Forensic Accounting

Forensic Accounting Introduction A Forensic accountant assists an organization in unraveling issues surrounding financial problems. Mostly, his/her role involves analyzing financial information with the aim of unearthing fraud.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Forensic Accounting specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More After analyzing financial information, a forensic accountant is required to summarise and give a detailed report of his/her findings to the responsible party for implementation. Moreover, a forensic accountant keeps records of all the evidence gathered during his/her forensic investigation. This enables a party in a dispute to review and make decisions. Furthermore, the report lays the ground for in-court settlement if the parties fail to arbitrate among them. Thus, a forensic accountant helps organizations to avert fraudulent financial activities and institute appropriate controls aimed at preventing future frauds. Impo rtant skills for a Forensic Accountant A person seeking to be a forensic accountant should possess some essential skills to enable him/her to carry the job more efficiently. Analytical skills are one of the key skills demanded in this job. Carlino (2010) points out that analytical skills involve having the capacity to tie data and knowledge gathered from different areas together to come up with a clear interpretation. This plays a key role in enhancing the accuracy of financial information gathered and simplifies decision making during the judgment process.Advertising Looking for research paper on accounting? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, Carlino (2010) cites that analytical skills help an individual to identify strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and articulate principles strategically as they relate to financial matters. Also, a forensic accountant should be a person possessing persistence skills. Inve stigations involving financial statements take many hours or days to study and analyze to detect if the questionable adjustment has been made. Having persistence skills helps an individual to spot other details which might have been skipped during the investigation. Davis et al. (2010) explain that a forensic accountant, after carrying out investigations, he/she writes reports and acts as a witness in the court. Thus, he/she has to possess effective communication skills to articulate what is contained in the report. Furthermore, accounting involves analyzing complex financial transactions, statements, and account details; after analyzing, an individual has to submit the findings either orally or in a written report. Thus, effective communication skills are important in presenting a clear report to enable people with no or limited accounting knowledge to understand. A forensic accountant should be a conscious stickler to detail. This skill is important when the accountant is sifting through massive financial information (Kay and Gierlasinski, 2001). Being conscious of details provides an individual with new insight and can lead to uncovering new evidence that might lead to a sustained prosecution in the court.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Forensic Accounting specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Davis et al. (2010) point out that a strong background in accounting is important in pursuing a career in forensic accounting. A bachelors degree in accounting or related discipline is a requisite. Also, membership to a certified professional body and experience are mandatory. However, individuals may gain forensic accounting skills on the job. Forensic Accountant and the Courtroom Environment When an organization suspects financial misappropriation in the organization, it deploys forensic investigators to begin determining the magnitude, and the nature of the fraud. The forensic role, in this ca se, is to come up with findings to enable the court to take further actions against the culprits. In the courts, a forensic accountant unravels the evidence linked to financial fraud by testifying. Thus, as mentioned earlier, testifying needs efficient skills in communication because the forensic accountant has to cross-examine the parties involved in the fraud. A forensic accountant acts as a detective in the court environment. For instance, he/she has to interview the people involved in the fraud and extract more information necessary to sustain a case. Legal Responsibility of a Forensic accountant in the Business In most cases, a forensic accountant is hired by organizations and law professionals among others to help unravel financial crimes and offer litigation support services. According to Kay and Gierlasinski (2001), the society bestows a big responsibility to a forensic accountant; he/she has to detect, prevent, investigate high profiled white collar frauds; computer scams, terrorist funding and, among others, forms of financial crimes.Advertising Looking for research paper on accounting? