...more and more products that they deal with. In 2015 ADM has grown to have several joint ventures and owning several other smaller agricultural, nutrition, and food related companies. ADM has also expanded globally and has more than two hundred and sixty five locations worldwide. As ADM has grown over the years different types of management has came and gone at ADM, but for a long time the owning families were the main people running the company full time. Over time ADM was caught doing small price fixing deals around the world. In the early 1990’s a large scale price fixing operation was unveiled by Mark Whitacre, who at the time was President of the bio-products division. Whitacre was an FBI informant for most of the early 1990’s, helping the FBI build a case against ADM’s top management at the time. The overall purpose of this paper is to identify the ethical and legality issues with price fixing related to ADM. ADM in relation to me is my main place of work and the price fixing issues still haunt the business today. ADM has started working on implementing stringent rules every year to help the company avoid more legal actions. One item that has affected my job directly from this is audit materials that we must save now. Everything that I work on every day there must be an audit trail, so that we can prove that we are following the rules properly. The accounting and business side of things are also, regulated more now, and they have to go thru several channels to approve...
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...White Collar crime VS. Blue collar crime A big problem in today society is white collar crime and blue collar crime. The big question we ask in society is which one is a bigger problem. In my paper I will go into detail with each one and distinguish them between Micro sociology and Macro sociology. The big question being asked is what is white collar crime identified as and blue collar crime? White collar crime is defined as “illegal or unethical acts that violate fiduciary responsibility of public trust committed by an individual or organization, usually during the course of legitimate occupational activity, by persons of high or respectable social status for personal or organizational gain” (Helmkamp, Ball, & Townsend,1996, p. 351). (Cullen, Clark, Mather’s, & Cullen, 1983; Grabosky et al., 1987; Hauber, Toonvliet, & Willemse, 1988; Holland, 1995) felt back then that white collar crimes get neglected. There are only 24 out of 140 crimes that are categorized to be white collar crimes. Some examples that are white collar crimes are (i.e., price fixing, defrauding customers, and income tax fraud). Benson and Cullen (1998) examined the perceptions of white-collar crime seriousness from local prosecutors. The prosecutors did not typically perceive such crimes as serious; it was stated that, less than 4% of urban prosecutors considered corporate crime a “very serious” problem and about 50% did not regard it as serious at all. When crimes like this are committed I feel that the...
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...Social class and crime Most studies in sociology suggest that the most serious and frequent offenders are young working class males. However, there may be a bias in the statistics that results in the idea that ‘white collar crime’ is underestimated... * WHITE COLLAR CRIME - middle class members of the business world - invisible and complex. * BLUE COLLAR CRIME - working class members in society - often visible and more likely to be punished. Sutherland (1949) first used the term ‘white collar crime’. He challenged the assumption that crime is mostly a working class phenomenon. However, his own definition is not helpful. The problem with it is that he does not distinguish crimes committed for an organisation. Writers have therefore distinguished between crimes: * CORPORATE CRIME - carried out on behalf of the organisation (e.g. tax evasion). * OCCUPATIONAL CRIME - benefits the individual at the expense of the organisation (e.g. embezzling money). White collar crimes are more technical, complex and discrete and often receive more lenient punishments than blue collar crimes. For white collar crimes, there is a fine line between what is acceptable and what is not. It is often about what is morally wrong rather than legally wrong. Occupational/Corporate crime: The study of these crimes developed from the work of Sutherland in the 1940s. He used the term white collar crime to refer to crime committed by people who worked in offices. His work overlaps with the interests...
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...Cheating, Stealing: White-Collar Crime “Lying, Cheating, Stealing. That’s white-collar crime in a nutshell.” That is how the Federal Bureau of Investigation describes crime committed by corporations (FBI—White-Collar Crime). These crimes include fraud, identity theft, internet swindles, money laundering, price-fixing, embezzlement, political corruption, police brutality, and much more. Conklin (2010) defines white-collar crime as “any illegal act, punishable by a criminal sanction, that is committed in the course of a legitimate occupation or pursuit by a corporation or by an otherwise respectable individual of high social standing.” Who are white-collar criminals? Who are blue-collar criminals? What are the differences between white-collar crime and blue-collar crime? Is there disparate treatment in sentencing between white-collar and blue-collar criminals? If yes, should there be? For example, if someone breaks into my home, it is a blue-collar crime and I lose some property. If a banking or real estate corporation defrauds me, it is a white-collar crime, and I lose my home, savings, and/or pension. Who is the worse criminal, and what are we doing about it? I will research these questions and examine how these two types of criminals are treated within our society. In 1939, Edwin Sutherland coined the term white-collar crime in his presidential address to the American Sociological Society. In 1949, he authored a book, White- Collar Crime, that revealed a...
