Independent Study Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Independent Study Project - Essay Example The project has been undertaken with due seriousness, but it has been limited due to certain unavoidable factors. Time constraint is an important factor that has limited the projects research work. However sufficient time has been devoted to research of various journal and articles to make the project extensive, more articles and reports could have been incorporated. Time being a limiting factor has limited the research. Also the research is totally based on secondary research carried out by others, so it does not provide any quantitative or qualitative data. The focus of the study revolves around the three investigating questions that have been selected for the study. The first question throws light into the fact that why companies resort to rebranding and what are the implications of rebranding. While discussing this issue it had been find out that many believed that rebranding was due to specific reasons that the company wanted to improve on, for example in order to modernise a existing brand or to differentiate it from its competitors. He believed that the rebranding is not the effect of one particular reason but can be a combination of a few reason. Rebranding also takes place at the time of mergers and acquisition. As studied in the case study of Glaxo Smith Kline, it had been seen that rebranding is necessary for the companies that merge or acquire other companies. This is because of the fact that when a new company is formed the message should be communicated to its customers.

Operating system Essay Example for Free

Operating system Essay As an American multinational corporation, Microsoft is regarded as the largest software maker measured by revenue in the software market. However, because Microsoft play an apparently dominate role in the market, more and more people argue that Microsoft have made damage on consumers’ profit through some marketing methods. As we know, Microsoft has been accused of being a monopolist by the antitrust department in US and Europe for almost over ten years. â€Å"Microsoft possesses (and for several years has possessed) monopoly power in the market for personal computer operating systems† the Justice Department declared blatantly in 1988. This paper will examine and analysis the reason why Microsoft is a monopoly, welfare implications as a monopoly and whether the government regulations is successful. Microsoft Corporation products a wide range of products relate to computing. If Microsoft products are divided into five parts, they are Windows, Office, Business solutions, Developers IT pros and some other products like Windows phones, Internet explorer. From now, Microsoft plays a dominate role both in PC operating system and office suite system. According to the annual report of Microsoft in 2012, â€Å"over 50% of enterprise desktops PCs run Windows 7 and Office is now installed on over 1 billion PCs† is reported. This large company own approximately 94,000 employees and the revenue in 2012 by June 30 is 73,723 million. Why the Microsoft cooperation is a monopoly? â€Å"Microsoft monopoly is self evident if Justice Department’s lawyers are to be believed†, as demonstrated by McKenzie Richard B and Shughart II William F (1998). As the largest software company, produces products which is popular with people, there is no doubt that Microsoft is a significant enemy to other companies who produce the similar products. Even though there are more and more companies can become strong competitor like Apple Mac and Linux which are superior to Windows system in some areas ,the percentage they make up can not be compared with Microsoft, Microsoft still play a dominate role in the market. A monopolist is defined as a monopoly occurs when the output of an entire industry is produced and sold by a single firm. (Microeconomics, Christopher T. S. Regan Richard G. Lipsey p218). As we know, Bill Gates has made his Windows operating system become almost the only access to Internet. Moreover, Microsoft was being accused of three specific charges about Microsoft’s illegal behaviors by Justice Department on May 5. The first one is the agreements contract draw up by Microsoft. For example, Microsoft force consumers use their other products when they are using windows systems like when users use windows system; they are required to install Internet Explorer. The second one is the exclusionary contracts which mean that Microsoft try to prevent other products from competitors and potential competitors used and developed by other companies. The last one is that those exclusionary contracts attribute to curbing the competitor’s right of supporting their products and services. Those accuses of Microsoft reflect Microsoft is using its ubiquitous marketing power to squash their competitors and break the market balance. As a monopolist, it controls price of products. Sales can increased only if price is reduced, and price can be increased only if sales are reduced. For quantity of outputs, it is determined by marginal cost and marginal revenue. When marginal cost equals marginal revenue and the price is larger than marginal cost, the profit of Microsoft is maximizing. (Regan Christopher, 1982, Microeconomics-12th edition) If the good and service were delivered in a perfectly competitive market, consumer surplus will increase and producer surplus will decrease. A perfectly competitive industry produces a level of output that the price equals marginal cost; while a monopolist produces a lower level of output and price exceed marginal cost. What’s more, each firm in perfectly competitive market has a horizontal demand curve and the supply curve is the horizontal sum of many marginal cost revenues. the price in a competitive is smaller than in a monopoly because the demand curve is below the marginal revenue curve. Consequently, consumer surplus increase and producer surplus decrease. If the government regulates Microsoft effetely, the prices of Microsoft products will decrease. As we