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In his/her line of duty, a forensic accountant helps to protect the economic security of the business by working hand in hand with the law enforcers. How does a forensic accountant achieve this in practice? Dark and Leauanae (2004) explain that a forensic accountant detects the organization financial losses in advance; this practice has made many organizations save money which would have been otherwise embezzled. The timely prevention of fraud has built the trust of investors as it motivates them to continue investing their funds in the business. Also, Kay and Gierlasinski (2001) show that the field of forensic accounting provides job security for many forensic accountants. Many organizations are springing up and coupled with rising financial frauds; the need for financial accountants is increasing. Dark and Leauanae (2004) indicate that in the U.S., the field of forensic accounting has fixed thousands of jobs that were not feasible before. This has secured the economy because more people can earn a living by being forensic accountants. A forensic accountant analyses financial statements and evidence used in legal matters. Thus, the evidence uncovered is used to identify fraudulent activities such as insurance fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and other embezzlements in organizations. Besides, the forensic services are significant in uncovering the activities of drug trafficking and hidden assets of couples entangled in divorce matters. A forensic accountant gathers and analyses financial data using mathematical and investigative skills. The findings arrived are used as evidence in a court of law to apprehend the culprits. Moreover, a forensic accountant has to support the evidence produced in the court. This is to enable the court to make a concise legal decision against a financial criminal. Cases of Forensic Accounting Case 1: A shareholder’s dilemma A 73-year-old father had just made a comeback to his construction company after the board handed h im the presidency (Barrett, 2013). Barely two years in the office, he realized that the former president, his 42-year-old son, had devised various schemes to defraud the company. Nevertheless, to say, the son had already misappropriated a sum of $11 million of his fathers 55% shares of the company while he was in the office. Moreover, he had allocated about $6 million a year (for his father’s retirement) and a further $6,500 monthly stipend to the ex-wife of the father (Barrett, 2013). Role of Forensic Accountant The forensic investigators were invited to carry out a thorough forensic audit on the deposed son. The forensic audit was divided into two parts: to validate the assertions of misfeasance by the father, prior and after his return, and to demonstrate that during the son’s tenure, there was no misappropriation of funds the father had purported in the lawsuit. Besides, the forensic accountants were also mandated to carry out the valuation of the business to certi fy the son had not run the company into bankruptcy. Results The evidence gathered by the forensic accountants was presented to the legal consultants of the father and was admitted without argument. The evidence laid a basis for the legal proceedings and as a review for tightening the internal controls of the company. Case 2: The Smoking Gun (Internal Coup) A medical company was preparing to make an initial public offer (IPO), and the prerequisites such as the patient appointments had gone well with doctors in several Southeastern states in the U.S. Besides, the products on offer had been tasted and ascertained to be of high quality and ready for the IPO unveiling (Barrett, 2013). However, to sabotage the process, two corporate officers and deep-pocket investors had devised a strategy to remove the financial and operating staff and replace them with others who could easily be compromised. Moreover, to complicate the process, the deep-pocket investors suppressed the release of funds u nless the officers were sacked or replaced (Barrett, 2013). The attorney of the Chief Executive Officer had no substantial evidence on the conspiracy among the three; hence, a forensic audit was needed. Role of Financial Accountant The financial accountants were invited to ascertain whether there was a conspiracy between the three groups mentioned. They were tasked with analyzing the company’s hard drive and the laptops used by the two doctors under investigation. Results After conducting a thorough forensic examination in the victims’ offices and the company’s server, there was no evidence linking the three to conspiracy. However, further investigation revealed that the three indeed communicated through personal emails hosted by Hotmail and Yahoo, but not the companys official emails, running through the company’s server. Reference List Barrett, W. C. (2013). My Life in Crime: Chronicles of a Forensic Accountant. Web. Carlino, B. (2010). Forensic Skills in High Demand. Web. Davis, C., Ogilby, S., Farrell, R. (2010). Survival of the Analytically Fit: The DNA of an Effective Forensic Accountant. Web. Derk, G. R. Leauanae J. L. (2004). Expert witness qualifications and selection, Journal of Financial Crime, 12 (2), 165 171. Kay, C.C. Gierlasinski, N. J. (2001). Forensic accounting skills: will supply finally catch up to demand?, Managerial Auditing Journal, 16(6), 378 – 382. Forensic Accounting The increase of the percentage related to the financial and corporate crimes influences the changes in the role of forensic accounting for businesses. Specific forensic accounting skills are necessary to control the situation within companies in order to avoid and predict financial crimes because of the spread of financial fraud as the negative tendency in business.