Tezra White
Jacinta De Costa
Danielle Wellington
Microsoft's Expanding Corporate Power
Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates in Seattle, Washington. By 1978 Microsoft became an international sales office expanding to Japan and obtaining a year ends sales that exceeded $1 million. Presently in the fiscal year ending in June 2004, Microsoft increased its total revenue by $4.65 billion (14%) to $36.84 billion. It employs more than 55,000 people in 85 countries. Its total assets are $92,389 million, and is on the Forbes Fortune 500 list. It was even convicted of becoming a monopoly by a United States court in 2001. Accused of using domination of the Operating System market to restrict competition.
In 2004 Microsoft had a total of $44,610 million dollars in investments. Microsoft began as simply a software company, creating the first language for the personal computer BASIC. Now Microsoft's products range from several versions of Windows Operating Systems, word processing programs (the Microsoft office series), business processing solutions, servers and tools (Microsoft Windows Server System), Mobile such as online games and Xbox. Xbox alone has been a major success for Microsoft with 15.5 million consoles shipped and 425 published games for it, it is now the second most sold game units in Europe and North America. Its MSN site earned a record of over $1 billion in advertising revenues. It created mobile devices (I.e. pocket P.C), the MSN network, and Entertainment and Software products in 2004.
Microsoft is considered to be a powerful corporation. According to its mission statement Microsoft endeavors to use its power to "enable people and businesses to realize their full potential"(Microsoft.com). Like many corporations Microsoft's goal as stated by its mission statement is exceeded by its actions. Microsoft has been very successful in exercising what Charles Derber describes as the "Corporate Mystique" (Derber). The corporation's quick rise to power is definitely noticed by everyone. What goes unnoticed is the process of the shift and the transfer of sovereignty. How many of us knew that in the past nine years Microsoft has acquired over 60 companies? Companies such as Hotmail, Access Software among others that are well known and widely used. I would carefully assume that powerful companies such as Microsoft would always endeavor to acquire and where acquisitioning proves futile the next step would be to invest. The contributors to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia has assisted me in proving this assumption factual; because according to Wikipedia Microsoft has invested in over 140 companies worldwide in the past nine years. Their investments includes AT&T, Best Buy, BET, NBC and Ticket Master.
Microsoft has been utilizing its power to indirectly influence the economy through its ability to influence consumer spending. This is strategically done through various mediums. Over the years Microsoft has gained consumer loyalty through its monopoly position in desktop PCs. Many consumers have become very dependent on the corporations products. Consumers have not only supported Microsoft because of its unique product line but also because of the charismatic leadership of its co-founder and biggest shareholder, Mr. William Gates. Gates alongside wife Melinda has formed the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has a $27bn endowment and in the last decade has pledged over $7bn to good causes such the worldwide infant vaccination program and Anti-HIV campaigns. Consumers seek to invest in and have great respect for corporations who are well established with recognizable assets. The BBC News has reported, "in terms of assets, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation dwarfs that of other well-known names in U.S Philanthropy such as the Rockefeller Foundations or the Ford Foundation"(BBC.com). We all know the Rockefellers and the Fords and like them Gates alongside Microsoft is effectively using its power to continuously preserve its name and sell its products.
Bill Gates once said, "There are people who don't like capitalism, and people who don't like PCs, but there's no one who likes PC who doesn't like Microsoft. "The general public appears to perceive Microsoft as the software company, the main source of computer functionality. For a long time, Microsoft was widely seen as the "good guy" in the computer software market, providing an inexpensive alternative to the expensive system provided by the major mainframe and UNIX vendors, and it was admired for the large amounts of money it made in doing so. By the 1990s, however, the perception that Microsoft had become the "bad guy" had increased substantially. It was frequently accused of leveraging its market dominance in desktop computing in order to try to exploit its customers unfairly. Sure, people will rally against Bill Gates every chance they get. But when it comes time to put up or shut up -- to remove all traces of Microsoft software from their hard drives -- you better believe they'll think twice.
Microsoft funds several think tanks, including the American Enterprise Institute, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute and the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute. These organization have often been called "shills" by Microsoft's critics, who allege that the groups are paid by Microsoft in order to spread Microsoft propaganda under the appearance of being neutral and unaffiliated, and that the attempt to harm Microsoft's competitors by spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt. In recent years, Microsoft has been accused of anti-competitive business practices by the US government, the European Union, Japan, and Microsoft's competitors; this has generated huge negative perceptions. Many companies have sued Microsoft over allegations of stolen intellectual property and anticompetitive business practices, and many of these cases have been decided against Microsoft. However, the cases often drag on for years due to appeals and delays initiated by Microsoft, so that by the time a verdict is delivered, the case has long since become irrelevant and the targeted company is no longer a viable competitor.
There are groups and net works dedicated to destroying Microsoft. The http://www.enemy.org website has an impressive network of mirror sites in Russia, France, Brazil and Japan, and opens with a picture of Bill Gates with a gun pointing at his head. The Net Action site is also on the anti-Microsoft side and is running an action campaign.
The European Union launched a formal antitrust case against Microsoft, accusing the company of abusing its dominance in the operating system market to gain control over the server software market. The proceedings began after Sun Microsystems complained that Microsoft used unfair licensing practices and withheld critical information about Windows. Since Microsoft holds about 95 percent of the PC operating systems market, Sun says the company is obligated to share information about its software to allow interoperability with non-Microsoft server software. The EU has sent a statement of objections to Microsoft, giving the software giant two months to respond. If Microsoft is found to have violated antitrust laws, the EU could fine Microsoft as much as 10 percent of its yearly global sales. Meanwhile, the EU continues to investigate antitrust complaints about Microsoft's Windows 2000 software.
REFERENCES
{http://www.answers.com/topic/common-criticisms-of-microsoft}
{http://www.msversus.org/taxonomy/term/1?from=0}
{http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2004-03-22-fortune-500-list_x.htm}
{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/652150.stm}
{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_Microsoft_Corporation}
{http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2005/feb05/02-23HIVResearch.asp}
{http://www.research.microsoft.com/}
{http://www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/corporatepower.html}
{http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/windows/story/0,10801,85441p2,00.html}
{http://www.cei.org/utils/printer.cfm?AID=2750}
{http://www.fuckmicrosoft.com/content/whatsbad.shtml}
Nevo, Das, Epelbaum
The Enron Corporation was formed in 1985 when InterNorth (Omaha,
Nebraska) and Houston Natural Gas (Texas) gas pipeline companies merged. The unification of both companies created the largest natural gas pipeline in the United States. The deal integrated several pipeline systems to create the first nationwide natural gas pipeline system. The companies first CEO was Kenneth Lay and both companies decided to leave the main base area in Houston, and it was in 1986 when the company first got its name.
After the merger, the company had a rapid growth spur that took the company from being a simple gas pipeline to being an international energy trader. In 1989, Enron began to trade gas commodities (chemicals, coal, fiber-optic bandwidth, metals, and paper), and electricity in 1994. In less than ten years of its existence, Enron became the largest electricity company in the United Kingdom and United States. As profit started to pile up, they started to spread their land wealth internationally. In just fifteen years, Enron had gotten into global trading. They were trading natural gas, commodities, electricity and had established their own Internet website Enron onLine. Enron became the seventh largest US company in revenue. Their 401K (which is like a saving retirement plan) held a lot of Enron stock. Over sixty percent of the 401K was made up of Enron stocks. Employees had twenty options to choose from the company. They began to invest and their investments flourished.
