Merck: "Our Values and Standards"

Merck is a very prominent pharmaceutical company that has a very specific code of conduct for all of the employees to follow.  This code of conduct is available for all of its employees, consultants, as well as the public.  Here are some examples that will portray how specific the code of conduct is:

     1. Give physician a gift?
No- They do not provide any gifts or incentives to physicians, due to the worry of physicians not providing care based on their patients health needs.  They may, however, inform physicians about their new products by providing occasional educational and practice-related items, such as medical books and so on.  They may also use promotional items such as notepads and calendars. 

     2. Use your cellular phone to discuss new research methods with another Merck employee?
Yes, however with strict restrictions- Common sense and judgment is needed when considering this problem.  Privacy needs to be preserved at all times, which would make it acceptable.  Without privacy, this would be unacceptable.  If company phones are involved, employees need to make sure they are being used appropriately as well.  For example, no lengthy, personal calls. 

     3. Accept a supplier's invitation to attend the Super Bowl?
     No- This is considered as an excessive gift offer.  It is improper due to its possibility to influence a business decision.  Smaller gifts may be accepted however, such as a regular season game.  This is only if the supplier will be attending with you and there is the opportunity to talk about business. 

     4. Use social media, such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter for giving your medical opinion without disclosing your affiliation with Merck?
     Yes, however with regulations- Participating in social media and networks should not be used on company computer and software.  But if a person does participate in social media on company computers, they will be held accountable for any type of damage or lost files on the computers.  Also, employees participating in social media need to make clear that they are using their own personal opinion, not the company's.  Because of this, people may provide the information that they are affiliated with Merck, but their opinion may not be the position of the company. 

     5. How do you compete with others and obtain information about competitors?
     Competing fairly is very important! Sharing prices and bids with competitors is not prohibited.  This includes pricing policies, discounts, promotions, warranties and conditions of sale.  Exchange of information with a competitor is meant to be innocent and not to create an appearance of price-fixing or bid-rigging.  A free market is good, and they compete aggressively for every consumer.  Because of this, no agreements with competitors will be made concerning customers, distributors, or territories.  Information about competitors may be obtained by available resources.  These sources may include news and other public resources, examining competitors' products, from competitors' customers, or from competitors' displays at conferences and trade shows. 

Our Values and Standards: the Basis to our Success

The Fiscal Period of Apple

  
Apple is one of the most common household names of technology.  There company has created new and improved cell phones, computers, tablets and so on, touching almost every type of technology that a person could possibly want or need.   Apple employs 63,300 people worldwide, in 358 stores, supplying an unbelievable amount information at the touch of a finger.
(Information via:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Store)

I chose Apple because of the booming technology advances and there recent creations of new electronic devices, such as the iPhone, iPad and Mac devices.  In today's society, different forms of technology are found everywhere.  People are now starting to evolve with technology, making it seem less extraordinary than it really is.  Having so much information at the simple touch of such a small screen or button should seem amazing, but in today's society, it is normal. 

Highlights from this fiscal year show a major increase in sales revenue from last year.  This year, Apple had a net income of $25,922,000,000.  Yes, that is $25.92 billion in revenue, which, compared to last year, was a $14.01billion net income.  That is nearly a 50% increase in revenue!
The iPhone and iPad account for 68% of the companies revenue. In the most recent fiscal period, these devices brought about $17.6 billion in revenue for the company.  That revenue is made from the16.24 million iPhones that were sold, along with 7.33 million iPads and 7.46 Tablets.  Like the revenue increase of nearly 50%, the iPhone sales also increased by nearly 50%, by increasing from 8.7 million iPhones sold to 16.24 million.  Another source of revenue for Apple is iTunes, which accounted for $1.1 billion in revenue for the company in the most recent fiscal period.
iPhones and iPads are Nearly 70% of Apple's Revenue


The most recent Apple fiscal period ended on September 24th.  Companies are able to choose their fiscal year, the only regulations being the year has to consist of 12 consecutive months or 52 consecutive weeks.
The basic ending point for a corporation's fiscal year is when they are at their lowest activity.  For example, Apple ends their fiscal year before the holiday season, which is easily their busiest time of the year.  Some companies, however, may not have seasonal variation like Apple has.  Because of this, they may be more likely to follow the calendar and end their year on December 31st, or at least near the new year.  Apple, like I stated before, has seasonal variation.  During the holiday season, sales increase dramatically.  Also, new releases of new products cause a major increase in sales, creating variation. 

Apple's Financial Statements

Apples's Record Day

 

Character Counts: Madoff Investment Scandal

"Madoff Scheme Kept Rippling Outward, Across Borders"

Usually when people invest money in a charity, they feel that they can trust their investment with the person in charge.  But in the Madoff Investment Scandal, this was not true.  In the beginning of this scandal, Benard Madoff started taking amounts of money from charities.  Eventually, he started to take money from country club investments.  His scandals slowly started to grow.  Has they grew, he and other investors went international.  Madoff and his investors first targeted Europe, then moved to Asia.  By the time all of his scandals were complete, fifty billion dollars were not accounted for, leaving investers broke.

Overall, I feel that any type of investment scandal is ridiculous (with the lack of a better term.)  I feel that it should be very hard for people to act as greedy as Madoff and his investors did.  Stealing money from charities and other non-profitable organizations is truly a heartless act.  I find it very hard to reason why a person would do such a thing.