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Forensic Accounting specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More From this point, forensic accountants are professionals who are responsible for determining frauds and for predicting financial crimes or for resolving the problematic situations when it is necessary to investigate the definite financial case. As a result, there is a range of skills which forensic accountants should possess as well as a set of responsibilities associated with the legal context of the work of a forensic accountant. That is why, it is important to focus on the most important skills necessary for realizing the internal control within the company in relation to financial issues and to determine the legal responsibility of forensic accountants when they investigate the cases in companies or discuss them in the courtroom. The Forensic Accountants’ Most Important Skills Forensic accountants should be skillful investigators in order to discuss the case in detail and find the problem as well as its causes. Furthermore, this kind of internal control is almost impossible without the effective auditing techniques used by forensic accountants in order to resolve the problems and focus on the financial frauds. According to Davis, Farrell, and Ogilby, to discover and explore the evidences associated with fraud activities and misrepresentation, a successful forensic accountant needs to have such developed skills as the analytical thinking, the orientation on details and facts, effective communication skills, the ability to analyze and interp ret the information, and auditing skills (Davis, Farrell, Ogilby, 2009). The concentration on these five skills allows forensic accountants’ effective performance and investigation activity. Analytical skills are important to help forensic accountants explore the case aspects and analyze them effectively in order to provide the report on the fact of frauds and financial crimes. Forensic accountants receive the access to the financial records of the company, and their task is to interpret and analyze this information with references to their analytical skills (Crumbley, Heitger, Smith, 2007). Thus, the orientation on details and facts is important because this is a path to determining the problem and solution to it. The next significant factor is effective oral communication which is necessary to find the information and examine the details of the case with the help of employees and managers as the subjects (Skalak, Golden, Clayton, 2011). Forensic accountants work directly with financial records and reports that is why auditing skills are extremely necessary to perform the basic duties of an accountant and controller of the company’s financial activities.Advertising Looking for essay on accounting? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Role of a Forensic Accountant in a Courtroom Working with such cases as bankruptcy, personal injury claims, and corporate crimes, forensic accountants often perform in a courtroom as witnesses in relation to those cases on which the financial investigation is necessary. If the case is discussed in the courtroom, the role of a forensic accountant is to provide the necessary evidences based on the investigative activities which were realized to determine frauds and problems in the company (Pagano Buckhoff, 2005). Forensic accountants can be discussed as experts in the cases of financial and corporate crimes because of their focus on investigation an d analysis of the internal information, and this role of witnesses and experts can be used in the courtroom, depending on the case. The Legal Responsibility of a Forensic Accountant Forensic accountants are responsible for examining and analyzing a lot of cases and issues associated with business, depending on the needs of the company at the moment. Moreover, these responsibilities can be discussed as legal because forensic accountants must release any information about frauds and financial crimes which is discovered during the investigation without references to the company’s progress and status. From this perspective, forensic accountants’ legal responsibility is closely associated with the concepts of objectivity and justice (Bressler, 2010). The role of forensic accountants is important in business because their participation in investigation should guarantee the transparency of information and the legal approach to resolving the problem. Forensic Accounting Cases The cases of Enron and WorldCom are two situations when forensic accountants provided the vital evidences in order to resolve the legal questions and uncover the fact of crimes. During the development of Enron scandal in 2001, it was found that the company’s managers hided the information about the company’s financial situation and provided shareholders with the false reports in order to attract more investments and cover the company’s bankruptcy. The price of shares increased irrelevantly to the real situation within Enron. The collapse of Enron is closely connected with auditing and investigative activities realized by forensic accountants in order to examine the case in detail when the fraud was discussed as the fact. Focusing on Enron case, it is important to state that the significant role of forensic accountants is based on their investigation and found evidences which were presented in the courtroom. These evidences are necessary to prove the guilt of man agers responsible for the collapse. The case of WorldCom reflects the similar situation when managers of the company hided the information about the real earnings and profits in order to realize their fraud activities and avoid bankruptcy. The non-reported sums of money were used to conceal shortages in revenues within the company. Forensic accountants were responsible for investigating the case during a long period of time to present the most objective reports in the courtroom.