Enron had really prospered, growing from nowhere to a staff of 21,000 in more that forty countries. Enron brought in new technology and new methods of trading in energy. In early 2000, Enron held a conference in Houston for a day with Wall Street investors where financial experts were on hand. Natural gases and other power energy companies were awed by Enron's on-line capabilities. When Enron's president told them that the business was worth $29 million and the stock was at $37 a share, they were amazed. Then in early 2000, Enron announced it was considering a separate public sale for their internet offerings. Things were going well for Enron. Enron was a large, complex corporation that made a fortune selling electricity. Much like many big corporations, Enron had its good side and its bad side. In the year of 2002, the bad side of Enron was revealed to the nation. Special purpose entries (SPE's), the money borrowed from banks, did not show up on Enron's books because of the partnership status as separate entities. Enron's management transferred assets (and any related debt) to the special purpose entities at an appraised value above the net cost of the assets. Enron tops the list of America's biggest corporate collapses. The giant energy group filed for bankruptcy protection after admitting that its profits over the previous few years had been nearly $600m lower than what had been claimed. Enron filed for the largest bankruptcy in American history. Enron was one of the largest energy providers in the U.S. and assumed to be doing just fine, but they are now filed for bankruptcy and have left many people confused about what happened. {http://school.newsweek.com/extras/enron.pho, www.blackwellpublishing.com, http://people-press.org }
Enron is a notorious example of how any corporation can build and expand on a fictitious ground by presenting imaginary profits to attract potential investors. While the company itself had been taking a deep plunge in debts and losses over last few years, it had presented its accounting data in favor of hyper-inflated profit. The method of accounting is nothing but a "self-declaration" of financial activities that pertain to asset, liabilities and profits. This equation can be presented to bloat profit. Therefore, if the government fails to monitor the accuracy of their financial reports, they are merely encouraging the public money taken in the form of investment to be misappropriated. It ultimately is a hazard on our morality and ethics.
Trustworthiness is the most accounted for tool that a potential investor relies on, before his/her buying of stock or bonds. Most stock holders have very little or no information about how the corporations will run, since most of their current practices and future operations are not disclosed honestly. Nothing attracts an investor more to purchase a stock than a portrayal of propagating profit. If the profit reports made public by corporations cannot be trusted by the potential investors, economic growth will greatly suffer. The government must take control as to how the financial report be presented and scrutinize these report to determine their validity.
It seems that government is negligent to tread on the corporations' way of practicing and manipulating their power, unless it becomes so public that it will hurt the incumbent's reputation. This apparently has a lot to do with the so called "fundraising" that is taking place. The "soft monies" that are donated to the political parties during campaign certainly do buy them some privileges in exercising power. The government may encourage or provide the necessities, but it sure does put blind-folds on its eyes or looks the other way in many situations.
{http://news.bbc.co.uk, www.washingtonpost.com}
According to Max Weber, economic power is the ability to control material resources: to direct production, to monopolize accumulation, to dictate consumption. Weber uses the concept of authority to analyze the operation of power. Through an aspect of charisma, the Enron Corporation gained trust in the hearts of people, businesses, and the government. They actually had, in a sense, the power to manipulate people's financial investments. This abuse of trust is the essence and heart of the crime that was committed. {http://www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/power.html}
REFERENCES
http://school.newsweek.com/extras/enron.pho
www.blackwellpublishing.com
http://people-press.org
http://news.bbc.co.uk
www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/power.html
Ashok K. Sugrim.
Sami Hageb.
Francisco Martinez.
A first glance at The General Electric Corporation indicates that it provides useful commodities and services to the public in return for profits to its shareholders/owners. A probe into its operations, however, reveals that General Electric wields much power in the economy.
Beginning in a barn in nineteen hundred, General Electric grew into a massive organization. It provides diversified commodities and services; financial, technological and manufacturing. Its operations can be found in more than one-hundred countries. Making everything from light bulbs to aircraft engines, GE is among the ten largest world industrial firms and the company with the highest market value in the US{www.ge.com}. In 2004, its balance sheet reports 10.6 billion of outstanding shares and several hundreds of millions dollars in assets. Its income statement for this period reported over one hundred and fifty million dollars in sales revenue {http://money central.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/statement}.
With this volume of outstanding shares, one would get the impression that the shareholders are the fundamental power of the corporation since they decide with their votes who controls the corporation in the first place - the board of directors. Once the board of directors are elected and the executive officers are appointed, the shareholders take a back seat in the decision making of the corporation. Professor Shortell noted that the "control of a corporation rest with the board of directors and the corporate officers" {www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/corporate power.html}.
It is only when the board of directors agree to pay out dividends that the shareholders actually receive their share of the corporation's profits. The trend for the past five years, 2000 - 2004 shows that the shareholders of GE, have been receiving dividend income on a regular basis - every year. The remainder of the profits are being kept in the retained earnings account and increases stockholders equity. For the same five years period, 2000 - 2004, the stockholders equity's account has increased by almost forty-six percent {http://money central.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt}
General Electric has an admirable reputation in the households of America today. Their authority and "corporate power" can be felt throughout the numerous households appliances; consumer electronics, home comfort & safety products, lighting, media and entertainment and storage solutions. Of all the diverse lines of products available for household use, their line of home appliances seems to dominate the industry. General Electric consumer and industrial even won the 2005 Energy Star Awards for its outstanding contribution to reducing green house gas emissions by making and promoting energy-efficient household appliances {www.geoconsumerproducts.com/pressroom/press_releases/company/company/estar05.ml}. Their influence on energy and on the Department of Energy shows that they use that form of power towards the creation of their products. Thus lowering energy bills and expenses for home appliances, General Electric (GE) propose to use ATP co-funding to develop a lighting source that was more environmentally safe and as cost efficient as the original fluorescent bulb {http://status reports-atp.nist.gov/reports/92-01-0132.htm}.
In the larger society, GE is recognize throughout the Department of Energy for its energy efficient line of products, the Dow Jones and in international markets across the world. Its success and product line have become so powerful and profitable that GE's profit jumped by eighteen percent in the fourth quarter and is projected to grow between twelve percent to seventeen percent this year {www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/24/ap/business/mainD891HE180.shtml}. GE is well known for providing a solution to households needs. I came across an instance where residents from Halifax requested a place to dump their household hazardous wastes such as; cans of paint, old household cleaners, batteries etc. they turned to GE Modular Space and their new line of fiber glass storage structures Modulaire Building Systems. A modified 16' x 20' building with 12' canopy was provided. The front of the building had an 8' x 7' roll up door and a small night drop box was located to the left. At the backside of the unit a set of 6'x 6'8" high double man doors were installed for the out going shipment {www.modspace.com/modulaire/library/household.pdf}. The point of the matter is hat GE satisfies the needs of both the DOE and of the consumer. In turn, GE creates absolute influence on decisions that are made throughout the household.
General Electric harnesses a labor force of over 300,000 employees{www.ge.com}. What constitutes salaries and wages expenses for GE, is considered income to its employees. The employees are required to pay taxes on their earnings, the corporation is required to pay taxes on its profits and the shareholders are required to pay taxes on dividends received. The trend for the past five years period, 2000 - 2004, showed that General Electric paid their employees, paid dividends, and made profits {http://money central.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt}.
All of these; employees earnings, dividends and profits earned represent income to the recipients and are taxed accordingly. What represents income tax expenses for these various entities is revenue for the Government. The Government can then spend on such things as defense, schools etc.
In conclusion, the power of General Electric can be felt throughout the economy. The consumer benefits by enjoying cost efficient appliances, the employees benefit by providing services and receiving wages & salaries, the Government received revenues in forms of taxation and in turn spend on the economy, and finally the shareholders/owners received dividends.
REFERENCES
www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/corporatepower.html
www.ge.com
www.cbsnews.com
www.modspace.com
Liliana, Sherry, Allen, Ryan
Disney is one of the most famous names in the animation industry. It is known for providing entertainment directed to adults and children. Its productions consist of several franchises. Starting with international theme parks and a world class animation studio and business franchise, the company nearly dominates the industry. Famous names such as Mickey Mouse began with Disney, and were the foundation of a company that has now grew into several entertainment studios, theme parks, products, and other media productions.
Walt Disney was the man who established the entertainment empire which still stands strong today. He began in the 1920s, creating Mickey Mouse and making animated films such as, Snow white and the seven dwarfs in 1937, Pinocchio in the 1940s, Cinderella in the 1950s and a number of other productions. Disney then moved on to the larger pictures producing live action films and television shows for kids and adults. The company exploded and its films became the highest grossing films of there time. By the early 1960s the Disney Empire was a major success, and Walt Disney productions had established itself as a top producer for family entertainment.
