Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Our Clumsy System Is Best For Church And Market, Nathan B. Oman

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Technology: How To Stay Out Of Court, Erin Jozwiak, Heather Thomas, Jackie Pillow, George Taylor Ii

Parameters of Law in Student Affairs and Higher Education (CNS 670)

It is hard to believe that over a century ago business professionals, educators, high school and college students were writing letters with a pen and ink, making telephone calls on a land line phone, and physically making home visits to family and friends. In today’s society, texting has replaced phone calls, picture and video messaging has replaced face to face conversation, emails has replaced letter writing and social networking is changing the face of how electronic communication is viewed along and administered.

Electronic communication has led the way in this new millennium of communication and because technology is changing so …

Staying Out Of Court: Leadership Factors For Consideration As Higher Education Administrators, Steven R. Briggs

Parameters of Law in Student Affairs and Higher Education (CNS 670)

Higher education leaders have a tremendous responsibility as it relates to legal concerns. This guidebook is intended to assist leaders in higher education by providing factors for which administrators serving in a student affairs or higher education leadership role should consider. This guidebook is designed to offer five recommendations for best practices. The guidebook will also review the 2007 rape and murder of a Eastern Michigan University student in demonstrating how leaders at this institution failed to follow these five factors of best practice and thus providing examples of negligence or tort liability, which has best been defined as civil …

The Abcs Of Communicating Results, Deborah S. Archambeault, Morgen Rose

Accounting Faculty Publications

Communicating results is an integral part of the internal auditor's job, and The IIA's International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing recognizes its importance by specifying in Standard 2420 that communications should be "accurate, objective, clear, concise, constructive, complete, and timely." In its 2009 survey. The Biggest Internal Audit Challenges in the Next Five Years, Protiviti, a global consulting firm, ranked communication with management and the audit committee as one of the biggest challenges facing internal auditing through 2012. Their subsequent 2010 Internal Audit Capabilities and Needs Survey identified presentation skills as the top "need to improve" personal …

Developing A Culturally Responsive Classroom Collaborative Of Faculty, Students, And Institution, Paul J. Colbert

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

Culture is integral to the learning process. It is the organization and way of life within the community of students and teachers and directs the way they communicate, interact, and approach teaching and learning. Although founded in particular values and principles, the academy, like most organizations, is impacted day-to-day by its culture. Yet, the traditional higher education institution has not been designed to operate within a racially or ethnically diverse student population. The social, political, economic, and cultural forces that support the institution influence the teaching and learning environments. To better address cultural diversity in the classroom, faculty must first …

The Uneasy Case For The Inside Director, Lisa Fairfax

All Faculty Scholarship

In the wake of recent scandals and the economic meltdown, there is nearly universal support for the notion that corporations must have independent directors. Conventional wisdom insists that independent directors can more effectively monitor the corporation and prevent or otherwise better detect wrongdoing. As the movement to increase director independence has gained traction, inside directors have become an endangered species, relegated to holding a minimal number of seats on the corporate board. This Article questions the popular trend away from inside directors by critiquing the rationales in favor of director independence, and assessing the potential advantages of inside directors. This …

Do Abnormally High Audit Fees Impair Audit Quality?, Jong-Hag Choi, Jeong-Bon Kim, Yoonseok Zang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This study examines whether and how audit quality proxied by the magnitude of absolute discretionary accruals is associated with abnormal audit fees, that is, the difference between actual audit fee and the expected, normal level of audit fee. The results of various regressions reveal that the association between the two is asymmetric, depending on the sign of the abnormal audit fee. For observations with negative abnormal audit fees, there is no significant association between audit quality and abnormal audit fee. In contrast, abnormal audit fees are negatively associated with audit quality for observations with positive abnormal audit fees. Our findings …

Carrots And Sticks: By Auditing Executive Compensation And Benefits, Auditors Can Help Their Organization Move From Risk To Rewards Management, Sridhar Ramamoorti, Usha R. Balakrishnan

Accounting Faculty Publications

Although the focus of risk management traditionally has been on downside risk, the time is right to focus this dialogue on upside risk — the management of value-creation opportunities through "rewards management." After all, rewards such as bonuses and stock options are typically greater for those who identify and leverage new value-creation opportunities. For-profit organizations favor those individuals who are well-connected and leverage their relationships to bring in clients and attract customers. Their selling ability, revenue-generating strategies, and overall modus operandi quickly earn them the coveted title of "rainmakers."

