Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Lurkers, Creepers, And Virtuous Interactivity: From Property Rights To Consent To Care As A Conceptual Basis For Privacy Concerns And Information Ethics, D. E. Wittkower

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Exchange of personal information online is usually conceptualized according to an economic model that treats personal information as data owned by the persons these data are ‘about.’ This leads to a distinct set of concerns having to do with data ownership, data mining, profits, and exploitation, which do not closely correspond to the concerns about privacy that people actually have. A post-phenomenological perspective, oriented by feminist ethics of care, urges us to figure out how privacy concerns arrive in fundamentally human contexts and to speak to that, rather than trying to convince people to care about privacy as it is …

He Said , She Said: The Rcbc Money Laundering Scandal, Leveric T. Ng

Graduate School of Business Publications

The ongoing RCBC money laundering investigation has evidently become a topic of conversation from New York to Singapore…….That should come as no surprise given the magnitude of the crime, but unfortunately not many people here seem to have grasped yet just how damaging this is to the country. The sad reality is that the all-too-typical way this scandal is being addressed only serves to camouflage the relatively simple, broad facts of the case, and almost certainly won’t lead to the swift decisive solutions the country needs to implement to avoid becoming a financial pariah.” (Ben Kritz, Manila Times March 18, …

Brokers And Investment Advisors, Nathaniel Phillip Graham

Theses and Dissertations--Finance and Quantitative Methods

Brokers and investment advisors are a large and important part of the financial industry. Using a novel data set that includes the majority of the financial advisory industry, in this dissertation I document the size of the financial advisory industry and the prevalence of customer complaints in the industry, which I use as a proxy for misconduct. I then test for two potential drivers of advisors’ misconduct: professional standards in the form of fiduciary responsibilities and influence from social networks. I find that variation in fiduciary duties—specifically fiduciary versus suitability standards— does not appear to affect advisors’ propensity for misconduct. …

A Modular Governance Architecture In-The-Making: How Transnational Standard-Setters Govern Sustainability Transitions, Stephan Manning, Juliane Reinecke

Management and Marketing Faculty Publication Series

Sustainability transitions have been studied as complex multi-level processes, but we still know relatively little about how they can be effectively governed, especially in transnational domains. Governance of transitions is often constrained by the equivocality of sustainability goals, the idiosyncrasy of niche experiments and the multiplicity of governance actors and interests. We study the role of transnational standard-setters in mitigating these challenges and governing sustainability transitions within a transnational sector. Our case is the global coffee sector where ‘sustainability standards’ are increasingly being adopted. We find that the emergence of a ‘modular governance architecture’ has helped diverse and heterogeneous actors …

An Integrative Framework Of Buyer–Supplier Negative Relationship Quality And Dysfunctional Interfirm Conflict, Melvin Prince, Dayananda Palihawadana, Mark A. P. Davies, Robert Winsor

Marketing & Business Law Faculty Works

Purpose: Problems of relationship quality and interfirm conflict in business-to-business settings are serious concerns that need to be addressed. Thus, the authors have engaged in an extensive review to promote an understanding of these complex issues. This article develops an integrated framework for analyzing wide-ranging relations between individual representatives and patterns of interfirm incompatibility for managerial control.

Methodology/approach: The review involves numerous sources that include articles and monographs. A theoretical framework is constructed to integrate fragmented empirical data. In particular, social identity and commitment-trust theories are mobilized for this framework.

Findings: The review of studies has a substantial consistency with …

The Shareholder Value Of Empowered Boards, K.J. Martijn Cremers, Simone M. Sepe

Journal Articles

In the last decade, the balance of power between shareholders and boards has shifted dramatically. Changes in both the marketplace and the legal landscape governing it have turned the call for empowered shareholders into a new reality. Correspondingly, the authority that boards of directors have historically held in U.S. corporate law has been eroded. Empirical studies associating staggered boards with lower firm value have been interpreted to favor this shift of authority, supporting the view that protecting boards from shareholder pressure is detrimental to shareholder interests. This Article presents new empirical evidence on staggered boards that not only exposes the …

Ethical Considerations Facing The Regulation Of Self-Driving Cars In The United States, Richard Mancuso

CMC Senior Theses

Self-driving cars are here. Once an advanced technology that seemed futuristic, they are now closer than most believe. Many of the largest automobile manufacturers are working on autonomous vehicle technology of their own. Perhaps most well-known, though, are the cars being developed by Tesla and Google. Both companies have well-developed prototypes of fully autonomous vehicles, meaning they require no human input or supervision, and Tesla has promised widespread, consumer availability of this technology in the next one to two years.

