Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower

Catherine Zulfer, a former employee of playboy filed a suit against them alleging that Playboy Enterprises violated provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The former employee reports that playboy retaliated against her for refusing to participate in fraudulent activity against Playboy’s shareholders (Katz, Marshall& Banks, LLP, 2013). Without receiving permission from the board of directors, Christopher Pachler, Chief Financial Officer, instructed Zulfer to gather one million dollars in bonuses for various corporate officers of the company.At that time Zulfer felt that Pachler was attempting to embezzle the money from the company, therefore she denied the request until it was approved by the board. Zulfer then informed Playboys General Counsel and the Securities and Exchange Commission of the request that was made by Pachler. Soon after Zulfer made the report, she claims that retaliation against her began. She was excluded from company meetings and discussions, crucial information to her position was withheld from her, and her accounting staff was diminishing (Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP, 2013).On December 31, 2011 Zulfer was terminated, although Playboy describes it as a layoff. Issue: Did Playboy violate the whistleblower-protection provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (â€Å"SOX†)? Rule: The Playboy Company retaliated against Zulter for refusing to participate in fraud regarding the playboy shareholders. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, (SOX) one rule prohibits any employer from retaliation against and employee. Another rule is that under this law employees are protected when they speak of a wrongdoing within the workplace.â€Å"Under SOX, employers are strictly prohibited from retaliating against employees who report illegal or unethical conduct. Employees are also protected when making disclosures about shareholder fraud or violations of SEC rules and regulations. † (Halunen, p. 1, Para. 1) Analysis: Append reflecti on Zulter dismissal was retaliation against her by the playboy company, because she reported and activity of fraud with the playboy shareholders.In this case, Zulter was continually excluded from meetings and discussions, withholding crucial information she needed to carry out her corporate accounting responsibilities, and eliminating corporate accounting staff. Conclusion: In the end, the courts dismissed playboy’s argument reaffirming that under the bylaws of (SOX) employees are protected from employees from retaliation for reporting violations of â€Å"any rule of regulation of the SEC.Zulfer was protected under the SOX Act, whistle-blower‘s of publicly traded companies are protected. Employers are not supposed to retaliate or discriminate against employees in the terms and conditions of their employment. The plaintiff provided information regarding violations the company was participating in; the violations that can be of a federal fraud statute, a rule or regulati on of the SEC, or a provision of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders.The team agrees that Zulfer was protected under the Act and that the Act is there to bring forth more white collar crimes that would not otherwise be disclosed if the was not there to protect and compensate. SOX promotes honesty without fear, the whistle-blower provisions of the SOX Act provides a general framework for ensuring that employees (including attorneys and auditors) disclose information which may harm investors. Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Catherine Zulfer, a former employee of playboy filed a suit against them alleging that Playboy Enterprises violated provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The former employee reports that playboy retaliated against her for refusing to participate in fraudulent activity against Playboy’s shareholders (Katz, Marshall& Banks, LLP, 2013). Without receiving permission from the board of directors, Christopher Pachler, Chief Financial Officer, instructed Zulfer to gather one million dollars in bonuses for various corporate officers of the company.At that time Zulfer felt that Pachler was attempting to embezzle the money from the company, therefore she denied the request until it was approved by the board. Zulfer then informed Playboys General Counsel and the Securities and Exchange Commission of the request that was made by Pachler. Soon after Zulfer made the report, she claims that retaliation against her began. She was excluded from company meetings and discussions, crucial information to her position was withheld from her, and her accounting staff was diminishing (Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP, 2013).On December 31, 2011 Zulfer was terminated, although Playboy describes it as a layoff. Issue: Did Playboy violate the whistleblower-protection provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (â€Å"SOX†)? Rule: The Playboy Company retaliated against Zulter for refusing to participate in fraud regarding the playboy shareholders. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, (SOX) one rule prohibits any employer from retaliation against and employee. Another rule is that under this law employees are protected when they speak of a wrongdoing within the workplace.â€Å"Under SOX, employers are strictly prohibited from retaliating against employees who report illegal or unethical conduct. Employees are also protected when making disclosures about shareholder fraud or violations of SEC rules and regulations. † (Halunen, p. 1, Para. 1) Analysis: Append reflecti on Zulter dismissal was retaliation against her by the playboy company, because she reported and activity of fraud with the playboy shareholders.In this case, Zulter was continually excluded from meetings and discussions, withholding crucial information she needed to carry out her corporate accounting responsibilities, and eliminating corporate accounting staff. Conclusion: In the end, the courts dismissed playboy’s argument reaffirming that under the bylaws of (SOX) employees are protected from employees from retaliation for reporting violations of â€Å"any rule of regulation of the SEC.Zulfer was protected under the SOX Act, whistle-blower‘s of publicly traded companies are protected. Employers are not supposed to retaliate or discriminate against employees in the terms and conditions of their employment. The plaintiff provided information regarding violations the company was participating in; the violations that can be of a federal fraud statute, a rule or regulati on of the SEC, or a provision of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders.The team agrees that Zulfer was protected under the Act and that the Act is there to bring forth more white collar crimes that would not otherwise be disclosed if the was not there to protect and compensate. SOX promotes honesty without fear, the whistle-blower provisions of the SOX Act provides a general framework for ensuring that employees (including attorneys and auditors) disclose information which may harm investors.

