Criminal Law Essay

Criminal Law Essay Criminal Law Essay CRIMINAL LAW STUDY GUIDE HOUSEHOLD VICTIMIZATION URBAN PEOPLE FACE HIGHER RISK THAN RURAL PEOPLE, HIGHER HOUSEHOLD INCOME ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER VICTIMIZATION RATE, HIGHR RATES IN HOUSEHOLDS WITH MORE PEOPLE, SEMI-DETACHED,ROW, AND DUPLEX HOMES FACE THE HIGHEST RATE AND RENTERS FACE HIGHER RATES THAN OWNERS INDIVIDUALS WHO LIVED IN THEIR HOMES FOR ONLY A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME ARE MORE AT RISK OF VICTIMIZATION MOST VICTIMS LOST UNDER $500 AND MOST ITEMS WERE NEVER RECOVERED ONLY 3 IN 4 CASES WERE INVESTIGATED BY THE POLICE AND VICTIMS WERE MORE LIKELY TO PARTICIPATE IN VICTIM OFFENDER MEDIATION PROGRAM. CRIME CRIME IS A DETERMINATION OF GUILT IN A CRIMINAL COURT ALSO REFERED TO AS THE â€Å"BLACK LETTER†, IT’S THE VIOLATION OF A CRIMINAL LAW, VIOLATION OF SOCIAL NORMS. THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTIC OF CRIME IS THAT BEHAVIOUR WICH IS PROHIBITD BY THE STATE AS AN INJURY TO THE STATE. ABORIGINAL JUSTICE CRIMINAL CASES IN CANADA GANNON AND MOLHOREAN CONVICTIONS WRONGFUL ACT CULPABLE BECARRIA TASERS TASERS STANTS FOR â€Å" THOMAS A. SWIFT ELECTRIC RIFFLE† HAND HELD WEAPON THAT DELIVERS A JOLT OF ELECTRICITY FROM A DISTANCE INMOBILIZES INDIVIDUALS MUSCLES VERY EFFECTIVE UCR DISCRIMINATION DISCRIMINATION IF THE DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT BASED ON NEGATIVE JUDGMENTS RELATED TO GROUP MEMBERSHIP. SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION- DISCRIMINATION IN ALL ASPECTS OF THE OPERATION OF THE CJS INSTITUTIONAL DISCRIMINATION- DISPITES IN THE OUTCOMES OF POLICIES CONTEXTUAL