can see from the graph, when prices decrease, quantities increase, consumer surplus increase, producer surplus decrease, deadweight loss decrease. Thus, economic welfare increases. Since the government makes some measures to curb the development of monopolists, monopolists’ marketing power may more or less is influenced. For instance, after the most famous monopoly company-John D. Rockefeller’s standard Oil Trust, the company was broken up in the 19th. Similarily, the Justice Department continually sue monopolists or near monopolists like ATT and IBM, including Microsoft. After Microsoft was accused by European antitrust institution in 2004, the normal Microsoft market was being disturbed. Microsoft had to separate windows media player from windows system when sell their products. Even though the antitrust accuse has influences on the marketing of Microsoft, the revenue of Microsoft is not influenced by the charges after 2011. According to the annual report of 2004 and 2005, the revenue change from $759 in 2004 to $803 in 2005. The statistic prove that the power of Microsoft can never be ignored in computer market. However, the antitrust can not be said it does not influence Microsoft. After being accused, Microsoft regards the possible break up of the company as a serious threat. At the same time, Apple becomes more and more popular in computer marketing as a tremendous competitor. â€Å"Bring an antitrust suit against Microsoft. A government suit would have an immediate, positive effect on other software companies by causing Microsoft to become more cautious and self-controlling just as IBM did in the 1970s† ,suggested by Goetz, Martin A in Jun 19,1995. The government should continue exerting pressure on Microsoft and let Microsoft adjust itself. Furthermore, the government should also require Microsoft operating its market with separate sections to decrease its marketing power. For example, Microsoft should operate its Network Service Division as a separate section rather operating with other products and continue monitoring weather Microsoft force consumers install other products like media player and Internet Explore when they use Microsoft system. Lastly, the software market is changeable compared with other markets. The technique is changing every day; it is difficult for a company dominating the whole market for a long term. Microsoft can not guarantee their products can always be popular with consumers. The government should strengthen the force on Microsoft market and let Microsoft self-regulating. References Microsoft annual report of 2012: http://view. officeapps. live. com/op/view. aspx? src=http://www. microsoft. com/investor/reports/ar12/docs/2012_Annual_Report. docx McKenzie Richard B Shughart II William F (1998), Is Microsoft a monopolist? http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail?vid=13hid=13sid=cb822f92-5712-487e-91af-94eea12c3fb3%40sessionmgr11bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aphAN=1190614 Regan Christopher (1982), Microeconomics-12th edition. HarperCollins Publishers P218, P222 Microsoft annual report of 2004 and 2005 http://www. microsoft. com/investor/reports/ar05/staticversion/10k_dl_dow. html http://www. microsoft. com/investor/reports/ar04/nonflash/10k_dl_main. html Goetz, Martin A (Jun 19, 1995), Is Microsoft out of control? The government has to stop Microsoft now http://search. proquest. com/docview/216031454? accountid=13908.

Escape Through Dementia in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gi

Escape Through Dementia in The Yellow Wallpaper   Ã‚  Ã‚   Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-paper" is an excellent story on several levels. It works as a suspenseful thriller about the effects of mental illness. It also serves to make several points about feminism and the pervailing attitudes of her time. John, the husband, serves as a metaphor for masculine views of the time, and for the masculine side of humans, the side of reason and logic. "John is practical in the extreme. He has no patience with faith, an intense horor of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in figures" (1658). His character is almost stereotypical in its adherence to reason and its attittude towards his wife. He negates her intuition; "there is something strange about the house - I can feel it. I even said so to John one moonlight evening, but he said what I felt was a draught, and shut the window" (1658) He attributes her condition to "a slight hysterical tendency" (1658), which is, etymologically speaking, just a polite way of saying that she is instable due to being a woman. He is not interested in his wife's actual condition, rather in his diagnosis; "John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfie s him" (1659). His best advice is to not use her imagination (though trapped in an ugly room), but to become more reasonable and to resist her condition through willpower. When he does put her to bed and asks her to get well, he asks, not for her own self, but with him as the motivation; "He said [. . .] that I must take care of myself for his sake, and keep well" (1663). John is reasonable and educated. He represents a stifling pr... ...eedom from the bars in the pattern. This creeping about is certainly at odds with her husband's requests. It is irrational, in that she thinks she has escaped, when it is actually time to leave for good, and she has locked herself in. She defies his orders of bed rest, physically exhausting herself crawling about and pushing the bed and biting the bed and tearing the wall-paper. She overcomes her husband's forthright sensibility by acting so crazy that he cannot deny it, cannot make sense of it, cannot do anything but faint away, leaving her to crawl right over the top of him. She has escaped his oppression by going into her dementia and embracing it. Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wall-paper." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Eds. Nina Baym, et. al. Shorter 5th ed. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999: 1656-1669.