Memories by Trilokesh Mukherjee Essay

The poem ‘Memories’ is by an Indian poet called Trilokesh Mukherjee. The poet grew up in India and this influences the poem, he brings his culture into the poem by using imagery and senses and other literary devices. Also, he refers to the Gods from the Hindu religion and mythology. Hindu religion, mythology and family are all very important to the Indian people and this is all shown in the poem when they are sitting around the fire at night. The theme of this poem is childhood memories and how they are still strong in the poets mind. The setting of this poem is in the evening/night time and this is shown by the fact that all the creatures that are mentioned are nocturnal like the night owls. â€Å"The meal was shared with all the children.† This shows us that everybody is included, and there is a sense of togetherness in this community. The poet uses senses to help paint a picture in the readers head. He uses smell with â€Å"smelled the smoke of the fire†, â€Å"the food being cooked†, â€Å"the smell of the rice.† This is intended to make the reader feel relaxed and get a home feeling and feel delightful. Next, the poet uses sights. â€Å"Glow worms added golden firework sparks on the dark canvas.† The poet wants the readers to see a magical world through a kids eyes, and the glow worms are like fireworks going on. It is like the poet is bringing his dark canvas to life. Thirdly, Mukherjee uses sounds to give us an idea of what we can hear, the poet uses onomatopoeia and gives us three examples of what the reader can hear.†untiring chirping of the crickets and nightjars†, â€Å"hooting of night owls†, â€Å"howling of distant jackals.† There Are four different animals here and it could be that they are forming like a band, like the sounds of the night. There is also another example that again, makes the reader feel calm and relaxed. It is â€Å"her reassuring voice.† This shows us that Grandmother makes him feel safe and calm. There are many different ideas for tone in this poem. There is fascination, where the poet as child and his friends have heard the stories so many times, yet still want to hear more about it again and again. â€Å"Again and again† is emphasising on the repetition of the story. There is also excitement from the little kids. â€Å"†¦and then, Grandma!† Although, they already know what was going to happen since they have heard the story  before. The poet brings in his culture again, and the reader can tell that culture is very important to the poet and also that he is proud of it. When he uses the adjectives â€Å"valiant† and â€Å"wonderful† to describe the Gods from the Hindu religion/ mythology. Towards the end of the poem, the tone of the poem gets sad, when the poet states â€Å"Grandmother is no more.† But, even though he said that, he says â€Å"I can still hear her voice.† This shows us how strong the poets memories are. There is then comfort when the poet said, â€Å"I need only shut my eyes to hear the whispering.† This shows us that he goes back an remembers the scene/ setting of the poem, which could be his happy place. The main message for the poem is that the importance and power of the memories. When he states â€Å"That’s what the memories are about.† This suggests that Mukherjee uses his childhood memories as a comfort zone. The language of the poem is also important in the way they describe the memories. In line 1-3 you can straight away realise that the poet uses the collective pronoun ‘We’ This draws the reader into the poem, making them feel part of the poem. It shows the memories of all the family being together, almost like an autobiography. The poet used assonance of the ‘I’ sound in â€Å"untiring chirping of crickets† it’s brings the sound alive. Also the metaphor in the third line, it suggests the brightness of the glow worms. It is almost like a child-like description of the magic of the moment. In lines 4-5, the poet again uses senses to remind him of the memories from his childhood with his Grandmother. â€Å"Smelled the smoke.† â€Å"The smell of rice.† The smell of rice reminds him of the warmth of the house since rice is more of an Indian cultured food. Mukherjee uses ellipsis at the end of line 5, like a dramatic pause which takes us to another stage of the memory which is his Grandmother telling stories to the children. In lines 6-9, after the dramatic pause, the poet uses the phrase ‘Much later’, this gives us the impression that the meal and the story telling lasted all night. Grandmothers â€Å"reassuring voice† makes her sound like a comforting and loving figure, which could be why this could be his favourite childhood memory and why he talks about it. There is also a paradox used â€Å"Far away, unknown, yet familiar†, this shows that the stories were extraordinary for the children. In lines 10-13, the children (including the poet) are always hungry to hear the story and are never really satisfied with it. The use of dialogue, exclamation marks and question marks, show the reader the excitement of the children listening to the story. In lines 14-17, Grandmother brought their dreams alive with her wonderful storytelling and this suggests again, why this could be their favourite childhood memory with their Grandmother. In conclusion, the poet brings out the main theme of the poem which is his childhood memories and by doing so, he is influenced by his culture and surroundings. Trilokesh Mukherjee uses imagery (senses mostly) and metaphors to bring his poem alive and it’s in the past and then towards the end its comes back to the present. This shows us that the poet is now back to reality. The poet thinks that memories are important and that they take us back to he things that really matter in life which is true and in this case it would be, taking him back, to when he was a young boy and how he and his friends would sit around the open fire and listen to his Grandmother tell stories after a meal.

