Thursday, January 30, 2020

The Bribery Scandal At Siemens AG Essay Example for Free

The Bribery Scandal At Siemens AG Essay Siemens, originated by Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske in 1847, now is one of the top companies which major business area is electrical engineering, and has millions of employees and operations in around 190 countries in the whole world. However, in 2007, two former managers of Siemens AG were proved to be guilty by a German court. The court accused them for giving money from company to employees of Enel Spa and asking for contracts in return. Besides that, earlier in 2006, Siemens was convicted for bribing AUB which is a small union in order to receive the support from its policies. Numbers of the bribery scandals appeared in such a short pried of time, which led to a huge damage to the reputation of Siemens. Till December of 2008, Siemens AG has already agreed to pay more than â‚ ¬1 billion fine. Despite the fact that bribery is illegal in all countries, bribery starts to become a universal and morally acceptable phenomenon in recent years, and sometimes it is regarded as the only way to solving some problems. For example, companies in Mexico have to pay the postman monthly to prevent their mail missing. Besides that, in some developed countries, bribery cannot be avoided as well. For instance, several officials of the international Olympic Committee were fired because of accepting bribery for helping Salt Lake City to host the Winter Olympics in 2002. In this report, bribery and the case which is about the bribery scandal at Siemens AG will be discussed. It is certain that bribery is prohibited in law all over the world, whereas whether it is ethical or not depends on individuals. Although numbers of companies believed that bribery is only part of cost of doing business and it enables businessmen to get their contracts easier, bribery is illegal, unethical and cannot be considered as a cost of doing business. As author mentioned in our book, bribery fails three questions of ethical corporate actions. Firstly, bribery is an illegal act in all countries. Except for those local laws countries have, international codes of conduct for MNEs require multi-national enterprises that they should never pay bribes to any public authorities. For instance, Siemens in a company in German, so according to the local law of Germany, bribing is illegal. As a result, Siemens has to be punished. Secondly, bribery benefits the company  in a long term. Take the scandals of Siemens happened in 2007 as an example, two managers who used to work in Siemens admitted that they had paid â‚ ¬6 million to Enel which is an energy company in Italy , and they can get a gas turbine contrast valued at â‚ ¬450 million in return. In addition to the direct profit, Kley points out that the contrast also helps Siemens enter the Italian market during the court proceedings. Thirdly, any act of bribery cannot be told to the public. According to what Noonan said,† in no country do bribe takers speak publicly of their bribes, nor do bribe givers announce the bribes they pay as bribery is shameful.† To conclude, for these three reasons, bribery cannot be regarded as a cost of doing business, and it is illegal and unethical. Companies can win business contrasts without bribing which is conflict with the law by making their products better and providing more benefits to the host countries. To begin with, companies may invest that money which was used to bribe into investment and research in order to let their own products become more competitive. If a product has a competitive advantage, it is more likely to be chosen over other competitors. Then, contributing to the development of the economy of the host countries also helps multi-national enterprises get their contracts easier. Contributions include assistance in the development of a country in terms of employment, investment and import earnings without bringing negative effects on local companies, such as, making employees who work in local companies unemployed. With the bribery scandals came out, von Pierer who is the former supervisory board and Kleinfeld who was the CEO of Siemens had to quit their jobs. Critics felt that Kleinfeld should not be fired since he had carried two successful reforms which help turning Siemens into profitable. In spite of the fact that Kleinfeld did a good job during his two year tenure, he still has to be replaced in my opinion. First of all, Kleinfeld was widely accused and had a bad reputation. For one aspect, due to Kleinfeld’s failure of tracing the huge amounts of company asset and payment, the public start to complain and criticize Kleinfeld instead of showing their trust they used to have. For another aspect, a two-tier system of management is applied in every company in Germany. In this system, the relationship between labor representatives and management is also taken into consideration to evaluate the performance of a manager. However, what Kleinfeld had done during his venture was not acceptable by those  conservative and old employees. For example, as Jack Ewing shows in â€Å"Siemens’ Culture Clash†, Kleinfeld sold mobile phone production which is unprofitable to BenQ and he invested $8.6 billion to growing areas such as nuclear power and medical diagnostics in 2006. Although these actions help the stock price of Siemens increase by 26% during the time he was the CEO, Kleinfeld’s radical decisions result in his not being supported. To concluded, a good CEO should not only help a company benefited but also maintain a good relationship with the staff. In addition, Siemens needs a completely new beginning. According to the chairman said,† the leadership change had been made to give the company a clean break from the past.