Within the past few decades, Disney has moved into a broader market. In the 1980s the company began producing films for adults. The Walt Disney studio is headed by Chairman Dick Cook. It includes a collection of movie studios such as, Walt Disney, Touchstone pictures, and Hollywood pictures. Miramax films and dimension film studios are also part of the Walt Disney productions, but operate separately in New York. Walt Disney's animation and motion picture studios have developed into a multi-billion dollar television, motion picture, Media Corporation that carries entertainment in various ways for various ages.
Disney's media network does not only include it's motion picture network but also includes broadcasting and cable networks. Disney does it all from the movies to T.V. to radio and internet. ABC Daytime, ABC News, ABC Sports are all incorporated in the ABC Television network. ABC Radio, Radio Disney and ESPN Radio are part of the 72 radio stations that are broadcasted. One out of every two sports radio listeners listen to an ESPN Radio affiliate {http://corporate.disney.go.com}. Radio Disney is available nationwide on XM Radio, Sirius, digital satellite and the cable music channel of Music Choice {http://corporate.disney.go.com}. Radio Disney can also be heard in Japan, the UK, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Disney's cable network includes ESPN, Disney Channel, Disney Channel International, Toon Disney, SOAPnet, ABC Family. The international cable channels focused on kids includes JETIX, which can be seen in Europe and Latin America. Walt Disney Television Animation and Fox Kids International holds interest in E! Entertainment, A&E, Lifetime and the History Channel {http://corporate.disney.go.com}. In 2005 Disney will debuting two new creations to their networks. ABC News will be launching ABC News Now which will be available multiple media by cable, satellite, broadband and wireless{http://corporate.disney.go.com}. ESPN will create ESPN Mobile, a wireless phone service using the Sprint Nationwide PCS Network. It will offer sports fans sports news, commentary, statistics, ring tones, photos and logos on a mobile phone {http://corporate.disney.go.com}.
Disney merchandising began in 1929 when Walt Disney was approached by a businessman interested in placing Mickey Mouse on the cover of a children's writing tablet.
Disney Consumer Products (DCP) is the business segment of The Walt Disney Company that extends the Disney brand to merchandise ranging from apparel, toys, home dÂŽcor and books to interactive games, food and beverages, electronics and animation art. This is accomplished through the work of DCP's various lines of business: Disney Toys, Disney Softlines, Disney Hardlines, Disney Publishing, Buena Vista Games, Baby Einstein, the Muppets Holding Company and Disney Direct Marketing's catalog and disneydirect.com. The Disney Store, which debuted in 1987, also falls under DCP, through licensing agreements for the stores in North America and Japan and wholly owned stores in Europe.
Under the leadership of Chairman Andy Mooney, DCP has shifted from strictly a licensed business model to a true consumer products company focused on product innovation, creativity and quality, and building relationships with key retailers. Disney continues to reign as the world's largest licensor with global retail sales of $15 billion for 2004.
In 2005 and beyond, DCP will introduce bigger statements behind a rich collection of animated films, including Chicken Little, as well as live-action films, including Herbie The Love Bug, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
DCP also has a sharp focus on the creation of products derived from Disney's television shows, including Disney Channel's JoJo's Circus, That's So Raven, Lizzie McGuire and Kim Possible, as well as Power Rangers that airs on the Jetix TV block of ABC Family and Toon Town and Disney Publishing's W.I.T.C.H., which launched as a TV series in the U.S. in January 2005 on Jetix.
Buena Vista Games not only brings Disney franchises from film and TV to life through interactive games, it is creating new franchises like Kingdom Hearts, one of the best selling games in Japan and in the U.S.
Whether it's tiaras for little princesses, Pooh blankets for babies or books for tweens, DCP is about The Walt Disney Company's broad content and the magical products it inspires.
"The happiest place on Earth", or Disneyland opened its doors on July 17th 1955 and ever since then it has been well known for its magic and wonder. Walt Disney himself created and named every one of the "lands" in the park. At the time the park first opened there were only a few lands that occupied the theme park. Such lands were Main Street USA, Adventure land, Frontier land, Fantasyland, and Tomorrow land. Later, throughout the years the park added New Orleans Square, Critter Country (formerly Bear Country), and Toontown.
Eventually, as everything around California changed, so did Disneyland. Since it was located right in the center of Los Angeles, Disneyland became a tourist trap filled with overly expensive hotels, cruise ships, and restaurants that bring in billions of dollars every year. Now Disney has expanded more than ever creating a Disney World in Florida, a Euro Disney in Paris, Tokyo Disney, and coming soon, a Hong Kong Disney.
Disney's theme parks deal with a lot of business units, revenue and operating income. Before I go on, I'd like to make a note that Disney actually doesn't own Euro Disney or Tokyo Disney. However, The Walt Disney Corporation does get royalties from both parks, as well as a large share of the profits from Paris. This owing to the fact that Disney does own a share of this resort. The theme Parks on a yearly basis earned $1.940 billion in revenues and $565 million in operating income. Also, since theme parks are normally considered a seasonal business, the profit earnings during the months of April, May and June climb from 12% to anywhere to 16%. And during the summer months, it can even go from 16% to 20%. At this point a very important point is brought up. That is that the Disney theme park business is consistently growing and reliably brings in large profits. Since the theme parks have steadily grown it can be counted on to bring in profits.
It is simple to see that escaping the world of Disney is near impossible. At one point or another in your life you have at some point come across something Disney related. It's inevitable. Whether it's its memorable cartoon characters in movies, its fantastic theme parks, or its accessories, Disney is hard to ignore, or forget. If Disney has taught us anything its that a small dream of a cartoon mouse can not only withstand the test of time, but also become what it is today; a major global power.
REFERENCES
www.lib.berkeley.edu/mrc/disney.html
www.disney.go.com
www.tvhome.com
Prince, Mark, Jagessar, Sampson
ESSAY
"With great power comes great responsibility." The same way individual people are responsible for their actions, large corporations are as well. Pfizer, one of the largest pharmaceutical corporations in the world, is responsible for creating better health and well being to its many patrons throughout the world. Pfizer's pharmaceutical branch is responsible for five of the world's top-selling medicines. Pfizer has cornered the pharmaceutical market with its innovative drug technology. The main factors that contribute to their success are the control they have on the market, their power to monopolize the industry, their ability to advertise and their strength in the political arena. The pharmaceutical industry is far different from any other corporation. These enormous corporations are also responsible for numerous over the counter drugs which the direct consumer does have the power to make an informed decision about before purchasing. It is for this reason that we see an influx of commercials for both over the counter and prescriptions drugs. Once the consumer knows the name, they are able to establish brand loyalty with both over the counter and prescription drugs.
Pfizer exercises its corporate power in several different aspects. One of them being its frequent control of the drug market. In order to have control of the drug market a pharmaceutical company must create a drug (which most preferably would be high in demand) and patent it. By doing so the patent holder has full control of the production and distribution of the patented product. This allows pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, to create a market price for that patented product, thus giving them control of that market also know as a monopoly. Being that as it may, does this help or hurt society?
An apparent benefit, of pharmaceutical companies striving for a monopoly, is evident in the money invested in research each year. In 2004 alone, Pfizer invested 7.7 billion dollars ( www.pfizer.com/help/index.html) in research and development of new breakthrough, and extremely beneficial drugs. This is done by pharmaceutical companies ultimately for profit but in the process its results in the companies striving to find a cure, patent it and try to make maximum profit. Pfizer's attempted monopoly can also hurt society. Average citizens feel violated by the escalating drug prices, controlled by the pharmaceutical companies. But these high prices a re more costly in less wealthy countries. "Every week, 2000,000 people die of infectious disease, the great majority of them women, men, and children living in poverty in the developing world (Oxfam report Pfizerforum.com)". Due to the high costs poverty stricken citizens of other countries are unable to afford the costly medications and end up paying the ultimate price.