buy custom The Sarbanes-Oxley Act essay

buy custom The Sarbanes-Oxley Act essay The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was passed with a purpose of increasing reliability and accuracy of the corporate reporting, auditing and accounting practices and with the purpose of ensuring that there is an independence of securities analyst recommendations and advice. This federal law Sarbanes-Oxley act explains on the law of employment at will, where the employers have the right to fire employees for a good reason, a defective one or no reason at all. This law was to protect the corporate whistleblowers. In some cases, the corporations should use the restrictive covenants to limit the rights of employees who leave their work place for competitors. This will help companies to protect their confidential information from getting out of the company. Here, the employees have no right to leave the company at their own will so that they can go and work in another company. This is because they have signed a contract, and they must adhere to it. The Act enhances disclosure requirements, creates new federal crimes, increases accounting oversight and corporate accountability, and increases the penalties to be imposed on the existing federal crimes. This helps in strengthening the accounting oversight and corporate accountability. The Act raises the standards of the corporate accountability and transparency. Jones, Day, Reavis Pogue (2002) look into the details of the Act. On corporate accountability: There is a ban on loans to the directors and the officers. Personal loans to any of the issuers directors or executive officers are not allowed. There is an exemption, however, if they are to be made in the ordinary course of the issuers lending business on the terms that they should not be more favorable than those loans offered to the general public. The principal executive officer and the principal financial officer must certify the periodic reports. This means that they must certify that they have reviewed the reports given to the SEC, and that the reports fairly present the issuers financial condition, they do not have any false statements or they have not left out material facts, and that the internal control standards are satisfied. The CEO and the chief financial officer must forfeit any bonuses, profits and incentive-based and equity-based compensation made from the sale of securities received during the 12 months following the 1st release of the noncompliant reports. If an issuer is required to restate its financial statements because of misconduct especially if the certain misconduct led to material noncompliance with the reporting requirements. The Act requires that each listed companys audit committee oversees the accounting firm that the issuer employs, should be comprised only of members who are independent from the issuer, should have the funding and authority to engage independent advisors and that the committee develops the procedures relevant for handling auditing and accounting complaints. The Act permits the SEC to prohibit any person who has previously violated the anti-fraud provisions of the securities laws from serving as an officer or director of an issuer. The Act prohibitsexecutive officers and directors of issuers from purchasing, transferring or even selling any securities during any blackout periods. Should the directors and the officers go ahead and trade during the blackout periods, the issuer has the right to recover any profits made. The Act requires that the SEC should set minimum standards of professional conduct for the attorneys representing the issuers. These standards spell out that the attorneys should report any material violation of security laws or any breach of fiduciary duty. On accounting and auditor regulation All the auditors must retain their review and audit work papers and reports for five years after the fiscal period which the reports were completed. The Act prohibits the auditors from providing some specified non-audit services to their clients such as legal services, management services, bookkeeping, tax services and other specified services brought forward by the Oversight Board. The Act provides that there must be an audit partner rotation and so the lead auditing partners can only perform auditing services for the same issuer for five years or less. It is illegal for the issuer to forcefully influence or mislead its auditors in order to render financial statements as misleading. The Act provides that all auditors must timely report to the issuers audit committee on issues relating to the policies and accounting practices to be used in the issuers audit, and that their services must be approved. The Act creates the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board that oversees all the auditing of the companies and establishes standards related to the preparation of audit reports. This board has the power to enforce compliance with the Act, conduct investigations and disciplinary proceedings, and enforce sanctions on the registered public accounting firms and their employees. On the issue of conflicts of interest, a registered accounting firm should not perform any audit services for an issuer whose management was employed by the registered firm during the preceding the audit. Case study John Williams works for a new auditing corporation firm as an auditor. His duties and responsibilities includes; ensuring that the public records of the corporation are kept accurately, analyzing and communicating all the financial information for various entities, ensuring that the corporation pays the right taxes at the right time and to some extent, he offers budget analysis services for the corporation, some limited legal services, financial and investment planning services and some information technology consulting. As an internal auditor to the firm, he must look out for any fraud and mismanagement of the firm. He is also responsible for reviewing the corporations operations, and ensures that they are compliant with the corporate policies and the government regulations. Since the corporation is new it does not currently have any SOX policy but it has to integrate one into its regulation systems. This is because being an auditing corporate firm; it has to comply with the SOX Act, meaning that it has to impose SOX policies into the corporation. The purpose of SOX policies is to communicate SOX internal controls provide a baseline for SOX improvement and build consistency in the corporation. The corporation should identify a target performance and thereafter communicate a series of actions to achieve the target. In other words, the corporation should identify the policy and come up with a procedure to achieve the policy. The SOX policy should be tailored to should ensure that it contains several important parts relevant to the auditing firm. For this corporation, it can have a policy that sets out the procedures and conditions that will be necessary for the pre-approval audit and the non-audit services that are allowed to be performed by the independent auditors. This policy should contain several clauses covering on that: the pre-approval requirement, and disclosure which addresses on the issue of the audit and the non-audit services that can be provided by the auditors of the corporation. These services can only be approved by the audit committee; prohibited services in the corporation. The corporation should not engage any independent auditor to provide any service not allowed by the law; a clause addressing the disclosure of the pre-approval policies and procedures which provides that the corporation should publicly disclose the audit committees pre-approval policies and procedures. These are som e of the clauses that can be tailored into the policy to ensure that the corporation is SOX compliant. However, these are not the only clauses applicable since the policy can be improved with time to ensure that it is effective in its procedures (McDonalds, 2011). For the company to be SOX compliant, it must be able to show that the information contained in their compliance audits is complete and accurate, it must be able to show that their quarterly and annual financial reports have been reviewed thoroughly, and that there has full disclosure of the procedure and controls through the same audits. It should also ensure that it reviews its policy annually just to ensure that it is being followed to the letter and to ensure compliance. This is the only way that the corporation will ensure that it is compliant to the SOX policies (WordSecure, 2007). Should there be a case of any violations that take place in the corporation in regards to the policy that has been put in place, the SOX Act provides some clauses that deal with the penalties that the corporation can impose on the violators. These clauses cover several violations like: document alteration or destruction, false certification of financial reports, securities frauds, penalty enhancements which covers on the increase of maximum penalties and prohibition on practice before the SEC which addresses the fact that the SEC reserves the right to deny an auditor the privilege of practicing before the SEC. These penalties all have grave consequences since most of them have jail sentences or high fines. This is because the Act wants to ensure that the corporation does not deceive the public by producing financial statements that put the corporation in a better position thus attracting investors and other interested clients. Buy custom The Sarbanes-Oxley Act essay

