Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Table Of Contents - Issue 1

South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business

No abstract provided.

The Never Ending Attraction Of The Ponzi Scheme, Pearl Jacobs, Linda Schain

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

In the 1920’s, Charles Ponzi engaged in a notorious money making scheme. This scheme had been tried before but no one prior to Charles Ponzi had managed to swindle millions of dollars out of unsuspecting people. Thus, the scheme bears his name. In December 2008, Bernard Madoff, a major Ponzi schemer, was exposed. He managed to con investors out of over $65 billion over a thirty year period. Madoff was a highly respected financial expert. The investors were mostly well educated and supposedly financially savvy. How did this happen? This paper will examine some theories which may help explain both …

Looking At The Lanham Act: Images In Trademark And Advertising Law, Rebecca Tushnet

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Words are the prototypical regulatory subjects for trademark and advertising law, despite our increasingly audiovisual economy. This word-focused baseline means that the Lanham Act often misconceives its object, resulting in confusion and incoherence. This Article explores some of the ways courts have attempted to fit images into a word-centric model, while not fully recognizing the particular ways in which images make meaning in trademark and other forms of advertising. While problems interpreting images are likely to persist, this Article suggests some ways in which courts could pay closer attention to the special features of images as compared to words.

[Introduction To] Honest Work: A Business Ethics Reader, Joanne B. Ciulla, Clancy Martin, Robert C. Solomon

Bookshelf

Revised in the aftermath of the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression, the third edition of Honest Work: A Business Ethics Reader reflects and reinforces the editors' assertion that business ethics is primarily about the ethics of individuals. Featuring 115 brief articles and 89 real-life case studies, this unique anthology covers all aspects of business ethics under the overarching theme of the good life--what it means to students as individuals, what it means for business, and what it means for society. The book also includes an extensive chapter that explores the relationship between leadership and ethical behavior in …

[Introduction To] Stakeholder Theory: Impact And Prospects, Robert A. Phillips

Bookshelf

Honoring the twenty-fifth anniversary of R. Edward Freeman’s Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, one of the most influential books in the history of business strategy and ethics, this work assembles a collection of contributions from some of the most renowned and widely-cited scholars working in the area of stakeholder scholarship today.

When A Promotion Is Denied: The Effects Of Decision Stage On Perceptions Of Promotion And Price Fairness, Monika Kukar-Kinney, Lan Xia, Kent B. Monroe

Marketing Faculty Publications

Marketers frequently use promotions to enhance sales and increase consumers' perceptions of value. However, most promotions usually come with restrictions, such as time expiration, quantity or product model restriction, etc. In the present research, the effect of the stage in the purchase process when the consumer finds out about the restriction is investigated. The findings indicate that the later in the purchase process the consumer discovers the restriction, the greater is the perception that the effort invested into the purchase is wasted, consequently resulting in lower promotion and price fairness. This effect is mediated through the feeling of entitlement to …

Stakeholder Theory In Strategic Management: A Retrospective, Jeffrey S. Harrison

Management Faculty Publications

This chapter will provide a description of the personal journey of the author who, as a newly graduated Ph.D. in strategic management in 1985, embraced stakeholder theory. Perhaps one of the interesting aspects of this narrative is that the field of strategic management itself was in its infancy at the time of my graduation. So I have “grown up” in the strategy field while simultaneously observing and to some extent participating in the development of what we now call stakeholder theory. Over the past two and a half decades I have frequently found myself frustrated by my strategy colleagues’ lack …

The Impact Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act On American Business From 1977-2010, Ajani Harris

CMC Senior Theses

This paper seeks to present the moral and ethical frameworks in which to consider the effect of bribing on business and the great community; confront the cultural differences that lie between American businesses and its potential interest abroad, as well as the growing international move to implementation similar to that of the FCPA; analyze prior anti-bribery legislation and the historical events that prompted the need for a policy like the FCPA, discuss the basic elements of the policy’s two pronged approach of anti-bribery and disclosure regulation; examine several cases in the enforcement of the FCPA on American businesses; and consider …

