Monday, September 16, 2019
What Was the Role of Mr Vadlamani Srinivas ?, Ex-Cfo of Satyam Computer Services in the Accounting Scam
Mr V. Srinivas wilfully manipulated financial data and guided the staff in modifying the published results, which were false and forged. He revealed that the FDs were non-existent, results manipulated and he just signed on instructions from Mr B. Ramalinga Raju, ex-Chairman, in the Rs 7,136-crore financial fraud? Being at the centre of all financial dealings of Satyam, Mr V. Srinivas wilfully and actively manipulated financial data and guided the finance department staff in modifying the published results, which were false and forged.Mr Srinivas got the monthly bank statements of various banks forged, he got issued forged bank balance confirmation letters and got the forged letters signed by Mr B. Rama Raju (Ex-Managing Director), and brother of Mr Ramalinga Raju, showing purported transfer of funds and got forged FDs prepared. All these forged documents were used for fraudulently inflating the cash and bank balance artificially in the books of accounts for several years.Though Mr Sr inivas was never designated as Director, he subscribed his signature in the annual financial statements of the company as a Director, the investigating agency has charged. The ex-CFO dishonestly got the falsified, inflated sales invoices generated and fed in the Oracle Financials System. He was in league with the other accused persons and perpetrated the fraudulent acts. Further, Mr Srinivas guided the finance department personnel on the quantum of inflation of sales to be infused into the computer system from time to time.Rosy presentations Mr Srinivas along with Mr Ramalinga Raju gave deceptive replies on Satyamââ¬â¢s earnings during conference calls conducted every quarter to various investors, thus distorting the actual financial position. During board meetings and the audit committee meetings, the ex-CFO made rosy presentations of the companyââ¬â¢s financial health, despite knowing the real financial position. Similarly, by conniving with the Raju brothers, he worked agai nst the interest of the company and shareholders, whose interests he was to protect.While being party to perpetrating the fraud with the Raju brothers and other accused, Mr Srinivas was a beneficiary. He gained from the dividends received and the amount got by offloading shares at opportune moments. Thus, he was privy to the offences. Although Ramalinga Raju has absolved his entire senior management of any wrongdoings, it is common knowledge that a financial crime of such magnitude could not have been committed without the knowledge of the bean counters. The person in focus here is Srinivas Vadlamani, the Chief ââ¬ËFraud' Officer of Satyam.Willingly or unwillingly, Srinivas has been party to the accounting irregularities at Satyam. The Institute of Chartered Accounts of India (ICAI) has found Satyamââ¬â¢s former chief financial officer Srinivas Vadlamani and PWC auditor Srinivas Talluri, who signed the companyââ¬â¢s financial audit, guilty of professional misconduct in the Rs 8,000-crore Satyam fraud ââ¬â the biggest such case in India Inc. These two have been found guilty on three counts: â⬠¢Failing to conduct proper due diligence of the accounts, â⬠¢Gross negligence of their work & â⬠¢Violating the ICAIââ¬â¢s code of conduct.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Nike and International Labor Practice Essay
Problem Identification Established in the early 70ââ¬â¢s Nike, Inc., based in Beaverton, Oregon, USA faced a severe stream of criticism and experienced growing problems concerning their plants and employee treatment, mainly in Indonesia and Vietnam in 1988. Rising demand for Nike products, which almost doubled within a short period of time, led the company and its 350+ subcontractors to raise the production level. Series of labor problems and abuse such as cheap labor wages, poor working conditions, health and safety issues and underage workers exploitation, were the main issues Nike had to deal with. Furthermore, Nike, Inc. had to deal with managing the diversity of cultures and language barriers had to be overcome, while still be able to produce the high-quality product Nike is famous for. Throughout the 1990ââ¬â¢s Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, Inc. and the company itself lost their superb corporate image in the eye of the world and it became an international incident. Causes of Problem After establishing a name in the world, Phil Knight, decided to manufacture Nikeââ¬â¢s apparel in South Korea and Taiwan, and by 1982 already 86% of Nikeââ¬â¢s sneakers came from these two countries. Realizing that Asian countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and China provide cheaper labor cost, better government support and higher profit, Nike moved their production lines there, with Indonesia becoming an important location. In 1991, the daily minimum wage was barely $1 in Indonesia, compared to a typical daily wage of $24.40 in South Korea and a US hourly wage of about $8 in athletic shoe manufacturing. Even that the Indonesian government raised the minimum wage from 2,100 Rupiah ($1.00/day) to 2,500 Rupiah ($1.25/day), the new wage was still underneath the workersââ¬â¢ living expenses. In 1992, these issues went outside of Indonesia and even hit Washington