Given Pfizer's high status in the pharmaceutical market, they not only have the power to control drug prices, they also have the ability to control the market. It appears that Pfizer's main goal is to become the most trusted, noticeable brand name. Their products encompass prescription drugs, and some of the leading over-the-counter products. Reports from their 2004 financial fourth quarter indicates "fifteen products marketed by Pfizer are number one in their respective therapeutic categories" {www.pfizer.com}. Evidently, Pfizer has and continues to accommodate the ever-changing needs of its consumers. Their consumer healthcare products treat illnesses that range from diaper rash to nasal allergies. Pfizer's products include familiar names such as Listerine, Visine, Bendadryl and SudafedÑall number one in their respective categories. In addition, they also produce body lotion, such as Lubriderm, animal health products such as Equimax, a de-wormer for horses and, not to mention candy and gum including Certs and Bubblicious {www.pfizer.com}Ñall products that one may not associate with Pfizer. Having such diversity in its line of products allows Pfizer to have a bigger web than most of its counterparts, which only increases Pfizer's revenue. Pfizer's chairman and chief executive officer, Hank McKinnell, said, "We have transformed the company through key product launches, major acquisitions and other strategic actions; and we now have competitive advantages that clearly distinguish Pfizer from others in the worldwide pharmaceutical industry." Their enhancing their power over the industry may not be too blatant, if their aim is to allow people to live healthier lives.
Pfizer has shown a major increase in costs of advertising. For some companies, this can be financially draining. Not for the Pfizer company. Pfizer has such a large profit margin, they can afford to spend money on extreme advertising and still not see a decline in expenditures on research and development. Excessive advertising of name brand drugs has caused a higher demand for them, making less expensive, same level drugs less desirable. This can cause the no name brand drug companies to lose a lot of business, resulting in an imbalanced competitive arena.
Higher demand for brand name drugs has affected insurance companies because of the extra cover costs. Even some insurers' pharmaceutical budgets are inflated due to high demand for brand name drugs. This demand can be considered unnecessary when observing its effects. "Consumer advertising for prescription drugs rose to $100 dollars a month in1998, almost 5 times the total from a year ago... Some health care economists contend that the advertising is fueling a renewed upswing in drug costs which rose 12-15% this year (1988)." (Freudenheim, 91)
This goes to show how advertising can be very influential among people of today's society. It can induce customers to buy things that they don't really need. Products that are just as effective for less money are being overlooked because its manufacturers cannot afford as much advertising as Pfizer can. It seems intelligent decisions are becoming overshadowed by the desire for commercialism: the belief that only the drugs you see advertised on television and in magazines can cure you. This superstition can cause a lot more damage than good.
The Pfizer drug manufacturing company has gained a lot of political influence over the years due to their major contributions to political parties. By making large contributions to political groups, Pfizer can remain secure in their unfair practices. If the political parties that are funded by Pfizer do not satisfy the need of the company, threats can then be made by Pfizer to stop funding, which will have a great negative effect on the political parties. Pfizer has influenced both the Republican and Democratic parties in order to keep control of decision making.
Pfizer has the power to influence the quality of millions of peoples' lives. Pfizer has established itself as the leading pharmaceutical company in the world. They have attained their goal and should now focus on the consumer and their best interest. Both parties have been gaining from their research, marketing and products but the real victor here is Pfizer hands down. If prices for prescription medication continue to rise the way they have been for the past few years, we may no longer be able to afford the success of the company's products. It would be a disgrace for both parties to suffer such a tremendous loss for a few dollars. Pfizer has the power to decide our future as well as theirs. Let's hope they make the right decision.
REFERENCES
{www.pfizer.com, Oxfam report Pfizerforum.com}
Choudri, Salamanca, Joseph, Hayakawa
Google is a corporate entity with a wide-ranging international reach as an organization. According to its "Corporate Overview," while it is head quartered in California, its outreach spans across many continents. To make its physical as well as virtual presence felt around the world, the company has locations in all of the major European capitals {although its primary European headquarters are in Dublin}, as well as locations in Asia, Australia, Canada, Switzerland and India.
Despite its impressive span, the company began quite modestly. In the midst of the "dot.com boom" Google focused instead on quietly building a better search engine with capital from investors and venture capitalists, relying upon world of mouth and the technical expertise of its founders. {Official Website, 2005} However, the company exerts now exerts a tremendous social influence not merely by example of what it has done in the past, but what it intends to do in the future. Google is not content to have merely built the proverbial better search engine mousetrap.
True, the ubiquity of its influence upon the Internet is so extensive that this short paper could not have been written without the assistance of Google "The New York Times" search engine is powered by Google. But recently Google launched its own high-data storage accounts called gmail, making it a rival to other computer networks in terms of mail communications. Also, the Former Vice President Al Gore and his partners intend to create a youth-oriented interactive TV network tied to Google, stretching the company's influence to the entertainment field. {Shim, 2005} Also, users can now store video clips and map images with Google, adding to the service's features, in addition to its search capacities.
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. As a first step to fulfilling that mission, Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed a new approach to online search that took root in a Stanford University dorm room and quickly spread to information seekers around the globe. Google is now widely recognized as the world's largest search engine -- an easy-to-use free service that usually returns relevant results in a fraction of a second.
When you visit www.google.com or one of the dozens of other Google domains, you'll be able to find information in many different languages; check stock quotes, maps, and news headlines; lookup phonebook listings for every city in the United States; search more than one billion images and peruse the world's largest archive of Usenet messages -- more than 1 billion posts dating back to 1981.
"We also provide ways to access all this information without making a special trip to the Google homepage. The Google Toolbar enables you to conduct a Google search from anywhere on the web, while the Google Deskbar {beta} puts a Google search box in the Windows taskbar so you can search from any application you're using, without opening a browser. And for those times when you're away from your PC altogether, Google can be used from a number of wireless platforms including WAP and i-mode phones." {Google official website, 2005} Googles attempts at broadening it's activities have made it an major cultural phenomena in modern life. It would be hard or even impossible today to think of the internet or search engines without the name Google registering into your thoughts. Googles current plans to expand into the wireless industry will further broaden its hold on the computer and technology industries.
Google also has a hold on certain subsidiary companies including Keyhole, Inc., which is a company that provides 3-D satellite images of the earth to other companies such as CNN and the United Nations, both companies which have worldwide coverage therefore giving Google further by getting it's companies images around the world. This can be considered a type of advertisement for Google since its services are being seen around the world without a payment being made for the advertisement.
Culturally it is difficult for one to say they haven't "googled" something online when looking for a specific subject. The fact that Google is the most powerful and most used Internet search engine logically makes it a powerful venture. This power is globally spread since Google offers its services to over 100 countries in 35 or so different languages {Nasdaq 2005}. The site claims to have about 80 million English-speaking users which is a vast number, meaning that the site has a broad appeal to many people. Googles profits are obtained through advertising aimed at the users searching through the site. Google also sells ads to an estimated 200,000 affiliated sites while licensing its search technology to other non-affiliated sites. It can honestly be said that Googles claim to want to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" is becoming a reality because Google as a whole has been outputting tremendous amounts of data to its loyal users.
REFERENCES
Google.com
Shim.com
Nasdaq.com
Mehandru, El-Salibi, Stewart, Sunwoo
Within the last century, the United States has encountered The Great Depression, inflations, recessions, and bank failures. Evolving and learning from the past, the means in which business is conducted is not the same as it was a hundred years ago. Many companies have developed means to increase assets, manage loans for the government and average consumers, and also implement affordable insurance for the same consumers. Perfect competition nearly exists in today's business market; however one company stands out among the rest, Citigroup. Citigroup is a massive unification of smaller existing companies which now possesses and utilizes economic power. Despite the economic power that Citigroup occupies throughout the world, Citigroup has managed to avoid governmental scrutiny for its existence and seeks immunity from governments' world wide.
