over the past twenty years. After the Communist government began to open its economy in the late 1970s, its political relations w ith the United States became far more peaceful than they had been during the Cold War.[22] This thaw in relations began with a deliberate political decision to improve them, but as trade increased, both sides gained a greater stake in keeping the peaceful. This still happened considering the fact that China did not become significantly more democratic. Although there was a period in history, the period up to World War I where there was an inconsistency for the liberal theory, the Europeans reached an unprecedented level of trade, yet it did not stop them from proceeding into war. Realist argue to contradict the liberal theory claiming that the war was preceded by high interdependence level but trade levels had been high for the previous thirty years, but even if the interdependence was a necessary condition for the war, it was not sufficient.[23] Liberals also argue that economic interdependence between states reduces conflict as conflict discourages commerce. Economic interchanges favour world cooperation. Countries that are interested in benefiting from international trade and commerce necessarily need to create friendly relations with other states. On the one hand, economic interactions between two different states inevitably necessitate that those countries augment the number of their contacts for different reasons. Throughout history states have sought power by mean of military force and territorial expansion. But for high industrialized countries, economic development and foreign trade are more adequate and less costly means of achieving prominence and prosperity. That is the costs of using force have increased and the benefits have declined. For example, economically successful countries of the post-war period are the trading states such as Germany and Japan have refrained from traditional military political option of high military expenditure and economic self-sufficiency instead they have chosen the trading option of an intensified division of labour and increased interdependence.[24] Trade raises the cost of conflict and also the benefits of conflict avoidance and conflict management. The costly nature of conflict is also central to contemporary applications of the bargaining theory commercial relations increase the likelihood of peace because trade and investment make costly signals possible. This argument particularly corresponds to the idea that the risk of conflicts between states is reduced by creating a common interest in trade and cooperation for the state’s mutual benefits. An intergovernmental organisation can be defined as a formal, continuous institution established by treaty or other agreement between governments with a long –range purpose. In the contemporary world, international law is often expressed in international organizations. International Organisations are included in the Kantian peace theory. Kant believed that international law would operate most powerfully among democracies (republics), which would form a loose â€Å"federation† of sovereign states (an international organisation) to facilitate their peaceful relations and provide a framework for collective security against threats from states that were not republics.[25] The evolution of the European Common Market into the European Union required European states to restore stable democratic government to ease the flow of goods, services, capital and labour throughout Western Europe and this experience recorded great success. There has been growth in the number of internati onal organizations since the end of World War II. In 1909 there were 37 increased to 293 in 1990, there would not have been an increase if these organisations had little or no contribution to peace creation which is usually set out in their goals. International Governmental Organisations (IGOs), these organisations are usually multipurpose and they get involved in a wide range of activities which include promoting international commerce and investment, environmental concerns, health or human rights which all come back to the promotion of peace among its member states.[26] International organisations may play a role in adjudication and arbitration of disputes by mediating among conflicting parties. These activities are important because they reduce the cost of enforcing contracts, encourage their creation, and promote exchange.[27] Like in the case where the secretary general of NATO helped mediate the dispute between Greece and turkey over Cyprus in 1967 and was able to forfend the widening of the war.[28] Norms and rules developed within IGOs may facilitate arms control and delegitimize the use of force. The Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, for example helped to free the region of nuclear weapons. Shared norms create common interest helps to promote cooperation. IGOs may develop interests and preferences that are more stable than and to a degree independent of those of their member state.