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Forensic Accounting specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This situation affected the development of the opinion that forensic accountants should work with agencies as experts permanently in order to discover and prevent corporate and financial crimes and regulate the activities within the business world. The reflection of Enron situation in the case of WorldCom in 2002 emphasized the role of forensic accountants i n the process of auditing and interpreting financial reports and records (Crumbley, Heitger, Smith, 2007; Pagano Buckhoff, 2005). Thus, importance of forensic accountants in business is stated today as the well-known and admitted idea because the roles performed by forensic accountants allow the positive and fair progress of companies with references to the ethical principles and legal norms. From this perspective, forensic accountants can be discussed as protectors of the companies and the business community’s interests and in relation to guaranteeing the fair business relations. They also provide the appropriate discussion and resolution of such cases as commercial damages and personal injury claims which are also examined by forensic accountants because of the involvement of legal and financial aspects. References Bressler, L. (2010). The role of forensic accountants in fraud investigations: Importance of attorney and judge’s perceptions. Web. Crumbley, D. L., Hei tger, L. E., Smith, G. S. (2007). Forensic and investigative accounting. London: CCH. Davis, C., Farrell, R., Ogilby, S. (2009). Characteristics and skills of the forensic accountant. Web. Pagano, W., Buckhoff, T. (2005). Expert witnessing in forensic accounting. R.T. Edwards, Inc.Advertising Looking for essay on accounting? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Skalak, S., Golden, T., Clayton, M. (2011). A guide to forensic accounting investigation. USA: John Wiley Sons.

Details of James Deans Death in a Car Accident

Details of James Dean's Death in a Car Accident In September 1955, actor James Dean was driving his brand-new Porsche 550 Spyder to an auto rally in Salinas, California, when he was involved in a head-on collision with a 1950 Ford Tudor. James Dean, only 24 years old, died in the crash. Although already famous for his role in East of Eden, his death and the release of Rebel Without a Cause caused James Dean to soar to cult status. James Dean, forever frozen as the talented, misunderstood, rebellious youth remains the symbol of teenage angst. Who Was James Dean? John Kobal Foundation/Contributor/Getty Images James Dean had appeared in a number of television shows before getting his big break in 1954 when he was chosen to play Cal Trask, the leading male role in the film East of Eden (1955). This was the only one of Deans films released before his death. Quickly following East of Eden, James Dean was signed to play Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), the film for which Dean is best remembered. Immediately following the filming for Rebel Without a Cause, Dean played the lead role in Giant (1956). Both of these films were released after Deans death. James Dean Raced Cars As Deans movie career began to take off, James Dean also started to race cars. In March 1955 Dean raced in the Palm Springs Road Races, and in May of that year he raced in the Minter Field Bakersfield race and the Santa Barbara Road Races. James Dean liked to go fast. In September 1955 Dean replaced his white Porsche 356 Super Speedster with a new, silver Porsche 550 Spyder. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images Dean had the car specialized by having the number 130 painted on both the front and back. Also painted on the back of the car was Little Bastard, Deans nickname given to him by friend Bill Hickman, who was Deans dialogue coach for Giant. The Accident On September 30, 1955, James Dean was driving his new Porsche 550 Spyder to an auto rally in Salinas, California, when the fatal accident occurred. Originally planning to tow the Porsche to the rally, Dean changed his mind at the last minute and decided to drive the Porsche instead. Dean and Rolf Wuetherich, Deans mechanic, rode in the Porsche. Following were photographer Sanford Roth and Bill Hickman, driving a Ford station wagon that had a trailer for the Spyder attached. En route to Salinas, Dean was pulled over by police officers near Bakersfield for speeding around 3:30 p.m. After being stopped, Dean and Wuetherich continued on their way. Two hours later, around 5:30 p.m., they were driving westbound on Highway 466 (now called State Route 46), when a 1950 Ford Tudor pulled out in front of them. 23-year-old Donald Turnupseed, the driver of the Ford Tudor, had been traveling east on Highway 466 and was attempting to make a left turn onto Highway 41. Unfortunately, Turnupseed had already started to make his turn before he saw the Porsche traveling quickly toward him. Without time to turn, the two cars smashed nearly head-on. The injuries among the three involved in the crash varied greatly. Turnupseed only received minor injuries from the accident. Rolf Wuetherich, the passenger in the Porsche, was lucky to be thrown from