D.C., when President Clinton introduced the task force Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP) to develop and control labor st andards for foreign factories. Although Nike was the first one to join, they had trouble convincing people that everything went right in their plants in Asia. Ernst & Young was being hired to control and audit the factories, but soon voices became loud, that there was not a reallyà objective view at the problems, since Nike was paying them. It hit the peak in 1997/ 1998, when TV shows, newspapers and even a movie (The Big One) were talking about the bad conditions within Nikeââ¬â¢s factories in Asia and publicly challenged Phil Knight to change the way workers were treated, compensated and how underage workers were employed. Adidas, Reebok and New Balance took advantage of Nikeââ¬â¢s down slope and gained in competitive advantage. This led to diminishing sales number, earnings fell 69%, and for the first time in 13 years Nike, Inc. had a loss at the end of the year 1998. Alternatives 1.Government regulation of Nike Advantages: a)Local Government would have a closer look onto what is happening in its own country and with their people b)US Government could also have a closer look onto what Nike is doing abroad and would be able to intervene any illegal activity from the motherland c)Both governments would work closer together and it would open doors for other US companies to invest in the foreign country Disadvantages: a)As indicated in the case, some governments just see the money that is brought into the country, regardless what is happening within the company, or better said to its people. b)Ties between the US government and the foreign country might not be the best, due to political tensions, and makes it therefore tougher to work together. 2.Improve employeeââ¬â¢s working and living standards Advantages: a)â⬠A happy employee is a better workerâ⬠ââ¬â improve the employees living standard by raising his wage, giving him more benefits (health insurance, vacation time), lessen his working hours, etc. b)Equal Opportunity ââ¬â give chances to workers to move up the company ladder, and not only bring outside people in. Furthermore, adjust workerââ¬â¢s compensation, working hours and labor conditions to human standards. c)Extensive training and development for managers ââ¬â All managers should learn foreign countryââ¬â¢s language, living habits and adapt to culture. Training the workers on the job will also help to overcome workforce diversity and make the workplace a better place to be. Disadvantages: a)The changes will take time and will be cost effective. b)Adapt to western working habits, might be a huge change for Asian workforce and might not be adapted well 3.Documentation and Inspection Advantages: a)Factories will be supervised, by either the local government or organizations b)Inspections will lead to better working conditions c)Workers will have someone to talk to and will not be left alone Disadvantages: a)Again, organizations might be paid by Nike and not report the whole truth b)Reports from workers might be left alone and not brought up to people in charge Best Alternative The best alternative for Nike, Inc. is to undertake all three alternatives simultaneously. In order to gain back the market share and competitive advantage, their global view has to strengthen. They started off very well by implementing some of the above-mentioned ideas. These alternatives will just help them to become a stronger player in this fast growing and very competitive business world. Implementation Steps The actions, that Nike, Inc. should take are as followed: First they should work on getting their name back into the right spotlight, by implementing the alternatives. The governments will be more than willing to help them and since Nike is recognized all over the world, even the local governments/ countries are keen on keeping them in their country and employ their citizens. This might even bring countries like the USA and Indonesia closer together and more companies from the US will be ready to go to Indonesia and produce there. Secondly, the workersââ¬â¢ benefits, life standard and work habits are the most important of all of the alternatives. Nike, Inc. should invest most of their research and development in this field, since the wages are still not as they should be. An idea would be to start raising the wages to at least the countryââ¬â¢s standard, so that people can live off their earnings a normal life. Nike started successfully the implementation of programs that involved increasing the workersââ¬â¢ living standard in the developing world, but still the compensation of the worker is the main problem that needs to be taken on right away. Secure working places, no lay-offs and safe working environments should be steps that must be taken immediately, only then we can see the difference and make a worker a happyà and productive employee. Last but not least, Nike should be watched, inspected and documented upon. It will not only help the factories in Vietnam or Indonesia, but also the company itself. Once outside organizations tell Nike where they need to improve on and do it after being told, then the company will also get into the positive spotlight, which will resume in higher sales and more profit. Nike will then be again the strongest contender in supporting and sponsoring universities, pro athletes and teams and most important a company that everybody wants to work for, regardless where.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Importance to the performance of the business Essay