Nevertheless, rewards and incentives can encourage undesirable behaviors. Executives quickly learn …

Auditor Reputation And Earnings Management: International Evidence From The Banking Industry, Kanagaretnam Kiridaran, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald J. Lobo

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine the relation between auditor reputation and earnings management in banks using a sample of banks from 29 countries. In particular, we examine the implications of two aspects of auditor reputation, auditor type and auditor industry specialization, for earnings management in banks. We find that both auditor type and auditor industry specialization moderate benchmark-beating (loss-avoidance and just-meeting-or-beating prior year’s earnings) behavior in banks. In addition, we find that once auditor type and auditor industry specialization are included in the same tests, only auditor industry specialization has a significant impact on constraining benchmark-beating behavior. In separate tests related to income-increasing …

The New Financial Deal: Understanding The Dodd-Frank Act And Its (Unintended) Consequences, David A. Skeel Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

Contrary to rumors that the Dodd-Frank Act is an incoherent mess, its 2,319 pages have two very clear objectives: limiting the risk of the shadow banking system by more carefully regulating derivatives and large financial institutions; and limiting the damage caused by a financial institution’s failure. The new legislation also has a theme: government partnership with the largest Wall Street banks. The vision emerged almost by accident from the Bear Stearns and AIG bailouts of 2008 and the commandeering of the bankruptcy process to rescue Chrysler and GM in 2009. Its implications for derivatives regulation could prove beneficial: Dodd-Frank will …

Corporate Governance And Mindfulness: The Impact Of Management Accounting Systems Change, John Joseph Williams, Alfred E. Seaman

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The International Federation of Accountants (2009) argues that a governance structure should go beyond conformance with regulations and equally support a performance dimension that can lead to better outcomes. This paper explores the relationship between these two governance dimensions and the capacity for mindfulness, utilizing organizational theory that describes high reliability organizations. Survey data was obtained from top-level accounting professionals in a sample of 124 Canadian firms. Regression results support the hypothesis that both the conformance and performance dimensions of governance are significant determinants of the capacity for mindfulness. Additional analysis shows that the explanatory power of this relationship persists …

Pleasant Grove City V. Summum: Government Speech Takes Center Stage, Edward J. Schoen, J. S. Falchek

Rohrer College of Business Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Claw Horn Disruption Lesions And Body Condition Score At Dry-Off On Survivability, Reproductive Performance, And Milk Production In The Subsequent Lactation, V. S. Machado, L. S. Caixeta, J. A. A. Mcart, R. C. Bicalho

Farm Animal Welfare Collection

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of claw horn disruption lesions (CHDL; sole ulcers and white line disease) and body condition score (BCS) at dry-off on survivability, milk production, and reproductive performance during the subsequent lactation. An observational prospective cohort study was conducted on a large commercial dairy in Cayuga County, New York, from September 2008 until January 2009. A total of 573 cows enrolled at dry-off were scored for body condition and hoof trimmed; digits were visually inspected for the presence of CHDL. The BCS data were recategorized into a 3-level variable BCS group (BCSG), …

