Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Bringing Freud To Fraud: Understanding The State-Of-Mind Of The C-Level Suite/White Collar Offender Through “A-B-C” Analysis, Sridhar Ramamoorti, Daven Morrison, Joseph W. Koletar

Accounting Faculty Publications

In this paper we use a primarily “behavioral lens” (cf. Ramamoorti, 2008; Ramamoorti & Olsen, 2007) to try to understand the state-of-mind and motivations of the C-level suite/white collar offender before, during, and after the perpetration of management fraud. We offer a useful conceptual approach called “A-B-C Analysis” to understand the incidence of fraud from individual and group perspectives, as well as more macro-oriented, cultural/contextual levels. It is our hypothesis that fraud occurs either because of an individual criminal’s calculated/intentional betrayal of trust, a duo or team of “bad boys” who push ethical envelopes, and/or an organizational/social/national culture of passivity, …

Legally Speaking--Legal Implications Of Reference Books For Publishers And Consumers, Bryan M. Carson

DLPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pb1787-Liability And Agritourism - Implications Of Tennessee's 2009 Legislation, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Marketing, Finances and Value-Added Agriculture

Agritourism is a growing industry in Tennessee, as farmers seek new enterprises to generate revenue and consumers seek educational and recreational opportunities or farm-fresh products. A combination of agriculture and tourism, agritourism creates opportunities as well as challenges.

Liability is a signifi cant concern for farmers who operate agritourism enterprises. A landowner who opens his or her land to the public faces the risk that he or she could be considered liable if someone is injured while on the property.

Over the last few years, several states have enacted legislation to limit the liability of agritourism operators with regard to …

A Study Of Current Practice Of Corporate Social Responsibility (Csr) And An Examination Of The Relationship Between Csr And Financial Performance Using Structural Equation Modelling (Sem), Lorraine Sweeney

Doctoral

There has been a significant increase in interest in CSR in recent years (Gulyas, 2009; McGehee et al, 2009) and it is regarded as an important topic for research (Burton and Goldsby, 2009). Not only has this topic received academic attention but it is becoming a mainstream issue for many organisations (Renneboog et al, 2008; Nijof and Brujin, 2008). However, it has been noted that research on CSR in SMEs is quite scant (Burton and Goldsby, 2008; Cilberti et al, 2008). A second area of literature that remains unresolved is the relationship between CSR and financial performance (Park and Lee, …

Firm-Specific Knowledge Resources And Competitive Advantage: The Roles Of Economic- And Relationship-Based Employee Governance Mechanisms, Heli Wang, Jinyu He, Joseph T. Mahoney

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The resource-based view of the firm emphasizes the role of firm-specific resources, especially firm-specific knowledge resources, in helping a firm to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. However, the deployment of firm-specific knowledge often requires key employees to make specialized human capital investments that are not easily redeployable to other settings. Thus, in the absence of effective safeguards and trust building devices, employees with foresight may be reluctant to make such specialized investments. This study explores both economic- and relationship-based governance mechanisms that might mitigate this underinvestment problem. Effective use of these governance mechanisms enables a firm to obtain greater performance from …

A Free And Undemocratic Press?, Stephen J. A. Ward

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University.

Regulation Of The Otc Derivatives Market: A Regulatory Proposal Of Cds, Erik Welin

WCBT Undergraduate Publications

According to many commentators the credit derivatives and especially CDS have been a leading cause to the development of the current financial crisis. During the last year, policy makers, regulators, and other commentators around the world have therefore focused their attention on how to regulate OTC derivatives and especially CDS.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze some of the proposed regulatory responses to OTC derivatives and especially CDS from an economic point of view. The paper proposes a twofold regulatory response. First it proposes that we return to the old common law rule of "rule against difference contracts". …

Origins And Resolution Of Financial Crises: Lessons From The Current And Northern European Crises, Finn Ostrup, Lars Oxelheim, Clas Wihlborg