† Besides that, Loescher who is newly appointed has global background, well-known international reputation and upright characteristic. Apparently, the public are more likely to believe that Loescher can get through recent tough difficulties and take Siemens into a better future. In conclusion, Kleinfeld should be replaced by Loescher as Loescher has a better reputation, while the departure may also bring several negative impacts. Loescher needs to let himself be accepted by everyone in Siemens and adapt himself to the current situation of Siemens as soon as possible (Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Uglow). In fact, other German companies, included Volkswagen AG, Deutsche Telekom AG, were also reported to have unethical practice. However, it is obvious that Siemens is not just unfortunate to get caught. Bribe is not only Siemens’ fault but also because of the corrupt practices the Co-determination law or Mitbestimmung in German have. The Co-determination law is easily to cause argument between management and the labor representatives, and it also causes suspicion and exclusion between them. Just as the German government reported, laws should be modified to forbid regarding bribery charges as a cost of doing business. Besides that, Siemens which has numbers of offices all around the world can have a huge impact on local economies. In other words, large companies like Siemens have to take a moral stand since their acts are more likely to be viewed by the public. Instead of accepting bribery, Siemens should refuse to go along with bribery and other unethical acts. In order to prevent enterprises as Siemens bribing in the future, numbers of plans have to been carried out. Firstly, companies ought to have their own division whose function is to supervise all the staffs in the companies. If any bribery is found,  companies need to have their own regulation to solve these problems. Secondly, local laws in Germany seem to be out of date. The government needs to lay more emphasis on revising the local laws. Thirdly, countries should corporate with each other. Globalization start to be a new trend in this century and countries need to have a same standard to stop companies bribing. To sum up, this essay analyzes the case which is about the bribery scandal at Siemens AG. From this case, it is shown that bribery is not only illegal but also unethical. International codes of conduct for Multi-national enterprises have clearly ruled that bribery is a kind of illegal acts. Even if many countries ban briberies, there are still many companies regard the money which is used to bribe as a cost of doing business. Bribery may destroy the reputation of a company, and it may also cause distrust and unfairness among the staff in a company. In order to have a better future, the former CEO of Siemens Kleinfeld has to be replaced since the new CEO Loescher has a better background and reputation. How to maintain a good relationship with staffs, help Siemens become profitable and be more accepted by the public are the major difficulties Loescher has. Even though bribery exists in many companies, especially in multi-national enterprises, and the attitude companies shown on bribery start to change. Increasing numbers of companies start to notice that bribery cannot be accepted, and it must be thoroughly forbidden in the future.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Graduation Speech: We Are the Dreamers of Dreams :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Though our state isn't known for its cold winters, the winter of my junior year seemed to be the most frigid of my life. Every morning I would trudge through mud puddles on my way to the distant portable toliet that received no announcements and was supplied with absolutely no heat. We were all assured that this was an underhanded scheme of Mr. Rives to keep us all awake in the morning. It got so bad that in a show of rage each student came to class with a blanket and sad face the day Mr. Rives was to be observed by administration. Soon enough, the heater was fixed. This event was just one of many casualties of construction; the remodel of Staten our junior year threw us back in with the freshmen, walking around dazed but impressed with what we saw, and leaving my first period class confused by the inability to solve our heater dilemma. The sense of confusion and entering something bigger than ourselves that we're confronted with our freshmen year never really leaves us - no matter h ow comfortable we became at Staten we were always caught in a whirlpool of change. After today we'll all be embarking into different worlds, but the lessons we've learned together throughout these four years of friendship, trauma, and dreams will help guide us through the new mazes set up for us, and though we may not be together, the experiences we've shared will help us through. Ferris Bueller, an icon of all that is high school, stated that, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Though some of us will still testify that these years have gone by much too slowly, most will be willing to admit that they've gone faster than we initially expected. Our freshmen year we entered Staten firmly locked in the cliques that carried over from middle school, only to watch them slowly dissipate as we met new, exciting people in each of our classes. This was the year of the blessed late start days and the introduction of the seemingly impossible new standards. Our freshmen football team battled its way to an undefeated season as we powerhoused our way through the year, struggling to stay afloat in the sea of new faces, traditions, and teacher reputations. Treading water we finally broke in to summer, eager to carry out plans with friends, new and old, and to take a break from the homework we had finally grown accusto med to.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Logic and logic gates Essay

