Comparing hiring and promotions based on Afirmative Actioin against Term Paper

Comparing hiring and promotions based on Afirmative Actioin against senority system - Term Paper Example Guadalupe Alegria was working in a poultry farm since the past twelve years and was a valued employee who was promoted to a managerial position temporarily. Although this had to last for two weeks, it stretched over a year due to which she had to put in extra hours without pay which left her few hours to spend with her friends and family. Later she discovered that she will be given a permanent position and she will also have to train a new manager because of which she is looking for another job. Another example is of Porter Douglas, who was a long term farm mechanic and he expected that he will be promoted to the position of a supervisor. However, an outsider got that job which left him disappointed because of which her job performance was affected and eventually he stopped putting up efforts in his work. (Bailey, Netting & Perlmutter, 2000). The loss of morale and the negative impact on productivity cannot be anticipated by the farmers when such organizational actions take place. Ho wever, an employee feels rejected which leads to dissatisfaction and they feel resentful because of the treatment they receive from the company and various questions come in their minds. In the case of Guadalupe Alegria, she wanted to know the reason why she was made a manager for so long and why was she told that she has been doing a good job when she wasn’t and why is she being replaced by someone else. After Porter was passed over for his promotion, he felt that his boss used an affirmative action trick when he hired a woman for the position of a supervisor. However, even the employees who are promoted and those who are hired from outside the organization come across various challenges that they need to deal with and morale is less likely to drop in cases when the employees know the reason why the management has taken a decision. In cases when the employees are not consulted, difficulties arise. For instance, if an employee is promoted and is made to work with another empl oyee, she might feel punished than being rewarded and same is the case when an employee is promoted to a more difficult job. When making promotion decisions, some companies also focus on seniority and merit considerations while some select the outside applicants for a job without discussing it with the present personnel. (Barker, 2008). Seniority vs. Merit in Promotions The length of service of an employee in a particular position marks seniority and an individual who has worked with an organization for four years is senior than an individual who has worked for two or three years. However, merit refers to worth or excellence and since it is intangible, it is difficult to measure when compared to seniority. For promotion purposes, merit is measured by looking at the relevant qualifications and the past performance of an employee. Promotion by seniority An organization that follows a seniority system, the promotions are given on the basis of the length of service. Japanese companies m ostly follow this system in which an employee joins the organization at a low level after which he is promoted to higher levels. In this system, length of service is the main criteria of moving upwards. However, it counts only within specific work groups and job classifications differ from one group to another. In a farm, all the pickers, tractor drivers and hoers fall in one group while the

ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 12

ART - Essay Example It is usually ornamental, emphasized pointed arches, flying buttresses, and elaborates tracery. An example of this art is the adoration of the Magi from Strasbourg Cathedral. International Gothic followed in the year c.1375 and c. 1425. This style of painting, sculpture, and decorating arts brought a change in the style of figures and their compositions. In this period, most arts represented some animals in a statue pose and had a better facial expression. Their sizes were smaller and arranged more freely to fit the available space. Some figure appeared elongated and with sensuous qualities. The paintings were distinct from the former period from their elegance, delicate nature, and were natural. An example includes Simon Martini’s piece in the period between 1285 and 1344. Neo Gothic art is the latest form with the earliest pieces coming in the 1980s. The style emphasized on bizarre, sex, obscene, mysteries, horror, and some form of confusion. It explores the world of fantasy. The art is common in Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia, and US. Charles Alexander Moffat is the man behind this evolution of

The Atlantic Charter Churchill And Roosevelt Legendary Meeting History Essay

The Atlantic Charter Churchill And Roosevelt Legendary Meeting History Essay August 8, 1941, the crew of Britains newest battleship HMS Prince of Wales was cleaving her way at top-speed through the unrelenting heavy seas of the Atlantic to Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. Onboard this ship is British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, who had made the voyage across the Atlantic where President Roosevelt eagerly awaited the onset of discussions fateful to the outcome of the Second World War. On August 9, 1941, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill met onboard the American cruiser U.S.S. Augusta anchored off the coast of Newfoundland. The discussion between the two leaders at the meeting would result in a joint declaration called the Atlantic Charter. It promptly created a critical alliance which supported Britain in its fight against the Nazi Regime. Subsequently the agreement established post-war goals for World War II and laid the groundwork for future international peacekeeping organizations. Two years prior to the beginning of World War II in the spring of 1938, German speakers living in the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia began favoring for closer ties with Germany. Hitler began to support those requests and favored reclaiming the Sudetenland. He had recently annexed Austria into Germany and the conquest of Czechoslovakia was the next step in his plan of creating a greater Germany (Sep 30, 1938). Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was intent on averting war, although the Czechoslovak government hoped that Britain and France would offer assistance in the event of a German invasion (Sep 30, 1938). Chamberlain traveled twice to Germany to offer Hitler favorable agreements, but the German chancellor kept increasing his demands (Sep 30, 1938). International tension increased when Hitler began demanding the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia be under the control of the German government. In an attempt to resolve the crisis, Chamberlain met with the leaders of Germany, France, and Italy in Munich to discuss the terms of handling the Sudetenland. Within the early morning hours of September 30, 1938 Adolf Hitler of Germany, Benito Mussolini of Italy, Èduoard Daladier of France, and Neville Chamberlain of Britain signed the Munich Pact, which sealed the fate of Czechoslovakia, virtually handing it over to Germany in the name of peace (Sep 30, 1938). The Munich Pact sacrificed the autonomy of Czechoslovakia on the pedestal of a very short peace term (Sep 30, 1938). The peace of the world only lasted eleven months before Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia in March of 1939 (Friedrich). In response to Hitlers violation of the Munich Agreement, Britain signed with Poland the Polish-British Common Defense Pact, which guaranteed the integrity of the Polish state. Chamberlains decision to sign Poland after the dismemberment of the Czechoslovak state meant Britain, along with France were committed to protecting a nation where they had no common borders (Invasion of Poland). Reacting to the Anglo-Polish alliance, Hitler negotiated the German-Soviet Pact of August 1939, which made Poland partitioned between the two powers, enabled Germany to invade Poland without Soviet intervention (Invasion of Poland). On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and later on September 17, 1939, the Soviet Union invaded the eastern part of the coun try. Britain and France, standing by their guarantee declared war against Germany September 3, 1939 (Invasion of Poland). This was the beginning of World War II. The Phony War was the label given to the period of time between September 1939 and 1940 when Britain and France had not fought in combat. For several months, German troops sat and waited while French forces held their defenses (The Finest Hour). The Phony War would come to an end on April 9, 1940 when Hitler began a successful attack on Denmark and Norway. Then on May 10, German troops launched a blitzkrieg attack on the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The German army was quickly advancing across Europe and would soon cross the line of fortifications that protected France. On June 10, 1940, Hitlers armies swept throughout the region of France with Frances defeat only a matter of time, the country fell under Nazi control on June 22 (The Finest Hour). After the fall of France, Prime Minister Churchill faced the possibility of invasion coming from France, across the English Channel. Churchill amassed the British navy to stand between Hitler and England. In an attempt to demolish the Royal navy, Hitler turned to the Luftwaffe, Germanys air force, to destroy Brittans air defenses. The intense attack called the Battle of Britain would continue for three months where day after day as many as a thousand German airplanes dropped bombs within the city of London and Britain (The Finest hour). By the end of 1941, Britain had experienced a shortage of war materials that they were unable to pay for and was fatigued by the constant air raids from the Germans. Churchill, in favor for an alliance with the U.S., tried to communicate with Roosevelt to facilitate the sending of military supplies over to Britain (The Finest hour). Bounded by the Neutrality Act of 1939, the U.S. was not permitted to release arms to any warring country unless on cash and carry terms (Decker and Chiei 2). Without antagonizing the isolationist who wanted to keep the U.S out of international affairs, Roosevelt constructed the Lend-Lease Act, a bill that empowered the president to sell, transfer title to, lend, lease, or dispose of [articles of defense to] the government of any country the President deems vital to the defense of the United States. The Lend-Lease Act provided the British with planes, tanks, guns, artillery, and ammunition without them paying for it. Bypassing the legislation would prove c ritical to sustaining U.S. allies and would be necessary for continued preparation for what appeared to be the inevitable involvement of the U.S. in WWII (Decker and Chiei 2). Throughout 1940 and 1941, Churchill attempted to win the confidence of Americans by demonstrating his trust in them. Roosevelts presidential advisors Averell Harriman and Harry Hopkins were invited by Churchill to meet Britains highest military leaders (The Finest Hour). Broad- ranging talks would consolidate policy during the meetings (Robbins). Outlining his views on strategy to win the American alliance in the war, Churchill reassured his guests that the Japanese would not enter the war until they were sure that we were beaten. They did not want to fight the United States and the British Empire together (qtd. in The Finest Hour). The roaring advance of Hitlers Nazi army had widened the war rapidly and Hitlers attack on Russia had created the need for a Roosevelt-Churchill summit meeting (Robbins). Roosevelt planned for a meeting between the two leaders that was privately held off the coast of Newfoundland. The President objective for the meeting was to cement relations with Britai n and to discuss terms on the Lend-Lease Act. Churchills objective was to draw the U.S. into WWII and secure more help for the British (Behind Closed Doors). Boarding the British battleship HMS Prince of Wales on