Health Care Spending Paper Essay

Health care costs for individuals in the United States have increased and will continue to increase. The number of people needing care and insurance is one of the major factors in health care spending. Another factor is the amount needed to be spent on new equipment and technology which will always continue to change. The U.S. health care spending accounts for 16% of the gross domestic product (GDP), which is the highest compared to other countries. Although the American populations have benefited from the investments made in health care, it still puts strains on the systems used to finance health care, such as private and public insurance programs. Many people are still without insurance and those who do have insurance have seen their out-of-pocket expenses grow from their deductibles and copayments (Kaiser Family Foundation, n.d.). Health Expenditures The national health expenditures currently have reached $2.1 trillion. According to Forman (2008), â€Å"This translated into $7,026 per person and 16% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)† (para. 3). Both of these records are the highest among the nations. The hospital spending accounts for 31% of the national health care expenditure, which continues to grow. Due to a 0.2% Medicare fee schedule update for physicians in 2006, the physician expenditure is at an generally low rate at 5.9%. Prescription drug spending has increased to 19% due to the implementation of Medicare Part D. Administrative cost have also grown over the years and is currently at 8.8% in the health care spending expenditure. The growth of this is due to the amount of Medicare beneficiaries who have enrolled in the Medicare Advantage plans. Medicaid spending has for the first time ever, decreased in the amount spent on health care, partly due to Medicare Part D (Forman, 2008). Spending too much? The level of health care spending is too high and continues to grow. It will continue to grow and exceed the overall GDP, which does not leave open opportunities for spending in other areas. Health care spending has not been manageable for some time now, resulting in a higher number of people uninsured and a greater number of consumers and employers struggling to afford insurance. The increased use of the Medicare Advantage plan has increased the importance of managed care and also puts the remaining fee-for-service system at risk (Forman, 2008). Health care in the U.S. is also much higher priced for the services than other countries. According to Kelley (2010), the public’s lack of market power – the ability to drive price based on supply and demand, as with most other products and service – is the cause of high prices in physician services, hospital services, and prescription drugs (p. 21). To Add or Cut Spending According to Kelley (2009), â€Å"Estimates suggest that as much as $700 billion a year in healthcare costs do not improve health outcomes. They occur because we pay more for care rather than better care† (p. 2). We are often provided with service that do us no good or services that we really do not need. Too much is spent on unnecessary hospitalizations, unneeded tests, over-priced drugs, and more expensive equipment that works just as well as the last and cheaper equipment (Kelley, 2009, p. 2). Compared to other countries, the U.S. health care costs are too high; more is spent per capita and the GDP percentage is the highest. Health care costs also can be reduced by eliminating the amount of medical errors, fraud and abuse, and payments for services with no evidence that they contribute better health outcomes (Kelley, 2009, p. 4). According to Kelley (2009), â€Å"The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimates that fraudulent billings to public and private healthcare programs are 3-10 percent of total health spending, or $75-$250 billion in fiscal year 2009† (p. 17). Kelley (2009), states that a substantial amount of care provided adds no or little value to the diagnosis of a patient’s condition or effective treatment of a diagnosed condition (p. 12). This means that the use of diagnostic test, high-price procedures, and irrelevant use of antibiotics can be decreased. The result of this could save millions of dollars in health care expenses for hospitals, patients, and insurance companies. Health care costs also can be cut by administrative costs. According to kaiseredu.org (2011), â€Å"At least 7% of health care expenditures are estimated to go toward for the administrative costs of government health care programs and the net cost of private insurance.