1 describe using examples how numeric and alphanumeric data can be coded within a computer system M1 explain using examples how data travels around the processor D1 create complex logic circuits made up of arrays of simple logic circuits P2 describe how analogue data can be converted and stored in computer systems M2 create logic circuits using simple logic gates and provide truth tables and explanation as to their operation D2 compare and contrast two different processors. P3 convert numeric data between different number systems including floating point. M3 create low-level programs which involve decision making and branching P4 carry out manipulation of numeric data held in three different number systems M4 describe the difference between astable and bistable flip-flops. P5 describe the key components of a computer architecture and how they interact P6 describe the features of a processor P7 describe the operation of logic gates using truth tables P8 create, document and test low-level Programs BTEC National Unit 9 Computer Architecture Assignment 2: Computer Components and Features Criterion covered P7, M2, M4, D1. For these tasks you are required to produce a report using drawings or diagrams and appropriate technical language. Make sure you use appropriate headings and subheadings to identify separate tasks and requirements 1) Use logic diagrams, and truth tables and narrative to describe the operation of the following logic gates: [P7] 2) Use simple logic gates (eg AND, OR, NOT) to produce a logic circuit to: a) Show a security circuit which includes input from a movement-sensing PIR (passive infra red sensor) and a light sensor. While there is movement sensed, and it is dark, the security light must be lit. b) Describe the logic circuit for accessing an electrical cabinet. For safety reasons, a high voltage electrical maintenance cabinet can only be accessed if the power is off, a special key is inserted, and the high tension line is earthed. c) Describe the logic circuit for a Half-Adder. Be sure to include the logic diagram, Boolean algebra statement and truth table for each and a description of how each works. You will also need to provide keys to any letters used to represent inputs and outputs. [M2] 3) Describe the difference between astable and bistable flip-flops using appropriate diagrams. [M4] 4) Build complex logic circuits from arrays of simple logic circuits to: a) Use Half-Adders and further logic gates to build a Full Adder b)build a logic circuit including Full Adders to add together the contents of two eight-bit registers. The formula for working out the number of possible outputs is 2n. N is the number of inputs. E. g.if there are 2 inputs than the formula would be 22. The answer is 4. This means that there are 4 possible outputs. Truth Table Input Output A. AND GATE In AND gates the output can only be 1 if all the inputs are all 1 and if either of the output are 0 and the other input is 1 than output will always be 0. The two inputs AB and output Q represent the expression which in effect is right because the stands for AND. Truth Table Input Output ABC Z 0gate can have more than 2 inputs. The above NAND gate has 3 inputs. Therefore the formula to work out the number of output is 23 = 8. The truth table is on the side. Even though the formula to work out the number of outputs for the truth table is the same, the actual gate is completely opposite because if the can only be 0 if all inputs are 1. The output will always be 1 if the inputs are mix of 0 and 1. The input expression for this gate is . The line above stands for NOT. The circle on the symbol is called a bubble and is generally used to indicate the inverted (active-low) input or output. The output can only be 1 is all the two inputs are 0 and if the output is 0 that means that the two inputs are 1 and 0 or 0 and 1. The expression for this gate is . This means that Q Gate also know as an â€Å"Inverter†, there is always 1 input. If the input is 1 than output is 0 and if the output is 1 than output has to be 0. The logical expression is which means This type of gate is implemented in computers for binary addition. If both the inputs are 0 than the output will also be 0 and if both the inputs are 1 than the output will also be 0. XOR is actually short for exclusive OR. The logical expression for the XOR gate is which means that   This type of gate is simply the inverse of XOR (exclusive OR). You can only get a result of 1 is both the inputs are same either 00 or 11. If the inputs are different e. g. 0 and 1 or 1 and 0 than the output will be 0. The expression for this type of gate is. North Warwickshire & Hinckley College.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Behavioral And Contextual Factors That Affect The Females...

Besides stereotype threats, there is also a group of behavioral and contextual factors which affect the females and minority students’ career choices. These individual differences affect the adolescent’s potential outcome in STEM. These differences are also supported by two theories which also can explain the results of career choice. First is the theory from Lent, Brown, Hacket (1994,2000) called the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) which emphasizes self-efficacy as well as its link to the likely outcome of choosing a specific path, interests, goals, and the interaction of these attitudes with relevant contextual variables and individual difference (Else-Quest et. all, 2013). This theory is rooted in Bandura’s 1986 self-efficacy theory. A more recent theory which also supports the link of self-efficacy to the outcomes of academic and vocational pursuits is Eccles expectancy-value theory. This theory maintains that achievement behaviors are the product of a n individual’s expectations for success and the perceived value of the behavior (Else-Quest et all, 2013). Stereotype threats about the affected adolescence’s math and science abilities are transmitted by their parents and teachers which leads to negative attitudes being shaped and these beliefs shaping the performance and overall interest in STEM fields. It is the environmental cues which make the negative stereotypes salient (Sharpio Williams, 2011). Many aspects of the adolescents’’ environment such as, parentShow MoreRelatedAn Understanding Of Inequity : How Authority Affects Pay Differences Between Women And Men2542 Words   |  11 Pages1177/1468017313476797 Alkadry, G., Tower, L. (2006). Unequal pay: The role of gender. Public Administration Review, 66 (6), 888–898. Retrieved from: eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/ehost Alkadry, G., Tower, L. (2011). 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