August 4, 1941, Churchill proceeded on his voyage to meet with the President. Cruising through malignant waters of the Atlantic Ocean filled with enemy submarines and raiders shrugged off the dangers and continued to toil away at official papers and increasing Roosevelts support for the war (Robbins). Churchills departure was kept at utmost secrecy to outmaneuver Hitlers Kriegsmarine. While Churchills whereabouts were kept hidden, however, because the Americans were still at peace, presidential locations were fully located. The White House told the nation that Roosevelt was enjoying a fishing holiday onboard the Presidential yacht Potomac. Once Roosevelt left the surveillance of the nation, he joined the U.S.S Augusta and continued his voyage to Placentia Bay under the shield of planes and destroyers (Robbins). The destiny of the world would depend on the effectiveness of the policies agreed by Winston and Churchill. After the attack on Russia by the Germans on June 22, 1941, Churchill immediately aligned with the Russians and arranged the signing of a pact to provide possible aid. On August 9, 1941, Churchill met Roosevelt onboard the U.S.S. Augusta, anchored off the coast of Newfoundland in Placentia Bay. This would mark the beginning of high-level collaborations that would continue until the end of the war (The Finest Hour). During the meeting at Newfoundland, there was a discussion on a strategy to block the anticipated military moves of Hitler and Mussolini. Those present at the meeting felt that combined American and British staff had enough to outwit the axis dictators, though a round table alliance was scarcely the type of structure Hitler was likely to employ with Rome and Tokyo (Robbins). Future moves for the war were coordinated at the meeting to ensure that Hitlers despotism was destroyed. The issue of the Far East and Japan had to be taken care of, also including the issue of Vichy France and the best means of keeping the French battleships out of German hands (Robbins). The stature of the meeting was manifest in the way the two leaders came together for Sunday service on the battleship Prince of Wales. A symbolic moment at war took place when military leaders and sailors of both nations mingles together to sing hymns that Churchill had selected (The finest Hour). On the last day of the meeting Roosevelt and Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter, which expressed a commitment to the principles of self governance and freedom for every country, called for the destruction of the Nazi tyranny, and looked forward to free trade, cooperation, and peace among all nations. The post-war goals the leaders discussed became points laid out in the charter that were for the betterment of the world: (1) Countries shall not seek territorial gain, (2) If the citizens or governing government do not approve of territorial gain, then there shall be none, (3) The rights of people should be respected and not deprived from them, (4) Economic prosperity and trade should Endeavour between the two countries, (5) Collaboration between nations of improved labor standards, economic prosperity, and social security, (6) After WWII, hopes to see established worldwide peace and people have the freedom of speech, (7) If such peace is achieved, then people should be able to be fr ee to move around the world without intervention, (8) All the nations of the world should abandon the use of weapons. (Atlantic Charter). In London September 24, 1941, the delegate of the ten allied nations including the Soviet Union proclaimed allegiance to the Atlantic Charter. U.S. neutrality ended December 7, 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Hitler declared war and the U.S. inevitably entered WWII, along with its allies Britain and Russia. During WWII, although Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin were allies, tensions arose between the great three leaders. The glue that held the Anglo-American-Soviet alliance together during the war was the determination to defeat Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and Japans military government reaching for control of East Asia (Uneasy Allies). The leaders held discreet aims for their respective countries that were in conflict with each other, though by temporary muting their differences they allowed their alliance to survive. Debate arose concerning from the first point of the Atlantic Charter; Countries shall not seek territorial gain. A key issue was Roosevelts mistrust of Britains imperial ambitions. The question was asked Would Britain give up its Nations of Commonwealth in order to comply with the standard of the charter?. Britain had imperialistic motives and Roosevelt did not agree with them, he saw the charter as a solution to end it (BBC). Declarations two and four of the charter lai d the foundations for granting of independence to Britains colonial empire which began as early as 1947. Meanwhile another territorial issue was brewing with one of the Allies. Stalins ideological post-war degrees about control over nations increased tensions between himself and Churchill. At the Teheran meeting, Churchill and Stalin made percentage agreements over how much each nation school control Europe. An agreement was never reached and this has proved to have cause strained tensions against the Soviet Union for attempting to spread communist rule around Eastern Europe (Uneasy Allies). Today, we see proof of the Atlantic Charters lasting impact when people of free nations try and collaborate to try to rescue those victimized by tyrants. The goals laid out by President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill at that diplomatic meeting in August 1941 has laid the foundation of peacekeeping organizations, that strive to keep at equal human rights. Organizations such as the U.N and NATO have sprung from the principles of the charter, created nearly six decades ago, its intent still worthwhile today. The alliance forged at Placentia Bay between two great leaders would prove to be successful in defeating the Nazi Regime and keeping worldwide peace.