the Porsche. Although he suffered serious head injuries and a broken leg, he survived the crash. Dean, however, was killed in the accident. Dean was just 24 years old at the time of the wreck. Posthumous Academy Awards To this day, James Dean is the only person to receive two Academy Award nominations posthumously. In 1956, he was nominated posthumously for Best Leading Actor for his role in East of Eden. This was a historic first. In 1957, Dean was again posthumously nominated for Best Leading Actor, this time for his role in Giant. What Happened to Deans Smashed Car? Many Dean fans wonder what happened to the smashed Porsche. After the accident, the crumpled car was toured around the United States as part of a driver safety presentation. However, en route between two stops, the car disappeared. In 2005, Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Illinois, offered $1 million to anyone who currently had the car. So far, the car has not resurfaced.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Business Regulations Assignment

Advantages and Disadvantages of Business Regulations - Assignment Example It is the role of the government to make the business regulations so that they are uniform to everyone despite in certain circumstances bearing merits and demerits, which this essay seeks to highlight. Advantage of these regulations is that a business is able to run smoothly as there is a clear logical framework on how to conduct logistics. This approach makes staffs have a technical knowhow about ethics and decisions that govern their business. Hence, being able to adapt to the working conditions without any difficulties and still comply to what the industry demands (Handlin, 2011). Rules and regulations are of major importance to a business since it removes much of guesswork by the staff since they ought to work according to the prescribed set of behavior. Through this, conducting of varied practices is effective in both to the staff and those they are serving compared to any industry that do not operate within certain procedures. Another advantage is that rules are able to prevent owners of companies from using power to abuse their workers (Handlin, 2011). If there were no regulations, most of the rights of workers could be stepped on by their employers. The workers could be receiving meager wages or compelled to work in extremely deplorable conditions, hence regulations safeguard their settings. Since without those regulations, owners could be resulting to actions that not only harm the environment or pursue business ventures that are profit making but also exploit staff. Therefore, by having rules and regulations some of these hazardous behaviors are preventable thus help govern protect its people. Conversely, business makes it hard to execute certain changes (Nijsen, 2009). Having a rules makes it is a very rigid process to make changes like decision making. In some cases, the regulations made do not account for some situations, this may be a major drawback to a business thus taking

Personal Development Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Personal Development Plan - Assignment Example This personality type compels individuals to be responsible and punctual. They tend to go great lengths to do things they believe in. This includes helping in any way to benefit their loved ones: family or friends. ISFJs’ hate confrontation but will stand up against anyone who hurts those they love. Following tradition is vital, including respecting authority. Practical, these people act according to the stored information shaping their mindset. This differs only when they deal with people who cause them to replace sensibility with feeling: concern and values.If you feel that this result does not portray your personality adequately – suggest what you think your personality is. State which parts of the result you agree with most and those you don’t. For the answer below only right about the traits you agree with.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I agree with most of the traits of my personality. It is true that I would do anything in my power to protect the ones I love and keep th em happy. My family considers me a good caretaker, especially when someone falls ill. However, it’s also true that I am sensitive to the smallest of things. This overtly sensitized me ends up hurt because it’s impossible for me to confront people. A stout traditionalist, I am very aggravated when an authority is challenged. I am also very paranoid under stress and can think the most horrific outcomes of my decisions. Also, a strong belief system makes people with ISJF to respect authority while maintaining their practicality. Weaknesses associated with this personality type are: ISJF compels some individuals in developing certain data, which they refuse to question when rushed into decisions. This rigidness often causes them to make wrong judgments. ISJFs’ need appreciation for what they do; if their contributions are unacknowledged they become bitter and aggrieved. It can also lead to severity while supporting authority which can create problems if the hierarchy makes a wrong decision. These individuals are very aware of the outcomes of situations and do not function well under stress by imagining overly negative outcomes, without realizing the ramifications for those around them. 2. Learning preferences. (Honey and Mumford) Activist 3 Reflector 12 Theorist 18 Pragmatist 10 What are your relative strengths (in terms of learning preference?) I am better at being a theorist. I believe in following facts and figures that have been long established. There are rigid facts that have to be followed and if their complexities can be solved it ensures that my decisions are perfect. What are your relative weaknesses (in terms of learning preference?) My weakness would be in being an activist. I am incapable of allowing experiences to shape and dominate me. Also, I believe in following a strict regime while learning and am not open to a lot of brainstorming. Suggest three things that you could do to develop your weaknesses 1. I could try to enjoy what I am doing instead of constantly concentrating on the outcome. 