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...CrimesInChicago 5/4/13 11:59 AM CrimesInChicago CA T EGORY ARCHIVE S : FR AU D SC HE ME White Collar Crime and Prosecution Posted on February 1, 2013 by webmaster White-collar crime is skyrocketing! Tough economic times and the advent of hi-tech computer technology coupled with Wall Street fraud is proving tough times for all Americans. Who are the white-collar criminals? What is White-collar crime? How do these individuals arrive at a position of trust? What is law enforcement doing? Who will be affected next? Will you be next? A white collar crime is many times defined as a non-violent crime involving deception and/or trickery, typically committed by a business person, public official, or someone of high stature, trust, or authority. Evidence in a white collar crime usually involves a paper trail of evidence that investigators use to prosecute the case. Although this definition may be true, it is hotly contested within the community of experts that try to define “White-Collar Crime”. Many experts feel there are three main characteristics that categorize a white-collar criminal. Some experts believe that white-collar crime should be defined by the high socioeconomic status and/or occupation of trust that the offender has. Others believe that white-collar crime should be defined by the type of offense committed i.e., fraud, counterfeiting, forgery, embezzlement, bribery, larceny, price fixing, racketeering, computer fraud, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Mixed in with these...
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...SOCIETY AND DEFINITION OF CRIME BRIAN WENDO Society and Crime Introduction Crime has no ontological reality; it is a ‘myth’ of everyday life. The defiency of any fundamental quality of which to conclusively define an event as crime is shown by the variety of crimes ; robbery, credit card fraud, drug peddling, rape, insider trading, prostitution, bigamy and attempted suicide to name but a few. They should entail punishment in the ideal situation. These situations can and do take place in extremely dissimilar conditions and for conflicting reasons. This stochastic variable makes it hard for the criminal justice system to be foul proof and have a “recognized measuring standard” of crime to a level that incorporates the total outlook of various social groups (Digital Films, 2012). Any action against the word of God, the laws of a country or one intended to cause harm and hardship to an individual or a society is defined as crime (Danny Dorling et al, 2005). ANALYSIS Two parameters determined the public’s perception of crime in most cases; the most reported crimes in the mainstream media and the most likely crimes they encounter in their daily lives. The majority of the interviewees are more inclined to see a criminal in the terms of a “gun – toting street criminal” not as an “immaculately dressed wall street banker”. Time and lack of information insulates the public when it comes to white collar, corporate and state sponsored crimes, which are more sophisticated...
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...The $84.5 billion AT&T-Time Warner merger should be denied by the federal government for multiple reasons. Based on what what I have learned about white collar crime and the media deal between the two telecommunication companies, this merger is a deal that could put the company at risk of committing white collar crimes. Both AT&T and Time Warner are already big corporations in the media industry, and their union will make even fewer titans. It will lead to a huge amount of power for AT&T and will be in violation of anti-trust laws set forth by the government itself. This deal is not in the public interest and federal regulators should scrutinize this deal and consider the effect it will have on smaller telecommunication businesses, consumers, and employees. Time Warner owns popular media companies such as CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros. Studios. AT&T is a major provider of telephone, internet and cable services across the nation. Both of these companies are incredibly large and prosperous on their own. Together, they would make the few number of companies that dominate the telecommunications market even smaller. This could have a negative effect on the free-market economy if they use this power to monopolize the market. This is exactly what Anti-trust laws were designed to prevent. The Clayton Act, an...