Along with the availability of this technology to the public and transportation companies like Uber and Lyft, comes a need …

Proximity To Children: A Geospatial Approach To Understanding The Relationship Between Fast Food And Schools, Andrew Atwong

CMC Senior Theses

In a time when Americans are waking up to the health consequences of consuming fast food, researchers have discovered that fast food restaurants seem to be located in greater concentrations near primary or secondary schools. While this phenomenon affects the food environments of some children and carries implications as to their short term and long term health (which has also been well researched), this paper focuses primarily on fast food restaurants that are within walking distance of schools. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to integrate geospatial, business, demographic, and food quality data, I use linear regressions to examine whether and …

The Effect Of Increased Regulation On Option Use Within The Information Technology Industry, Ahmed H. Eltamami

CMC Senior Theses

Exorbitant executive compensation packages have drawn large criticism from the public eye and with the recent financial crisis and the previous tech bubble opinion on executive incentives has forced government institutions to respond. Over the past two decades the SEC and FASB have aimed to respond to the public and with three large regulation changes in the 2000s, pay for performance compensation has gone through many changes. In this study I build on previous work in an attempt to answer whether or not executives within the Information Technology industry have seen a larger decline in option compensation when compared to …

The Sacrificial Ram, Charles Ebbers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Every January and February, Montana and other western states auction tags to hunt big horn sheep, moose, mountain goats, bears and other big game species to the highest bidder, at a series of hunting shows in Nevada. Some states call them “governor’s tags,” while others like Montana call them auction tags.

The purpose of the auctions is to raise funds for state conservation programs meant to keep wildlife populations healthy. In Montana, the funds raised are species specific, meaning that the proceeds from a bighorn sheep tag must be used to help bighorn sheep. Yet, the revenue from these tags …

Ethics At Eastern Michigan University And The College Of Business: A Study Of Academic Dishonesty And Professionalism, Ashley Shahan

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Sincerity In Corporate Philanthropy, Stakeholder Perceptions And Firm Value, Ilya R. P. Cuypers, Ping-Sheng Koh, Heli Wang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study extends the literature on symbolic management by incorporating the role of stakeholder perceptions into the context of corporate philanthropy. In particular, we differentiate between the quantitative (generous giving) and qualitative (innovative giving) aspects of giving. We argue that although stakeholders may perceive both types of giving as being substantive rather than symbolic, innovative giving is likely to be perceived as more substantive than generous giving is and, thus, has a greater impact on firm value. Furthermore, stakeholder perceptions of corporate philanthropy as being more symbolic or substantive are influenced by firm characteristics—the type of products or services that …

The Corporation's Place In Society, Gabriel Rauterberg

Faculty Scholarship

The vast majority of economic activity is now organized through corporations. The public corporation is usurping the state’s role as the most important institution of wealthy capitalist societies. Across the developed world, there is increasing convergence on the shareholder-owned corporation as the primary vehicle for creating wealth. Yet nothing like this degree of convergence has occurred in answering the fundamental questions of corporate capitalism: What role do corporations serve? What is the goal of corporate law? What should corporate managers do? Discussion of these questions is as old as the institutions involved.

The Interconnections Between Entrepreneurship, Science, And The Patent System, Amy Landers

Utah Law Review

This Article considers several related points about the recent changes to the patent system and the opportunities for entrepreneurship. The concern about the adverse effect of the recent changes to patent law on innovation may be overstated. As a practicalmatter, the concept that patents are a necessary input to innovation is built on a model that does not account for the complex relationship between this legal system, science, and innovation. Although it can be expected that there may be some adverse impacts from these decisions, this trend opens up the opportunity for entrepreneurship. By releasing more foundational information into the …

Alice Was No Rabbit Hole: Why Software Inventors Should Be Neither Surprised, Nor Alarmed, Sherman Helenese

