Godfather Moral Downfall Essay example -- essays research papers

Critics agree that in The Godfather, the protagonist, Michael Corleone (Mikey) changes from a person with moral principles and a legitimate role in society to a cold-blooded mobster. In the beginning of the movie, Mikey shows his reluctance to involve himself in the Mafia when he tells his girlfriend, Kaye, about his father’s (Vito Corleone) business methods of coercion and says he will never be like his family. However, as Mikey’s involvement with the family business increases his violent tendencies become more apparent as he volunteers to murder a rival thug and a corrupt police officer. In the final scene, Mikey kills his brother-in-law, and when confronted by Kaye, he looks her in the eyes and claims no role in the murder. At this point, he completely transforms from a military hero and legitimate citizen, to a Mafia don capable of lies and murder. While Mikey’s transformation is quite obvious, the reason for this change in moral behavior is a more complex i ssue. The change in ethical behavior is a result of Mikey’s decision to become more involved with his family, consequently putting him in an environment that promotes immoral behavior. Michael Corleone’s problem is an internal conflict between loyalty to family and moral principle. After an assassination attempt on Mikey's father, Mikey decides to return to the family and assume leadership, even though he disapproves of Mafia business practices. The strength of family ties, ingrained in Mikey as a youth, influenced his choice. Decisions in choosing between right and wrong should not be confined to just a matter of the individual, but a response influenced by the family. Psychologists feel that the rearing of a child during early years plays a particularly important role in influencing behavior throughout a child's life. So, certain choices simply will not be made due to values established at an early age, since cognitive moral development restricts "free will" to some degree. Obviously, growing up in a Mafia family would put Mikey in an environment where he experiences a tainted view of right and wrong. Also, in the family situation, pressures from the group (the family) often influence the individual's behavior making the individual's decisions more difficult. Therefore, someone not taught independence will have trouble standing up against the family. For example, Mikey holds a notion o... ...uot;no regrets." Mikey only nods in agreement showing his acceptance of his new position. Mikey’s moral downfall is most likely a result of genetic influences, coupled with his current situation in a Mafia environment. His genetic makeup prohibits him from withstanding the pressures and influences of Mafia life. His violent behavior in the killings coincide with the Corleone notion of loyalty, and family business practices. Possible inherited defects in the Corleone family, such as those found in the five generations of Dutch men stated previously, fit well with Mafia methods of coercion and getting rid of competition. Also, the fact that Mikey feels responsible in helping with the protection of his father, and his expected role in the matter, affect his decision about involvement in the family business. Since the viewer only sees a short span of Mikey’s life, it is difficult to predict if Mikey will ever deviate from his current unethical practices. Theory suggests that he will change because altering personalities permanently is nearly impossible. However, only by viewing subsequent parts of Mikey’s life can we know for sure if he will return to moral standards of living.