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Since July 2007, the world economy has experienced a severe financial crisis that originated in the U.S. housing market. Subsequently, the crisis has spread to financial sectors in European and Asian economies and led to a severe worldwide recession. The existing literature on financial crises rarely distinguishes between factors that create the original strain on the financial sector and factors that explain why these strains lead to system-wide contagion and a possible credit crunch. Most of the literature on financial crises refers to factors that cause an original disruption in the financial system. We argue that a financial crisis with …

Examining The Inseparability Of Enterprise And Strategy Discourse, Brendan O'Rourke

Conference papers

Small owner-managed firms are an interesting site in which to examine the deployment of strategy discourse. On the one hand, small firms offer a location where the holistic nature of strategy (Clegg et al., 2004:24; Liedtka, 1998:122; Lilley,2001: 75) is more likely to feature in daily practice On the other hand, owner-managed firms lack a key reason for the original emergence of the strategy discourse i.e. strategy as a discourse of accountability by professional managers to shareholders (Knights & Morgan, 1991). Small firm owner-managers are the ideological heroes of the enterprise discourse (Carr, 2000:101). This work looks at how owner-managers …

A Survey Of The Oversight Of External Auditors Through The Lenses Of Audit Committee Chairmen, See Liang Foo, Luck Pia Ng, Kwong Sin Leong, Yang Hoong Pang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

No abstract provided.

Bankruptcy Phobia, David A. Skeel Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

As the recent economic crisis has unfolded, bankruptcy has offered possible solutions at several key junctures. The first of these solutions, often referred to as mortgage modification, was geared toward homeowners who faced the loss of their homes in the months—now several years—since the start of the subprime crisis On the corporate side, Chapter 11 was an obvious alternative when large nonbank financial institutions like Bear Stearns and AIG stumbled in 2008. But regulators repeatedly balked, and the one exception to the avoidance of bankruptcy at all costs—Lehman Brothers—was anomalous. This aversion to bankruptcy, which seems to pervade all sides …

Ethics, Evidence And International Debt, Julie A. Nelson

Economics Faculty Publication Series

The assumption that contracts are largely impersonal, rational, voluntary agreements drawn up between self-interested individual agents is a convenient fiction, necessary for analysis using conventional economic methods. Papers prepared for a recent conference on ethics and international debt were shaped by just such an assumption. The adequacy of this approach is, however, challenged by evidence about who is affected by international debt, how contracts are actually made and followed, the behavior of actors in financial markets, and the motivations of scholars themselves. This essay uses insights from feminist and relational scholarship from several disciplines to analyze the reasons for this …

Effects Of Country-Level Legal, Extra-Legal And Political Institutions On Auditing: A Cross-Country Analysis Of The Auditor Specialization Premium, Bin Sirinidhi, Chee Yeow Lim, Mahmud Hossain

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

In this cross-country study of the specialist auditor premium, which spans the US and 12 other countries, we provide evidence that country-level institutional strength increases average audit fees, but reduces the incremental demand for specialist auditors. This finding supports the hypothesis that strong institutions and the demand for specialist knowledge act as substitutes in providing the requisite assurance of financial statements.

Audit Committees, Boards Of Directors, And Remediation Of Material Weaknesses In Internal Control, Beng Wee Goh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was passed in 2002 in response to a series ofaccounting improprieties at well-known companies such as Enron and WorldCom.One important aspect of SOX is the internal control requirements. SOX section302 requires that management evaluate the effectiveness of disclosure and controlprocedures, report results of the evaluation, and indicate any “significant changes”in internal controls since the last 10-K or 10-Q report (Securities and ExchangeCommission [SEC] 2002). In addition, SOX section 404 requires that manage-ment’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reportingand auditors’ attestation on management’s assessment be included in firms’ 10-Kreports (SEC 2003a). The heightened …

The Psychology Of Money: Beyond Behavioral Finance, Cicily Maton, William Martin

Publications – Dreihaus College of Business

Behavioral finance has attracted the attention of both academics and practitioners. This article explores the roots of behavioral finance, psychology, and showns how these principles are actually used in practice.