Educational Philosophy :: Education Teaching Learning Classroom Essays

Educational Philosophy Education is the key to opening many opportunities in ones lifetime. People can learn, grow, and dream through education and its recourses. Many opportunities are because of education and the educational system in America. I have always enjoyed education and going to school. I am interested in chemistry and enjoy working with the science subjects. Chemistry is something that I like to share with others. Children need the guidance and information that education provides. I want to make a difference in a child’s life and show them that a hard subject such as chemistry can still be fun. My classroom is going to be very organized and mostly of a traditional style. The seating should be in rows on one side of the room, closest to the chalkboard, for when working problems or teaching. The other side of the classroom in lines will probably be lab desks and lab equipment. Hopefully there will be a separate room for storage of chemicals and the larger scale equipment. All of my bulletin boards will be covered with information relating to the subject area. Supplemental materials and projects will go hand in hand in studying labs for chemistry. Safety equipment will also be easily accessible from anywhere in the classroom. I feel a teacher should have enough authority in a classroom to be respected but not feared. I feel when teachers intimidate students then they have taken their authority too far. This factor can lead in to discipline and teaching, leadership styles. If a teacher is respected in the classroom then discipline will not be a major problem. As far as teaching and leadership styles I want to be new to the students, like no other teacher they have ever had before. I want them to be as excited about science as I am. I hope to remain traditional as far as standards and values, yet exciting and attention holding as a teacher. Hopefully with the children interested in what they are learning they can be motivated by their own will as well as motivated by their teachers.

Confidence Interval and Reflective Writing Tips

Reflective Writing Tips Reflective writing is where you revisit experiences and write down your thoughts about them, asking questions such as: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ What did I notice? † †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Why did it happen this way? † †¢ â€Å"How was I changed by this? † †¢ â€Å"What might I have done differently? † †¢Ã¢â‚¬ How could I have handled the situation differently in hindsight? † †¢Ã¢â‚¬  What have I learnt about myself? † †¢ † How do I interact in a team? † †¢ â€Å"How did I feel? † †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Why did I react the way I did? † †¢Ã¢â‚¬ How can I improve for next time? † You will need to do a lot of research, There is a reading list provided as a starting point. Do you follow any of the theories? Have you got experiences now that show the theories are true? You do not need to be analyzing other team members actions. This is not a forum to blame everyone else! You should be looking inwards at yourself for answers and looking at your own reactions to the situations and how you could improve and grow. This is not a report so you don't need to follow report format. You can lay it out however you want to. It should mainly be about what you have learnt in PASBD but you could add in some personal experience if you wish. You will need proper SHU Harvard referencing and a bibliography. Leaflet attached. Don't be too descriptive about the detail of what happened, it is more about your analysis of why the things happened that did. Finally I have two examples from people who have done this assignment previously, one bad and one very good. Bad Example – approx 40% â€Å"As a final year student, the reflection on team building or team working is difficult when you don't know the people you are working with. The first test is to communicate in various forms of communications which are needed to arrange times to meet and possibly exchange contact details at this stage so you know who, where and what a person looks like when it's time to meet. Personally when the first group was formed, the initial test was to email group members to arrange possible times to meet, however I was lucky enough to have two members within my group to which I have worked with before throughout my course, therefore there was a built relationship already which made work carried out easier. This meant I know the capability, thrive and enthusiasm of those individuals to carry out given task, although one of them can be a bit bossy, on the other hand it was more difficult to predict what the other members would be like, as for not knowing who they are and what kind of a person they are this bought my confidence levels down. When faced with a situation such as meeting people for the first time, it is always good to start off on the right foot. In my own personal experience the best thing to do was to meet the group and get to know the members and see what they are like. In terms of confidence, it was certain that they all had similar thoughts going through their minds to what an individual like myself or others would bring to the team. † When we started the first case which was Atkinsons the two stronger members led the way and the rest of us were quite happy to let them