† Health Care Finance The public’s health care needs are paid for by public and private health insurance companies, which in the year of 2010 cost about $2.6 trillion. This is ten times over the $256 billion spent in health care expenditures in 1980 (Kaiser Family Foundation, n.d.). Health care needs for citizens age 65 and older are covered through Medicare with no direct out-of-pocket expenses. Not all drug costs and medical services are covered under Medicare; some require additional coverage from private insurers (Torrey, 2010, para. 1). Private health insurance is available to employees through their employer. Americans under the age of 65 who cannot afford health insurance have a chance to be covered under state-run programs, such as SCHIP for children. There are millions of people still uninsured and many who are underinsured (Torrey, 2010, para. 2). According to Torrey (2010), â€Å"With the passage of the healthcare reform in March 2010, the number of uninsured Americans is changing so that by 2014, 32 million more Americans will have coverage† (para. 6). Economic Health Care Needs The future economic health care needs are expanding health care coverage and addressing the rising costs. The percentage of Americans with health insurance declined in 2009 (American College of Physicians, 2011). According to the American College of Physicians (2011), â€Å"The number of uninsured persons reached an all-time high, with almost 51 million people having no health insurance coverage and 59 million being without health insurance at least part of the year† (p. 2). Many people have also signed up for Medicaid and many more need to sign up with the time of the Baby Boomers. If the health care system does not come up with a solution to the finances of health care and health insurance it will not be provided. If the costs of health insurance are also not taken into account, many will lose their insurance because they can no longer afford it. I believe the needs of the health care system will be met through government financing and other programs, which may result in higher taxes. In 2014 the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will become available to nearly all Americans and will address the challenges of rising costs, inadequate capacity, and coverage. According to the American College of Physicians (2011), â€Å"ACA will address the shortage of primary care physicians by reforming payment systems and by the funding of primary care training programs† (p. 1). The health care system needs to realize how their money is being spent and wasted. The costs of medical supplies and some prescription drugs are outrageous. Starting with little changes, such as the price of aspirin in a hospital can result in lower health care costs. The important need of Americans and providing affordable health insurance is a major issue. This results in the high health expenditures that are seen today. Americans should not have to worry about whether or not they will be able to afford health care in the next few years, let alone have insurance. Americans without insurance will need to have access to some type of care or insurance. Health insurance companies and employers need to come up with a solution or find ways to help out the people of the U.S. If health care prices do not decrease soon, they may never decrease. References American College of Physicians. (2011). Health Care Coverage, Capacity and Cost: What Does the Future Hold?. Retrieved from http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/events/state_of_healthcare/snhcbrief2011.pdf Forman, H.P. (2008). National Health Care Expenditure Update: A New Threat or an Opportunity?. Retrieved from http://www.ajronline.org/content/190/3/557.full kaiseredu.org. (2011). US Health Care Costs. Retrieved from kaiseredu.org: http://www.kaiseredu.org/Issue-Modules/US-Health-Care-Costs/Background-Brief.aspx Kelley, R. (2009). Where Can $700 Billion in Waste be Cut Annually from the U.S. Healthcare System?. Retrieved from http://www.factsforhealthcare.com/whitepaper/HealthcareWaste.pdf Torrey, T. (2010). Healthcare Reform – How Should Healthcare be Paid For?. Retrieved from http://patients.about.com/od/healthcarereform/a/reform-payment.htm