Moral Management Methodology/Mythology: Erroneous Ethical Equations, Andrew Sikula Sr.

Management Faculty Research

Understanding the falsity of certain common beliefs helps students move toward better business ethics and a higher degree of moral management. This article explains one method for teaching moral management, by using ethical equation inequalities, and offers 10 implications and suggestions to managers.

The Nomination And Motivations Of Irish Non-Executive Directors Of Listed Companies, Anna Egan, Rebecca Maughan, Joseph Coughlan

Conference papers

This paper reports the preliminary findings of an empirical investigation into the process of appointing non-executive directors and their motivations behind the adoption of the position. While research into the board of directors has been extensive, little deliberation has been given to the motives of non-executives who choose to sit on boards (Roberts, 2002). Given that the board of directors has been charged with much more responsibility in recent years and is being held to a higher level of accountability than would historically be expected (Donnelly and Kelly, 2005), the choice of non-executives to continue to take up roles on …

Is Something Missing From Your Company's Satisfaction Package?, Deborah S. Archambeault, Richard Burgess, Stan Davis

Accounting Faculty Publications

Conventional wisdom suggests that salary, benefits, and other monetary factors are important aspects of keeping employees satisfied. But which factors have the biggest impact on overall satisfaction? While companies focus on the monetary factors, there are other components of the overall “satisfaction package,” that are just as important, yet often overlooked.

It comes as no surprise that satisfied employees are important to the success of any organization. In short, higher satisfaction increases productivity, improves service levels, and positively impacts a company’s bottom line. While keeping employees satisfied should be an important goal for any organization, a recent job satisfaction survey …

Taxing Under The Influence? : Corruption And U.S. State Beer Taxes, Per G. Fredriksson, Stephan Gohmann, Khawaja Mamun

WCBT Faculty Publications

This article examines the effect of state level corruption on state beer taxes in the United States. Our lobby group model predicts that corruption reduces the beer tax, but this effect is conditional on the level of alcohol-related vehicle deaths. Using a panel of state level data from 1982 to 2001, we find that increased corruption is associated with lower state beer tax rates. The magnitude of the effect, however, declines with increases in alcohol-related traffic deaths. Our findings suggest that future empirical work estimating the effect of alcohol taxes on alcohol-related traffic fatalities should treat alcohol taxes as endogenous.

Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 2002: Will It Be Effective In Preventing Another Enron Scandal?, Scott W. Eichar

Senior Honors Theses

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was introduced to Congress as a result of the deceit and fraud taking place at Enron in December of 2001. The three factors that led to the scandal were Enron’s weak internal control, misleading off-balance sheet entities, and conflicting interests between Enron’s employees and their chief auditor, Arthur Andersen. The provisions of SOX were established, in part, to strengthen internal control, require proper disclosure for special purpose entities, and eliminate conflicts of interests between a firm and its auditors. The purpose of this paper is to measure the effectiveness of these implementations to prevent …

Rebuilding The Foundation: Reestablishing Ethics In The Accounting Professsion, Chad P. Laughlin

Senior Honors Theses

Today’s business world has become increasingly diverse in its view of ethics. This lack of objective decision-making has been made clear through the scandals and questionable accounting methods in recent years. In light of these instances, the accounting profession has taken steps to regain and ensure the public’s trust, which the profession relies on. In the absence of ethical practices, the profession loses its trustworthiness and reliability. This paper will discuss the key role of ethics in accounting and the efforts that have been made in the past and are being made currently to ensure that this vital component is …

Flying The Pirate Flag: Understanding The Fight Against And Prevalence Of The Internet Gift Economy, Zachary G. O'Leary

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

The number of citizens affected by common internet access makes arguments over its governance of primary concern to all. Peer-to-peer file sharing, oftentimes allowing for copyright infringement, is currently a major use of internet infrastructure. A review of the legislative and technological attempts to prevent such infringement, as well as the reasoning behind its prevalence, provides insight into the tension created by present intellectual property rights; this is a tension between those it intends to protect and to reward.

