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Chief Executive Officer Essays and Research Papers

Instructions for Chief Executive Officer College Essay Examples

Title: Question and Answer Read Below

Total Pages: 7 Words: 2820 Sources: 2 Citation Style: APA Document Type: Essay

Essay Instructions: Assignment 5: Ethics Exercise-See syllabus for due date .
Your assignment will be to answer the ethics questions provided below and then upload your responses using the information provided at the bottom of the page. SEE SYLLABUS FOR DUE DATE.
1. Imagine that it's your responsibility to select an ethics officer for your organization. What qualities, background, and experience would you look for? Why? Would you ever be interested in such a position? Why or why not?


• "What sorts of ethical issues will an ethics officer in your organization have to decide or resolve?"


• "Is there technical knowledge required? How could a non-technical person acquire the knowledge necessary to resolve issues?"


• "Is a background in the law essential?"



• "Could a young person -- under age 35 -- do the job, or would employees be more comfortable with an older person?"


• "What kind of experience within your company would make the most well-rounded ethics officer?"


• "How could an outsider gain credibility within your organization?"


• "Is there anything which could bar an insider from the job of ethics officer?"



2. Should the Ethics Officer report to the company's chief executive officer, the legal department, human resources office or the audit department? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?


• "Think about the mission of all of the departments listed -- legal, audit, human resources, the CEO -- what are the risks associated with raising an issue with each of the departments?"



• "What advice could each provide?"



• "What protection could each provide?"


Assignment:



If you haven't yet held a job, interview your parents, family, or friends who do work. Ask them about questions 3 - 11.



3. Think about an organization where you've worked. What kinds of ethical dilemmas are unique to that organization? To that industry? What might be the best way to prepare employees to deal with those issues?


Some things to consider in answering the question:



• "Is your/their industry regulated? By whom?"



• "What do the regulators think are the biggest problems in your/their industry?"



• "Is there something in your/their corporate culture that could put your/their company at increased risk for an ethical problem?"



• "Is there any aspect of your/their company or industry that has been criticized by the media or the public?"






4. Which of the following exist in the organization? Mission or values statement, policy manual, code of conduct, ethics training (who conducts it), hotline? Are they consistent and credible? Discuss.


• "Do all employees receive copies of the policy manual, values or mission statement, conduct code?"



• "Does everyone receive ethics training?"



• "Have you/they ever read the policy manual or conduct code or other materials relating to ethics?"



• "Is your/their company saying one thing in its printed materials and doing another?"



• "Who conducts ethics training in your/their organization? Are they -- to the best of your/their knowledge -- ethical?"



• "Who answers the company hotline? Who resolves the issues raised on the hotline? Is the hotline confidential?"



5. Does senior management appear committed to ethics? How do you/they know? What could they do differently or better?



Some things to consider in answering the question:



"Do senior managers ever write articles on ethics for company communications (newsletters or magazines)?"



• "Do they ever reference ethical behavior in speeches or orientations?"



• "Is any senior executive "known" for his or her integrity?"



• "Is there a senior executive who is especially trusted by employees?"


6. Are leaders at all levels of the organization held accountable for their ethical conduct? If so, how? If not, why not? What would you recommend?


• "Can you think of any employees within your organization who have been fired or disciplined for their behavior or for unethical conduct? How did you find out about it?"



• "How long after the problem occurred did it take for them to be disciplined? Who actually did the firing?”



• "How did other employees interpret the discipline -- what messages did it send?"



• "Has anyone been commended for his or her high ethical conduct? What form did the praise or commendation take? How did other employees interpret it -- what messages did it send?"






7. What recommendations would you make for handling frivolous calls that come in to a hotline?


• "How would you define a frivolous call?"



• "Are problems relating to human resources issues -- arguments with supervisors, for example -- frivolous?"



• "Could employees calling with frivolous complaints be penalized? Should they be? Should their managers be notified?"



8. Does the organization evaluate its ethics initiatives? How? If not, why not?



• "Have you ever received an employee survey that has tried to assess your attitudes toward ethical issues?"



• "Have you ever participated in employee focus groups that have involved ethics?"



• "Have you ever read about any ethics evaluations efforts in your company newsletter or magazine?"