The components of cultural identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The components of cultural identity - Essay Example Their understanding of just how to make a behavioral change happen and maintain it in a sustainable way is impressive. Australian companies do understand the values that underlie beneath a values-based leadership." (Human resource magazine, 2009) One of the Australia’s biggest supermarket chains is Woolworth retailers. Woolworths possess dominant position in the groceries as well as consumer interest in electronics. Woolworths Limited came in to being in 1924, first store at imperial arcade. The company has the logo of â€Å"The Fresh Food People† and it is famous throughout Aussie as key slogan to represent companies’ strategy. On 22 August 2008, Woolworth re-launched its identity as a competitive stance for modern, safer and more likeable brand. Woolworth uses aggressive promotional strategy. Woolworth realizes the importance that promoting the product before its launch in the market. Promotion brings in handsome results and profits. Woolworth makes use of comp onents of culture identity to create and market its products and services. Paragraph # 1 As define by Jamson2007 in his book class differences often define groups of people sharing common values, behavior, attitudes. Though sources of wealth might differ, the rich often share values and behavior similar to others. Woolworth knows that its elite customers value quality above all. So depending upon the demands of its customers, Woolworth creates and markets its products. Woolworth knows that for better quality products the best quality raw materials have to be use. To ensure that its products are quality approved it imposes TQM (total quality management). For special Woolies- production lines the local clothing manufacturers have to separate Woolies production lines from others in their plant. This is for ensuring proper quality control procedures and quality demand requirements. Woolworth constructs its advertising strategy considering the target market. Woolworth target status-consc ious clientele who value their reputation above everything else and measure it in terms of quality at inconsiderate price ranges. For such quality valuing class, Woolworth ensures the strategy of even at a fraction of price gets double the quality.† Such strategy of offering double quality at each penny attracts the upper class clientele, who share common values and behavior and even attitudes. Jameson2007 further points out that the prestige of social class depends on family history, celebrity, or power. As a result, Woolworth tries its best to appeal new target markets using such means. For instance, Woolworth has tried attracting more affluent clientele by introducing new product lines associated with prominent designers or celebrities. A recent example of such is the new advertising campaign of Jupiter Drawing Room in The Cape Town. Woolworth â€Å"W† Collection ads featured well-known business clientele including Seeff Properties' Samuel Seeff, Sasol's Christine Ra mon and other well-known captains of the business industry all proudly sporting the Woolies "W" Collection. It is a great advertising strategy that is been use as a testimonial route because today customers from age groups tend to more inclined towards celebrities and their choices. Paragraph#2 Organizational strategy and decision-making often needs to account for cultural differences related to density or regional