[29] International Governmental Organisations foster ways in which countries may peacefully resolve their conflicts while expanding the ways in which they view commonalities among their interests with wide-ranging set of potential belligerents as well as potential allies. However, it is also important to note other extremely significant institutions that assist in the making the world more peaceful by providing economic stability, cooperation and growth in the world such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and others. The most notable international organisation for the analysis is the United Nations (UN). The United Nations recorded great success in the intervention in Mozambique where there was a struggle to transit into democracy. There was a civil war which broke out in 1997 the Mozambique Resistance Movement was formed to oppose Government (Front of Liberation of Mozambique) which was in power at that time.[30] The conflict ended after the intervention of the United N ations in 1992 and a general peace was reached. During the ‘experience of Mozambique’, the United Nations managed to achieve one of its ‘rare peacekeeping successes. If not for the intervention of the UN the outcome of the civil war would have been disastrous. Liberal institutional theory argues that IGOs foster nonviolent conflict resolution and constrain the advent of disputes. This explains that IGOs resolve disputes preferably by the peaceful methods rather than the use of force. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the claims made by liberals to achieving peaceful cooperation among states are possible through the casual effects of democracy, interdependence and membership of international organisation. This three elements work best when they are applied together. The essay explains that if the Kantian elements are set at high levels, the incidence of fatal disputes will drop. Liberal analyses indicate that each of the three elements of Kantian peace does make a significant, independent contribution to peaceful interstate relations. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alec Stone Sweet and Thomas Brunell. Constructing a Supranational Constitution: Dispute Resolution and Governance in the European Community American Political Science Review 92 (1998): 63-81. Bruce Russett ‘Liberalism’ in International Relations Theories 3rd ed.Angell, Norman: ‘The Great Illusion’, London: Heinemann, 1910. Burchill, Scott et. al: Theories of International Relations. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009 Bruce Russett and John Oneal. 2001. Triangulating Peace: democracy, interdependence and international Organizations. Christopher Layne, ‘Kant or Cant: The Myth of the Democratic Peace’, International Security, Vol. 19, No.2 (Fall, 1994), pp. 5-49 Dale C. Copeland, â€Å"Economic Interdependence and War: A theory of Trade Expectations,† International Security, Vol. 20, no.4 (Spring 1996) Jill Steans Lloyd Pettiford, International Relations: Perspectives and themes John M. Owen, ‘How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace’, International Security, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Fall, 1994), pp. 87-125 Kant, I.,Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch, 1975, at http://www.constitution.org/kant/perpeace.htm. Karle, Warren: Realism and Liberalism continue to shape the ways in which policy makers conceptualize international relations, Australian Public Service Center, Shedden Working Papers Series, 2003. Levy, Jack. Domestic Politics and War. In The Origin and Prevention of Major Wars. Robert Rotberg and Theodore Rabb, eds. Cambridge University Press, 1989. Michael N. Barnett and Martha Finnemore, The Politics, Power, and Pathologies of International Organizations (1999). Michael W. Doyle, ‘Kant, Liberal legacies, and Foreign Affairs’, Philosophy and Public affairs, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Summer, 1983), pp.205-235 Ray, James Lee (1998),, â€Å"Does Democracy Cause Peace?†Annual Review of Political Science, 1. pp. 27-46 Russett Bruce Martin (1993), Grasping the Democratic Peace The Cyprus conflict at http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/narrative-main-%203.html Weinstein, Jeremy M., January 2002. Mozambique: A Fading U.N. Success Story. Journal of Democracy, 13 (1), 141-156 World Trade Organisation, http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/10ben_e/10b01_e.htm 1 [1] Michael W. Doyle, ‘Kant, Liberal legacies, and Foreign Affairs’, Philosophy and Public affairs, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Summer, 1983), pp.205-235 [2] Karle, Warren: Realism and Liberalism continue to shape the ways in which policy makers conceptualize international relations, Australian Public Service Center, Shedden Working Papers Series, 2003. [3] Kant, I.,Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch, 1975, at http://www.constitution.org/kant/perpeace.htm. [4] Bruce Russett and John Oneal. 2001. Triangulating Peace: democracy, interdependence and international organizations. [5] Ray, James Lee, â€Å"Does Democracy Cause Peace?