Identify aspects of the business training and development programme and explain its importance to the performance of the business? What is training? Training is the acquisition of a body of knowledge and skills, which can be applied to a particular job. Training includes all forms of planned learning experiences and activities designed to make positive changes to performance in a job. The benefits of training There are number of major benefits that flow from training: It increases productivity of workers within a business. It helps achieve the businesses objectivities by having more knowledge within the business. Improved efficiency results from saving from material costs due to reduced wastage, improved delivery performance, improved delivery performance, reliability and range of products or services to customers. At Haydon this means less wasted teaching time lessons starting on time lessons planned and run efficiently. Creates a more flexible work force. At Haydon this could help when a teacher is off sick and another teacher has the ability to teach another subject for example an Ict teacher who can also teach economics. If effective should improve the competitiveness of an organisation. As well as improving its productivity and service to customers. At Haydon this meanââ¬â¢s improved student grades. Retaining staff, surveys have shown that training costs less in the long run than recruiting full trained workers from outside the organisation. Recruited, fully trained employees tend to leave much sooner than employees the organisation has trained itself. Haydon should try to train staff already at the school to do jobs rather than hire some one from outside. Improves image of a business. As it will be able to keep staff and have well trained staff where parents will want their children to go to school.l Training adds to competitiveness In a ââ¬Ëknowledge economyââ¬â¢ training & development take on a greater importance than ever before. The company that trains and develops its staff is best placed to have better educated students and therefore gain competitive advantage. What is development? Development approaches the individual and his or her motivation from a different angle from that of training. While training is typically concerned with enabling the employee to contribute to meeting the objectives of Haydon better, personal development is more concerned with enabling individuals to develop themselves in the way that best suits individual needs. The two will come together. By helping individuals to develop themselves, they will be more inclined and better able to contribute to helping Haydon meet its objectives. Why adopt training and development? Haydon & other organisations organise training and development programmes for many reasons. Training and development programmes may be introduced to: Motivate employees and increase job satisfaction, thereby reducing absentees and student leaning Establish the most effective and efficient working methods in order to maximise the education of students and remain competitive The resources needed for Haydon training can generate significant costs. It is important that training needs are correctly identified and the required standard of skill is established. The training programme needs to be administered efficiently and evaluated, so the results achieved by the Haydon teachers that have received training should be compared with the standard of performance it was hoped to achieve How does a business know if training is needed? The business could ask the employees to see if they need or want any training. When filling a vacancy they could use the job description to find skills and knowledge required for the job. Also look at the performance of the school e.g. exam results Induction training Induction is the process of introducing new employees to their place of works new surroundings and the people they will be working with. Induction also provides information to help new employees start work and generally fit in. This induction programme enables Haydon to introduce new employees to the business and tell them about the many achievements and procedures it has produced over the years. The induction programme is supposed to make the new employee feel more aware of the different functions of the business as a whole, so they can know what the business is about instead of the specific job he/she has to take on in the future. The induction usually contains information about the organisationââ¬â¢s policies and objectives, future career opportunities Pay, training and fringe benefits Health and safety, the requirements of the job. Good induction programmes can successfully balance the amount of information that needs to be conveyed with the length of time, so employees can ma intain their concentration. In house training courses This is where employers run courses inside their own organisation the courses might be held in an office or in a smart training centre owned by the business. The main benefits of in house training are: > They are cheap to run > Course content is made to suit the business > Examples