Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

A Comprehensive Study Of The Patent Process, Andrew Schicho

Senior Honors Projects

A Comprehensive Study Of The Patent Application Process
Andrew Schicho
Faculty Sponsor: Bahram Nassersharif, Mechanical Engineering

Next year I will be attending graduate school to attain a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. During this time, I will be completing a research fellowship which involves the study of new forms of green energy. The field of green energy is expanding and new inventions have the potential to be incredibly profitable if they are efficient and competitive in today’s market. It is likely that my research will need to be protected from competitors looking to create similar products for harvesting …

Luke And Work, Theology Of Work Project, Aaron Kuecker

Theology of Work Project

1. Introduction to Luke
2. The Kingdom of God Shows Up at Work (Luke 1-5)
   • God at Work (Luke 1, 2 and 4)
   • Jesus Calls People at Work (Luke 5:1-11; 27-32)
   • John the Baptist Teaches Workplace Ethics (Luke 3:8-14)
   • Jesus is Tempted to Abandon Serving God (Luke 4:1-13)
3. Healing in Luke
4. Sabbath and Work (Luke 6:1-11; 13:10-17)
5. The Ethics of Conflict (Luke 6:27-36; 17:3-4)
6. God's Provision (Luke 9:10-17; 12:4-7; 12:22-31)
   • The Shrewd Manager and the Prodigal Son (Luke 16:1-13; 15:11-32)
7. Wealth in Luke
   • Concern for the Wealthy (Luke 6:25; 12:13-21; 18:18-30)
   • Concern for the Poor (Luke 6:17-26; 16:19-31)
   • Generosity: The Secret to …

The Corporate Social Responsibility Debate, Zachary Cheers

Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the arguments concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR). The two sides of the debate are stakeholder theory and shareholder theory. Proponents of stakeholder theory support providing for the discretionary expectations of society. On the other hand, advocates of shareholder theory maintain that businesses should simply obey the law and maximize shareholder wealth. Although CSR is enthusiastically espoused by many social progressives, it is not a panacea for society’s ills. The conclusion of this study is that corporations should focus on legally maximizing shareholder wealth based on ethical principles. CSR should only be pursued …

Harley-Davidson Values, The Experience, P. Jason Marino

Professional Projects

This study explored the extent to which the stated corporate values are enacted by leaders at Harley-Davidson Motor Company. The participants were chosen by a criterion based sampling method. The criterion used included the researcher’s personal subjective perceptions of the participant, tenure within the company, and level within the company. The study provided insight into employee perceptions related to leadership’s engagement with the values. It also provided insights into the relative engagement levels between immediate supervisors and higher level supervisors based on the stated corporate values. All of the participants had both positive and negative perceptions of leadership at all …

Making The "Growing" Trend A Reality: Proof That The Organic Lifestyle Is Worth The Money And Is In The Reach Of Even A College Student's Budget, Mary E. Allen

Honors Theses – Charlotte Campus

Although organic foods may be the answer to solving a number of environmental, societal, and nutritional issues that are prevalent in our world today, many people do not understand what the term “organic” means and its implications for our future as an intelligent species. Recent surveys show that up to thirty-five percent of consumers would not purchase organic foods even if they were the same price and as readily available as their conventional counterparts (Duram 99).This statistic proves that people do not understand what it means for food to be organic and do not know the major negative impact that …

Predicting Consumers’ Ethical Behaviors Through Attitudes Toward Behavior And Prior Behavior, Rajendar K. Garg, Uday S. Tate, Suneel K. Maheshwari

Management Faculty Research

While the concerns for ethical issues relating to consumers have dramatically increased over the last decade, research investigating predictors of these behaviors has been sparse. This paper addresses the attitudinal, personal and cultural factors that predict a large majority of unethical behavioral practices of consumers. An empirical survey was conducted of consumers. The results show that consumer beliefs/values concerning the specific behaviors and their own past behaviors large predict the future behaviors. Consumers' personal factors such as age, sex, nationality, individualism, etc. did not influence their ethical judgments and behaviors at all in this study of working adults.

Not Out Of The (Fox)Woods Yet: Indian Gaming And The Bankruptcy Code, Emir Aly Crowne, Andrew Black, S. Alex Constantin

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

The recent economic downturn has caused Foxwoods Resort Casino, one of the largest casinos in the world, to seek a restructuring of nearly $1.5 billion in debt. Ordinarily, bankruptcy proceedings are triggered when a typical commercial enterprise defaults on its debt. Under these proceedings, creditors step in and collect monies owed to them before any residual equity is dispersed amongst owners. The rub here is that Foxwoods is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Western Pequot Tribal Nation, a sovereign nation under U.S. federal law. This triggers questions of paramountcy; namely, whether tribunal sovereignty can trump federal bankruptcy law.