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...Extra Credit # 3 SOCI 1301 White-collar crime is a financially motivated, nonviolent crime committed for illegal monetary gain. It is a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation. Deviance, in a sociological context, describes actions or behaviors that violate social norms, including formally-enacted rules (e.g., crime), Conformity on the other hand, is an adherence to social norms. In a conflict perspective, all societies are marked by the conflict of social classes, sometime overt, sometimes hidden, due to unequal distribution of resources - Haves and Have-nots. Those who control the productive property of any society (land, factories, and equipment) use their economic power to dominate other spheres--culture, religion, education, politics, and certainly the criminal justice system. There may be laws that benefit everybody, but mostly the upper-class. From a conflict perspective, the criminal justice system perpetuates inequalities by defining deviant behavior in terms of any behavior that threatens the powerful. Laws in a capitalist system are created to protect the interests of the ruling class. Crimes of Rich and Poor are equal, but poor have greater "recognition". Raiman developed pyrrhic defeat theory arguing that those in power have designed the criminal justice system to fail in order to yield benefits for themselves. Michael Parenti’s You Tube video presents some unbelievable facts like, The department of...
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...Crime Rates In America Elliot H. Maysonet CJA/204 08 April 2013 Prof. Ron Alter Crime Rates In America In society’s day and age, Americans believe that crime has been steadily increasing. This perspective is based on information provided to the public by criminologist. Our society relies heavily on statistical data to measure criminality and the effectiveness of the laws that govern society. This data is collected and formulated to create what is known as national crime reports. These reports were implemented to improve the structure of the laws that govern our society. In addition these reports record criminal activity, the type of crimes committed, the locations of criminal trends, the volume of crimes committed, and the effectiveness of the agencies within the Criminal Justice System. The question to ask is, are these reports accurate or are they deceiving to the public? In this paper we will discus crime rates in America. We will also discus the intended purpose of the Uniform Crime Report (UCR), the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), and whether these reports are deceiving to the public. We will discus the relation between crime rates and arrest rates and how we can use crime rates, arrest rates, and clearance rates to combat criminal activity in America. While conducting my research on the topic of crime rates in America, I have found that there are several ways crime rates can be deceiving. The first would be the lack of clarity in the national crime...
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...Running head: WHITE COLLAR CRIMES White Collar Crimes: How Does It Affect Businesses? Shari M. Lewis Strayer University (Online) Table of Contents ABSTRACT 3 INTRODUCTION 4 Introduction to the Problem 4 Background of the Study 4 Statement of the Problem 4 Purpose of the Research 5 Research Questions 5 Significance of the Research 5 LITERATURE REVIEW 7 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 19 ABSTRACT This paper investigates White Collar Crime (“WCC) in society and the affects it has on businesses in today’s society, the cost and statistics involved with white collar crime and the difference in how white collar crime and street crimes are dealt with. While white collar crime has existed for many decades, I have conducted research regarding the definition of white collar crime, the history of white collar crime, the different types of white collar crime that affect businesses directly and indirectly, goals of white collar crime, fraud statistics and the cost factors related to white collar crime. White collar crimes and business ethics play hand in hand with one another and often cross the line with one another into criminal behavior. White collar crimes have played a very instrumental part in our downward economy over the past five years, and the level of trust given by society to corporations and employers entrusted with their life earnings has changed dramatically. My research will include factors that contribute...
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...White Collar Crime and Accounting Standards in the Nigerian Public Sector Nenyiaba, Ile Charles Faculty of Management Sciences Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria E-mail: nenyiabaic@yahoo.com ABSTRACT This survey examined the spate of white collar crime in the Nigerian public sector and the extent to which existing accounting standards are helping to stem the occurrence of the crime. Two null hypotheses were formulated and the primary data used to test the hypotheses were obtained using structured questionnaire while secondary data were obtained from annual accounts of State Governments and reports from similar studies. The study used averages, percentages, chisquare and Spearman’s ranked correlation coefficient tested at 5% level of significance for analyses of the data obtained during the study. It also made use of averages and simple percentage. The study revealed that noncompliance with accounting standards is responsible for the increasing spate of white collar crime in the Nigerian public sector and that absence of forensic accounting courses in the training programme of practicing accountants are responsible for inability of auditors to detect, early enough, white collar crime in the public sector thereby aggravating the scam. The study also revealed that flexibility of principle based on standard is a serious threat to enforcement of compliance with the standards especially in a developing economy such as Nigeria. Hence, forensic accounting courses...