Citigroup was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp and the Travelers Insurance Group. This massive unification formed the world's largest financial institution. The amalgamation was announced in April of 1998 at a time when it was illegal for such a union to take place. Since the birth of the corporate entity in 1998, Citigroup has acquired various existing companies, such as Smith Barney, Banamex, Bank Handlowy, and Diner's Club International {www.citigroup.com/citigroup/business/brands.htm}. The conglomerate serves approximately 200 million customers, operates in more than half world's countries, and conducts business across six continents. Citigroup has become responsible for manufacturing, sourcing, structuring, marketing and managing alternative investments on a global basis and its success is due to the prolific amount of asset management experience. Each manager possesses the ability to make the most of proprietary methodologies to manage funds, assets, and employees; thus leading to it's dominance as a financial institution world wide {www.smithbarney.com/products_services/managed_money/cai/}.
Although magnitude and business transactions that Citigroup exhaust demonstrate a flawless unity of numerous companies, Citigroup's initial merger between Citicorp and The Traveler's Insurance Group was illegal. This unlawful combination was in actuality a loophole in federal law that allowed the companies temporary exemption from regulation while review of the union was pending in court. Once this waiting period was established, lobbyists virtually enacted a blitzkrieg-style assault on Congress to push for changes to a law known as the Glass-Steagall Act, passed during the Great Depression era. Glass-Steagall effectively prohibited banks, insurance companies, and brokerage houses from sharing information about their clients without their consent, as a measure of protecting clients under privacy laws. The repeal of this law was vital to the formation of Citigroup, as the two merging companies conducted business in all of these industry sectors. The lobbyists took the issue by storm, Glass-Steagall was repealed, thus the largest bank in the history of the world was made a legal entity {http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/wallstreet/weill/demise.html}.
Since its inception, Citigroup has continued to expand its operations globally, while maintaining an outlook that favors deregulation and downsizing of government supervision of its practices, in all countries in which it conducts business. In the United States, Citigroup wields enormous financial power, snapping up companies, resources, business and clientele in an unprecedented period of growth. Obviously able to survive the bursting of the technological bubble, financially Citigroup has created such an enormous amount of wealth for itself and its executives that it literally has changed the way the world does business. This in itself is an example of the sheer economic power and prowess it now possesses. This power does not affect the United States alone; the globalization of economics is something that Citigroup has embraced as its own, as it remains in step with the changing of the world financial order, as it is very often making the groundbreaking deals which drive the global market. One of Citigroup's main objectives was to push the World Trade Organization to accept the General Agreements on Trade in Services, also known as GATS. "Citigroup, which already maintains operations in more than 100 countries, hopes to use the World Trade Organization's General Agreements on Trade in Services to pry open new markets around the world while restricting the ability of governments to regulate their behavior. The result could be increased monopolization of global financial markets, decreased consumer and social protections, decreased access to financial services and increased global economic instability {www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Banks/Citis_Interests.html}." From a service industry perspective, this is an enormous victory for Citigroup and corporations in general, as such immunity from governmental regulation allows them to set up shop using their own personnel, and in addition they can remain protected from any new laws a host country may enact in an attempt to thwart or seize their business.
The implications of the privileges secured by the lobbyists on behalf of Citigroup have literally changed the way the world does business, by keeping governmental regulation in check. This is consistent with the New Economy, which calls for increased globalization of trade, while demanding that deregulation take place in order to maintain a free market economy which allows them to do business with out restriction. Although Citigroup has sought for such immunity, the company is not completely impervious to the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). "Victor Menezes, Citigroup Inc.'s former head of emerging markets may face a federal insider trading lawsuit over a $29.8 million stock sale (597,000 Citigroup shares), eighteen days prior to the world's largest bank announced a $2.2 billion loss in Argentia{www.quote.bloomberg.com/apps/newspid=10000006&sid=alqc9YgEsEHM&refer=home}." Such allegation also demonstrates that no absolute political power does exist for Citigroup. However, with the ability to discover loopholes in the United States laws, and seeking immunity from other foreign governments, Citigroup has the potential to monopolize the financial industry. They may even posses the capability and funds to consume other firms into its already expanding corporation.
REFERENCES
www.quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=alqc9YgEsEHM&refer=home
www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Banks/Citis_Interests.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/wallstreet/weill/demise.html
www.smithbarney.com/products_services/managed_money/cai
www.citigroup.com/citigroup/business/brands.htm
Giterman, Allen, Mundaca, Ramdath
After reading the essay on Pfizer and seeing the path they chose to take with it, we must say that they missed out on some essential information. Pfizer is one of the world's leading manufacturers of pharmaceutical medicines and they failed to mention any of their products. One being Pfizer's new product called Exubera. Exubera is an inhaled short-acting insulin preparation indicated for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.{www.pfizer.com} This new product has not yet been approved but is at the time being filed for approval of the EMEA in Europe. If this product will be approved it will be the most advanced development of all time. Let's say a person has a serious case of diabetes where insulin shots are necessary before every meal to keep their blood sugar levels under tight control. Shots are never pleasant experiences and they could also interfere with your daily activities, however, injections are considered the most efficient and reliable way to deliver insulin to the bloodstream at present. With Exubera on the line all of that might change, Exubera delivers insulin directly to the lungs which creates an even better effect then injections.
"Viagra - it is the drug that has transformed the lives of millions and changed the way we think about sex forever" noted Adam Harcourt-Webster in his article Viagra : the hard sell. {http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4222045.stm} When Viagra was launched in 1998, Pfizer's share price doubled. It was apparent that there was a huge previously untapped market out there. Ironically, Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, stumbled on the drug by accident at their research labs in Sandwich, Kent and have never looked back since then. Today, Viagra remains one of the world's most recognized pharmaceutical brands and maintains a strong leadership position in the erectile dysfunction (ED) category with a 71-percent worldwide market share among phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. In the U.S., which represents 53 percent of the worldwide ED market, Viagra generated strong fourth-quarter revenues of $248 million, representing a 14-percent increase over the third quarter. Outside the U.S., Viagra growth was even stronger, with 19-percent growth versus the previous quarter. The Viagra best-in-class clinical database, improved messaging to both physicians and consumers, and innovative programs, such as the Value Card for Viagra, position this medicine for solid results in 2005 and beyond. {www.pfizer.com}
Another medication that was failed to be mention was Lipitor. Lipitor is prescription drug used to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Along with dieting, Lipitor reduces heart attack risks in people with normal to mildly high levels of cholesterol. Lipitor is known as the best-prescribed drug in the most widely prescribed classes of cholesterol-lowering medications. Lipitor can help lower cholesterol from 29% to 45% and lower the risk of heart attack by 36%, depending on average dose. On a yearly average more than 865,000 Americans suffer a heart attack and about 7.8 million people in the U.S. are heart attack survivors. Leading risk factors that cause heart disease are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, being over the age of 55, smoking, diabetes, and the lack of exercise, which can lead to obesity. In 2004, Pfizer's direct medical costs and indirect costs relating to Lipitor alone exceeded $133 billion.
We would also like to say that Pfizer has made their medications more accessible to people without health insurance. On July 7, 2004 Pfizer announced that they were launching assistance programs to make their prescription medicines available at significant savings to the 43 million uninsured Americans. They produce medicines that help treat common medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, depression and diabetes. The programs will include Pfizer Pfriends, Connection to Care, Sharing the Care and Programs for Individual Medicines. Through Pfizer Pfriends uninsured Americans, regardless of age or income will be able to save on Pfizer medications. Working families with income of $45,000 or less per year, $30,000 or less for individuals, will be able to save an average of 37 percent up to 50 percent off the price of medicines {pfizer.com}. Families and individuals earning more per year can save an average of 15 percent up to 25 percent {pfizer.com}. Families earning $31,000 or less per year, individuals earning $19,000 or less per year can get free Pfizer medicines from their physicians office through Connection to Care and from community health centers and hospitals through Sharing the Care {pfizer.com}. A website and toll free number are available to uninsured people and care givers to help them find the assistance program that best fits their needs.