can be related to the business work > Everyone knows each other. External Training courses These are more expensive because they include fairly luxurious accommodation in lavish surroundings and the guest speakers are highly paid. This means employers have to think very seriously about the value of the courses to the business. Mentoring Mentoring involves a trainee being ââ¬Ëpairedââ¬â¢ with a more experienced employee. The trainee carries out the job but uses the ââ¬Ëmentorââ¬â¢ to discuss problems that may occur and how best to solve them. Often trainee teachers work with a mentor who is responsible for their early training and development. The student teacher will watch the mentor teach before starting his/her own teaching. The mentor will then give an ongoing guidance to the student teacher on how best to improve his/her performance and the trainee will take any problems and difficulties he/she is facing to the mentor to seek advice. Coaching This is rather similar to mentoring but the difference is that the coaching involves helping the young employee to acquire high quality skills in a number of specific management areas. These skills include communication with staff, budgeting, how to appraise and how to carry out disciplinary procedures. Vocational Courses These provide training in job related skills for example office skills: the QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) took over the role of the NCVQ (National council for Vocational Qualifications, set standards for workplace competences which can be assessed both in the workplace and at college by examining bodies such as Edexcel, OCR and AQA. Job Rotation Is giving staff a range of jobs in rotation, which widened their experiences and increases their skills Job enlargement Is where staff is given extra tasks to do this gives management a better idea of the employees true capacity and ability. Job enrichment Adding more interesting and difficult tasks to the job to motivate and tro see how capable they are. Types of training at Haydon Induction Training The induction training takes place in July, which can be up to 3 weeks long this will include > Assessment > Reports > Behaviour management > Child protection > Special needs > Being a form tutor > Administration > Health and safety > Contracts > Classes > Syllabus > Courses Training days All employees have to attend this as it is where school issues are disused and they are trained on things like equal opportunities within the school. The 1996 Educational Act legally requires these training days. Specialised Courses Some courses which Haydon have done are: > Use of fire extinguishers: a specialised trainer came in to school to train the staff how to use them. > Man handling courses: is for staff looking after disabled students so they no how to look after the student and what they are and arenââ¬â¢t allowed to do. > Web design: this needed to be taught because of the new syllabus this was run by miss Boorman. Mentoring Every newly qualified teacher has a mentor at Haydon within the same subject the mentor has to do weekly meetings to review progress, observe their teaching skills and give feed back, and need to be their for support and motivation. On the Job training This is when a trainee at Haydon will work along side a qualified employer and observe teachers to gain experience. This means the trainee acquires their training st the school. This is known as job shadowing. External Training Haydons staff have gone on courses such as first aid which are done out side the business. Haydon also have to do external training for changes in the syllabus for example how to mark the coursework. I have shown why Haydon should train its employees and how it can be identified. Ive shown different types of training used how Haydon benefits from it and how the employees benefit from it.
Friday, September 13, 2019
Compare and contrast the City of Bath with another historic city of Essay
Compare and contrast the City of Bath with another historic city of your choice that faces the conflict and challenges of being - Essay Example Oxford is also a historic city which has offered world-class education since medieval times. Many historic sites and buildings in these towns are protected by British laws and international statutes that prevent them from being converted (Great Britain House of Commons, 2009). However, the two cities keep on growing and there are different land use types that are emerging. This paper examines the challenges that arise from the tensions between the preservation of historic and landmark sites with emphasis on Bath and Oxford. It goes further to analyse the ways in which these two cities are dealing with the challenge of using land to meet its historical and tourism needs on one side and its general and economic land use needs. TENSIONS BETWEEN URBAN CONSERVATION & URBAN LAND USE Urban development comes about as a result of the numerous needs of people in society (Cohen, 1999). Different groups of people have different land use needs and this gives the need for various considerations in urban generation and regeneration. A major land use type in cities in England is the historic site usage (Tessa, 2005). Tessa (2005) goes further to identify that urban historic land marks give a physical form to individual and communal history in the form of architecture