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...company specializes in converting corn, oilseeds, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial, and energy uses. ADM also offers a variety of investment opportunities as well as career opportunities within the corporation and manufacturing. According to Archer Daniels Midland’s company website, their vision is “To be the most admired global agribusiness. Creating value. Growing responsibly. Serving vital needs.” With more than 265 processing plants, 400 crop procurement facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network, ADM helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries.1 Archer Daniels Midland made international headlines in the mid-1990s when a lysine price fixing scandal came to light after an FBI raid of ADM headquarters. The crimes are were in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. At the center of the scandal was Mark Whitacre, an ADM...
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...What Is Deviance? The word deviance connotes odd or unacceptable behavior, but in the sociological sense of the word, deviance is simply any violation of society’s norms. Deviance can range from something minor, such as a traffic violation, to something major, such as murder. Each society defines what is deviant and what is not, and definitions of deviance differ widely between societies. For example, some societies have much more stringent rules regarding gender roles than we have in the United States, and still other societies’ rules governing gender roles are less stringent than ours. Gender and Deviance In the United States, women who cry in public in response to emotional situations are not generally considered deviant—even women who cry frequently and easily. This view of women has remained relatively constant. Over the past fifty years, however, society’s perception of men who cry has changed. A man who cried publicly in the 1950s would have been considered deviant. Today, men who cry in response to extreme emotional situations are acting within society’s norms. Male politicians cry when announcing defeat, male athletes cry after winning a championship, and male actors cry after winning an award. By today’s standards, none of these men is committing a deviant act. Relativism and Deviance Deviance is a relative issue, and standards for deviance change based on a number of factors, including the following: * Location: A person speaking loudly during a church service...
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...S E C T I O N II Understanding White-Collar Crime Definitions, Extent, and Consequences S ecti on Hi g h l i g h ts •• •• •• •• •• •• White-Collar Crime: An Evolving Concept Modern Conceptualizations of White-Collar Crime Extent of White-Collar Crime Consequences of White-Collar Crime Public Attitudes About White-Collar Crime Characteristics of White-Collar Offenders A 34 s noted in the introduction, Edwin Sutherland created the concept of white-collar crime more than 70 years ago to draw attention to the fact that crimes are committed by individuals in all social classes. As will be seen in this section, one of the largest difficulties in understanding white-collar crime has centered on an ongoing debate about how to define white-collar crime. After discussing various ways that white-collar crime can be defined, attention will be given to the extent of white-collar crime, the consequences of this illicit behavior, public attitudes about white-collar crime, and patterns describing the characteristics of white-collar offenders. Section II Understanding White-Collar Crime 35 As a backdrop to this discussion, consider the following recent white-collar crimes described in the media: •• A jury convicted [then-Baltimore mayor Sheila] Dixon . . . of embezzling about $500 worth of gift cards donated to the city for needy families. Dixon then pleaded guilty last month to lying about thousands of dollars in gifts from her former boyfriend, a prominent developer...
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...Chapter Eight: Deviance and Social Control Chapter Summary Sociologists use the term deviance to refer to any violation of rules and norms. From a sociological perspective, deviance is relative. Definitions of “what is deviant” vary across societies and from one group to another within the same society. Howard S. Becker described the interpretation of deviance as, “…not the act itself, but the reaction to the act that makes something deviant.” This coincides with the symbolic interactionist view. In some cases, an individual need not do anything to be labeled a deviant. He or she may be falsely accused or discredited because of a birth defect, race, or disease. Even crime is relative when interpreting the deviance of the actor. Deviance is based on adherence to and violation of norms. Human groups need norms to exist. By making behavior predictable, norms make social life possible. Consequently, all human groups develop a system of social control, which involves formal and informal means of enforcing norms. Those who violate these norms face the danger of being labeled “deviant.” Violators can expect to experience negative sanctions for the violation of norms. Members of society who conform to societal norms, especially those who go above and beyond what is commonly expected, receive positive sanctions. In some societies, such as the Amish, shaming is a common negative sanction that acts strongly as a means of social control, minimizing deviance. Biologists...
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