Cardinals wholesaler case

The fraud triangle is helpful in explaining motivation for employees to fraud the company: Motive, Opportunity, and rationalization are the trigger for employees to perpetrate any company. Motive-incentive or pressure that drives an individual to commit fraud. This is caused by life pressures, illicit activities or lifestyles needs that create personal financial problems. Opportunity-a condition or situation that allows fraud to occur. Both the design and effectiveness or internal controls play a key role in this regard.Rationalization-is the attitude or mindset that enables the individual to rationalize the fraudulent act. Bill Carter- an angry, ex-employee that felt unfairly fired. Bill felt pressure from financial obligation and the need to support his family after being fired. With debts totaling $38,000 and educational expenses for his oldest son, Bill felt desperate about his financial situation and grew angrier giving him a motive to commit fraud. Bill was the purchasing depar tment manager and was aware of the weak internal control that existed in the company.He knew that there was no segregation of duties in the company because as a former manager he knew that the person who approved vendor list also approved the payment. With this in mind we can see how opportunity to commit fraud is present. His rationalization was that the company owed him for using him as a escape goat to prove their point and he also felt that a lucrative company as Cardinal would not miss a few thousand dollars. Mike Smith-had large debts, a gambling problem and a lifestyles hard to maintain.He also felt he owe his friend Bill for accepting his position after he was fired. All this together gave him the motive required to commit fraud. Now being the purchasing department supervisor he was in a position where he was capable of perpetrating the fraud because Bill had informed him that segregation of duty was not present in the company. He knew that he was the person in charge Of app roving the vendor list as well as the payment. And lastly Mike rationalization was that this was the only way for him to pay-off his debts and make a fresh start.He also felt that he could always back off the scheme after his debts were all gone. Four areas of Fraud Bill Carter had been employed for 22 years with a Fortune 500 corporation where he was the purchasing department manager. He had been married and had three children with his oldest attending an Ivy University. Unfortunately due to an indiscretion Bill was fired and was worried that his fife would find out what had happen. With only a two week severance pay he felt pressure to find a source of income to provide for his family.Consequently Bill decided to pull a vendor scheme with the help of his friend Mike Smith. As I conducted a review of the vendor list I revealed that they were six vendors suspicious of fraud. I was able to identify the six vendors because they either had a post office box address, no phone number lis ted, and they either had an invalid taxpayer identification number or were missing the number altogether. Also the invoices were created using an excel broadsheet invoice template which is a common characteristic of fictitious vendors.The search also revealed that Bill Carter created the vendor as well as opened the bank account. Unfortunately for Bill one drunken night at a bar he revealed to a stranger what he had done. Vendor scheme was created by Bill Carter and Mike Smith In a fictitious vendor scheme the fraudster establishes a shell company in this case was Trig-State company. A shell company exists on paper only but provides no goods or services to the victim organization which the organization then pays for without having receive any goods in return.This scheme is only possible when the fraudster can place the shell company in the victim's organization ‘s approved vendor list, either through poor internal controls or an inside accomplice and Bill had both. Bill had Mi ke Smith as an accomplice and was aware of the lack of internal control that exist in the company. Shell company is not a legitimate business so it has no employees, no physical location or address, no phone number and an invalid or missing tax identification number. I realized that Trig-State trucking met all of the above.Lastly the scheme is easy to perpetrate when internal controls are cake. In this case figured out that Cardinals Wholesaler did not adequately segregated job responsibilities. Detection Bill Carter receives the check, endorses and deposits the money into the bank account of Trig-State Trucking. Here Bill has unrestricted access to the fund and can spend the money any way he wants. Some red flags were found that help conclude Bill and Mike had created a fictitious vendor scheme. Trig-State Trucking had an invalid tax payer identification, a valid tax id has nine digits and Trig-State only had seven.Trig-State had no physical address and was using a post office box. The invoices were created using an excel or word invoice template. All invoices for Trig-State had an even dollar amount with no tax included. Prevention Company needs to implement stronger internal controls by segregating duties to different people. One person should place vendors on the approved vendor list, the other should prepare the payment vouchers, and the other should approve the payment vouchers. The company should performed background checks on any new vendors prior to placing them on the approved vendor list.A CAFE should be engage periodically to review the approved vendor list and look for any red flags. Identifying the fictitious vendors There are four groups of vendors. Those possessing three, two, one, or zero suspicious characteristics. The Company Cardinals Wholesaler has been a list for the company to identify any existent fraudulent vendors in the group. To take care of this task I decided to narrow down the vendor list by searching for red flags that would be evident to the data base. To do this I decided to query three data fields using the excel auto filter function.These data fields are tax payer id, address, and phone number. Using this strategy I can rank the vendors and see how many suspicious characteristics they assess. The more characteristics found the easier it is to identify a fictitious vendor without having to inspect every single invoice in the company. As finished my query was able to identify six suspicious vendors. Here are the six vendors found and the characteristic that led me to believe they are suspicious. PC One missing phone number and using a post office box as address S&B Foods, Inc. Avian a wrong tax payer number and missing phone number Stamen Floral Distributors missing phone number and using post office box as address Thresher Beverages having a wrong tax payer number ND using a post office box as address Trig-State Trucking having a wrong tax payer id number and using a post office box as address The Conne ction having no tax payer id number and missing phone number As I reviewed the six suspicious vendors I found red flags that led me to believe that Trig-State trucking had the most suspicious characteristics.Trig- State trucking listed a post office box as its address Invoice number suggested Cardinal Wholesaler was their only client Vague description of goods or services received Balance due was an even amount with out taxes or shipping address Invalid tax payer identificationNo contact information provided on the invoice Invoice was created by an excel program Canceled checks showed no evidence of typical company expenses Personal items were paid using Trig-State Trucking bank account Checks made payable to Bill Carter and Mike Smith were signed by Bill Carter There are two types of schemes that are used to perpetrate a company Pass-through and fictitious. In a Pass-through scheme is a fictitious entity created with the sole purpose of committing fraud. With this scheme the compan y receives something in exchange for payment and the loss is the amount of the profit made by the fraudster.With a fictitious scheme the company has a fabricated name with a post office box. In this scheme the company receives nothing in return from the fictitious vendor except the bogus invoice and the fraud loss is the total payment made to the vendor. As I review the files have determined that the suspicious vendor is perpetrating fictitious vendor scheme. As I review the bank Statements and the return checks noticed that the fictitious company named Trig-State Trucking is a fictitious company. The checks show that they were used to purchase personal items as well as the fact that all the checks were sign byBill Carter the person who created the fictitious company. As I check the bank statements can also see that the vendor on this account is also Trig-State company which is using a post office box. And lastly, the checks that are made for Bill Carter and Mike Smith are signed by Bill Carter which give the indication that these are the payment they are getting for the bogus invoices they have created. To prevent a fictitious scheme from occurring Research shows 93% of all fraud schemes involves cash. The prevention of fraud in the future depends on the development of adequate controls and procedures.Here are some recommendation to prevent this type of fraud in the future. Background checks should be performed on all new vendors Verify receipts of items/services before paying vendor invoices Segregate the duties of approving vendors and vendor payments A review of canceled checks and bank statements by a third person Periodic review of the approved vendor list for any red flags Company needs to implement a stronger system of internal controls Bill Carter, an angry, terminated employee and Mike Smith, Carter's replacement joint together to perpetrate a fictitious vendor scheme against Cardinals Wholesaler.The scheme lasted five years were each perpetrator poc keted about $900,000. Cardinals Wholesaler was perpetrated when Bill Carter was fired and his friend Mike Smith became his replacement. Feeling loss and with no income Ben decided that all he needed was to create a fictitious vendor to scheme the company. Bill knew that to pull this off he needed an accomplice. This is when he brought Mike Smith who accepted the proposal due to his large debts and gambling problems. They created a shell company where the company is trick into paying vendor invoices for which it receives nothing in return.I believe it happened because Ben Carter was humiliated after being fired after 22 years of service. He felt it was unfair and as a payback he decided to setup a fraud to get back what he thought was owed to him. Bill Carter and Mike Smith plan the fraud to last enough for Bill to get back on his feet and for Mike to pay off his debts but after a while they noticed how well they were doing and how they were getting away with it. If it wasn't for Car ter's excessive drinking one night the scheme might have never been caught. I believe that what cause this to happen was how Bill was fired.