Does Auditor Tenure Improve Audit Quality? Moderating Effects Of Industry Specialization And Fee Dependence, Chee Yeow Lim, Hun-Tong Tan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We investigate whether the relation between auditor tenure and audit quality is conditional on auditor specialization and fee dependence. Although prior studies have investigated the relation between extended auditor-client tenure and audit quality, none has examined how this relation is jointly influenced by both auditor specialization and fee dependence. Our main analyses, using accrual quality as a measure of audit quality, show that firms audited by specialists (vs. non-specialists) have relatively higher audit quality with extended auditor tenure, and that this relation is negatively moderated by auditors’ fee dependence on clients. These results are robust to sensitivity tests, and alternative …

Did Sarbanes-Oxley Lead To Better Financial Reporting?, Dennis Chambers, Dana R. Hermanson, Jeff L. Payne

Faculty and Research Publications

The article describes and summarizes five studies that examined whether the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was beneficial or not to financial reporting. The U.S. Congress is stated to have passed the legislation on July 25, 2002 in reaction to a series of financial accounting scandals involving such companies as Enron and WorldCom, as well as the demise of the accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP. The author asserts that all five of the studies provide evidence of a significant improvement in the financial reporting environment since SOX.

Obtaining Intangible And Tangible Benefits From Corporate Social Responsibility, Wei Nurn Chong, Gilbert Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance has been heavily studied in past research. However, little theory has been developed on how CSR may lead to greater corporate financial performance. In this paper, the authors attempt to fill this theoretical gap by explaining how CSR leads to the tangible benefits of attracting better employees, reduced turnover rate, greater efficiency, and reduced operating costs, via the intangible benefits of firm reputation, organizational commitment, and learning. Thereafter, managerial implications and further research opportunities are discussed.

External Confirmation Of Adherence To Standards: As Applicable To Academic Programmes As To Business And Industry, Aaron W. Hughey, Monica G. Burke

Counseling & Student Affairs Faculty Publications

The development of, and adherence to, performance standards is imperative for success in today’s competitive global market. This is as true for academic programmes in higher education as it is for the manufacturing and service sectors. Just like their counterparts in business and industry, it is important that graduate career preparation programmes are subject to an external validation process that can substantiate whether or not they are indeed following applicable standards. In this paper the authors discuss the current status of accreditation for graduate programmes designed to prepare tomorrow’s leaders in the student services profession and argue for the development …

Corporate Valuation Around The World: The Effects Of Governance, Growth, And Openness, Choong Tze Chua, Cheol S. Eun, Sandy Lai

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis of corporate valuation around the world. Specifically, we (i) document and compare corporate valuation around the world, and (ii) identify the key factors that drive cross-country differences in valuation. In doing so, we utilize the country-level Tobin's q (CTQ), computed as the ratio of the aggregate market value to book value of all assets held by all public firms domiciled in a country, which amounts to the Tobin's q for the [`]market portfolio' of the country. The key findings of the paper are: First, CTQ varies greatly across countries, …

The Blameless Corporation, Larry D. Thompson

Scholarly Works

This article is a clarification and expansion of the author's previous oral statements published in The American Criminal Law Review 46-4--a Symposium Issue on "Achieving the Right Balance: The Role of Corporate Criminal Law in Ensuring Corporate Compliance."

Monetary Policy Essay, Dan Brocklehurst

Academic Symposium of Undergraduate Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Legal And Ethical Implications Of Corporate Social Networks, Gundars Kaupins, Susan Park

Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Corporate social networking sites provide employees and employers with considerable opportunity to share information and become friends. Unfortunately, American laws do not directly address social networking site usage. The National Labor Relations Act, civil rights laws, and various common law doctrines such as employment at-will and defamation provide the pattern for future social networking laws. Ethical considerations such as productivity, security, goodwill, privacy, accuracy, and discipline fairness also affect future laws. Corporate policies on corporate social networking should balance the employer‘s and employee‘s interests. Existing laws and ethical issues associated with social networking should impact social networking policies related to …

Diversity, Democracy And Dialogue In A Human Rights Framework, Carol C. Gould

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University, November 3, 2009