and edifices that come with countless stories about various timelines in history. This is an avenue for the discharge of some human values as well as economic returns from events like tourism. On the other hand, though, people need lands to fulfil their individual and communal needs. These needs are honoured through consensus between various stakeholder units in the society and it leads to so much debate and tensions (De La Torre, 2005). According to Betty (2011), the main areas that the tensions occur in urban development where heritage site conservation is concerned include: 1. The Need for Growth V Restricted Development Capacity 2. Sustainable Economic Prosperity V Dangers of Destroying priceless landmarks 3. Innovation V protection of Heritage 4. Preservation V Requests of Community for housing, education, jobs and transportation 5. Increasing tourism V Loss of distinctive competitive strengths THE CASE OF BATH & OXFORD Bath and Oxford seem to have similar problems in the area of the constraints between urban growth and heritage site management and conservation. Demographic Issues Bathââ¬â¢s population has remained steady between 85,000 and 75,000 over the past forty years. 1971, the population was about 85,000. It fell to about 80,000 and 79,000 in 1981 and 1991 respectively. In 2001, the population stood around 84,000 (Statistics & Census Information). Over 38% of the residents are over 60 years (Betty, 2011). This huge ageing population indicates that Bathââ¬â¢s younger generation are leaving the town in huge numbers because there are more economic and social opportunities elsewhere. Also, there are challenges like fuel poverty, which affects about 8% of the populace. The situa tion on Bath puts the city authorities in a situation where they need to do something to retain their active population. This entails improving economic and work conditions in the city as well as the creation of socio-cultural
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Humanities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Humanities - Essay Example The sculpture of Augustus of Prima Porta by an anonymous artist, Michelangeloââ¬â¢s David, Botticelliââ¬â¢s Birth of Venus, the Madonna with Her Child from the Byzantine Empire, Holbeinââ¬Ës Portrait of Henry VII, and Raphaelââ¬â¢s Portrait of Castiglione are works that project a serious expression. The common expression in the faces of the models suggests the sombreness of life of the subject and common expression predominant in the earlier times. The sculpture of Augustus Caesar of Prima Porta, which is presently located in Braccio Nuovo in the Vatican Museum, is a 2.04-meter statue made of pure marble. It was found in 1863 at the place of Augustusââ¬â¢s wife, Villa of Livia, who stayed in Porta, Rome after the death of her husband. The artist is unknown, but speculators claim that it must be Greek. Augustus Caesar is akin to Julius Caesar, and was one of those who avenged the death of the other. Dressed in Roman military clothing, the sculpture reflects the role of Augustus as the first Roman emperor. Raising his arm, as if gesturing instructions to his troops, the sculpture emphasizes the role he played. The facial expression is not totally sombre, but the absence of smile on his face still reflects the serious personality. Fig. 1. Statue of Augustus Caesar located in Braccio Nuovo in Rome. ... Rushmore, hence confirming that the serious look that the sculptor made in Augustus may have been due to the position of the subject in society. In other words, leaders such as Augustus can be expected to have a serious look in visual arts. Nevertheless, comparison with other sculptures of great leaders will further help shed light on the issue. Michelangeloââ¬â¢s sculpture of David also bears the same serious look. This 5.17 meter masterpiece made of marble was created between 1501 and 1504. The sculpture features the biblical hero, David, standing in nudity. Originally, the work was positioned in Palazzo della Signoria in Florence, Italy. The head of David is tilted to the side, with the eyes gazing towards Rome from its original position. Later, it was transferred to its present location in the Gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence. The original was replaced by a replica in its original location. The sculpture is said to symbolize the liberty ofà Florentine Repub lic to ward off threats from the neighboring states (Seymour 3). Fig. 2. The statue of David by Michelangelo located in the Gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy. The serious look in Davidââ¬â¢s eyes reflects the seriousness of the artist and possibly, the people at the start of the 16th century. Deep in thought, the subject shows a stern expression with a curious look casted towards the left. This facial gesture implies curiosity and search for meaning, which were predominant during the Renaissance time. Today, replicas of David can be found in different places including New York and Pennsylvania. Sandro Boticelliââ¬â¢s Birth of Venus is another work of art that presents a serious look in the face of the subject. This tempera on canvass of 1486
Chinas Inflation and related factors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
