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Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Memo- Gazprom and Itera Essay Example for Free

Memo- Gazprom and Itera Essay In the case study of Gazprom and Itera, we see how different companies and governmental organizations can potentially be able to exploit a large company such as Gazprom for a large profit. Gazprom is a large gas and oil company that is valued very cheaply compared to other large oil and gas companies (such as Exxon Mobil). Browder is a shareholder of Gazprom that identifies several questionable transactions that were done by Gazprom and other organizations that have relationships with Gazprom. He is questioning why the undervaluation could have occurred based on the business being conducted by the oil giant. The problem that exists for Gazprom is that the market perceives the company to have lost 99 percent of its assets, completely devaluing the price of its goods. In reality, only 10 percent of its assets were stolen, and the market is slowly trying to catch up to that truth. Browder is attempting to identify the transactions in order to solve the large problem at hand. These transactions include organizations that work with Gazprom such as Itera (a gas trading company) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (their internal auditor) devaluing the gas and oil Gazprom held in certain situations and reselling it for a profit. In one example, Itera bought gas valued at $35 a barrel from Turkmen gas and resold it to Gazprom for $45 a barrel. PwC thought this difference was acceptable due to transportation costs, even though those were already taken care of separately. In general, the lack of transparency and accountability being administered by management in Gazprom and its partner companies was a fail ure to its stockholders. Browder’s recommendations to the Russian government are vital, mainly due to the fact that it has a 38% controlling stake in Gazprom. Because the vast majority of the operations conducted by Gazprom occur within Russia’s boundaries, it is up to the government to set the correct standards and close loopholes so that organizations and individuals will not exploit such situations. Browder’s recommendations to the U.S. and to the Board of Directors of Gazprom could be essential for enacting change within the  corporate environment to prevent such scrupulous transactions. Though these changes could prove helpful in the reorganization of the company in the long run, the international political environment does not provide Gazprom with the best situation. The fact that Russia’s governmental body has so much stake in the company can greatly complicate things due to the personal influence of those running the government. Several members of the Russian government could fulfill a personal agenda using the government’s stake in the company as leverage (this could have been the case potentially with these transactions). This is also the case with PwC and Itera, both with a lot of power to take advantage of loopholes and other lucrative situations when it comes to Gazprom. There are several things Browder can do to combat this situation, but I think his strategy will be a difficult one to execute alone. He would need to collect more shareholder power before he steps forward with the resolutions. Involving the U.S. and Russian government will be difficult due to the lethargic manner in which these situations can be resolved. Taking care of the company from within should be he first move, but only with the appropriate number of people backing his plan.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

the history of the internet :: essays research papers

Where would we find ourselves without the Web today? It provides us with a vast amount of information and communication. The world is accessible to us with a click of a button. Maps, stocks, chat and news can all be found in a matter of seconds. Things have greatly evolved from the home PC of the 1980’s - Commodore 64’s and IBM 8088’s, and a life of direct dialing into BBSs at all hours of the night. Every small town of the USA has Internet access; the world is interconnected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon dialing into your Internet service and launching your browser, you open up a gateway to a variety of information resources. One resource available to you is the portal, Yahoo!. Found at http://www.yahoo.com, this web site includes a plethora of selections, including chat. There are different ways of communicating with this feature. You may download Yahoo! Messenger, an application that works in conjunction with Yahoo! Chat web page. In chat, you can enter rooms of topics of your interest, such as sports, music, or business and speak with people all over the world. You don’t need to download any web browser plug-ins to access chat. You may still converse with people using the Yahoo! Messenger program.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yahoo! Messenger is one of many different instant-messaging programs out there. Similar applications such as ICQ or EGN can be used, but they are independent of any web portal, like Yahoo!. There are advantages and disadvantages to each program. No instant messaging service can communicate with any other. You have to have an account with the same service, as who you want to speak with. But incase you don’t know someone on the service, you can make friends by meeting people in chat rooms or random chat, set up by that particular service. Random chat gives you the ability to meet people, by random, based on what their interests are. Once you have acquired people on your contacts/friends lists, with multiple services (i.e.: friends on AOL/IM and friends on ICQ), you may want to look into downloading Universal Messenger. This program combines your lists of people, from the most popular programs you may have. These include ICQ, AOL/IM, Yahoo!, PowWow, and MSN Me ssenger. This saves on memory (RAM), so you don’t have to run each individual program on your home computer. You must know your logins and passwords for each service, when you first set up Universal Messenger.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Imposing Strict Punishment for Driving Offences