REFERENCES
{www.pfizer.com}
{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4222045.stm}
Nevo, Das, Epelbaum
Through technological advancements and innovation, Google has become an important part of our lives. It has created a need for its existence in information technology and rightfully assured its place. The virtual storage that not so long ago was totally foreign to us became an essential part of our cyberspace experience. Not only that, it has established its position so firmly that we have now become dependent on Google's services, in regard to the fact that it is impossible for us to remember all the information that we do or do not need or run across.
Google serves an important role in storing and assuring the retrieval of information from virtually everywhere with a connection to the Internet. However, in some ways it makes us vulnerable and dependant as well. We begin to feel a sense of dependency on something that we have not had in the past. To be able to exercise power, in general, we either coerce others or provoke their vulnerability, so that they must play their role as we intend them to. Google's strength and aspect of power is our recognition of its existence and our dependency on its service. Through its free and promising service and our recognitions of its existence and our dependency, it is truly becoming a powerful agent.
This paper looks at how Google is indeed widely recognized as the "World's Best Search Engine" and is fast, accurate and easy to use. It presents a case study to discuss the success of the Google phenomenon, its business model, competitors, alliances, technologies and recommendations for the future. The company also serves corporate clients, including advertisers, content publishers and site managers with cost-effective advertising and a wide range of revenue generating search services. Google's breakthrough technology and continued innovation serve the company's mission of "organizing the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful."
Google is a play on the word googol, as a big number. Milton Sirotta was known for the coining the word googol in 1938 when he was only nine years old. His uncle Edaward Kasner asked him what name he would have given to a "1" following by 100 zeros, and "googol" was the answer. Kasner announced that concept in his book, "Mathematics and the Imagination" {www.economicexpert.com/a/Milton:Sirotta.html}. Google's use of the term reflects the company's mission to organize the immense, seemingly infinite amount of information available on the web. When the search engine was first developed, 10,000 students and professors at Stanford University started using it regularly. Larry Page and Sergey Brit knew they were onto a winner product. Google will be celebrating its fifth anniversary on September 7 and currently handles 200 million search requests per day. Analysts estimate revenues from $940 million to $1.25 billion this year from advertising and licensing fees.
In addition, Google has maintained a revenue sharing relationship with many other firms but the big contract is with the ISP provider America Online. Google has historically partnered with many companies and has even provided search capabilities with the likes of its direct competitor Yahoo. Prior to the recent Google Initial Public Offering (IPO), market insiders and potential investors could not wait to push the company up into the financial stratosphere. Now that the stock is available, Google Inc. is officially and suddenly worth billions. Since opening around $100 per share in August, the stock price has now climbed near $140 per share with no limit in sight." Google is an extensive wealth of information at one's fingertips. It is a very useful engine to use or to simply just surf the internet, it provides hundreds, thousands and even billions of information in a moment, no matter what type of information is needed.
REFERENCES
{www.economicexpert.com/a/Milton:Sirotta.html}
Farid Reznikov and Yale Lipschik
Google.com is clearly the largest search engine available on the internet. There is nobody who can disagree that Google.com has become world renowned and extremely profitable. It is a company that has dominated the market by offering many different languages as well as every possible search inquiry possible. Google.com is everyone's first choice when it comes to looking up anything over the internet. They are the most reliable search engine and rarely have any flaws in their system. They offer a free search with no strings attached. Their income is provided through thousands of advertisements that benefit the companies that advertise with such a large user base. Due to the free offer that Google.com presents it is able to reach practically every internet user. There is no reason that a person would search on any other search engine when it is offered a free and incredible search engine, Google.com.
Google.com is in the process of enhancing its program. It is looking to
target the younger market by gearing its new products toward interactive television networks. It is trying to take over the search engine market. It is in the works of starting up its own G-mail and attempting to tap into the mobile and wireless phenomenon. This company has been surging in the stock market and has risen by over two hundred percent in the past year. The public's opinion as well as the profits that Google.com has and can generate is unbelievable. It is one of the only tech companies that economists are not fearful of in today's upside down society. It is a firm and stable company due to its innovative ideas and large international market. The sky is the limit when speaking of Google.com because the internet has such a diverse market that a search engine such as Google.com could possibly acquire and attain every market. It has become so large so fast that it is hard to see a cap ever imposed on this company. It is extremely difficult to disagree that Google.com is one of the largest internet companies and will be for many generations to come.
Google.com is such a tremendous corporate power that it has changed the face of the stock market. It has rattled the minds of bankers and investors because it presented them with an auction style IPO or Initial Public Offering. {Google-IPO.com} The company planned to sell 25.7 million shares for between $108 and $135 apiece, raising as much as $3.6 billion and putting the company's valuation at $36 billion, more than a third bigger than General Motors, the world's leading automobile maker.{alwayson-network.com} This made the investors and bankers uneasy because Google.com was really secretive about the companies personal information. This method of a modified Dutch auction is new but according to Google.com representatives it would be the only way to keep the company open to everybody on the planet and keep it public as opposed to private.
Google.com is the fastest search engine in the world today and with its constant upgrading, the company will not be going anywhere for long. It offers its users access to an index containing close to eight billion URLs. This company employs about four thousand employees and with its expansion will give way to more jobs which this country needs. Google.com has been given so many awards for its services that listing them would take up a few pages. The most recent were the World Technology Award and The Best of Digital Life Award, both given in 2004. We agree that "Google is a corporate entity with a wide-ranging international reach as an organization."
REFERENCES
http://www.google-ipo.com/
alwayson-network.com
http://www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/firstgroupessay.html
ASHOK K. SUGRIM.
SAMI HAGEB.
FRANCISCO MARTINEZ.
In our response to the Microsoft essay on "Corporate Power," we have concurred with the various points stated in the essay. We further observed a rapid expansion of assets, revenues and investments within a relatively short period of time. Having its origin only in the year 1975 and mounting up to $92,389 million in assets by 2004 is indeed a significant evidence of Microsoft's success ( paragraph one of the original essay).
In our view, Microsoft Operating Systems have bring about beneficial results to the world, while at the same time yielded enormous rewards to its founder, Mr. Bill Gates and The Microsoft Corporation. Founded only in the year 1975, according to the original essay, and merely thirty years later its balance sheet already reported thousands of millions of dollars in assets. Further, its income statement for the year 2004 (paragraph two of the original essay), showed an enormous revenue of over thirty-six billion dollars. This data suggests only one thing - Microsoft products confer much satisfaction to its consumers.
As the original essay pointed out, however, unwanted results have evolved. Microsoft Corporation affects the economy indirectly by influencing consumer spending (paragraph four of the original essay). It dominated the PC Operating System and control a huge amount of wealth.
However it has gained the reliance of its consumers by making the software extremely user friendly. Microsoft said that sales of its latest Desktop Operating System, Windows XP, hit 32 million OEM and retail copies as of April {http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com?originalContent/0,289142,sid1_gci836066,00.html}. The consumer spending on Microsoft products contributes to the tremendous success of the Microsoft Operating System. "The strong response from our customers has shown that Windows XP is making people's computing experiences more productive and more fun," said Michael Schaff, Vice President at Best Buy {http://www.Microsoft.com/presspass/press/2002/jan02/01-07XPMomentumCESPR.asap}.
Having managed its business so well, it satisfies consumers' demand for Operating Systems and at the same time bringing in billions upon billions of dollars in revenue. According to the original essay, for the year 2004 Microsoft's revenue reached a whopping $36.84 billion. Because of Microsoft innovation on a computer's capability, and the satisfaction the "Operating Systems" give to consumers, one might conclude that it is only appropriate and desirable that the founder - Mr. Bill Gates and his corporation enjoy the recompense of their invention and hard work. Moreover, by having the aptitude and ability to control the corporation's resources, Microsoft would tend to conduct itself in a manner that would ensure its continued success and at the same time provide useful commodities to society.