Representation of Interests Matrix and Paper Essay

Within Public Policy there are different interests that are affected once the issue has been brought forward to the government by citizens who are sending e-mails, or telephone calls advising of the issues that are affecting society, what the citizens do not know is that with every issue within public policy that has to be passed by the government and attempted to get resolved has a significant affect or groups and organizations. The identified groups and organizations represent my interests in a significant manner because due to my profession I am aware that crime has been a problem for society for quite a long time, I am aware that there has been multiple attempts to reduce crime, such as the hiring of more police officers, programs that protect victims and witnesses of a crime. Therefore I believe crime is a significant interest. As for education experiencing affects by public policy, I think this is by far the most important. I have a child and am extremely aware of the problems that have affected our education systems significantly due to the lack of financial support from the government and also the increase in college education, books, etc. I am aware of the government attempting to clear the tax deficit and financial problem that our country is currently facing, but education is not the way to do it. As for the other remaining identified groups such as Foreign policy, Health care, and Social Welfare, they also represent my interests in a significant manner. For example Health care, has affected me significant due to our president passed the new reform my employer checks have significantly dropped from what I used to gross monthly, due to the fact that we are taking a hit because we are assisting those with no medical health care and those who are receiving assistance from the government, such as parolees and prior drug addicts, or convicts. The groups represent my interest by all means, ultimately besides us taxpayers who are affected based off the government trying to accommodate all the citizens who continue to write emails requesting assistance for the interests that are affected by public policy. As for any instanc es in which my interests compete with one another, Yes they are significant. For example, Health care and Social Welfare go hand in hand for me. The reason that these two interests go hand in hand for me is because once gain based on my work and what I have been exposed to during the military and also being familiar with the cost of healthcare, I take it as an offense to provide for those who personally do not deserve Healthcare. I strongly believe that if your not physically incapable of working, or able to care for yourself, or gravely disabled I will be the first one to help these citizens. As for Social Welfare, I also believe that the government is to lenient on how they assist the needed. Some of the interest that I chose are significant to me and my family and loved ones, but I think that the most interest affected by public policy that is in conflict with those of the general public will have to be healthcare. I remember i was working the day when our president passed the new Healthcare reform, and how citizens were running outside the streets celebrating that they will now have medical assistance. At first I did not think anything of it until the following morning during Roll Call when we were advised by our lieutenant that it will affect us significantly especially financially. As the months went by I started to notice my checks to get smaller and smaller. I am aware that the general public’s thinking is different than mine, but do not get me wrong I will be the first one to help someone I have been doing it for 13 years of my life, but when citizens take advantage that is when I have a problem. In conclusion I have provided my own personal opinions of how my identified groups represent my own personal interests, I also provided examples on what means do my groups use to represent my interests. I also debated on instances in that my interests compete with one another. Finally I was precise and straight forward on my interests and how some of them conflict with those of the general public. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy http://www.palgrave-journals.com/iga/journal/v1/n2/full/iga20129a.html