Maximized Monitoring, Constance M. Lehmann, Sridhar Ramamoorti, Marcia Weidenmier Watson

Accounting Faculty Publications

During the last few years, global financial companies and investment banks have taken billions of dollars in write-downs owing to exposure in the subprime lending market. Lack of risk function visibility, insufficient communication of risks to top management, and siloed risk approaches have been cited as reasons for these failures. New York University finance professor Nouriel Roubini, one of the few who predicted the crisis, famously observed at the World Economic Forum's 2009 Davos Summit that risk cannot be priced correctly "when the opacity and lack of transparency of financial firms and new instruments lead to unpriceable uncertainty rather than …

Corporate Governance Reform In A Time Of Crisis, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

In this article I argue that crisis-driven corporate governance reform efforts in the United States and the United Kingdom that aim to empower shareholders are misguided, and offer an explanation of why policymakers in each country have reacted to the financial crisis as they have. I first discuss the risk incentives of shareholders and managers in financial firms, and examine how excessive leverage and risk-taking in pursuit of short-term returns for shareholders led to the crisis. I then describe the far greater power and centrality that U.K. shareholders have historically possessed relative to their U.S. counterparts, and explore historical and …

Ethical Orientation Of Future Business Leaders, John Rooney

Senior Honors Projects

Ethics are a set of moral behaviors and beliefs that guide people in everything they do. Ethics play a very important role in the field of business. In recent years, the business world has been plagued by many unethical decisions. Consider Enron, for example. The unethical decisions by company leaders caused huge losses and hardships to thousands of people. In the future, company leaders will continue to face ethical dilemmas and today’s college students need to be prepared to handle them. This project analyzes whether College of Business students at URI are ethically prepared to lead the business world. A …

Business Ethics Education: How Well Are We Preparing Students To Handle Ethical Issues At Work?, Hector Lopez

Touchstone

Educators at large constantly struggle to overcome curriculum and resources constraints to prepare students for everything within their specific academic program. The logical question to ask is whether the content of an ethics course aligns with the content of the ethical challenges students will face. While a strong case can be made supporting the mastery of classical approaches to ethical analysis, the touchstone for deciding what to include in a business ethics course or curriculum should reflect practicality and applicability as well as critical thinking. To build student awareness of ethics in real-time situations, both a conceptual foundation and ample …

‘I Don’T Lend Money; It Causes Amnesia!’ Money, Culture And Ethics., Annetta M. Gibson

Faculty Publications

Christian leaders seek to be ethical people and make ethical decisions, but often the ethical dilemmas a leader must face do not have clear-cut answers. Ethical dilemmas can be even more troubling when they occur in a culturally diverse situation that is coupled with decisions involving financial transactions. Views of money and how to handle money are culturally influenced and may not be the same as the views of the leader, who may come from a different culture. This leads the Christian leader to ponder: When working in a culturally diverse environment, how can one tell the difference between a …

Celebrity Ceos: Disclosure At The Intersection Of Privacy And Securities Law, Ann M. Olazábal, Patricia Sánchez Abril

Business Law Articles and Papers

An abstract for this item is not available.

Achieving The Vision Through High Ethical Standards, Sarah E. Bertke

Ohio Valley Regional Student Conference

No abstract provided.

The Contested Politics Of Corporate Governance: The Case Of The Global Reporting Initiative, David Levy, Halina Szejnwald Brown, Martin De Jong

Management and Marketing Faculty Publication Series

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has successfully become institutionalized as the preeminent global framework for voluntary corporate environmental and social reporting. Its success can be attributed to the “institutional entrepreneurs” who analyzed the reporting field and deployed discursive, material, and organizational strategies to change it. GRI has, however, fallen short of the aspirations of its founders to use disclosure to empower nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The authors argue that its trajectory reflects the power relations between members of the field, their strategic choices and compromises, their ability to mobilize alliances and resources, and constraints imposed by the broader institutions of financial …