• "Have your company's senior executives ever distributed reports on how the organization's ethics program is doing?"



9. How would you raise an ethical concern in this organization? List all of the resources available. Which ones would you/they likely use? Why or why not?



• "How would the following people/departments react if you were to raise an ethics issue: your manager, your manager's manager, the legal department, the human resources department, the audit department, the ethics officer/department, the chief financial officer, the head of public relations/communications, the head of your division/department, the president of your organization, the CEO, the board of directors?"



• "If you had to go outside of your chain of command, who would you approach and why?"



• "Under what circumstances would you approach any of the above?"


10. Imagine that you're the CEO of a small manufacturing company. An employee has dumped toxic waste in a nearby stream. What would you do? Who would you call into your office and what would you want to know? Develop a short-term and long-term action plan for dealing with the crisis. Who would you communicate with and why?


• "Who are the stakeholders in this situation?"



• "Who on your staff (which kind of job) could you count on to handle each stakeholder group?



• "Does your strategy for coping with the disaster address the needs of all stakeholders?”



• "Does your plan include being forthright, accepting responsibility, and making some sort of restitution to effected stakeholders?"



11. Evaluate the ethics program at your/their organization from the perspective of “fit.” Has the ethics program been designed to “fit” the organization’s overall culture? If so, how? If not, what could be done to make the program a better fit?


• “What are the three most key values in your/their organization?”



• “Are workers rewarded for exhibiting those values?”



• “Is your/their organization’s ethics program consistent with what your/their company rewards?”


Questions are from:

MANAGING BUSINESS ETHICS

Straight Talk About How To Do It Right


Linda K. Trevino

Katherine A. Nelson

Fourth Edition

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Copyright 2007

ISBS 0-471-75525-7

P. 351

Excerpt From Essay:

Title: Key Decision Makers

Total Pages: 4 Words: 1030 References: 0 Citation Style: MLA Document Type: Research Paper

Essay Instructions: This is a fictional assignment:

Your Company is called Lions Gate, It is a pharmaceutical company.

You are to creatively come up with the personnel for the company. You need to identify each persons name, birth place, education, prior work history, accomplishments, and each ones responsibilities and duties.

You must come up with the : Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)

You need to make sure that your Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) is a woman.
You need to make sure that your Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a Morman

Excerpt From Essay:

Title: From CFO to CEO

Total Pages: 4 Words: 1475 Works Cited: 0 Citation Style: APA Document Type: Essay

Essay Instructions: From CFO to CEO

Due to the increasingly complex nature of corporate finance, more and more corporations are tapping their chief financial officer to become their chief executive officer. The CFO brings substantial financial expertise to the position of CEO. However, there may be other reasons why the CFO is not necessarily the best person to become the CEO.

Read the two articles below, and then write a four-page paper answering the following question:

Do you think finance departments are the best place to train future CEOs?

Include a discussion of both the pros and cons of hiring a CFO to be CEO. Try to cite at least three articles in your paper in support of your arguments in favor of and against hiring a CFO to be a CEO
Please read the articles below:

How a CFO can graduate to CEO
Corporate Finance; London; Jun 1999; Janine Brewis;


Abstract:
Positions of power within corporates are highly sought after, and today's chief financial officers and finance directors are increasingly becoming aware that they now have a realistic opportunity of becoming CEO. Part of the reason for the trend towards recruiting CFOs who can behave as strategic partners is that the investor community looks much more critically at the business performance and management strengths and weaknesses of corporates. This strategic positioning gives them an opportunity to buff up their image, and make themselves seen as a more credible candidate to take over the CEO role.


Do CFOs Really Make Good CEOs
Institutional Investor; New York; Aug 1989; Picker, Ida;

Abstract:
With the proliferation of corporate takeovers, leveraged buyouts, and restructuring in the US, it would seem that chief financial officers (CFO) hold the keys to executive wisdom. Recruiters report a growing trend of grooming CFOs for chief executive officer (CEO) positions, with some estimating that nearly 25% of top corporate leaders are former CFOs. Analysts, academics, and headhunters agree that the ideal CEO communicates well, is adept at managing managers, understands the company's product and operations, and provides a consistent vision. A recent survey by Management Practices Quarterly reveals that, of 83 new CEOs appointed in 1988, more than 18% came from operations-production backgrounds, some 23% had technical training, while only 14.4% had a financial background. D. Wayne Calloway, who became CEO of PepsiCo in May 1986, was formerly the company's CFO and is probably the best example of the valuable experience CFOs can bring to the CEO position.