† Annual Review of Political Science, 1. (1998), pp. 27-46 [6] Bruce Russett and John Oneal. (2001) n 4 above [7] Levy, Jack. Domestic Politics and War. In The Origin and Prevention of Major Wars. Robert Rotberg and Theodore Rabb, eds. Cambridge University Press, 1989. [8] John M. Owen, ‘How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace’, International Security, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Fall, 1994), pp. 87-125 [9] Christopher Layne, ‘Kant or Cant: The Myth of the Democratic Peace’, International Security, Vol. 19, No.2 (Fall, 1994), pp. 5-49 [10] Ibid page 9 [11] Russett, Grasping the Democratic Peace, p. 31 [12] Jill Steans Lloyd Pettiford, International Relations: Perspectives and themes [13] Bruce Russett ‘Liberalism’ in International Relations Theories 3rd ed. [14] ibid [15] Jill steans Lloyd Pettiford n 12 above [16] Angell, Norman: ‘The Great Illusion’, London: Heinemann, 1910. [17] Burchill, Scott et. al: Theories of International Relations. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009 [18]Michael W. Doyle, n1 above Pages 205-235 [19] World Trade Organisation, http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/10ben_e/10b01_e.htm [20] Dale C. Copeland, â€Å"Economic Interdependence and War: A theory of Trade Expectations,† International Security, Vol. 20, no.4 (Spring 1996) [21] Bruce Russett and John Oneal. (2001) n 4 above [22] Ibid. [23] Dale C. Copeland n 20 above [24] Robert H. Jackson, Georg Sà ¸rensen, ‘Introduction to International Relations’ Oxford University Press, 2007 Political Science [25] Russett, Bruce John R. Oneal., (2001) n 4 above [26] ibid [27] Alec Stone Sweet and Thomas Brunell. Constructing a Supranational Constitution: Dispute Resolution and Governance in the European Community American Political Science Review 92 (1998): 63-81. [28] The Cyprus conflict at http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/narrative-main-%203.html [29] Michael N. Barnett and Martha Finnemore, The Politics, Power, and Pathologies of International Organizations (1999). [30] Weinstein, Jeremy M., January 2002. Mozambique: A Fading U.N. Success Story. Journal of Democracy, 13 (1), 141-156

Governance And Leadership Of Project Management Commerce Essay

Governance And Leadership Of Project Management Commerce Essay The purpose of this document is to describe and evaluate the governance structure and leadership approaches currently adopted by the LEGO Group; suggest new or additional governance structures and leadership approaches that could improve the companys performance; and a reflection on the propositions made in the latter half of this document. Table of Contents Background  [1]   The LEGO Group is a family owned toy manufacturing company founded by a Danish carpenter-turned-toymaker Ole Kirk Kristiansen during the great depression in 1932. The company manufactured wooden toys because of the declining demand for building houses and furniture. In 1934 Ole combined the Danish words leg godt meaning play well to form LEGO. Ole founded LEGO with the motto Only the best is good enough (he produced toys using high quality materials and workmanship) which is still used by the LEGO Group as a guiding principle. In 1947, after World War II, LEGO acquired a plastic mould injection machine, which allowed LEGO to expand its business operations to produce a relatively large volume of plastic and wooden toys, resulting in the production of the first LEGO bricks. In 1954, Godtfred Kirk Kristiansen (one of Oles sons), found an opportunity to create toy products that were able to connect with products in the toy manufacturing industry, resulting in the birth of LEGO play-sets. In 1958, LEGO patented the improved LEGO brick design, also the year when Godtfred took over the company due to the death of his father. Between the 1960s and 2000s LEGO continuously grew into one of the worlds top largest toy manufactures, by expanding; with international sales, new innovative play-sets, sports and media licence acquisitions (i.e. franchise films, basketball, hockey, soccer), LEGO magazine subscriptions, erecting a LEGOLAND theme-park, launching a LEGO website, and LEGO videogames. However, in the early 2000s, the company experienced a decline in sales and profit: in 2003 revenues dropped 30% and continued another 10% in 2004. To overcome this crisis LEGO underwent a governance change to resolve the problems in the pre-existing management. In 2004, Jà ¸rgen Vig Knudstrop (the director of strategic development) replaced the CEO at the time, and in his first action as CEO he arranged a team to analyse the companys supply chain operations, from product development to production and distribution. The team discovered that although the newer products represented a large portion of annual revenues, newer generation play-sets were more elaborately designed and generated less profit; product designers were creating products without total consideration for material and production costs; designers used their own