take control. We decided that we shouldn't move to Meadowhall which turned out to be the right choice. The national trust exercise didn't turn out as well as we didn’t think about who we were presenting to. I wasn't happy about the mark for this. † Good Example – approx 90% When considering what part I might play, I considered what team role I would suit from Belbins (1981) psychological profiles of how people â€Å"behave, contribute and interrelate with others†. Due to my confident and influential personality my perception would have originally been that of the alpha female. To initiate thoughts, make executive decisions and organise the group towa rds the end goal. Looking at the team roles outlined, I would have classed myself as a â€Å"co-ordinator†; â€Å"Mature, confident, a good chairperson; clarifies goals, promotes decision-making, delegates well. This summary reflects how I would try to control the group work to what I want to achieve. Being a naturally confident person I felt that I would be able to exert influence on people to achieve what I wanted by allowing my â€Å"behavior [to be] controlled by my internal personality (Bateman and Crate, 1993). As tasks began, I found it difficult to â€Å"let go† when tasks were divided and I tried to micro-manage. This lack of trust in other peoples work meant that I put additional pressure and workload on myself. In order to improve my actions (and stress levels) I have to better understand my ‘locus of control' (Rotter 1966); whether the event is within(internal) or beyond(external) my personal control. I have come to learn that winning is not everything and too great a focus on it can block learning. Problems came to head when my considered personal strength was mixed with another strong character, I felt like I had to fight to get my point across. I felt beaten by constant, critical comment as she would often counteract my ideas or discard them. However, we found that our debates achieved an effective balance and we produced a high quality presentation by using constructive criticism. I realise now that she was not aiming to target or discredit my ideas or work but she was just trying to achieve a better result by challenging my suggestions. I have learnt that in future I should value all criticisms as they can enhance my performance. † Finally It's all about the journey and not the destination. Focus on the process and learning with an internal emphasis. It's not about whether you got the tasks right or wrong but about what you learned about yourself and life whilst doing them.

Corporate Finance AIG Accounting Scandal Essay

On February 9th, 2006, the SEC and the Justice Department settled with AIG for an amount in excess of $1. 6B related to alleged improper accounting, bid rigging (defined by Investopedia as a scheme in which businesses collude so that a competing business can secure a contract for goods or services at a pre-determined price), and practices involving workers compensation funds. Both the CEO and CFO of AIG were replaced amidst the scandal. This closure ended a 5-year period, beginning in 2001, which tarnished the 80-year old institution’s reputation that had become the world’s largest reinsurers, and included Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway as an owner. Several of fraud’s culprits were convicted of Conspiracy, Securities Fraud, False Statements to the SEC, and Mail Fraud. Each offender was handed various degrees of penalties, including jail sentences. AIG’s CEO Hank Greenberg was left unindicted and â€Å"pleading the 5th. What led these executives down a path that would forever change their careers and left many convinced that corporations are willing to go to any extent to satisfy their greed for profits? This paper will examine the intricacies of AIG’s accounting fraud, and discuss the hypothesis that accounting fraud and other unethical decisions focused on short-term profits are positively correlated to long-term value destruction. â€Å"The corporate scandals are getting bigger and bigger. In a speech on Wall Street, President Bush spoke out on corporate responsibility, and he warned executives not to cook the books. Afterwards, Martha Stewart said the correct term was to saute the books. † —Conan O’Brien While there are many techniques to distort the financial condition of a publicly traded company, the most frequent types of improprieties involve revenue recognition, cost or expense recognition, accounting for reserves, and accounting related to business combinations. Below are the laws that Elliot Spitzer’s prosecution based their AIG case on:  §?  §?  §?  §?  §? Using or employing manipulative devices, in connection the purchase or sale of securities Making untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state that a material fact Engaging in any practice or business which operates or would operate as fraud or deceit Falsification of accounting records and conformity with GAAP Conspiracy of two or more persons to commit offense or to defraud United States What does this mean in layman’s terms? Essentially, AIG improperly accounted for the reinsurance transaction to bolster reserves, and detailed numerous other examples of problematic accounting. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 2009) For example, AIG booked as income $500 million in premium for the loss portfolio transfer and then added $500 million in reserves against future claims to its balance sheet. † AIG counted the transaction as an insurance deal, but later concluded that, â€Å"the Gen Re transaction documentation was improper and, in light of the lack of evidence of risk transfer, the transaction should not have been recorded as insurance. † (Hulburt, Ph. D. , H. , 2005) What turns the deal from mistake to blatant fraud was that no underwriting risk transferred in the deal. Instead, the loss portfolio transfer was effectively a $500 million loan from Gen Re to AIG that AIG would repay through $500 million in claims payments to Gen Re. (Hulburt, Ph. D. , H. , 2005) In the end, AIG’s revised financial statements lowered 2004 net income by $1. 3 billion, or 12%, and reduced 2004 shareholders’ equity by $2. 3 billion, or 3%. Details of the adjustments required 22 pages in the AIG 2004 10K, which was included into the Annual Report to Shareholders. The restatement reduced net income by more than 10% over the 5-year period. (Verschoor, C. , 2005) Ethics is recognition of the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do. – Potter Stewart AIG’s culture and lack of ethical controls exemplify how the greed of few can impact the value of many. Some have attempted to use this case as an example to SOX’s failure to overhaul corporate accounting practices. However, in AIG’s first report mandated by the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, a number of material weaknesses in control were disclosed, emphasizing that the first and most extensive weakness was in the ethical culture of AIG or its control environment. The report states verbatim â€Å"Certain of AIG’s controls within its control environment were not effective to prevent certain members of senior management, including the former Chief Executive Officer and former Chief Financial Officer, from having the ability, which in certain instances was utilized, to override certain controls and effect certain transactions and accounting entries. In certain of these instances, such transactions and accounting entries appear to have been largely motivated to achieve desired accounting results and were not properly accounted for in accordance with GAAP. (McGee, S. , 2005) Specific overrides noted resulted in (1) creation of a special purpose entity to improperly convert underwriting losses to investment losses, (2) improper recording of reinsurance transactions, (3) improper â€Å"top level† adjustments and covered call transactions, and (4) unsupported â€Å"top level† adjustment of loss reserves. (Knowledge@Wharton, 2005) â€Å"Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence. † – Bernard Montgomery Tom Lin’s article titled â€Å"The corporate governance of iconic executives. explored corporate governance challenges posed by iconic executives such as Hank Greenberg. To better understand the state of AIG, it is beneficial to discuss the iconic executive that led them to water. Hank Greenberg grew up on a New York dairy farm, joined the U. S. Army during World War II, became an Army Ranger, and stormed the beach at Normandy. He attended the University of Miami and New York Law School, where he earned his LLB. As a captain, he received a Bronze Star in the Korean War; Greenberg then entered the insurance business in 1952. He became the youngest person to be appointed vice president at the Continental Casualty Company. As president of AIG’s major subsidiary American Home Assurance Company, Greenberg was credited with developing substantial reinsurance facilities, which allowed insurers who were forced to take unwanted assignments, or â€Å"bad risks,† the opportunity to reinsure those risks. Greenberg’s strategy enabled American Home to write large quantities of major-risks policies and thus control the pricing of those policies. He established a bottom-line philosophy on underwriting only those companies that made profits. Greenberg’s business was successful, aggressive and profitable. Greenberg would acquire companies that were troubled or fighting off takeovers, buying controlling interests in the companies, and ultimately integrating them into the AIG corporate structure. When AIG’s founder and CEO Cornelius van der Starr died, Green was named to head the company. Two years later AIG went public with Greenberg as the CEO where he would reign with an iron fist, terrorizing underlings, intimidating a compliant board and delivering stunningly impressive earnings for the next 40 years. As Tom Lin described, Iconic executives are complex, bittersweet figures in corporate governance narratives. They are alluring, larger-than-life corporate figures who often govern freely. Iconic executives frequently rule like monarchs over their firms, offering lofty promises to shareholders, directors, and managers under their reign. But like many stories of powerful and influential figures, the narratives of iconic executives also contain adversity and danger resulting from excessive deference, overconfidence, and licentiousness. Lin, T. , 2011) â€Å"Money is like a sixth sense- and you can’t make use of the other five without it† – William Maugham Contemporary economic thought presumes that individuals in a society always act according to their self-interest or private economic incentives, while important ethical motivations for action, such as a concern for others and public interest, are largely ignored. (Kulshreshtha, P. , 2005) As is often the case in ac