New Barbie Doll produced by Mattel

Who is our target ( give brief lifestyle/attitudinal descriptions. Include some demographics, but not as important for most products. Users, heavy users, nonusers, users of competitive brands? Relationship to other product/ service usage? Emarati girls and their parents are the primary market for the new Islamic Barbie doll.   The highly religious, orthodox group still follows the fundamental Islamic traditions, including the formal dress and head coverings for women.   The most likely to purchase these dolls would be Emarati living in the United States or Europe, or those that are more wealthy and indulgent in the Islamic nations.   Mattel hopes to reach these consumers in the UAE. Where are we now in the mind of the person? (They don’t know us. They know us but don’t use us. They prefer another brand because†¦ they don’t understand what we can do. They don’t use us for enough things. And so on.) The traditions of the Islamic culture differ greatly from American culture.   This could initially present as a source of mistrust on the part of the Islamic consumer.   However, Mattel’s willingness to offer Farah will go a long way to melting this distrust.   In addition, the wild popularity of Barbie will give Farah some brand association along with the wide variety of peripheral products. Where is our competition in the mind of this person?   (Use the same approach as above, but focus on the competing brands). With few Islamic dolls on the market, Mattel should be well positioned to be the leader in marketing its products to Emarati girls.   The only real competition should come from small, family stores in Islamic countries and in predominantly Islamic areas of the United States and Europe. What is the consumer promise, the â€Å"big idea†? ( State the major focus of your campaign. Not a slogan or tag line at this stage, but an idea in simple language that will serve as the basis for a tag line – a brief statement that sums up what the campaign is about.) Mattel hopes to use cultural identity and promotion as the key idea for the marketing of Farah.   Embracing culture means healthy young women. What is the supporting evidence? (Draw on consumer benefits to strengthen and elaborate on what you chose in item 5. build benefit after benefit in support of your big idea.) Diversity and acceptance are becoming important concepts for global marketing.   With the shrinking borders of the world due to technology, cultural practices and values are no longer hidden.   Young Emarati girls will benefit from the knowledge that an international company is focusing on their own culture by promoting it through the Farah doll. What is the tone of voice for the advertising? ( Decide on the appropriate tone – warm, family, values, startling, hi-tech, sobering fact, mild guilt, and so on†¦) The tone of the advertising should be a warm and inviting tone which focuses, as the Arab nations due, on family strength and traditional values.

Small Groups Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Small Groups - Essay Example The norms that surround the group are very healthy for the group as well as for the organization. Members who have just entered the organization have various creative ideas, which help in looking at a problem from different perspectives and these perspectives help in the stage of obtaining various solutions of the decision making process. Work never stops within the group as group members are ready to replace and help each other if a particular group member has to take a leave or doesn’t have enough knowledge, skills and abilities to perform a particular job. My own role within the group is that of a leader, my main task is to influence other group members to ensure that they work for the well being of the company and others working within the group. My secondary task involves allocation of resources and ensuring that the right resources are available to the right members at the right time so they can continue working and there is not obstacle while they perform their task. I even act as a mediator between the group members and the members of the organization that are situated in the top most level of the organization. The group members have considerable amount of influence on my behavior, their awareness and experience power have made me and the group dependant on them. Their understanding and know-how is very important for the achievement of the tasks and accomplishment of the tasks is important for my status within the organization. Due to this I behave in a very considerate manner with the followers, I allow them to be creative and to come up with different opinions which may help me in decision making process. The pride and high opinion they have for me and other group members help me follow the ethical code of conduct. I as a leader am very emotionally intelligent; I continuously look for emotional issues faced by the members of the groups which help me in dealing with their issues. Due to