Porter Novelli or Southern Company Case Study Term Paper

Porter Novelli or Southern Company Case Study - Term Paper Example Southern Company aptly exemplifies the manner in which organizations triumph by adopting proper performance management strategy. Proper performance management strategy in turn is successful to the extent that its exercise will be centered on the welfare of the personnel. 1. Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Roles That the Strategic Leaders Played In the Formation of the Performance Management Strategy Goldsmith and Carter (2010) point out that strategic leaders for Southern Company have played effective roles in the formation of the performance management strategy, based on several yardsticks. One of the ways in which this success is visible is the manner in which the Southern Company has hired employees at the entry level and continued to promote individual employees internally, thereby helping these employees occupy leadership positions that are available within the organization. This is directly connected to the observation of proper management strategy since the intra-organizat ional promotion of individuals to higher offices is usually a culmination of employees' culture of meeting performance target. Similarly, the same is a culmination of proper setting of feasible yet dynamic performance targets, supervision and bridging of performance gaps. The same also demands the exaction of workshop drives, training programs, and mentorship programs. The setting of performance target, supervision, the bridging of performance gaps and the extension of rewards to outstanding performers [by giving promotions] are all very important facets of performance management strategy. According to Fegley and Society for Human Resource Management (2007), another indicator of the effectiveness with which strategic leaders have contributed towards the formation of its performance management strategy is the low turnover rate that the company has had. This characteristically low turnover rate has enabled the Southern company to possess older, more seasoned and more tenured personnel . It is against this backdrop that over the years, Southern Company has been able to nurture a group of leaders that are in possession of a profound depth of business knowledge and who are strongly aligned with Southern Company's organizational culture. The maintenance of a low turnover is in turn a complex result of performance management strategy. This is because performance management strategy involves proper determination of performance goals, correctional measures to seal performance gaps and the extension of incentives. All these factors are important in extirpating high turnover. The drawing up of proper performance goals ensures employees are provided with the right of amount of work [and therefore reducing the risks of overworking or underperformance] while the sealing of performance gaps have to be humane enough to inculcate both a sense of belonging and challenge. The extension of incentives such as promotions, higher emoluments, grants and acts of acknowledgement directl y dissuade employees from seeking greener pastures, and thereby abating high turnover. Another way in which Strategic leaders for Southern Company h