Chinas Inflation and related factors - Essay Example Moreover, it focuses on the measures utilized by the Federal Reserve to tackle inflation. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of price stability within the Chinese economy with specific concern to the fluctuating CPI (Consumer price index). The article talks about persistent inflation in China. The models and theories used in this article are: 1. Demand-Pull Inflation 2. Price Level connection with Real GDP 3. Business Cycle 4. Monetary Policy 5. Price stability 6. Consumer Price Index Points Highlighted from the Newspaper Article but inflation accelerated to a nearly three-year high in March, (GDP figure is better than expected) GDP figure is better than expected tightening monetary policy, consumer price index rose 5.4 per cent from a year China's producer price index, CPI fell 0.2 per cent China's anti-inflation policies were effective. necessary to maintain price stability inflation almost always falls in the month after the Lunar What is Inflation and Why Inflation increa sed in China? What Does Inflation Mean? The rate at general level of prices of items and services rises. The subsequent fall in purchasing power is also result in inflation. Central banks try to stop the severe inflation, along with the severe deflation, in order to keep the excessive raising of prices to minimum. Economists distinguish between the two types of inflation: Demand-Pull Inflation and Cost-Push Inflation. (Defining Inflation )Both types of inflation may cause an increase in the economical price level within the economy. Demand-pull inflation may result when aggregate demand for goods and services in the economy rise at a rapid space than an economy's productive capacity. This is shown in the figure below The excess demand is the reason for consistent inflation in the economy. Moreover, experts also attribute China inescapable inflationary spiral to US dollar pegging as long as China Yuan keeps pegged to the U.S. dollar, it will rise. This is because the American economy is weakening where as the China economy is strengthening (What is the real reason behind Chinese inflation, 2011) China therefore needs to control Yuan appreciation (China Inflation cause concern in Business News , 2011) During the peak periods of business cycle when Chinaââ¬â¢s economy is experiencing growth in real GDP, employment will naturally increase, and unemployment decrease would decrease, this is because the businesses would seek workers to produce a higher output to fulfill demand needs. If the real GDP grows better this can cause price inflation as firms would be forced to fight against one another for generally increasing scarce workers. This is in contrast during the trough periods of the business cycle where the economy is experiencing declines in the real GDP, and unemployment rates becomes high. GDP = (Total dollar value of goods and services that are changing hands) MINUS (Inflation) GDP can grow, even when there is inflation GDP is: Yes, GDP (Gross Domestic Pr oduct) can even grow, when there is inflation. But for such to happen (theoretically) more goods and services would actually need to be exchanged, rather than having the same prices for the same amount of goods and services. One of the reasons that the Chinaââ¬â¢s Economy is able to claim that GDP ( Gross Domestic Pro
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 18
Summary - Essay Example consider different stakeholders involved in tourism industry; government and tourism industry have a strong influence of content of education in tourism. Tourism higher education is strongly connected to tourism industry, which consists of small private business units. Currently, most of them employ unskilled or low-skilled workers because of the lack of educated staff initialling the need in tourism higher education. At the same time, reviewing different studies, Ayikoru, Tribe & Airey (2009) that as a young field of research and educational program, tourism higher education faces several issues. In many cases a degree in tourism is not required by most employers because they do not think it is necessary. Finally, employers do not rush to hire graduates who have those degrees. All these issues in tourism higher education undergo changes under ideological influences which come from their environment. Previously researchers focused on the development of tourism higher education by their trials to integrate different approaches to content of education and curriculum design. They applied marketing approach to tourism curricula and designed appropriate four year program. They advocated that it was necessary to engage tourism professionals to education in order to tie those curricula to life. Overall, all precious studies in tourism education manifested this sphere as a branch of business. At the same time, ideology in context of tourism higher education was not studies in detail. Ayikoru, Tribe & Airey (2009) fill this gap by their extensive research explaining what influences the aims and their representation in this sphere of education. Government, which is the main representative of ideology in any country, has a direct influence on education. Government creates norms which are applied to different institution including tourism education. These norms render particular values which redefine important elements of education. These ideological implications influence
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