The power of the founder and the corporate executives to control its own destiny, however, has led to the concentration of vast amount of wealth. Mr. Bill Gates emerged as the richest man in the world. He can use his money in any way he chooses. "Gates alongside Melinda has formed the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has a $27 billion endowment and in the last decade pledged $7 billion to good causes" (paragraph four of the original essay). Astute individuals might argue that these funds can be used for more beneficial purposes, but it is the owner, Mr. Bill Gates who makes the final decision on his vast fortune. Any rational person would agree that $7 billion to "good causes such as the world wide infant vaccination program and Anti-HIV Campaigns" (paragraph four of the original essay), is money well spent. Bill and Melinda Gates even posted a letter on their web stating, "We are dedicated to closing the tremendous gaps in health, education and access to digital information, and in the Northwest we work with a diverse mix of public and private partners to support struggling families and help young people become successful adults" {http://www.gates foundation.org/AboutUs/LetterfromBillMelindaFrenchGates/}.
Our group has agreed, therefore, that Mr. Gates seems to be concerned with much more than company sales and revenue. Here we have a man who seems to gain the trust of the overall public by providing an overall solution for the desktop PC and assists the public on issues of health and family related issues. Although unwanted results may have evolved by the corporation's attainment of much power, Microsoft seem to use its "Corporate Power" in the best possible way. Its influences can even be felt by members of our group as it influences our daily activities at work and in school.
REFERENCES
Group Essay on Microsoft
by:
White, De Costa & Wellington.{http://www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/firstgroupessay.html}
{http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/originalContent0,289142,sid1_gci83 6066,00.html}
{http://www.Microsoft.com/presspass/press/2002/jan02/01- 07XPMomentumCESPR.asap}.
{http://www.gates foundation.org/AboutUs/LetterfromBillMelindaFrenchGates/}.
Danielle Wellington
Jacinta De Costa
Tezra White
The argument proposed by the Enron (class) Group implicitly as well as explicitly explains Weber's theory on economic power and Derber's theory on Corporate Mystique. One thing the economists failed to emphasize was the fact that as quickly as a corporation becomes well established and expands it can collapse. The Enron Corporation is a perfect example of this. Enron became the largest electricity company in the United Kingdom and the United States... Enron tops the list of America's biggest corporate collapses (Nevo, Das, Epelbaum). Whenever a large corporation such as Enron collapses the question usually arise as to WHY. As a result of the government as well as the public's crave for information; the filing of bankruptcy by a well-established corporation can easily fuel a scandal and more often than not there is some kind of unlawful and unethical behavior associated with the collapse. BBC News online reported that Enron's millions were lavished on employee gifts, art, swanky motorbikes and cars, new headquarters and offices, corporate bashes, concierges, private jets, political contributions, lobbyists, and even a new sports field. {bbc.co.uk}
The sudden bankruptcy of Enron Corporation is a scandal that has rocked support for the free market. Living in a division-of-labor society as we do, we depend on distant strangers to provide reliable information, objective standards of assessment, and a legal and contractual structure that does more or less what we expect. The collapse of Enron betrayed all these expectations. Whether or not Enron executives literally engaged in fraud, it is plain that they exploited loose accounting standards to weave a tangled web of deceptive information. They inflated Enron's reported earnings and disguised its losses. They exposed the company to risks that they then kept secret. They buffaloed investors and the press with vague hype about the untapped potential of the Internet. Enron's accountants didn't tell its board all they knew, and its lawyers colluded in the whole process. Which According to Jordan J. Cohen, MD.AAMC President, It is the evident breach of that trust that the apparent failure of this one prominent company to honor the public's trust has plunged the entire accounting profession into a crisis of historic proportions. The upshot is likely to be new legislation that significantly restricts that profession's ability to regulate itself. Shame fell upon the financial analysts, too, who failed to investigate the company, yet puffed it brazenly to their clients. The Enron collapse is not a footnote to an otherwise healthy global capitalism. Rather, it is another calamitous product of a deregulated financial system that places all the costs of corporate risk-taking on ordinary citizens and allows the speculative risk-takers to get away with-for them-costless failure. The regulatory economic regime established by the New Deal saved American capitalism from the short-sightedness of American capitalists. A global corporate order that puts short-term profits ahead of long-term economic prudence necessitates a resurgent global labor movement and a social democratic left to redress the pain inflicted by the system's speculative excesses. Until the appearance of these two, there are likely to be more victims of Enron-type failures. And it is further likely that those who rely on the mainstream media to explain the subsequent debacles will not fathom their true cause: neo-liberal deregulation.
Enron exercised Weber's definition of power economic power. Weber says "power is the ability of an actor to realize his or her will in a social action, even against the will of other actors. Power relates to the ability to command resources in a particular context." {http://www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/power.html} In the case of Enron the resources being commanded is the investors money. The manipulation is taking place because the investors are not entirely aware of the corporations revenues because of false records. It's not surprising that the Enron Corporation was able to get away with presenting false numbers to investors. Enron did not have the total earnings it claimed to have however, it was still a very large and seemingly prosperous corporation, with enough corporate power to convince investors that there stock was worth more than it actually was.
REFERENCES
{bbc.co.uk}
{http://www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/power.html}
Choudri, Salamanca, Joseph, Hayakawa
The essay dealing with Pfizer's monopolization of the pharmaceutical industry is correct in it's assumption. Pfizer has attained a stronghold on its market throughout its industrious history. The medical products created by Pfizer have risen to become the top selling medications in their areas of expertise. The company's enormity has allowed it to have a political impact on governmental decisions, in the medical field, and others related to the company. The constant bombardment of advertisements output by the Pfizer corporation have led consumers to purchase those product over the generic brands.
Pfizer's power over the pharmaceutical market is clearly seen. The over-the-counter, and prescription drugs the corporation produces are sought after by those with the diseases or illnesses treated by these drugs. The essay states that by patenting the drugs it produces Pfizer is able to get income necessary to produce more life-saving medications. The latter effect of this patenting is a necessary evil when it comes to medicine, which is the high price of non-generic prescription drugs. Though consumers feel ostracized by the prices they continue to pay because of the relative need of the products.
Products in Pfizer's line include Listerine, Visine, Benadryl, and Sudafed, all being number one their perspective categories. The fact that having an almost all-encompassing range of No.1 products was correctly stated in the group essay as making Pfizer a type of monopoly. Other non-medical products associated with Pfizer include candies such as Certs, and Bubblicious, this diversity futher increases Pfizer's income. These diverse subsidiary companies widen Pfizer's appeal on it's consumers, it also creates a wider amount of potential customers. Pfizer also provides products such as Rogaine, Viagra, and e.p.t., which are also top selling product for there categories.
Not stated in the Pfizer group essay was the annual cost of advertising for the company, which is a tremendous sum of 3.3 billion dollars compared to 7.7 billion for research and development {http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_09/b3922004_mz001.htm}. Pfizer was the fourth largest advertiser in 2003. The essay stated that the advertising costs have caused Pfizer's drug costs to rise 12-15% as of lately. Once reading the essay its easy for one to realize that Pfizer has the ability to obtain customers because of it's subsequent sums of money used to advertise. Pfizer's products can be seen almost anywhere, on billboards, in magazines, or on T.V. Pfizer uses NASCAR and the MLB for it's advertisements, broadening the amount of viewers introduced to Pfizer's products.
The essay also didn't provide the amounts of money donated to political organizations. Pfizer donates about 3.5 million dollars annually to various political fronts{ http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/client.asp?id=18797&year=2000}. These donations by both Pfizer and it's subsidiary companies gives the company a decisive political advantage over competing companies. The fact that Pfizer has monopolized the pharmaceutical industry is overlooked because of their political ties. The political power Pfizer obtained through donations and other factors have led the company to financial success, and stability.