Take Me Out Of The Ball Game: The Efficacy Of Public Subsidies In The Success Of Professional Sports Stadiums, Jonah Chodosh

CMC Senior Theses

This paper weights the relative advantages of multiple factors that lead to the success of professional sports stadiums in major markets, though a discussion of the arguments for and against public subsidies towards these projects. Using a logit statistical model, the paper determines that the two factors determining the highest likelihood of venue success include multiple tenants and access to mass transit. The analysis demonstrates that public subsidies towards stadiums don’t generate sufficient economic returns, and that successful stadiums can be created without using taxpayer funds.

Ethics In Accounting: Sustainability As A Predictor Of Financial Statement Usefulness, Kyle L. Shipley

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the impact of ethics on financial statement usefulness in 120 publicly traded companies. Because ethics are difficult, if not impossible, to quantify, Corporate Social Responsibility ratings are used as a proxy. The potential implications of this study are vast, though the main idea is that investors would be able to make better financial decisions should the hypothesis come to fruition. Contrarily, investors will also be able to avoid potentially bad investments if they can ascertain certain companies that lack ethical values. In this paper, I will discuss several facets of corporate ethics such as creative accounting in …

Somebody's Watching Me: Fcpa Monitorships And How They Can Work Better, F. Joseph Warin, Michael S. Diamant, Veronica S. Root

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the rise of the corporate compliance monitor as a condition for settling violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) — a setting in which federal prosecutors routinely impose monitors. If U.S. enforcement authorities maintain their current approach, the reality is that companies facing liability for violating the FCPA are likely to have a monitor imposed on them as part of a settlement agreement. From the U.S. government’s perspective, monitorships make sense for companies that violate anti-bribery laws, making it important for offending corporations to learn how to deal with monitors. Pulling from the authors’ extensive …

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 …

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 …

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 …

What Is The Impact Of Liquor Licensing Laws On Portland’S Entertainment Venues? A Case Study, Will Etheridge

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

In January 2009, Port City Music Hall in Portland, Maine was preparing to open its doors to the public for the first time. With a capacity for nearly six hundred attendees, Port City Music Hall was designed to attract national touring acts to Portland too big for the bar scene, but not suited for the Merrill Auditorium or Cumberland Civic Center. With the State Theatre still shuttered at the time, this new venue hoped to fill an important niche in the city’s creative economy, bringing a diverse array of performers that would not otherwise be able to find a viable …

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 …

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 …

Brands, Competition, And The Law, Deven R. Desai, Spencer Waller

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Invisible Children And For Tomorrow: The Toms Shoes Story [Poster], University Of Northern Iowa. Center For Holocaust And Genocide Education.

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education Documents

A poster advertising the showing of two films: Invisible children, about the use of child soldiers in the Ugandan civil war; and For tomorrow: the TOMS shoes story.

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

Rohrer College of Business Departmental Research

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

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 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), …

The Audit Committee Expertise And Financial Reporting Quality., Sherliza Puat Nelson

Student Works (2010-2019)

The objective of the study is to investigate the relationship between audit committee expertise and financial reporting quality. Since Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002, there has been growing interest in the research concerning audit committee expertise. Audit committee plays an important role on the quality and credibility of financial reporting, since they effectively function as a governance mechanism.  Whilst, many studies have examined the attributes of audit committee financial expertise with regard to financial reporting quality, and their composition of expertise on the audit committee board, few have focused on the financial expertise aspect specifically and none have considered extending the …

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

Faculty Articles

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.

Legalizing Gaming In Singapore: The Ethical Implications, Yeng Tuck Nicholas Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this day and age when directors of companies are found to be corrupt and governments are not void of graft and bribes, it is not a wonder that people would question the integrity of both companies and governments. Many cities in the world have decided to build mega resorts with gaming facilities for the purpose of economic development that includes employment and tourism. The aim of this study therefore is to contrast and compare the ethical issues and implications of the decisions made not only by the Singapore government but other governments of the US, Macau, the Bahamas and …

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.

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 …