Utah Law Review

Trade secrets offer an alternative to patent - ineligible innovations and to the problems and perils of protecting, defending and enforcing patents. Although there is currently limited trade secret legislation on the national level, nearly all states have adopted, with little substantive variation, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Unlike patent - eligibility requirements that precluded software in Gottschalk, Diehr, Alice, and Tenon from patent protection, no trade secret is automatically deemed out of scope. Trade secrets encompass anything of value, so long as it is not generally known and reasonable steps are taken, such as the use …

Creating A Stakeholder Democracy Under Existing Corporate Law, Justin Blount

Faculty Publications

Much of the current debate in corporate governance is framed in terms of stakeholder versus shareholder forms of corporate governance. While one would find little debate that stakeholders’ interests are important to any business, there is substantial debate regarding whether any stakeholder besides shareholders should have a formal role in corporate governance. What has been largely ignored in this debate is the issue of private ordering: since corporate law is largely enabling rather than mandatory, can stakeholder governance structures be voluntarily created within the current shareholder-centric default corporate law structure? This article argues that this is clearly the case, sets …

Cybersecurity Disclosure Effectiveness On Public Companies, Jingjing Jin

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

On October 13, 2011, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a guidance on corporate disclosure of cyber-risks and information security breaches (SEC, 2011). To determine if a company disclosed information on the breach, I reviewed the company’s risk factors, management’s discussion and analysis of financial conditions and results of operations, description of the business, legal proceedings, financial statement disclosures, and disclosure controls and procedures. However, the disclosure regulations from this guidance are vague and thus do little to force disclosure of valuable information. The guidance has led to companies disclosing ambiguous, generic risk factors that can be applied to …

How To Cultivate Compassion As A Tool For Everyday Leadership, Paula Webster

Mindfulness Studies Theses

In this two-party thesis study, the need for compassion in our world is presented up front. Upon this foundation of the need for compassion, the building blocks that together comprise compassionate everyday leader are placed: leaders and leadership, mindful leadership, defining the everyday leader, mindfulness, compassion, and how to cultivate compassion. The evolution of broad concepts of leadership are reviewed, from a control-based approach to a more mindful leadership, social-intelligence based approach. In a mindful leadership approach, qualities of self-awareness are cultivated within and then manifest in relation to the leadership process. Everyday leadership is a more expansive and inclusive …

Homeland Self Storage Management, Llc, Et Al., Various Discovery Motions, John J. Goger

Superior Court of Fulton County: Metro Atlanta Business Case Division Opinions

No abstract provided.

Vulnerability And Resistance: An Evaluation Of Hostile Takeover Defenses Proposed By: Carissa Wilson, International Business & Business Economics, Carissa Laurel Wilson

Senior Theses

Within the context of mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”), hostile takeovers comprise a complex and pivotal area of study. It is hostile takeovers, rather than friendly ones, that give rise to the need for most buy- and sell-side tactics related to strategic M&A. This paper focuses primarily on sell-side tactics, or “target defenses,” used to deflect undesired takeover attempts and prevent changes in corporate control. It will attempt to present a high level, comprehensible, and comprehensive listing of defensive tactics in the target arsenal, with references to related case law.

Target defenses developed preemptively, or before an official takeover offer has …

A Comparison Of Water Conservation Methods Within The Supply Chain, Spencer Bryant

Honors Projects

In a world where resources are becoming more and scarcer, water is one resource that companies need in order to stay functional. This purpose of this paper is to look at a variety of business sectors and see how they use water conservational methods within their supply chain in order to save on water. From the sectors observed, there were three main areas of focus in terms of water sustainability: reduce, reuse, and replenish. While the companies looked at were in two of the three areas stated, no company had water sustainability initiatives in place in all three areas. This …

Becoming Respectable: A History Of Early Social Responsibility In The Las Vegas Casino Industry, Jessalynn R. Strauss

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Today’s gaming corporations actively engage with their communities by supporting nonprofit organizations and adopting environmentally friendly practices among other socially responsible actions. This research considers precursors to modern corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the gaming industry by examining the philanthropic activities of the casino owners in Las Vegas in the early days of its development. This historical look at early philanthropy in the gaming industry provides a contextual background for considering contemporary corporate social responsibility. While the gaming industry has clearly come a long way from its early ties to organized crime, an understanding of this context helps further discussion …

Keeping Sabbath During The Week, Michael E. Cafferky

Faculty Works

Would Sabbath-keeping be less meaningful if, on the other six days, our work disrupted human well-being or otherwise failed to honor the Sabbath Giver? This article is an abridged version of the longer peer-reviewed article "Sabbath: The Theological Roots of Sustainable Development" published in the Journal of Biblical Integration in Business available at http://cbfa-jbib.org/index.php/jbib/article/view/108/108 .