Bread of the World

Our nation’s dedication in eradicating poverty has indeed created a great impact in the country’s image. The humanitarian programs of the government has effectively help millions of families survive the test of poverty. In addition, the foreign assistance has help alleviate the economy of the other countries drowned in poverty. But, at present, poverty is still prevalent in the poor continents like Africa. Inadequacy of food has killed thousands of lives of young Africans. Due to the continuous poverty, the hope for development may never be realized in some poor countries.This also proves that the foreign aid being afforded by the country is not enough. Hence, this letter asks your good office to initiate a change of the country’s foreign aid programs and policies. Time for action should be instigated now. By your help, please coordinate with your fellow solons to include poverty among the priorities of the country. By enhancing our programs in alleviating povert y, millions of lives would be saved and changed. The period for fighting poverty should be now and be continued until a shadow of it will be eradicated.At the same time, the economic status of the country would eventually be build and the confidence of the people in their government would be strengthened. Let the Congress start renewing foreign aid programs and save many children from death caused by hunger. Sincerely, (Your Name) (Address) Reference Bread for the World & Bread for the World Institute. (2008). Bread for the World: Have Faith End Hunger. Retrieved March 20, 2009, from http://www. bread. org/page. jsp? itemID=28131907

Ethical Decision Making and Ethical Leadership Essay

To improve ethical decision making in business, one must first understand how individuals make ethical decisions in an organizational environment. Too often it is assumed that individuals in organizations make ethical decisions in the same way that they make ethical decisions at home, in their family, or in their personal lives. Within the context of an organizational work group, however, few individuals have the freedom to decide ethical issues independent of organizational pressures. ETHICAL – ISSUE INTENSITY The first step in ethical decision making is to recognize that an ethical issue requires an individual or work group to choose among several actions that various stakeholders inside or outside the firm will ultimately evaluate as right or wrong. Ethical issue intensity, then, can be defined as the relevance or importance of an ethical issue in the eyes of the individual, work group, and/or organization. it is personal and temporal in character to accommodate values, beliefs, needs, perceptions, the special characteristics of the situation, and the personal pressure prevailing at a particular place and time. Ethical – issue intensity reflects the ethical sensitivity of the individual or work group that faces the ethical decision – making process. Research suggest that individuals are subject to six â€Å"spheres of influence† when confronted with ethical choices – the workplace, family, religion, legal system, community, and profession – and that the level of importance of each of these influences wiil vary depending on how important the decision maker perceives the issue to be. Additionally, the individuals sense of the situation’s moral intensity increase the individuals perceptiveness regarding ethical problems, which in turn reduces his or her intention to unethically. Moral intensity relates to a persons perception of social pressure and the harm the decision will have on others. The perception of ethical issue intensity can be influenced by managements use of reward and punishments, corporate policies, and corporate values to sensitize employees. In the words, managers can affect the degree to which employees  perceive the importance of an ethical issue through positive and/or negative incentives. INDIVIDUAL FACTORS When people need to resolve ethical issues in their daily lives, they often base their decisions on their own values and principles of right or wrong. The generally learn these values and principles through the socialization process with family members, social groups, and religion and in their formal education. Research regarding individual factors that affect ethical awareness, judgment, intent, and behavior include gender, education, work experience, nationality, age, and locus of control. Education, the number of years spent in pursuit of academic knowledge, is also a significant factor in the ethical decision-making process. The important thing to remember about education is that it does not reflect experience. Work experiences is defined as the number of years within a specific job, occupation, and/or industry. Generally, the more education or work experiences that one has, the better he/she is at ethical decision making. Nationality is the legal relationship between a person and the country in which he/she is born. Age is another individuals factors that has been researched within business ethics. In other words, the older you are, the more ethical you are. However, recent research suggest that there is probably a more complex relationship between