vendors resulting in LEGO having to deal with over 11,000 suppliers; inefficiencies in the organisation of the plastic mould injection machines, since each machine was capable of producing every type of LEGO brick retooling was required, causing downtimes resulting production facilities operating at 70% capacity. To bring the company back on track the team: reduced their product line where necessary as well as reduce the selection of colours for designs by half; used production costs of each brick to reduce expensive products, in-turn reducing the amount of suppliers needed by 80%; designers were shown the impact of using existing bricks over creating new ones for future designs; certain plastic mould injection machines were assigned specific LEGO bricks on scheduled cycles to reduce downtimes and retooling costs. These changes to product development, production and distribution implemented by Knudstrops leadership resulted in the LEGO Group earning a profit of $72 million in 2005, with profits increasing by 240% in 2006. Introduction  [2]   The LEGO Group is a privately held company based in Denmark. The company is currently owned by the 3rd and 4th generations of the Kirk Kristiansen founding family: Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen (Oles grandson) and his three children. Ownership of the company is handled through KIRKBI (an investment company) and the LEGO Foundation: KIRKBI owns 75% while the remaining 25% is held by the LEGO Foundation. As of 2012, the LEGO Group manufactures toys in more than 130 countries, has approximately 10,000 employees and is the third largest manufacturer of toys in the world (in terms of sales) after Mattel and Hasbro. Governance  [3]   The LEGO Groups approach to governance is focused on combining the strengths and benefits of private ownership with the applicable elements from good corporate governance for listed companies (Jensen, 2012). The certain requirements from listed companies (from the Danish Stock Exchange) are not all compatible for a family-owned company (Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is majority shareholder) while recommendations of corporate governance structure and board composition still apply. The LEGO Group maintains the importance of having a strong and competent board of directors, especially because of family-ownership. To support this, the company elects a chairman among independent board members to ensure professional board management. This process is regulated via: ensuring a diverse and complementary board composition; regular board self-assessments; competitive compensation; and clear specific rules mandated for each management body. Being a family owned company, the LEGO Group is exposed to risk through the handover of ownership across generations. The mediation strategy is to highly involve the next generation in company matters pertaining to ownership. Organisational Structure The LEGO Group uses a hierarchical top-down structure with five separate departments (see Appendix A, pp. 8), this structure centralises the companys management to a functional management structure which rests the authority with corporate management the corporate management consists of the CEO, the CFO and four Executive Vice Presidents (The LEGO Group, 2010, pp. 7). The centralised functional management structure ensures consistency in organisations, as a limited number of persons are in charge causing jobs to be simplified allowing employees to be highly specialised in their work since specialisation leads to operational efficiencies where employees become specialists within their own realm of expertise (BusinessMate, 2010). This form of governance however, can result in slow decision-making processes as decisions must pass through bureaucracy in order to get through to corporate management (Riley, 2012). A disadvantage of functional management structures is that it facilitates rigid communication between employees and corporate management: employees can feel unheard and excluded from decisions that directly affect them. This lack of involvement can be detrimental to the job satisfaction, motivation and productivity of the employees (Jones and George, 2006, pp. 53-54). Leadership The current CEO (Knudstorp) emphasises a decentralised and innovative-oriented approach in contrast to the existing structure. To implement this combined strategy Knudstorp uses a managing at eye level approach, which he defined as being able to talk to people on the factory floor, to the engineers, to marketers being at home with everyone (OConnell, 2009). Knudstorp achieves this through a relaxation of the top-down management style, allowing responsibility and decision making to be pushed as far down the hierarchy as possible (OConnell, 2009), much like McGregors (1960) Theory Y where collaboration within the company relies on leaders recognising the potential of their resources and how to realise that potential. Through the realisation of the Knudstorps leadership style the LEGO Group moved away from a hierarchical organisational