Whistleblowers: Loyal Corporate Employee Or Disloyal Employee?, Debra Wroge

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Whistleblowers have received much media attention and scrutiny during the last decade due to high-profile corporate scandals and reports of unlawful activities in government and private sector corporations. There is a changing trend in the perception of whistleblowers from troublemakers to loyal employee. Interviews, based on a FBI whistleblower case, were conducted with eight employees in a Fortune 200 company. Results of qualitative analysis and findings reported in this paper support the perception of whistleblowers as loyal employees who have a strong sense of right and wrong, and are committed to calling attention to wrongdoing. The solution proposed is a …

Workplace Deviance And Recession, Aniruddha Bagchi, Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay

Faculty Articles

We examine the relationship between the incidence of workplace deviance (on-the-job crime) and the state of the economy. A worker's probability of future employment depends on whether she has been deviant as well as on the availability of jobs. Using a two period model we show that the net impact on deviant behavior to changes in unemployment can go either way depending upon the nature of the equilibrium. Two kinds of equilibria are possible. In one, a non-deviant's probability of being employed increases as expected market conditions improve which lowers the incentive to be a deviant. In contrast, in the …

Homeland Self Storage Management, Llc, Et Ai., Order On Emergency Motion For Order To Show Cause Why Causes Of Action Should Not Be Stricken, John J. Goger

Superior Court of Fulton County: Metro Atlanta Business Case Division Opinions

No abstract provided.

Predictix, Llc, Order And Final Judgment On Business Valuation Proceeding Pursuant To O.C.G.A. § 14-11-1011, Elizabeth E. Long

Superior Court of Fulton County: Metro Atlanta Business Case Division Opinions

No abstract provided.

Gaming The System: The Exemption Of Professional Sports Teams From The Fair Labor Standards Act, Charlotte S. Alexander, Nathaniel Grow

Faculty Publications By Year

This article examines a little known exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act relieving seasonal recreational or amusement employers from their obligation to pay the minimum wage and overtime. After evaluating the existing, confused case law surrounding the exemption, we propose a new, simplified framework for applying the provision. We then apply this framework to a recent wave of FLSA lawsuits brought by cheerleaders, minor league baseball players, and stadium workers against professional sports teams. The article concludes by considering the policy implications of exempting this class of employers from the FLSA's wage and hour requirements.

Socially Responsible And Small: A Quantitative Study Of Corporate Social Responsibility In Small And Medium Organizations In The United States, Abigail Sorenson Berk

Dissertations

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a global imperative supported by governments, industry, and citizens alike. In 2000, the United Nations launched the Global Compact to encourage businesses to adopt socially responsible policies. In tandem, businesses became increasingly attentive to their social practices with the vast majority of executives declaring CSR important to their organization’s success. Despite this increase in attention – which occurred among businesses of all sizes – the academic literature on CSR has focused almost exclusively on large, public companies. Ironically, the majority of businesses in the United States are small, private businesses suggesting the existing CSR …

Locked In: The Competitive Disadvantage Of Citizen Shareholders, Anne M. Tucker

Faculty Publications By Year

In this Essay, I challenge the conventional corporate law wisdom that unhappy mutual fund investors paying high fees don’t need litigation or regulation to protect their interests because they should simply exit a fund and reinvest elsewhere. The exit solution, advanced by Professors John Morley and Quinn Curtis in Taking Exit Rights Seriously provided an elegantly simply solution to the problem of unhappy indirect investors (e.g., mutual fund investors) given that they are often low-dollar, low-incentive, rationally-apathetic investors facing enormous information asymmetries and collective action problems. According to their view, competition produced by exit, or the threat of exit, is …