ethics and age. Locus of control relates to individual differences in relation to a generalized beliefs about how one is affected by internal versus external events or reinforcements. In other word, the concept relates to where people view themselves in relation to power. Those who believe in external control see themselves as going with the flow because that’s all they can do. They believed that the events in their lives are do to uncontrollable forces. They consider what they want to achieve depends on luck, chance, and powerful people in their company. Conversely, those who believe in internal control believe that they control the events in their lives by their own  effort and skill, viewing themselves as masters of their destinies and trusting in their capacity to influence their environment. ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS Although people can and do make individual ethical choices in business situations, no one operates in a vacuum. Indeed, research has established that in the workplace the organizations values often have greater influence on decisions than a persons own values. Ethical choices in business are most often made jointly, in work groups and committees, or in conversations and discussions with coworkers. The outcome of this learning process depend on the strength of each person personal values, the opportunities he or she has to behave unethically, and the exposure he or she has to others two behave ethically or unethically. A corporate culture can be defined as a set of values, beliefs, goals, norms and ways of solving problems that members of an organization share. An important component of corporate, or organizational, culture is the company’s ethical culture. Whereas corporate culture involves values and rules that prescribe a wide range of behavior for organizational members, the ethical culture reflects whether the firm also has an ethical conscience. Ethical is a function of many factors, including corporate policies on ethics, top managements leadership on ethical issues, the influence of coworkers, and the opportunity for unethical behavior. Obedience to authority is another aspect of the influence that significant others can exercise. Obedience to authority helps to explain why many employees resolve business ethics issues by simply following the directives as superior. OPPORTUNITY Opportunity describes the conditions in an organization that limit or permit ethical or unethical behavior. Opportunity results from conditions that either provide rewards, whether internal or external, or fail to erect  barriers against unethical behavior. Example of internal rewards include feelings of goodness and personal worth generated by performing altruistic acts. External reward refer to what an individual expects to receive from others in the social environment. Rewards are external to the individual to the degree that they bring social approval, status, and esteem. An example of a condition that fails to erect barriers against unethical behavior is a company policy that does not punish employees who accept large gifts from clients. Opportunity relates to individuals immediate job context – where they work, whom they work with, and the nature of the work. Opportunity also comes from knowledge. Major misconduct observed among employees in the workplace include lying to employees, customers, vendors, or the public or with holding needed information from them. The opportunity for unethical behavior cannot be eliminated without aggressive enforcement of codes and rules. BUSINESS ETHICS EVALUATIONS AND INTENSIONS Ethical dilemmas involve problem-solving situations in which decision rules are often vague or in conflict. The results of an ethical decision are often uncertain, no one can always tell us whether we have made the right decision. An individuals intentions and the final decision regarding what action he or she will take are the last steps in the ethical decision-making process. When the individual intention and behavior are inconsistent with his or her ethical judgment, the person may feel guilty. Guilt or uneasiness is the first sign that an unethical decision has occurred. The next step is changing one’s behavior to reduce such feelings. This change can reflect a persons values shifting to fit the decision or the person changing his or her decision type the next time a similar situations occurs. For those who begin the value shift, the following are the usual justifications that will reduce and finally eliminate guilt: 1.I need the paycheck and cant afford to quit right now. 2.Those around me are doing it so why shouldn’t I? they believe it’s okay 3.If I hadn’t have done this, I may not be able to get a good reference from my boss or company when I leave. 