2. Instead of working alone I could choose a group which would open me up to new ideas 3. I should stop trying to perfect everything I learn because life is

Evaluation System Essay Example for Free

Evaluation System Essay Introduction As we move into a new era of Quality Assurance, universities and schools are increasingly being called upon to evaluate the students and their respective grades. One common method is via student evaluations. At the University of Batangas, most especially in the College of Engineering Department, a student evaluation is needed especially by the graduating students. Currently, students from different courses find it very difficult in getting their evaluation because they are going to get through a very long line of students and after that they will wait for their turn on the registrars’ office. The results from such evaluations are important to students for them to be able to know what subjects they taken and not yet taken. However, the number of evaluations requested per year continues to increase rapidly and, as a result, the overhead of processing such information manually is a growing burden. This paper describes a pilot project at University of Batangas, as architecture for getting information about the student in the database. Due to the sensitive nature of the data and their critical role within and outside of the University, the system must satisfy several requirements if it is to survive. Some of the requirements are technical, for example providing easy access to students. However, many of the requirements are organizational, and tied to the local context of the University. As is the case with most technological innovations, long-term success is intimately tied to the development of humane technologies that seamlessly fit into the work-flow of institutions. In the remainder of this paper we describe the architecture of our system, and how its design and implementation attempted to address the many technical, administrative, and organizational requirements of a successful evaluation system. Statement of the Problem The proponents seek to determine the feasibility of developing a student evaluation system that will help prevent problems in getting the grades and subjects of a certain students in the College of Engineering. The researchers seek to establish answers to the following questions: 1. What are the benefits of student evaluation system? 2. What are the flaws of the current student evaluation system? 3. What is the capacity of the system to accept and retrieve data? Objectives of the Study The following are the objectives of the study: * To design and develop a student evaluation system. * To design and develop a system that could store and retrieve data or student information. * To design and develop a system that could make the life of students and faculty members more convenient. * To identify the flaws of current student evaluation system. * To identify the capacity of the system to accept and retrieve data. * To identify the benefits of student evaluation system. Scope and Delimitation The proponents focused on the application and portability of student evaluation system that would lead to a new era of comfortness. Scope of the Project * The study will be implemented with the help of Microsoft Access 2010 as the database, * The study covers the ability to receive and retrieve data’s and information about a certain student. * The study is focus on helping students in making their student life more easy and worry free. Limitation of the Study Although the research has reached it aims, there were some unavoidable limitations: * The system is designed only for the students of Computer Engineering Department. Definition of Terms The following terms has been defined to guide the readers in their understanding of this research paper. Evaluation is a systematic determination of a subjects merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards. It can assist an organization to assess any aim, realizable concept or proposal, or any alternative, to help in decision-making. System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole or a set of elements (often called components ) and relationships which are different from relationships of the set or its elements to other elements or sets. Database is a structured collection of data. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality (for example, the availability of rooms in hotels), in a way that supports processes requiring this information. Microsoft Access also known as Microsoft Office Access, is a database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. Humane characterized by kindness, mercy, sympathy. Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++, but it has fewer low-level facilities than either of them.