Glass Ceiling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Glass Ceiling - Essay Example Having men and women as full partners will improve organizational performance by diversifying communication and decision-making styles that can lead to enhanced management processes and organizational outcomes. Male and female law firm partners have distinct communication styles that can improve how decisions are made in the company, which can boost collaboration and networking that, in turn, will consequently boost morale and firm performance. The American society continues to generally follow a gendered approach to parenting and educating children. Traditional institutions teach gender differences in values and expectations, where women are generally brought up to be empathetic and passive in communication and collaborative and seeking harmony when making decisions, while men are usually trained to be direct, aggressive, and competitive in communication and logical and rules-based in making decisions (Parcheta et al., 2013, p.244). Evans actually seems to balance masculine and feminine communication and styles because the Associates Committee either sees her as too passive or too aggressive. Either way, she brings in her own way of thinking, speaking, and interacting that can enrich how the firm manages the business and attracts clientele. If she is promoted, this will have a positive morale-boosting effect on female attorneys and encourage many of them to also aspire for partnership status. As they do so, these female lawyers will work harder and be more productive, thereby improving total firm performance. Aside from bringing in new communication style, having women as full partners can enhance decision-making in the company. Bear and Woolley (2011) mentioned the 2010 study of Woolley et al., where the latter found out that having women in groups increased collective intelligence because women boost social sensitivity, turn-taking, and empathy in group

Advertising and promotion strategy Essay Example for Free

Advertising and promotion strategy Essay Since the inception of the company’s first outlet in Cleveland, Mississippi in the year 1987, Back Yard Burgers depended mostly on the word of mouth publicity to spread awareness and promote its home cooked burgers. New outlets that opened in the subsequent years expanded not only the company’s consumer base and revenue but also stressed the need for aggressive marketing strategy to sustain the increased cost of operations. Back Yard Burgers started advertising on the television in the year 1993. The initial advertising campaigns were titled â€Å"the great burger wars† that took a punch at the competitors. In June 1994 the company launched a series of campaigns that featured Dennis R. Phillipi, a popular comedian in Memphis who soon became famous as Dennis the â€Å"Back Yard Burgers Guy†. The commercials projected the burgers as bigger, tastier, and healthier than those offered by the competitors due to its grilled cooking method that melted most of the fat. The advertising campaigns were effective in increasing sales and raising the revenue by 10 to 15%. Launch of new products and subsequent commercials on the television featuring Dennis Phillipi was an effective strategy. The company used the audio of these commercials in radio advertising that was cheaper. In addition the company also used direct mail advertising. The company collects 1% of taxable sales from each franchisee and company-operated restaurants that goes to the national advertising fund. 50% of this fund is utilized for marketing promos through various channels like radio, television, and print media. The rest 50% is used for market research, new product testing, and development, improvising on the operational front. The company’s marketing director monitors product launch and new restaurant opening promotions and marketing managers with a well-trained staff. The management works in collaboration with the franchisees towards advertising and promotion of its restaurants. The advertising fee earned by the company increased from $314,000 in July 1, 2006 period to $318,000 in June 30, 2007 period. The $4000 increase over the earlier period is accounted to the 1% of sales that goes to the national advertising fund as per company policies. The company also recorded an increase in the advertising expense from $668,000 in the July 1, 2006 to $814,000 in June 30, 2007 that attributes to approximately 5% of the net restaurant sales on advertising in the past year. (see annexure for the comparative income statements). The company has been stressing on the advertising and promotion strategy but it has not been very effective. There are some important points that can be highlighted in this respect. †¢ The company has not been able to create brand loyalty and brand awareness in spite of good quality products and effective marketing strategy. This could be attributed to low brand visibility. This can be remedied with aggressive market campaigns that aim at the younger generation since this is the biggest consumer segment for the fast food industry. Strategies that aim for deeper market penetration, fun logo that people can relate to enjoyable food and moments are essential for brand positioning. â€Å"Fun logo† is a concept that the consumers can equate with good times. The simple logo of McDonald’s is easily identifiable and children and youngsters can spot it from a distance – this is one of the best examples of effective brand positioning. †¢ The other concept that the Back Yard Burgers can adopt is the use of bright color-coding for their outlets and the signboards. A bright color scheme attracts the younger generation and gives it an inviting look. The uniformity in look and feel of the franchisee restaurants and the other company-operated restaurant is essential to make an easily identifiable picture in the consumer minds. †¢ In running a successful brand promotion campaign the essential point is to identify the consumer segment. Who are the consumers and the target focus group for this chain of restaurants? The children and adolescents who form a major chunk of the consumer group typically favour the fast food industry. The working people segment is another segment that will stop by for fast and filling food in their office hours. Fast service food is ideal meal for this segment. Campaigns attracting these two segments will create brand awareness and spell higher revenues for the company. †¢ Last but not the least the quality of food and service efficiency is the crux of the fast food industry. A good and satisfying meal will have the consumers returning for more. The satisfied and happy customer will not only promote brand loyalty but will have high recommendations regarding the food and service to their friends and families. This is the greatest form of publicity that a fast food outlet can expect.