4.This is not such a big deal, given the potential benefits 5.Business is business with a different set of rules 6.If not me, someone else would do it and get reward The road to success depends on how the business person defines success. The success concepts drives intentions and behavior in business either implicitly or explicitly. USING THE ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING FRAMWORK TO IMPROVE ETHICAL DECISIONS It bears repeating that it is impossible to tell you what is right or wrong; instead, we are attempting to prepare you make in framed ethical decisions. Although this chapter does not moralize by telling you what to do in a specific situation, it does provide an overview of typical decision-making processes and factor that influence ethical decisions. The framework is not a guide for how to make decisions but is intended to provide you with insights and knowledge about typical ethical decision making processes in business organizations. Because it is impossible to agree on normative judgments about what is ethical, business ethics scholars developing descriptive models have instead focused on regularities in decision making and the various phenomena that interact in a dynamic environment to produce predictable behavioral patterns. THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP AN A CORPORATE CULTERE Leadership the ability on authority to guide and direct others toward achievement of a goal, has significant impact on ethical decision making because leader have the power to motive others and enforce the organization’s rules policies as well as their own viewpoints. LEADRESHIP STYLE INFLUENCE ETHICAL DECISIONS Leadership styles influence many aspects of organizational behavior, including employees’ acceptance of and adherence to organizational norms and values. Styles that focus on building strong organizational values among employees contribute to shared standards of conduct. The ethical leadership concept is not only for CEOs, boards of directors, and managers but can also  be fellow employees. Ethical leadership by the CEO requires an understanding of the firm’s vision and values, as well as the challenges of responsibility and the risk in achieving organizational objectives. Six leadership styles that are based on emotional intelligence—the ability to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively—have been identified by Daniel Goleman. 1.The coercive leader demands instantaneous obedience and focuses on achievement, initiative, and self-control. Although this style can be very effective during times of crisis or during a turnaround, it otherwise creates a negative climate for organizational performance. 2.The authoritative leader—considered to be one of the most effective styles—inspires employees to follow a vision, facilitates change, and creates a strongly positive performance climate. 3.The affiliative leader values people, their emotions, and their needs and relies on friendship and trust to promote flexibility, innovation, and risk taking. 4.The democratic leader relies on participation and teamwork to reach collaborative decisions. This style focuses on communication and creates a positive climate for achieving results. 5.The pacesetting leader can create a negative climate because of the high standards that he or she sets. This style works best for attaining quick results from highly motivated individuals who value achievement and take the initiative. 6.The coaching leader builds a positive climate by developing skills to foster long-term success, delegating responsibility, and skillfully issuing challenging assignments. Transactional leaders attempt to create employee satisfaction through negotiating, or â€Å"bartering,† for desired behaviors or levels of performance. Transformational leaders strive to raise employees’ level of commitment and to foster trust and motivation. HABITS OF STRONG ETHICAL LEADERS In particular, we believe that ethical leadership is based on holistic thinking that embraces the complex and challenging issues that companies face on a daily basis. Ethical leaders need both knowledge and experience to make the right decision. Strong ethical leaders have both the courage and the most complete information to make decisions that will be the best in the long run. Strong ethical leaders must stick to their principles and, if  necessary, be ready to leave the organization if its corporate governance system is so flawed that it is impossible to make the right choice. Ethical Leaders Have Strong Personal Character There is general agreement that ethical leadership is highly unlikely without a strong personal character. The question is how to teach or develop a moral person in a corporate environment. White, a leading authority on character development, believes the focus should be on â€Å"ethical reasoning† rather than on being a â€Å"moral person.† Ethical Leaders Have a Passion to Do Right The passion to do right is â€Å"the glue that holds ethical concepts together.† Some leaders develop this trait early in life, whereas others develop it over time through experience, reason, or spiritual growth. They often cite familiar arguments for doing right—to keep. society from disintegrating, to alleviate human suffering, to advance human prosperity, toresolve conflicts of interest fairly and logically, to praise the good and punish the guilty, or just because something â€Å"is the right thing to do.