structure to a flatter one with: cross-functional teamwork, employee involvement, more open communication lines and styles. With open communication whe re all the members of the company are in contact with each other in some way or another the company is able to have a stronger sense of community. The LEGO Group communicates its attitude to the responsibility of its employees through communication, health safety, people and culture policies and promises. Link between Project and Corporate Strategy  [4]   The LEGO Group uses an innovation matrix a tool developed within the company to help identify, allocate resources and coordinate different innovation activities (projects) for developing new products. The strategic coordination of innovation activities is led by a cross-cultural team: the Executive Innovation Governance Group (EIGG), they determine LEGOs innovation goals and strategy; define the new product portfolio; coordinate innovation activities ensuring they are mutually reinforcing; delegate authority; allocate resources; and evaluate results to ensure that all innovation activities support the corporate strategy. Using the innovation matrix allows LEGOs management to understand what; resources to allocate, risks to monitor; and selecting who is responsible for reviewing the innovation activities. The company divides its innovation activities into eight distinct types, and distributes the responsibility for them across four different areas of the company: functional groups; concept lab; product and marketing development; community, education, and direct. Overseen by the EIGG, the four areas work to achieve innovation activities (projects) that mutually reinforce each other while providing different degrees of innovativeness back to the company. Relationship with Stakeholders/Shareholders The LEGO Group emphasises a strong focus on ensuring the balance of the value created for the owners in comparison to the value creation for the remaining stakeholders such as: consumers, employees, customers and other partners. The company believes that creating value for the companys stakeholders will result in long term value creation for the owners. It is important for us to engage in respectful stakeholder dialogue by being transparent and ensuring an open and honest dialogue. It is fundamental to us that the relationship between our company and our host communities are based on trust, mutual respect, and a cooperative spirit. (Jensen, 2012). Shareholder Relationship The CEO is the head of the company, but it is a family-owned company controlled by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the majority shareholder of KIRKBI: the investment company with 75% control of the LEGO Group (The LEGO Group, 2012). Due to this power structure, the central management does not have full control, meaning that final decision do not rest solely on the CEO, but with influence from the family shareholder. Internal Stakeholders Due to the organisational structure, employees have to report back to their respective managers. However, under Knudstorps leadership the looser control system provides employees more influence a factor which can work as a motivator. The employees in the LEGO Group are the building blocks of our success today. We strive to improve the well-being and job satisfaction of our employees. (Jensen, 2012). External Stakeholders In 2005, Knudstorp identified the significance of customer involvement in the product development process. Knudstorp found that the adult enthusiasts could articulate the product strengths and weaknesses that young children may sense but cant express (OConnell, 2009). The LEGO Group actively engages customers to participate in the design and creation of new products and ideas. Although they lose come control over its system, the company gains knowledge from its most valued consumers. Suggested Governance and Leadership In 2009, Knudstorp stated that the company was pursuing organic growth, and needed to change leadership style again to continue building sales volume. Knudstorp asserted that the change is necessary as the company had become risk averse while focusing on survival, and that they needed to become opportunity driven, which requires taking greater risks (OConnell, 2009). In 2011, Hasbro, one of the companys major competitors planned to launch a new product called the Kre-O, which was designed to be compatible with LEGO bricks (Anderson, 2011). This poses a significant threat to the company due to the size and brad power of Hasbro. To mitigate threats such as competition from new/existing sources, it is important for the LEGO Group to change its governance structure to help the company formulate a corporate strategy that allows the company to maintain market dominance and financial stability/success in the future. Governance Currently the LEGO Group has combined the behaviour and outcome oriented approach in the overall governance of the company: behaviour oriented organisations are indifferent to whether projects are managed in-house or externally so long as the