Nomenclature Dance and Stumble :: Literary Analysis, Lisa Moss

The intention of Lisa Moss's poem "Nomenclature Dance and Stumble" is to state that a person must formulate their own completely original ideas, as the ones they speak are already mundane and primitive. Using the passage "like geometric blocks of breath and cheek | and out into constructed strands" (Moss, line 6-7) Moss emphasizes the importance of being able to create free flowing speech and intelligible sentences that will capture the attention of anyone it is directed to. The clever utilization of parentheses by Lisa Moss in "where choosing comes and, with a bent stick, lines drawn | thin in the stained earth | (so thin that passing feet obliterate one end as the other | is drawn)" (Moss, line 10-13) portrays the juxtaposition of one's verbal speech with their spoken thoughts, encapsulated in parentheses, to show how spoken thoughts are worthless as they do not leave a real mark. The "passing feet" (Moss, line 12) symbolizes the tendency for people to tread upon the idea of others and how they point out the flaws of an idea before it has fully matured, creating repercussions that cause people to second guess themselves the next time a daring idea appears. The negative effect is shown by her passage that "With countless disguised surrenders of the will, | not understanding but acquiescence is made | and these strands are but flags of victory and defeat— | tattered remnants of lost | (not lost, conceded) | destiny | (not destiny, choosing)" (Moss, line 15-21) the person becomes more indecisive when creating thoughts and that you contradict yourself. With the passages "surrenders of will" (Moss, line 15) and "(not lost, conceded) | destiny | (not destiny, choosing)" (Moss, line 19-21) Moss signifies how a person chooses to revise their thoughts away from the original and towards the thoughts of those which are imprinted upon them. This reinforces how she points out the impossibility of creating original ideas instead of recycling the knowledge that we have accumulated over our educational lives. She formulated this poem with ambiguity in mind to ensure that the reader would draw from their own imagination. Moss writes, "But not this one, see? Ah smoothness calm enduring | toward mutation" (Moss, line 23-24) giving the reader a very ambiguous thought to ponder, yet again using their own imagination. "Something wordless and terrifying | soon crushed by a misappropriated sense of understanding since" (Moss, line 24-25) is an example of people trying to interpret the unknown.