† Ethical Leaders Are Proactive Ethical leaders do not hang around waiting for ethical problems to arise. They anticipate, plan, and act proactively to avoid potential ethical crises.44 One way to be proactive is to take a leadership role in developing effective programs that provide employees with guidance and support for making more ethical choices even in the face of considerable pressure to do otherwise. Ethical Leaders Consider Stakeholders’ Interests Ethical leaders consider the interests of and implications for all stakeholders, not just those that have an economic impact on the firm. This requires acknowledging and monitoring the concerns of all legitimate stakeholders, actively communicating and cooperating with them, employing processes that are respectful of them, recognizing interdependencies among them, avoiding activities that would harm their human rights, and recognizing the potential conflicts between leaders’ â€Å"own role as corporate  stakeholders and their legal and moral responsibilities for the interests of other stakeholders. Ethical Leaders Are Role Models for the Organization’s Values If leaders do not actively serve as role models for the organization’s core values, then those values become nothing more than lip service. According to behavioral scientist Brent Smith, as role models, leaders are the primary influence on individual ethical behavior. Leaders whose decisions and actions are contrary to the firm’s values send a signal that the firm’s values are trivial or irrelevant. Firms such as Countrywide Financial articulated core values that were only used as window dressing. On the other hand, when leaders model the firm’s core values at every turn, the results can be powerful Ethical Leaders Are Transparent and Actively Involved in Organizational Decision Making Being transparent fosters openness, freedom to express ideas, and the ability to question conduct, and it encourages stakeholders to learn about and comment on what a firm is doing. Transparent leaders will not be effective unless they are personally involved in the key decisions that have ethical ramifications. Transformational leaders are collaborative, which opens the door for transparency through interpersonal exchange. Earlier we said that transformational leaders instill commitment and respect for values that provide guidance on how to deal with ethical issues. Ethical Leaders Are Competent Managers Who Take a Holistic View of the Firm’s Ethical Culture Ethical leaders can see a holistic view of their organization and therefore view ethics as a strategic component of decision making, much like marketing, information systems, production, and so on. Although his company is called Waste Management, CEO David P. Steiner is as committed to renewable energy as just about anyone working for a multibillion dollar business. Steiner was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics by the Ethisphere Institute in 2007, and his company, Waste Management, was chosen as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2008. Case study : Tyco International: Leadership Crisis INTRODUCTION On September 12, 2002, national television showcased Tyco International’s former chief executive officer (CEO) L. Dennis Kozlowski and former chief financial officer (CFO) Mark H. Swartz in handcuffs after being arrested and charged with misappropriating more than $170 million from the company. They were also accused of stealing more than $430 million through fraudulent sales of Tyco stock and concealing the information from shareholders. The two executives were charged with more than thirty counts of misconduct, including grand larceny, enterprise corruption, and falsifying business records. Another executive, former general counsel Mark A. Belnick, was charged with concealing $14 million in personal loans. Months after the initial arrests, charges and lawsuits were still being filed—making the Tyco scandal one of the most notorious of the early 2000s. TYCO’S HISTORY Founded in 1960 by Arthur J. Rosenberg, Tyco began as an investment and holding company focused on solid-state science and energy conversion. It developed the first laser with a sustained beam for use in medical procedures. Rosenberg later shifted his focus to the commercial sector. In 1964, Tyco became a publicly traded company. It also began a series of rapid acquisitions—sixteen companies by 1968. The expansion continued through 1982, as the company sought to fill gaps in its development and distribution networks. Between 1973 and 1982, the firm grew from $34 million to $500 million in consolidated sales. THE RISE OF DENNIS KOZLOWSKI In 1975, armed with a degree in accounting, Dennis Kozlowski went to work for Tyco, following brief stints at SCM Corporation and Nashua Corporation. He soon found a friend and mentor in then CEO Joseph Gaziano. Kozlowski was impressed by Gaziano’s lavish lifestyle—company jets, extravagant vacations, company cars, and country club memberships. However, Gaziano’s reign ended abruptly in 1982 when he died of cancer. Gaziano was replaced by John F.  