Policy, politics and public management-A look at the impacts of Essay

Policy, politics and public management-A look at the impacts of judiciary on real estate - Essay Example In the current analysis, residential and open space property in New Jersey classes are grouped together as residential, and commercial, industrial and personal property classes are grouped together as commercial. Statewide, residential new growth accounted for 53 percent of new growth; commercial accounted for 47 percent. These ratios were fairly consistent over the three years. An annual update policy is not appropriate or even possible, in every community. For example, a city or large town with a full-time assessing staff is clearly better equipped and more able to keep assessments up-to-date than a smaller community with a part-time assessment presence. The many technological advances in the tools available to assessors, however, make an annual update policy more attainable in many communities. A number of cities and towns have invested in geographic information systems (GIS) that can quickly bring complex real estate market trends into sharp focus. Powerful PC database and analys is tools have significantly reduced the effort required to perform assessment ratio studies and other analyses necessary to evaluate assessment levels and determine appropriate trending factors. Does a governmental agency's denial of a development permit constitute a "taking" of real property The Supreme Judicial Court recently answered this question in the negative and rejected a propert

Unilever and Nestle are facing political and economic challenges in Essay

Unilever and Nestle are facing political and economic challenges in middle eastern and north African countries - Essay Example Financial productivity is the main aim of every financial establishment. For the past several decades, Unilever and Nestle companies have operated on good financial bases. On average, Nestle gets 28% of its finances from European markets, 44% of the revenues from the Americas and 28% from Africa, Oceania and Asia. Likewise, Unilever makes a large portion of its profits from Europe and the United States of America (Nestle 2006, 12). There is relatively low revenue collected by both companies in the Middle East and North African countries. These parts of the world are particularly unproductive for Unilever and Nestle given the political instability in the regions. Governance of countries in the Middle East and North Africa do not encourage Foreign Direct Investment given unpredictable economic policies (Unilever 2013, 32). Given the instability of political environment in North Africa and Middle East, economic situation of the populations around the regions curtails the purchasing power of the inhabitants. A complete essay of this paper will answer the question: How do Unilever and Nestle face political and economic challenges in Middle Eastern and North African countries? It places a hypothesis that economic and political challenges in these regions have negative effects on investment of the two companies in the

GENETIC VARIATION IN B-TYPE NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE PATHWAY AFFECTS BNP Research Proposal - 1

GENETIC VARIATION IN B-TYPE NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE PATHWAY AFFECTS BNP LEVEL in the diagnosis of Heart failure - Research Proposal Example To help establish the outcomes, the study will be embedded on extracting DNA samples from 80 patients undergoing elective cardiac catheterization and analyzing with exclusion done on patients with elevated troponin. This will be driven by a detailed data collection including laboratory, standard demographic, catheterization and echocardiographic data. The Genotype will be evaluated at 19 loci on five BNP’s pathway relevant genes (Knowles, Erickson, Guy et al, 2003). To access the incremental influence of the genetic variants, the researcher will employ the Multivariate linear regression of logBNP model adjusted for clinical variables. The proposal will thus try to help properly incorporate the use of NPs to improve the levels of accuracy with respect to decisions made in an emergency setting to curb the missed incidence of diagnostic failures for HF. This will be measured by reduced cases of fatigue, dyspnea, and fluid retention that are all predisposing factors to HF based on cardiac dysfunction hence presenting difficulties in diagnosing HF. The missed incidence are hence strongly correlate to highly significant mortality increases, presenting the need for designing effective diagnostic tools with higher degrees of specification and sensitivity that if employed, can help weed out the increased cases of HF missed diagnose s and particularly, in the busy Heart failure is characterized by its typical but non-specific symptoms like fatigue, dyspnea and fluid retention caused by dysfunction of cardiac which present daunting challenges for diagnosis of HF culminating into increased missed incidence hence higher mortality rates. For this reason, the topic has captured the attention of various researchers to help design effective mechanism and approaches that can be used during diagnosis to detect this catastrophic cardiovascular disease quickly and accurately. For instance, to gauge the potentiality of NPs in augmenting the clinical judgment and/or standard