Essay --

Summarize the main conducts of the leaders mentioned in this case, and discuss why they succeed or failed (15 marks). P&G’s reputation is earned by our conduct: what we say, what we do, the products we make, the services we provide and the way we act and treat others. As conscientious citizens and employees, we want to do what is right. For P&G, and our global operations, this is the only way to do business. a. A deep commitment to deliver leadership results. b. Leaders in P & G have a clear vision of where we are going. c. They focus our resources to achieve leadership objectives and strategies. d. They develop the capability to deliver our strategies and eliminate organizational barriers. One element that helps make the program successful: loyalty. While there's no hard and fast rule against hiring outsiders, P&G rarely does so. "We promote from the inside, because that's our primary source of talent," says Lafley. COO Bob McDonald says employees who are promoted internally nearly always thrive, while other companies, he reckons, have a 50% fail rate when they use headhunters. "What we're talking about is a system that's much more reliable," says McDonald. The result of P&G’s focus on innovation has been reliable, sustainable growth. Since the beginning of the decade, P&G sales have more than doubled, from $39 billion to more than $80 billion; the number of billion-dollar brands, those that generate $1 billion or more in sales each year, has grown from 10 to 24; the number of brands with sales between $500 million and $1 billion has more than quadrupled, from four to 18. This growth is being led by energized managers — innovation leaders — who continually learn new ways to grow revenues, improve margins, and avoid commoditizati... ...eciation for Chinese culture to be successful. Growth in this arena was facilitated by Procter & Gamble’s emphasis on attracting and retaining local talent. How to Deal with Crisis: The tumultuous nature of the Chinese economic and political system during this period forced Procter & Gamble to learn how to overcome significant challenges numerous times. The Procter & Gamble leadership recognized that in order to remain viable under such circumstances, they had to face up to the reality of any crisis situation squarely and remain unfazed while focusing primarily on the few very specific issue areas where they could make a sizeable impact. Procter & Gamble’s survival was facilitated by a policy of company-wide resolve to persevere in the face of problems created by the crisis and an emphasis on caring for their employees, particularly their domestic talent. Refrences

Examining Exclusivity in Mass Marketing

Explain why Sears or Wal-Mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. High volume and mass appeal are at the core of one-stop-shop retailers like Sears and Wal-Mart. These stores are the culture others are trying to counter. Wal-Mart relies on mass production of the products they sell to keep manufacturing and shipping costs down. This allows them to maximize profitability. Profitability is not at the core of counterculture; unique style and individualism are. Counterculture is the alternate of culture, even a subculture. For an active member of the counterculture to shop at a store that sells toilet paper a few isles down from their jeans defies the very image they are set to create or maintain. This is the same reason Urban Outfitters cannot sell Craftsman power tools. This would counter the counterculture image Urban Outfitters is built upon. Could the big box stores sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters? Explain your answer. Big box stores can sell merchandise identical to niche stores like Urban Outfitters to keep up with trends. Stores like Costco can produce, ship and stock merchandise on a large scale in hopes of increasing profitability. Seemingly exclusive products appeal to the masses that do not normally shop at, or cannot afford to shop at more exclusive retailers like Urban Outfitters. This in itself is a trend because once the product is no longer exclusive, it will eventually no longer sell as it did previously. Also if the once exclusive product sells at all is a gamble in marketing and sales. Matching the appeal of the original product, timing of launch so as to miss out on the value while it exists and availability to the masses can impact how well a trendy product will sell at a big box store. If it does, what is the effect on the exclusivity once offered by Urban Outfitters? Identify at least three reasons why exclusivity is valuable.