These …

Federal Earmarks In The State Of Georgia, Jeffrey Lazarus

Georgia Journal of Public Policy

Earmarks have been controversial ever since becoming a prominent part of the congressional spending process. Critics charge that earmarks fund projects with little or no economic value (for instance Ted Stevens’ “Bridge to Nowhere,”) but instead allow Congress members to direct government spending to campaign contributors (the charge leading to a federal investigation of the now-defunct lobbying firm PMA Group). On the other side of the controversy, congressional earmarks do fund a number of community improvements which are very valuable, at least locally. In Georgia, the fiscal 2010 appropriations bills included earmarks which allocated $450,000 to update College Park’s emergency …

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Insights For Internal Auditors, Audrey A. Gramling, Dana R. Hermanson, Heather M. Hermanson

Faculty Articles

Douglas Faggioli, president and CEO of Nature's Sunshine Products (NSP) made the above remarks as he accepted, on behalf of NSP, a 2004 "100 Best Corporate Citizens" award from Business Ethics magazine. NSP received the award two years in a row. Less than two years later, NSP would discover a bribery scheme in its Brazil operations that would expose it to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Faggioli and the company's CFO, Craig Huff, along with NSP, would be plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit, and the SEC would fine each officer $25,000. …

Le Développement Durable Comme Mode De Prévention Des Risques Energétiques : Une Approche Par Les Capacités D’Absorption. Le Cas De La Voiture Electrique Chez Renault, Sylvaine Castellano, Adnane Maâlaoui, Judith Schrempf-Stirling

Management Faculty Publications

Sustainability — a way to prevent energy-related risks — is the buzzword of the last decade. This trend demands radical rethinking on how society lives, consumes and produces. Herein, we focus on electric cars, which is the result of sustainable processes and initiatives in the car industry. The case of Renault illustrates how the firm based its sustainable strategy on its absorptive capacities.

Executive Compensation: The Role Of Shari’A Compliance, William Martin, Karen Ahmed

College of Business Faculty and Staff Works

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illuminate issues surrounding executive compensation as it relates to current understandings of Islamic business law. Methodology We review the emerging bodies of literature in the fields of executive compensation and opinions of stock options under Shari’a law. Findings It appears that the trend in offering employee stock options as part of a Shari’a compliant compensation package is acceptable in most cases, yet because of its close association with the more problematic idea of derivative transactions, the company must be vigilant in obtaining the approval from its Shari’a Standards Board before offering …

Resume, Karen Ahmed

College of Business Faculty and Staff Works

No abstract provided.

Animal Welfare In Multipurpose Cattle Production Systems And Its Implications On Beef Quality, Saymore P. Ndou, Voster Muchenje, Michael Chimonyo

Farm Animal Welfare Collection

Animal welfare and its influence on beef production are major considerations in many developed countries. In the developing world, where food insecurity and poverty are prevalent, the welfare of animals receives low priority due to factors such as traditional customs and beliefs, lack of knowledge in animal handling and sub standard handling facilities. This is worsened by the fact that cattle are used for several purposes, such as meat production, milk production, draught power and traditional ceremonies. Research on animal welfare and how it relates to animal production have been done in the developed world. The objective of this study …

Good Faith In Revlon-Land, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

The Delaware Supreme Court has set a very high hurdle for plaintiffs challenging directors' good faith in the sale of a company. In Lyondell Chemical Company v. Ryan, the court held that unconflicted directors could be found to have breached the good faith component of their duty of loyalty in the transactional context only if they "knowingly and completely failed to undertake," and "utterly failed to attempt" to discharge their duties.

In this essay I argue that the Lyondell standard effectively imports into the transactional context the exacting standard previously applied in the oversight context — a move clearly aimed …

Csr 2.0: Transforming The Role Of Business In Society, Wayne Visser

Social Space

Corporate Social Responsibility (or CSR) comes in different forms and shades. But according to Wayne Visser, it also comes in different stages, most of which have failed. Save, perhaps, for one.

Given An Illiquid, Yet Transparent Market, Is It Ethical For Management Of Banks To Use Level 3 Inputs To Increase The Fair Value Of Mortgage-Backed Securities, When Level 2 Valuations Are Available?, Joshua Sauerwein, Seth Sikkema

Faculty Publications - College of Business

No abstract provided.

Workplace Learning: Organizations, Ethics, And Issues, Craig E. Johnson

Faculty Publications - College of Business

The rhetoric surrounding workplace learning is overwhelmingly positive. Boud and Garrick (1999) declare, for example: “Learning at work has become one of the most exciting areas of development in the dual fields of management and education” (p. 1). Advocates promise that education on the job will promote economic prosperity, empower workers, foster collaboration, encourage lifelong learning, and reduce the need for organizational hierarchy (Fenwick, 1998). Government policy makers, human resource professionals, college administrators and faculty, employees, union officials, and executives all support corporate learning. Even the term “workplace learning” has positive connotations. This phrase makes older terms like “vocational education” …

Ethical Issues In Business And The Lawyer's Role, Robert J. Rhee, Carol Morgan, Tamar Frankel, Mark Fagan

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Does Distributive Justice Pay? Sternberg’S Compensation Ethics, Jeffrey Moriarty

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Compensation has received a great deal of attention from social scientists. Characteristically, they have been concerned with the causes and effects of various compensation schemes. By contrast, few theorists have addressed the normative aspects of compensation. An exception is Elaine Sternberg, who offers in Just Business a comprehensive theory of compensation ethics. This paper critically examines her theory, and argues that the justification she gives for it fails. Its failure is instructive, however. The main argument Sternberg gives for her theory points in the direction of a different one. This, in turns, helps us to see what a justification of …

Don’T Burst The Bubble: An Analysis Of The First-Time Homebuyer Credit And Its Use As An Economic Policy Tool, Sarah J. Webber

Accounting Faculty Publications

In 2008, faced with a looming real estate crisis, Congress hastily acted to stabilize the economy by offering a first-time homebuyer credit. This tax credit was trumpeted as a solution to the excess inventory of homes for sale and to stop the free-fall in home values. The credit, however, failed to deliver on its promises. By analyzing the first-time homebuyer credit, its creation, its implementation and its economic impact, this Article concludes that, when compared to alternative policy solutions, Congress erred in using the tax code to implement a first-time homebuyer credit.