Two weeks back, my friends and I witnessed a car accident in front of our very own eyes. The night was still as there were not many cars on the road. However, the silence was disrupted by a loud screeching noise. The flow of conversation came to a halt as we turned our heads in unison towards the source of the noise. At that exact moment, we saw a black car crashed into a lamp post. The front of the car was severely damaged and minutes later, the bleeding driver could be seen limping out of the car. What we have just witnessed serves as proof that road accidents are becoming more and more rampant with every passing day. Some suggest imposing strict punishments for driving offences as a mean to reduce road accidents. In most situations, this holds true because punishments such as heavy penalty, community service and a prison sentence are able to change an offender’s behavior. Moreover, it deters the public from making traffic offences. Heavy penalty should be imposed on those who defy the road rules. For example, those who fail to obey the speed limit on Malaysian roads and expressways can be fined up to RM300, depending on the difference between the speed limit and the driven speed.Compare and Contrast Driving in the Winter and Driving in the Summer A heavier penalty of RM500 should be imposed on the road offenders to deter them from committing the offence again. Besides that, a stricter punishment in the form of a heavier penalty will act as a deterrent to potential road offenders. This method has been proven to be rather successful as a statistics have shown that the number of road accidents have reduced by 39% when a heavier penalty was imposed. If this continues, nobody will dare to go at high speed. After all, money is what motivates or deters people from doing or not doing something. Not only that, I believe that the community service is a good form of punishment especially for the younger offenders. Young being those who are aged between 17 to 35 years of age. In this form of punishment, offenders are forced to carry out between 40 to 300 hours of unpaid work as ‘Community Payback' which includes cleaning public areas such as the community halls, playgrounds and schools. They are also made to wear uniforms while carrying out their duties. Undoubtedly, they would be embarrassed as people would take notice of them and more so if it were their very own friends. They might even be mocked at or ridiculed by passers-by. However, the main aim of the community service is not to make a fool of these people but to bring about a change of attitude in them. By doing the community service, hopefully they are able to experience and appreciate the hardship that others face in maintaining the public areas even though the offence committed was not related to it. One way or another, this might just help them to be a better person. A prison sentence could also be seen as an effective method to reduce road accidents. However, this will take into account the severity of the road offence committed. If it involves the lost of an innocent life then a prison sentence should be compulsory. For instance, the punishment of a two year long imprisonment to those who commit a road offence such as driving under the influence (DUI). If there happens to be a lost of a life due to that person’s irresponsible act, then the prison sentence should be extended to four years. This might seem rather cruel to some but these offenders should think of the consequences before they decide to go behind the wheels while under the influence of certain substances such as alcohol and drugs. Life in prison would be a deterrent to the public in committing driving offences as it strips them of their freedom. Undeniably, the mere thought of losing one’s freedom is enough to send shivers down the spine. With that being said, we can conclude that most people will abide by the law if a sense of fear is instilled into them. Nevertheless, I am also of the opinion that other methods that are not punishment based could also reduce road accidents. For instance, tightening the rules on obtaining a driving license and holding campaigns on road safety in schools. Some may argue that the subtler methods do not work well with today’s society but I think that we should look into the core of the matter to find out where the problem lies. By doing so only then we are able to decide on the best solutions to overcome this ever growing problem. The subtler methods are effective in its own ways as it helps to instill the right mentality into teenagers’ and children’s minds from a young age. In other words, the law enforcers, police and government should find the best solution to this problem and it should incorporate both the elements of the harsh punishments and also the subtler methods.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Lululemon Case Study - 1609 Words

Case Study- lululemon Ethics and Social Responsibility Executive Summary Founded in 1998, lululemon has become an extremely successful company. Over the last 12 years of operation, its mission is to improve health, make a difference in all the communities it is located in, and provide guests with quality products to help them live healthy lives. Currently, lululemon still strives to make a difference in each community through the Community Legacies Program. Plans for expansion are also in effect, and its economic responsibilities are continually being met by the income generated each year. Social Responsibility is the backbone of lululemon. It presents many positive aspects for the company such as maintaining a positive image within†¦show more content†¦They have provided a culture that provides awareness of the health benefits of doing yoga in daily life. lululemon’s mission statement is to help people live long, healthy, and fun filled lives. They focus on ensuring that their products are of the highest quality and that their store experiences are one of a kind. lululemon invests money in training to educate their staff on effective and creative ways to create a unique experience in each individual store. With deep rooted ties in each community, lululemon created the charitable giving program, where guests of each location decide which local charities they would like to support. lululemon then chooses up to eight of these charities to be part of the program. Current Information lululemon has established their popular Community Legacies program which is a â€Å"5-year vision that is based on the belief that every person we hire, garment we create, store we open, customer we educate and yoga class we attend contributes to building a legacy in our communities. In 2009, lululemon’s net income generated about 58.3 million dollars. 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