Capitalism at its best Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Capitalism at its best - Essay Example Once the insurance policies are cashed in, they are set to be invested in by a third party. This party continues to pay the required insurance policy premiums for the policy that he/she invests in. In so doing, the original beneficiary of the insurance policy gets to utilize his/her resources before death come knocking. On the other hand, the viatical settlement company profits from such operations by getting a percentage face value of the policy transacted under viatical settlement. After the original insurance policy holder dies, the settlement company or the third party that invests in the cashed in policy becomes the beneficiary. From the cashing in of the insurance policy to the sale of that policy to a third party, all the transactions involved are privately undertaken. On the same note, viatical settlement companies are private entities that operate alongside other private players in the economy setting. As a result, viatical settlement companies exhibit private ownership of resources, and consequently capital in their operations. These factors are the most critical when it comes to the definition of capitalism. Capitalism continues to be portrayed at its best in respect to the risks that viatical settlement companies take in allowing terminally ill patients to cash in their insurance policies. Viatical settlement practices are highly complex and critically prone to ethical issues Accountability is a critical factor to account for in the process of undertaking viatical settlements. The legal system regulates and governs viatical settlement transactions, thereby allowing players in that market to coexist and engage in healthy competition. The competition factor in viatical settlements further presents the capitalism aspect. Viatical settlement companies are not immune to the legal provisions that streamline business operations. Failure to comply with the set laws results in legal actions against the

The Function of Management Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Function of Management Planning - Essay Example Within this organization, the planning involved selecting enterprise goals and department objectives than finding ways of achieving them. Plans depended upon the existence of alternatives, and then decisions had to be made regarding what to do, how to do it, when to do it and by whom it is to be done. Author Anderson has a responsibility to meet society's expectations in three concentric circles of responsibility (Arthur Andersen, 2007). The inner circle includes the business's clear economic responsibilities such as quality and safety and the provision of jobs and services. The intermediate circle expands the responsibility of businesses to make their policies and practices consistent with societal values in such matters as fair employment practices and a benign environmental impact (Accounting Industry, n.d.). The nature of ethical standards is one of the key issues to be addressed by personnel managers operating in a large corporation. There will gradually be a growing together of national practice on working hours, but it will take a lot longer for rates of pay to harmonies. Arthur Anderson adopts CSR because some moral justification comes from a value system that is independent of the business itself and where individual opinion can be sharply divided. SCR implies that employees at work should be honest and that claims about a product or service should be accurate. Ethical issues are corporate behavior and fair competition. In order to meet these objectives, Arthur Anderson uses systematic planning. Fair competition is achieved by adoption of specific ethical rules which guides management and marketing policies. Risk and uncertainty are minimized by planning and this is needed more today than before as social and economic conditions alter very quickly and careful planning enables an organization to prepare for change. Planning helps Arthur Anderson to define its purposes and activities according to fair competition rules. It enables performance standards t o be set and results can, therefore, be compared with the standard to enable managers to see how the organization is proceeding towards its goals. Planning is flexible to deal with a changing environment. Corporate behavior means that employees follow established norms combining their own judgment with the benefits of the corporation. In this case, the ethical responsibility of Arthur Anderson is to analyze social conditions and possible threats of their services for potential consumers. They should be well aware of the educational background of their customers and their expectations (Corporate Social Responsibility, 2007). Social responsibility translates into expectations that businesses comply with the spirit of society's laws and with the normative base that undergirds them. The social responsibility issues followed by Author Anderson are the attitude of management to labor and fair reward and use of shareholders capital. The attitude of management to labor is achieved through f air payment schemes and healthy corporate climate, training programs and promotion activities. Arthur Anderson provides additional training focusing on employee's motivation and work design programs to help worker identify their goal and professional development strategies.