process conforms with the companys policies; outcome oriented organisations manage projects internally through employees with a wider skillset (Mà ¼ller, 2009). The LEGO Group works with both internal and external designers as well as customers in product development (behaviour orientation) while having a board member or the EIGG overseeing the project management, and ensuring it fits in with the corporate strategy (outcome orientation). According to Mà ¼ller (2009) there are four governance paradigms, the: flexible economist, versatile artist, conformist and agile pragmatist. The LEGO Group currently falls under the versatile artist paradigm where the company prioritises the diverse user needs using project management methods to realise the requirements of a variety of stakeholders, as well as promoting high productivity. However, the company needs to migrate to a more behaviour oriented agile pragmatist paradigm, which also accounts for the needs of the diverse stakeholders, but allows for products to develop from core functionality; to include additional features; to enhance the flexibility and user-friendliness, especially when dealing with the gaming and computer entertainment products which include successful franchises such as LEGO Star Warsà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢, LEGO Batmanà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ and LEGO Harry Potterà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ (The LEGO Group, 2012). Leadership Although the current leadership style within the company is flatter with more open communication lines, the leadership is still quite bureaucratic, albeit the authority for decision making has been pushed down the hierarchy as much as possible, the structure remains top-down. The LEGO Group needs to be more flexible in their leadership approach, which according to Frame (2003) and Mà ¼ller (2009) bureaucratic leadership is the least flexible leadership style of the four: laissez-faire, democratic, autocratic and bureaucratic. The company may experience better performance if a democratic approach was adopted, as it allows for additional flexibility and builds on the existing flatter communication style. Reflection

Essay --

Currently in international market and domestic market, there are two types of the purchasing methods purchaser uses. One method for the buying the products from the market is â€Å"spot market buying† and the second method of buying the products is with â€Å"future contract†. The on the spot method is also called â€Å"cash market† or â€Å"physical market†, where the products, currencies or commodities sold for cash and delivers the products immediately or within short period of time. For example, â€Å"oil, grains, silver, beef, sugar, natural gas, milk, and gold are done through the spot market, where the prices are the set by open market and the transfer of cash and goods takes place immediately†, and deliver as requested date in the future or within short period of time. The spot market is an instantaneous exchange for the current list or spot price for a particular commodity. With the integration of internet technology, the spot market has be come even more efficient and useful especially in the energy industry. If energy companies have large surpluses of energy, the internet can give them a chance to find buyers in current need almost immediately. Though the spot market is good for company I need â€Å"right now†, its drawback is the fluctuating prices that can cause chaos when calculating the logistics over the long term. There are several pros and cons of on spot buying, such as; it conducts the market research and supplier identification quickly in new market. Also, it provides easy access for lower value purchases. Moreover, it improves the sourcing productivity; as well as alleviates the capacity issues that enhance the productivity of plant and category buyers. Also, it provides easy platform ability for market tests across geographies Though apro... ...vent of the futures contract negotiated by Calpine, it did not fulfill the need for sodium hypochlorite, which implementing the spot market as a way to assure the efficiency of operations that would be the decision most logically made. If Calpine’s buyers or sellers know that they will be buying certain chemical in future, and selling certain number of products or energy, then they should consider taking a long term future contract for purchasing, and short tern future contract for selling the products which hedge its positions in market. So, operations ramp up, more energy needs to be supplied for the increased demand that was not accounted for in the purchase of the particular chemical Calpine ordered. Supply of the chemical dwindles and it up to the men and women at Calpine to search the spot market to find a company with a surplus looking to sell â€Å"on the spot.†

Computers :: science