Social Network Service and Facebook Account

Ashley Ontiberos Amy Becker Eng103 Composition II November 17, 2011 The Facebook Addiction Did you know that approximately one in every thirteen people in the world have a Facebook account, according to Digitalbuzzblog. com. In 2010, Facebook was the most-searched term on the internet. With these statistics, I was surprised to learn that there is a disorder known as the Facebook Addiction Disorder or FADS. I didn’t realize Facebook was such a big problem until I began my research. With all the craze of Facebook or social networking, one can’t help but wonder what the ill effects of it really are. Today, In this cause and effect essay I want to inform you about how Facebook can have many negative effects on your job, free time and health. According to research done by Oregonbusinessreport. com, forty-five percent of employers screen social networks such as Facebook, before considering potential employees. This was research conducted in 2009. I am certain that the numbers have risen because of the number of people who regularly sign up as members of Facebook. When employers screen photos and posts they are looking for any kind or provocative and inappropriate photos. Additionally, bad-mouthing previous employers, poor communications skills is also another thing they look for before considering applicants for an interview or employment. Furthermore, even after a job has been granted, employers can still monitor their employee’s Facebook account. A recent example is of a New Jersey first grade teacher who lost her job over a post on Facebook. On March 28th, the teacher posted a status saying, â€Å"I’m not a teacher, I’m a warden for future criminals. † The status was forwarded to her school board and a judge ruled that she should lose her job because this comment was inexcusable. More people have lost their jobs over Facebook usage in recent years because most employers ban the use of Facebook at work. According to Royalgazetteonline. com, one third of employers say that Facebook is a major distraction at work. Most employers don’t block the site but it is a rule that employees are not allowed on social networking sites while clocked in to work. Based on research as indicated in this essay, Facebook has lots of negatives effects for employees if they choose not to control what they say. Forty-eight percent of Facebook users between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four, check their Facebook’s as their first priority each morning. About twenty-eight percent of that number, check it from their smartphones before getting out of bed, according to Digitalbuzzblog. com. According to Addictioninfo. org, Rob Bedi, a registered psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Victoria says, â€Å"There is a difference between procrastination and addiction, if you’re losing assignment time to Facebook use then it’s a problem. Facebook has become such an addiction to people that there are 155 Facebook Addicts anonymous groups on Facebook alone according to Addictioninfo. org. Hubspage. com also gives a list for people to read through that shows symptoms of Facebook addictions. Spending large amounts of time on Facebook is not what you would consider a â€Å"part-time hobby†. Many people are losing out on a lot of free time that could be use d more productively. People who are Facebook addicts choose not to go to the gym. Also they spend less and less time with family and friends to be on Facebook. Facebook addicts can definitely own up to lots of the examples given and have a very difficult time deciding when to log out. â€Å"Is Facebook turning teens into narcissistic, antisocial outcast? †, was a question asked in an article on CBSnews. com. A leading social network researcher, Dr. Larry D. Rosen, responds with a yes to the question. He believes that kids can develop greater empathy and it provides ways for shy kids to socialize but it also causes mental health problems. According to Dr. Rosen, teens who use Facebook show more aggression, mania, anxiety and depression. With these issues already occurring, it can lead to more serious health problems. Young people are turning down opportunities to socialize with their friends at the movies, malls and other hang outs. Instead they choose to hang out online. Recent health studies have also linked Facebook usage to Cancer. According to Dailymail. co. uk, Facebook can increase the risk of serious health problem by reducing the number of face-to face contact people have with people. The way in which Facebook users isolate hemselves from society can alter the way genes work, upset immune response, hormone levels, the function of arteries, and also impair mental performance, according to Dr. Aric Sigman. With these serious alterations, it could lead to more people getting cancer, heart disease, having a stroke or even developing dementia. I have informed you about some of the negative effects that Facebook can have on a person’s job, free time and health. It is so easy to access Facebook with smartph ones or laptops which offer internet usage almost anywhere. Facebook has invaded our lives in an unimaginable and unexpected way. When deciding whether or not to log into Facebook perhaps it would be a good idea to think more productive things you could do. Work Cited Associated Press. â€Å"Teacher should be fired over Facebook ‘warden’ post, judge rules . † Chicago Sun Times 08 11 2011. Chicago Sun-Times. 09 11 2011. Associated Press. 11/17/2011 . Daily Mail Reporter. How using Facebook could raise your risk of cancer. 02/19/2009 Mail Online. 11/17/11 . Digital Buzz Blog. Facebook Statistics, Stats & Facts For 2011 . 01/18/2001. 11/17/2011 . Grasz, Jennifer. 45% Employers use Facebook-Twitter to screen job candidates. 08/24/09 Oregon Business Report. 11/17/2001 . Hubs, Pages. Negative Effects of Facebook Addiction. 2011 HubsPages. 11/17/2011 . Jaslow, Ryan. Facebook tied to poor mental health in teens: What parents must know. 08/09/11 CBS News. 11/17/11 . Pope, Danielle. Potential Facebook addiction. 01/28/2008 AddictionInfo. org. 11/17/11 . Royal Gazette Online. It’s official: Face book is a major distraction at work. 06/28/11 Royal Gazette Online. 11/17/2011 .