James Joyce's The Dead Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

James Joyce's The Dead - Essay Example n in the following lines: â€Å"A light fringe of snow lay like a cape on the shoulders of his overcoat and like toecaps on the toes of his goloshes; and, as the buttons of his overcoat slipped with a squeaking noise through the snow- stiffened frieze, a cold fragrant air from out-of-doors escaped from crevices and folds†. There are other common allusions to the near freezing Dublin weather in which the story is set. The instance when Gretta Conroy, Gabriel’s wife caught cold infection is again a literal citing of the word â€Å"cold†. The sole occasion when â€Å"cold† was used in the metaphorical sense is when Gabriel replies unenthusiastically to Gretta that â€Å"You can go if you like, said Gabriel coldly†. Talking of the dark aspects of the story, in the context of Gabriel’s address to the gathering, he mentions how â€Å"our path through life is strewn with many sad memories† and continues in a morbid tone, how â€Å"were we to brood upon them always we could not find the heart to go on bravely with our work among the living" and further in the narrative he says â€Å"His soul had approached that region where dwelt the vast hosts of the dead†. This poignant remembrance of his own past had shaken up his composure. Gabriel had now been overwhelmed by a sense of losing his love and the pain associated with it. Joyce depicts the state he is in with the following dark imagery: â€Å"into a grey impalpable world", "all the living and the dead". As for the â€Å"light† in The Dead, there are again two interpretations – one is light as in humor and frivolity the other is insight or revelation. There are plenty of instances of both cases. Phrases such as â€Å"laughing very heartily†, â€Å"There was a great deal of confusion and laughter and noise†, â€Å"The table burst into applause and laughter at this sally†, â€Å"She laughed herself this time good-humouredly†, etc represent the light-hearted elements in the narrative. Light as brightness can be seen in

Power Factor Investigation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Power Factor Investigation - Assignment Example This makes it necessary to use suitable means to correct the power factor. This paper examines the use of the synchronous motor for power factor correction. There are several ways of defining power factor depending on the context of study. However, all the definitions come from the understanding that electrical power manifests in three ways. These are real power denoted as P (also known as true power or active power), reactive power denoted as Q, and apparent power denoted as |S| (Singh, 2008). Apparent power is the magnitude of complex power denote as â€Å"S† which is the vector sum of real power and reactive power (Singh, 2008). Each of the three manifestations of power has a different measure. The unit of measurement of real power is in watts (W) that of apparent power is Voltage-Amperes (VA), while that of apparent power is in Reactive-Volt-Amperes (VAR) (Meier, 2006). The ratio obtained by comparing real power to apparent power is the power factor. ... Therefore, the power factor is unity. However, there are cases when the voltage leads or lags the current. The cause for this is when the circuit has an inductive load such as a motor. The motor stores power in its coils, reducing the actual power (real power) available to drive it. The total power supplied to the motor in this case represents the apparent power, obtained by multiplying the voltage and the current (VA). If there is a difference between the supplied power (apparent power) and the power in use (real power), then the power factor reduces to a value less than unity. Depending on its severity, it may require correction (Singh, 2008). The theoretical framework governing the operation of motors includes Fleming’s right hand rule and faradays laws of electromagnetism. When the thumb, the index, and the middle finger are at right angles, Fleming’s right hand rule describes the direction of the thrust by the thumb; the index finger shows direction of the electrom agnetic field, while the middle finger shows the direction of the current. Faradays laws on the other hand state as follows, there is an EMF induced in a coil whenever the flux through the coil changes with time. The magnitude of induced EMF is directly proportional to the rate of change of flux and thirdly, the direction of the EMF is such as to oppose the change in flux. Electricity distribution companies provide power as apparent power but it bills customers based on the real power they consume. Therefore, a low power factor makes power more expensive to the consumer with increasing severity as power factor drops. This is why it is important to invest in equipment for power factor correction. Motors tend to be the largest loads in electric