Fort III, who differed sharply in management style. Where Gaziano had been extravagant, Fort was analytical and thrifty. His goal was to increase profits for shareholders and cut the extravagant spending characterizing Gaziano’s tenure, and Wall Street responded positively to Tyco’s new direction. Kozlowski, who had thrived under Gaziano, was forced to adapt to the abrupt change in leadership. Adept at crunching numbers, Kozlowski focused on helping to achieve Fort’s vision of putting shareholders first. Kozlowski’s largest acquisition was Wormald International, a $360 million global fire-protection concern. Integrating Wormald proved problematic, and Fort was reportedly unhappy with such a large purchase. Fort and Kozlowski also disagreed over rapid changes made to Grinnell. Kozlowski responded by lobbying to convince Tyco’s board of directors that problems with Wormald were a â€Å"bump in the road† and that the firm should continue its strategy of acquiring profitable companies that met guidelines. KOZLOWSKI’S TYCO EMPIRE After Fort’s departure, Dennis Kozlowski, then 46, found himself helming Tyco International. With a new lifestyle—parties and multiple homes in Boca Raton, Nantucket, Beaver Creek, and New York City—and an aggressive management style, he appeared to be following in the footsteps of his mentor, former CEO Joseph Gaziano. Kozlowski knew Tyco from the bottom up, and stated that he was determined to make it the greatest company of the next century. Among other things, he recognized that one of Tyco’s major shortcomings was its reliance on cyclical industries, which tend to be very sensitive to economic ups and downs. In 1997, Kozlowski acquired ADT Security Services, a British-owned company located in Bermuda. By structuring the deal as a â€Å"reverse takeover,† wherein a public company is acquired by a private company so as to avoid the lengthy process of going public, Tyco acquired a global presence as well as ADT’s Bermuda registration. The majority of members had served for ten years or more, and they were familiar with Kozlowski’s management style. As directors, they were responsible for protecting Tyco’s shareholders through disclosure of questionable situations or issues that might seem unethical or inappropriate. Despite this, after the arrests of Kozlowski and Swartz, investigations uncovered the following troubling relationships among the  board’s members: 1.Richard Bodman invested $5 million for Kozlowski in a private stock fund managed by Bodman. 2.Frank E. Walsh, Jr. received $20 million for helping to arrange the acquisition of CIT Group without the other board members’ knowledge. 3.Walsh also held controlling interest in two firms that received more than $3.5 million for leasing an aircraft and providing pilot services to Tyco between 1996 and 2002. 4.Stephen Foss received $751,101 for supplying a Cessna Citation aircraft and pilot services. 5.Lord Michael Ashcroft used $2.5 million in Tyco funds to purchase a home. Meanwhile, Jeanne Terrile, an analyst from Merrill Lynch who worked for Tyco, was not impressed with Kozlowski’s activities and Tyco’s performance. Her job at Merrill Lynch was to make recommendations to investors on whether to buy, hold, or sell specific stocks. After Terrile wrote a negative review of Tyco’s rapid acquisitions and mergers and refused to upgrade Merrill’s position on Tyco’s stock, Kozlowski met with David Komansky, the CEO of Merrill Lynch. THE FALL OF DENNIS KOZLOWSKI AND OTHERS In early 2002, Kozlowski announced Tyco’s split of its four divisions into independent, publicly traded companies: Security and Electronics, Healthcare, Fire Protection and Flow Control, and Financial Services. Kozlowski stated, â€Å"I am extremely proud of Tyco’s performance. We have built a 5 great portfolio of businesses and over the five years ended September 30, 2001, we have delivered earnings per share growth at a compounded annual rate of over 40 percent and industry-leading operating profit margins in each of our businesses. During this same period, we have increased annual free cash flow from $240 million in 1996 to $4.8 billion in fiscal 2001. Nonetheless, even with this performance, Tyco is trading at a 2002 P/E multiple of 12.0x, a discount of almost 50 percent to the S&P 500.† Also in 2002, the New York State Bank Department observed large sums of money moving in and out of Tyco’s accounts. What made this unusual was that the funds were being transferred into Kozlowski’s personal accounts. Authorities discovered that Kozlowski had sought to avoid around $1 million in New York state import taxes. In September of that year, Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz, who also had resigned, were indicted on thirty-eight felony counts for allegedly stealing $170 million from Tyco and fraudulently selling an  additional $430 million in stock options. Among other allegations, Kozlowski was accused of taking $242 million from a program intended to help Tyco employees buy company stock. REBUILDING AN EMPIRE After Kozlowski’s resignation, Edward Breen replaced him as CEO. The company filed suit against Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz for more than $100 million. The SEC allows companies to sue insiders who profited by buying and selling company stock within a six-month period. Tyco stated, â€Å"To hold him accountable for his misconduct, we seek not only full payment for the funds he misappropriated but also punitive damages for the serious harm he did to Tyco and its shareholders.†