counting cases, the CFO tends to be a central enabler to the fraudulent activities. There are two primary schools of thought when attempting to understand the incentive for CFO’s to become involved in these ethical dilemmas. The first school of thought states that CFOs may instigate accounting manipulations for immediate personal financial gain. There also has been research indicating that CFO equity incentives are more important than CEO equity incentives in explaining earnings management, measured by accruals and frequency of meeting earnings benchmarks (Feing, M. , 2011). Corporate boards have reduced CFOs’ incentive compensation after passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in an effort to undermine this conduct. Bhagat, Sanjai; Romano, Roberta, 2009) Looking at AIG’s share price over the reporting time frame of these actions, the fraudulent accounting did not seem to have significant impact on its market valuation. Analyzing the share price over the months that AIG reported their annual statement in 2002, 2003, and 2004, AIG’s market share price moved approximately -4%, -3% and . 5% respectively. Although a hypothesis could be made that the fraud occurred as a defense against stock devaluation rather than an enabler of increased valuation. The second thought states that CFOs may become involved in accounting manipulations because of pressure from CEOs. As CFOs’ superiors, CEOs can exert pressure on financial reporting decisions through their influence on CFO’s future opportunities and compensation (Feing, M. , 2011). This aligns to what we understand of Hank Greenberg’s style of management. When the judge handed out sentencing to Elizabeth Monrad, the CFO of Gen Re, he made the following statements.  §?  §?  §? The fact that she did not benefit personally from the scheme, does not excuse her conduct. Her involvement in the fraudulent scheme was â€Å"central to its success. † There were many opportunities for her to shake this shady deal, but she never did†¦ Although these two schools of thought help one to better understand the drivers behind the accounting fraud in AIG and other cases academically, they are not mutually independent. In practice, pressure grows like a virus when it attaches to personal gain. Without personal gain, there is hardly a sustainable environment for pressure, which indicates some level of correlation to realizing a self-centered objective. Some of the best lessons are learned from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom of the future. – Dale Turner One may never be able to understand the full extent of the motivations at AIG that resulted in over $1. 6B in penalties, $2. 3B in reduction of shareholder equity, and the destruction of lives and careers. There appeared to be a significant amount of both pressure and personal gain involved. In the end, the AIG case became another brick in the wall for opponents of capitalism pointing to the greed of executives and their boards. With the benefit of writing this in 2012, we know this was merely a minor speed bump in comparison to what would come for AIG in the future global financial crisis of 2008. We now live in a world where greed, profit, share price, and financial institutions are synonymous to each other. However tarnished the reputation of corporations are, there are glimmers of hope in the details. The numbers and results of these actions begin to illustrate a telling story that greed, fraud, and deception are destroyers of value rather than enablers. Cases such as AIG can be reference points to dissuade future decisions of unethical nature. In AIG’s case, their share price fell more than 30% from the period of 1/2/2001 to 5/22/2006 further strengthening our initial hypothesis. The announcement also caused Standard & Poor’s (MHP) to downgrade AIG’s debt rating from AAA to AA+, leading to higher funding costs and decreased long-term value. We may not be able to prove that all of the AIG’s value destruction is directly related to the case beyond a reasonable doubt, it can be arguably assumed that a significant portion is directly related. Even if that destruction is associated to confidence over financial health. (McGee, S. , 2005) In the time since this case, AIG has made considerable steps to prevent future occurrences of financial misrepresentation. The AIG management report on internal control related remediation efforts emphasizing the need for higher integrity and a culture of ethical values throughout the organization. The report notes: â€Å"AIG has taken, and is developing further plans to take, significant actions to improve its control environment, starting with a clear statement of the tone and philosophy set by its current senior management. The Corporate Governance Committee Report in the 2005 AIG Proxy Statement gives further details: â€Å"AIG enhanced its Code of Conduct for employees, mandated that all employees complete formal ethics training, and implemented a Director, Executive Officer, and Senior Financial Officer Code of Business Conduct and Ethics to provide reasonable assurance that all members of the Board of Directors, executive officers, and senior financial officers adhere to the stated principles and procedures set forth in that Code.  At the Committee’s recommendation, AIG is developing a corporate level compliance framework, including implementation of compliance programs at AIG’s major business areas. â€Å"