The Injustice Of Justice: The Pursuit Of A Harmonious, Just, And Merciful World, Robert W. Boyle

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

There is no one universal definition of Justice. Such a limited view of right and wrong conflicts with our infinitely diverse world. The key to a harmonious global community is that justice is malleable and fluid, similar to water, where it can take the shape of its environment while still retaining the properties of fundamental rights. Our world will never come to a universal agreement on justice, due to the deeply embedded cultural beliefs and differing views, so a single understanding of justice is impossible. If the world can have a baseline understanding of right and wrong and the flexibility …

The Impact Of Terrorism On Business, Michael D. Larobina, Richard L. Pate

WCBT Faculty Publications

Terrorism has in one form or another been a part of society throughout history. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, the world community has been more focused on terrorism than ever before in most recent modern history. Terrorism has impacted multiple levels of society across the world community. One of those levels is the business environment. A specific aim of terrorism is to disrupt and destroy ongoing businesses. Therefore, the ability of governments to disrupt and destroy terrorism is essential to the continued growth and expansion of the world economy. Terrorism will directly impact a country's ability …

Learn This Lesson: We Really Can't Have It All, Aaron W. Hughey

Counseling & Student Affairs Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bankruptcy Or Bailouts?, Kenneth M. Ayotte, David A. Skeel Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

The usual reaction if one mentions bankruptcy as a mechanism for addressing a financial institution’s default is incredulity. Those who favor the rescue of troubled financial institutions, and even those who prefer that their assets be promptly sold to a healthier institution, treat bankruptcy as anathema. Everyone seems to agree that nothing good can come from bankruptcy. Indeed, the Chapter 11 filing by Lehman Brothers has been singled out by many the primary cause of the severe economic and financial contraction that followed, and proof that bankruptcy is disorderly and ineffective. As a result, ad-hoc rescue lending to avoid bankruptcy …

The Association Between Institutional Ownership And Audit Properties, Soongsoo Han, Tony Kang, Lynn Reesc

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

In this study, we examine how institutional ownership affects the quality and riskiness of the financial statement audit. We hypothesize that institutional investors can influence corporate policy to employ governance mechanisms that reduce their monitoring costs. Our evidence shows that firms are more likely to hire a Big 4 auditor (our proxy for audit quality) when long-term institutional ownership is high, suggesting that long-term institutional investors view high quality audits as a viable means of improving corporate governance while reducing their direct monitoring costs. We find no association between auditor choice and short-term institutional ownership. Next, we find that auditors …

Healthcare Could Your Organization Save Money With Complementary And Alternative Medicine?, William Martin, Hugh Long

Publications – Dreihaus College of Business

Some evidence suggests complementary and alternative medicine could reduce costs and improve efficiency while increasing patient satisfaction.

Health Professionals’ Roles In Animal Agriculture, Climate Change, And Human Health, Aysha Z. Akhtar, Michael Greger, Hope Ferdowsian, Erica Frank

Human Health Collection

What we eat is rapidly becoming an issue of global concern. With food shortages, the rise in chronic disease, and global warming, the impact of our dietary choices seems more relevant today than ever. Globally, a transition is taking place toward greater consumption of foods of animal origin, in lieu of plantbased diets. With this transition comes intensification of animal agriculture that in turn is associated with the emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases, environmental degradation, and the epidemics of chronic disease and obesity. Health professionals should be aware of these trends and consider them as they promote healthier and more …

Csr Singapore Style, Thomas Thomas

Social Space

How well have Singapore companies embraced CSR beyond merely obeying national policies and laws? Thomas Thomas surveys the local CSR landscape and examines the current state of affairs.