Computers A common misconception about computers is that they are smarter than humans. Actually, the degree of a computer ¹s intelligence depends on the speed of its ignorance. Today ¹s complex computers are not really intelligent at all. The intelligence is in the people who design them. Therefore, in order to understand the intelligence of computers, one must first look at the history of computers, the way computers handle information, and, finally, the methods of programming the machines. The predecessor to today ¹s computers was nothing like the machines we use today. The first known computer was Charles Babbage ¹s Analytical Engine; designed in 1834. (Constable 9) It was a remarkable device for its time. In fact, the Analytical Engine required so much power and would have been so much more complex than the manufacturing methods of the time, it could never be built. No more than twenty years after Babbage ¹s death, Herman Hollerith designed an electromechanical machine that used punched cards to tabulate the 1890 U.S. Census. His tabulation machine was so successful, he formed IBM to supply them. (Constable 11) The computers of those times worked with gears and mechanical computation. Unlike today ¹s chip computers, the first computers were non-programmable, electromechnical machines. No one would ever confuse the limited power of those early machines with the wonder of the human brain. An example was the ENIAC, or Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. It was a huge, room-sized machine, designed to calculate artillery firing tables for the military. (Constable 9) ENIAC was built with more than 19,000 vacuum tubes, nine times the amount ever used prior to this. The internal memory of ENIAC was a paltry twenty decimal numbers of ten digits each. (Constable 12) (Today ¹s average home computer can hold roughly 20,480 times this amount.) Today, the chip-based computer easily packs the power of more than 10,000 ENIACs into a silicon chip the size of an infant ¹s fingertip. (Reid 64) The chip itself was invented by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce in 1958, but their crude devices looked nothing like the sleek, paper-thin devices common now. (Reid 66) The first integrated circuit had but four transistors and was half an inch long and narrower than a toothpick. Chips found in today ¹s PCs, such as the Motorola 68040, cram more than 1.2 million transistors onto a chip half an inch square. (Poole 136) The ENIAC was an extremely expensive, huge and complex machine, while PCs now are shoebox-sized gadgets costing but a few thousand dollars. Computers :: science Computers A common misconception about computers is that they are smarter than humans. Actually, the degree of a computer ¹s intelligence depends on the speed of its ignorance. Today ¹s complex computers are not really intelligent at all. The intelligence is in the people who design them. Therefore, in order to understand the intelligence of computers, one must first look at the history of computers, the way computers handle information, and, finally, the methods of programming the machines. The predecessor to today ¹s computers was nothing like the machines we use today. The first known computer was Charles Babbage ¹s Analytical Engine; designed in 1834. (Constable 9) It was a remarkable device for its time. In fact, the Analytical Engine required so much power and would have been so much more complex than the manufacturing methods of the time, it could never be built. No more than twenty years after Babbage ¹s death, Herman Hollerith designed an electromechanical machine that used punched cards to tabulate the 1890 U.S. Census. His tabulation machine was so successful, he formed IBM to supply them. (Constable 11) The computers of those times worked with gears and mechanical computation. Unlike today ¹s chip computers, the first computers were non-programmable, electromechnical machines. No one would ever confuse the limited power of those early machines with the wonder of the human brain. An example was the ENIAC, or Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. It was a huge, room-sized machine, designed to calculate artillery firing tables for the military. (Constable 9) ENIAC was built with more than 19,000 vacuum tubes, nine times the amount ever used prior to this. The internal memory of ENIAC was a paltry twenty decimal numbers of ten digits each. (Constable 12) (Today ¹s average home computer can hold roughly 20,480 times this amount.) Today, the chip-based computer easily packs the power of more than 10,000 ENIACs into a silicon chip the size of an infant ¹s fingertip. (Reid 64) The chip itself was invented by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce in 1958, but their crude devices looked nothing like the sleek, paper-thin devices common now. (Reid 66) The first integrated circuit had but four transistors and was half an inch long and narrower than a toothpick. Chips found in today ¹s PCs, such as the Motorola 68040, cram more than 1.2 million transistors onto a chip half an inch square. (Poole 136) The ENIAC was an extremely expensive, huge and complex machine, while PCs now are shoebox-sized gadgets costing but a few thousand dollars.