Excerpt From Essay:

Title: Incentive Compensation

Total Pages: 1 Words: 362 Bibliography: 0 Citation Style: None Document Type: Research Paper

Essay Instructions: You are to write a 1-page paper. Provide a Written Critique of the Article and How It Applies to Incentive Compensation. *For Outside Sources, Use Internet Only.*


Stephen F. Wiggins, former chairman and chief executive officer of Oxford Health Plans Inc., took a 61% cut in total pay last year as the once-highflying managed-care company he founded suffered huge losses and a dramatic plunge in its stock price.
All but one of the six other highest paid executives of the company, based in Norwalk, Conn., also had lower pay in 1997 after the compensation committee of Oxford's board withheld cash bonuses "as a consequence of the losses," the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Separately, Standard & Poor's assigned a "single-B-minus rating" -- one of its lowest rating classifications -- to Oxford's proposed junk-bond offerings totaling $350 million that are critical to the company's turnaround plan. The ratings agency said the recent losses and the expectation of further deficits this year "have substantially impaired the company's consolidated financial profile," and that it expects it will take 12 to 18 months to shore up margins in its underperforming product lines.
Both developments are further evidence of the challenges facing the beleaguered HMO Company, which reported a loss of $291.3 million, or $3.70 a share, for the year after a disastrous computer system conversion and other problems led it to lose control of its finances. Last week, it reported a first-quarter loss of $45.3 million, or 57 cents a share. The company's shares closed Friday at $17.1875, up 6.25 cents in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, about 80% below the record high of $89 last July.
Among other things, the difficulties precipitated a major management shakeup: Just two of the seven executives listed on the report remain as employees of the company. They also forced the company to seek $700 million in financing to stabilize its financial position.
Mr. Wiggins, who resigned as chairman in February but remains a director, was paid a total of $682,093 last year, including a 4% rise in salary to $623,077. His 1996 compensation was $1,741,599, including a bonus of $1.1 million.
William Sullivan, who was promoted to chief executive officer last August, took a 3% pay cut nevertheless, to $527,152 after a $232,000 raise in base salary was offset by the lack of a bonus, which totaled $250,000 in 1996. Mr. Sullivan, who remains with the company, will resume his position as president when Norman D. Payson officially takes the helm as CEO. Mr. Sullivan's base pay this year will be $600,000.
The only senior executive to receive a raise was Jeffrey H. Boyd, executive vice president and general counsel, whose total pay of $607,365 amounted to a 42% increase over 1996 and included a bonus of $250,000 that the compensation committee said reflected his efforts responding to "legal and regulatory inquiries and proceedings affecting the company."
Four other executives, David B. Snow, Jr. and Robert M. Smoler, both former executive vice presidents; Andrew B. Cassidy, former chief financial officer; and Paul Ricker, former vice president and chief information officer, all took pay cuts of 20% to 24%, largely reflecting a lack of a bonus. All have recently resigned amid Dr. Payson's steps to bring in a new senior management team.
All the executives also received options to purchase from 60,000 to 100,000 shares last year, but they aren't likely to have much value any time soon: the exercise price is $74 a share, more than quadruple the current price of the stock. The filing notes that options granted by the company last year to employees other than these executives were effectively re-priced to $17.125 a share in an effort to "provide a meaningful incentive to motivate and retain employees."
The Standard & Poor's single-B-minus rating applies to the company's proposed $150 million five-year senior secured term loan and to its proposed $200 million seven-year senior unsecured notes.
The ratings agency noted Oxford has a strong market position in the metropolitan New York regions, but it said the company's credit standing was hurt by "poor operating performance," reflecting its inability to manage its growth and "its weak internal financial and operating control mechanisms." S&P's said it expects Oxford's operating performance to improve in 1999.

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