According the Pfizer group's essay "Pfizer has the power to influence the quality of millions of peoples lives" which is an extremely factual statement based on all the information given on the Pfizer company. This influence does not just include the health of these millions of people. Pfizer's power extends into multiple different divisions. They have an economical superiority because of their ability to raise drug prices for high profit ratios, while the consumer is left paying for these overpriced goods. Pfizer is ultimately profiting from the cures they develop making their annual net income about 55 billion dollars. Pfizer has products to treat almost any condition which effects a person meaning they have the opportunity to benefit on your illnesses. Pfizer's political activities also affect the consumer, because politicians are less likely to pass laws against the company such as laws barring the patenting of pharmaceuticals or the lowering of prices for drugs. Laws such as the ones listed would be positive for the consumer but would hurt Pfizer therefore the donations are necessary to keep up the profits and power of Pfizer as a company.
REFERENCES
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/client.asp?id=18797&year=2000
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_09/b3922004_mz001.htm
www.pfizer.com
Prince, Mark, Jagessar, Sampson
"It can be said that people abuse corporate power just as they abuse political power" {www.cauxinitiativesforbusiness.org/articles}. Enron's abuse of power as well as their abuse of wealth resulted in their downfall. Taking a look back at how the company conducted its business seems too little too late, for its former employees and investors. With Enron, nothing was as it appeared. In the beginning, Enron was a seemingly unnoticeable, regulated natural-gas company. But, with Enron's chairman, Kenneth Lay's, vision of expansion came change. The culture of the company dramatically changed, as their normal way of doing business was essentially abandoned.
Still, Enron's demise did not take place overnight. There was not enough regulation within the company, due to individual interests taking precedence over the company's goals.
With this type of management or, in Enron's capacity, lack thereof, proper assessment of the regulation process was overlooked and ignored, which only resulted in greed. Self-interest took precedence, and blatant efforts were made to misinform all those personally or professionally invested. When the truth came out, people's lives were forever affected. A semi-cover up ensued, and then the finger pointing began. Senior executives all seemed to plead the 5th Amendment, and the chairman himself refused to be accountable or accept blame. Meanwhile, employees planning retirement now were faced with looking for new jobs, as their 401Ks did not have the bulk it once did.
Enron as a Major corporation had neglected its societal obligation of living up to the standards of being fair and truthful to its employees as well as its consumers. Enron affected the financial investments that the employees have worked so hard to establish, as stated in the group essay. Enron strived to develop their Corporation into the largest international energy supplier.
Enron had influenced their employees/investors into believing that their company was one of the most powerful and successful corporations to date. By expanding the corporation they had increased the responsibility of managing and controlling the capital within the corporation, failing to fulfill this responsibility aided in Enron's demise. Enron had neglected to warn its employees of the problems that were occurring in the corporation. Said by the president of Enron "the business was worth $29 million and the stock was at $37 a share." They had failed to inform their employees of the 600 million dollars worth of false profit claims.
Enron bought utility power at three times the cost of any previous long-term contract and about four times the historical rate for electricity in the Pacific Northwest, according to washingtonpost.com. Energy rates increased forcing cutbacks in factories and schools, leading to unemployment for many.
An online article exposing Enron's greed, showed how the Corporation's that had invested lost their integrity and credibility. These different creditors that helped build the success were now exposing Enron to congress, "the energy companies Amerada Hess, Nuevo Energy, Cabot Oil & Gas, Panaco and Petro-Canada and PartnerReÉ all announced some exposure or impact from the collapse of Enron" {www.speacial.ft.com} Being a Global corporation their downfalls affected countless amounts of people across the US. In result thousands of consumers and employees were in debt along with the corporation itself.
Enron intended to become "the World's Greatest Company," announced a sign in the lobby of its Houston headquarters. Enron's stock is now virtually worthless. Most of Enron's prized assets have been pledged to banks and other creditors to pay some of its estimated $40 billion debt. With all that money Why would Enron's lawyers look in preparing a bankruptcy court filing that is expected to come as soon as this week. We are looking at what may be the biggest and most complex scandal in corporate history.
A committee appointed by its board of directors to study what happened concluded that a key part of its business failed because of "an imperfect idea, self-determining by employees, inadequately designed controls, poor implementation, inattentive oversight, simple (and not-so-simple) accounting mistakes, and overreaching in a culture that appears to have encouraged pushing the limits." Most of Enron's trading customers have gone to other corporations. A company that seemed to be a great American success story and on its way to the top fell, in just about three stunning months, to become a thing of the past.{ www.time.com}
REFERENCES
1.{www.cauxinitiativesforbusiness.org/articles}
2.{www.speacial.ft.com}
3.{www.time.com}
sunwoo, mehandru, stewart, El-salibi
General Electric has developed many appliances for consumers that are affordable, energy efficient, and used in many households through North America. According to Sugrim, Hageb, Martinez GE is also a large corporation that has hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, 10.6 billion of outstanding shares, and deals with over a hundred and fifty million dollars in sales revenue {www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/firstgroupessay.html}. Although consumers enjoy cost efficient appliances, General Electric and the high executives of the company are not as praiseworthy as Sugrim, Hageb, and Martinez originally portrayed. GE is an avarice company, finding various means to take advantage of blue collar employee and shareholders for their own success.
Currently the CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch, has an increasing compensation for himself, while 128,000 jobs have been eliminated. Welch is paid $83.6 million, which is the sixth highest among American CEOs {www.responsiblewealth.org/press/1999/ge_pr.html}. Aside from his compensation, the CEO also demonstrates an enormous wages discrepancy between himself and the workers. Furthermore, Welch's deliverance to shareholders is also minimal relative to his pay. Shareholders have demanded justice to this impartiality and prompt resolution proponents by the threat that the growing wage gap poses a threat to working Americans and to the nation's economic well-being {www.responsiblewealth.org/press/1999/ge_pr.html}.
In addition to this scandal, shareholders feel that they do not posses the proper ability to vote. One shareholder states, "ÔWhile GE has done well for me as a shareholder, it has drowned out my voice as a voter in this democracy.'" said Barnet, a member of Responsible Wealth, ÔI don't want GE or other big campaign contributors to set a political agenda that only benefits corporations {www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/article232.html}.'" General Electric has made sizeable contributions to political campaigns, thus developing the ability of immunity. "GE contributed $960,000 from its political action committee in federal elections in 1999, and a whopping $7.28 million in federal lobbying in 1998, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Expenditures from corporations like GE supported over 20,000 registered Washington-based lobbyists in 1998, representing 38 lobbyists for each member of Congress {www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/article232.html}." With the numbers of lobbyists on the side of General Electric, the company now posses influence of legislators or other public officials in favor of a specific cause.
Moreover, General Electric may produce appliances and motors that are energy efficient and less polluting, but the corporation is in fact responsible for the pollution of the Hudson River. "GE began using PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls, substances used for a wide range of industrial purposes) in the late 1940s. From 1947 to 1977, GE plants north of Albany poured more than 1.3 million pounds of PCBs into the upper Hudson. PCBs continue to leak out of two GE plants {www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/hhudson.asp}." The dangers of PCBs include premature birth, resulting in death, and cancer. The chemical cannot be excreted out of the body, therefore, is stored in the body along with fat. The presence of this chemical also leads to the inability of fighting infections and learning disabilities.
The original article presented by Sugrim, Hageb, Martinez demonstrated the beneficial social influence of the company; thus proclaiming the corporation to be majestic towards their employees, government, and shareholders. Also, proclaimed General Electric to be environmentally savvy by the development of such efficient appliances that have allowed them to receive the 2005 Energy Star Awards for its outstanding contribution to reducing green house gas emissions by making and promoting energy-efficient household appliances. However, their role in the pollution the Hudson River throughout the decades of its existence demonstrates that such recognition is a hoax. Also, the greed by the company's chief executive officer also demonstrates that employees do not necessarily benefit from the wealth of the company, neither does the share holders. The cause of the company seems to be apparent, to greed for the top officials and buying off government officials. The company is not a humanitarian corporation as the originals authors have proclaimed.
REFERENCES
http://www.responsiblewealth.org/press/1999/ge_pr.html
http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/article232.html
http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/hhudson.asp
www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/firstgroupessay.html