Abstract This paper explains that "Greed and Glory on Wall Street," an excellent documentary about Lehman Brothers covering the period from July 1983 to April 1984 with the firm's takeover by Shearson/American Express, is a stimulating political story about two adversaries fighting for glory and money and bringing the company to failure in the end. The author points out that this book clarifies key business issues and some of the economic mechanisms, which were behind financial transactions on Wall Street during the 80s. The paper relates that Lehman Brothers, one of the most important and oldest banks in the United States, initially, was renowned for its conservatory actions, but 'greed' seriously began to take over during the 1980s, and the company started to speculate on Wall Street, going into leveraged buy-outs and junk bonds.
From the Paper "The main idea from the course as it appears in the book is related to bonds. As we know from the textbook, bonds are generally used in order to raise capital. Previous to the 80s, bonds were generally rated according to the company's reputability and companies which were known to have difficulties in making payments were listed as junk companies, with bonds that were generally never purchased and which did not help the respective companies from entering bankruptcy."
Abstract The paper offers an analysis of Langston Hughes' poem "Mother to Son." The paper discusses the themes of the poem; the African American experience and philosophy of life. The paper notes the poetic devices used such as metaphors, diction, tone and language.
From the Paper "American poet Langston Hughes was one of the major writers of the Harlem Renaissance that brought about an upsurge in African American self-awareness and self-expression. Hughes' poetry focused on race-related issues of his era in language that was readily accessible to his readers. His poetry reflects a love of humanity together with race pride and bitterness over the treatment of African Americans. The poem "Mother to Son" contains all these elements. It is both a poem of racial protest and racial affirmation."
Abstract This paper explores the parent-son relationship in Richard Wright's "Black Boy" and James Baldwin's "Go Tell it on the Mountain." The paper discusses how these relationships are central to the plot and themes of both novels.
From the Paper "In both "Black Boy" by Richard Wright and "Go Tell it on the Mountain" by James Baldwin, the relationships between parent and son are central to the novels' plots as well as their larger themes. Indeed both Wright and Baldwin present families in which the tension and conflict between parents and sons deeply affect the novels' protagonists, particularly as the two boys struggle to develop a sense of personal identity and maturity."
Tags: wright, baldwin, black boy, go tell it on the mountain, parent, son, father, mother, richard, john, relationship, psychological, development, maturation
Abstract In this article, the writer considers the parable of the prodigal son. The writer looks at the parable, as told by Jesus.
From the Paper "And Jesus said A certain man had two sons, And the younger of them said to his father, Father give me the share of property that is going to be my inheritance And he divided his living between them. A few days later the younger son after converting everything he had into cash went off to a distant country and there he squandered his property by a wild and disorderly life. And when he had spent everything he had, a severe famine came ... "
Abstract The paper describes the story in "All my Sons" of a family involved in creating airplane parts for the government during World War II who knowingly sold defective parts, leading to the deaths of 21 pilots. The paper then discusses the many real instances of failed and flawed parts in machinery during World War II. The paper shows how this play centers on the American dream and family, but also points out the negative side of the American dream, such as greed, capitalism, and shoddy workmanship.
From the Paper "Joe OK's the repair of several cracked cylinder heads for Air Corps planes after his plant foreman, Steve Deever, notifies him of the defect. Several weeks later, 21 planes crash, killing their pilots, and Steve and Joe are arrested and imprisoned. Joe convinces the court that he knew nothing of the crime, and is released, while Steve remains behind bars. Steve's daughter, Ann, was engaged to Larry, but has since fallen in love with Joe's other son, Chris, and they want to marry. Joe's wife, Kate, knows the truth, but has never told anyone, keeping Joe's secret safe. The play establishes all this past history in the first act, and then moves on to the final confrontation between the family that leads to tragic consequences."
Abstract This paper explains that greed has always been a powerful motivator, and greed is one of the main themes in these two works, which seem quite similar at first glance. A closer reading brings out the dissimilarities in these works, but ultimately points to greed as a powerful destructive force in our lives and that society reveres money and possessions above all else.
From the Paper "Initially, these two short stories seem quite similar. They are both set in Great Britain, and they both have young boys as their main characters. At first glance, they seem as if they might be stories about growing up in different worlds than we are used to, but underlying this first look are some dark and disturbing themes about how greed can destroy, and how destruction simply for the sake of destruction is a form of greed all its own. Both stories also illustrate how a love of "things" or possessions can become a destructive form of greed, too. Greene notes this in his story, and shows how young juvenile delinquents view possessions. He writes, "'All this hate and love,' he said, 'it's soft, it's hooey. There's only things, Blackie,' and he looked round the room crowded with the unfamiliar shadows of half things, broken things, former things" (Greene 236). The group of young boys tears down the old man's house because they see it as a symbol of everything they do not have, and a symbol of the possessions they would love to own, but do not. They do not see the old man as a human, and so they must destroy everything that is dear to him. This dark tale shows how the greed (as the young boys see it) brings about ultimate destruction, and in this, it is very like "The Rocking-Horse Winner," for greed is the ultimate destruction in that story, too."
Abstract In this article the writer maintains that an underlying theme of materialism and its negative effects on people is present throughout the novel 'The Hobbit'. The writer points out that by bringing about the downfalls of all of the novel's selfish characters, Tolkien demonstrates that greed and materialism lead unerringly to suffering, and that true happiness can be found only through selflessness. The writer notes that the consequences of greed can be seen in a multitude of characters, even some who are normally viewed as moralistic, although they are most prevalent in characters such as Gollum and Smaug.The writer concludes that at the end of the novel, one finds that all of the characters who allowed greed to consume them are either dead or in a state of constant suffering.
From the Paper " On the contrary, Bilbo never demonstrates this mixing of good and evil; he is entirely untainted, and represents self-sacrifice at its finest. One of the things that makes Bilbo such a heroic character is his incredible selflessness, which is seen throughout the novel. He aids Thorin and his Company repeatedly, without any reason for helping them besides a desire for adventure and the fact that he helps those in need. He attempts to infiltrate the camp of trolls, rescues the Dwarves from the spiders in the Mirkwood, frees the Dwarves from the Elvenking's hold, and confronts Smaug face to face. All of these are acts that put Bilbo directly in harm's way, but he does them because he feels that he cannot stand idly or turn the other way; he takes direct action when necessary, whether it benefits him or not."
Abstract This paper explains that, through exaggerated circumstances, Graham Greene's story "The Destructors" and D.H. Lawrence's story "The Rocking Horse Winner" attempt to entertain, as well as convey, a moralistic message pertaining to greed and human nature. The author points out that major complicated incidents in each story revolve around how characters in each story deal with their problems; both T and Paul, the protagonists, are suffering from the negative impact that greed and this impacts their emotions. The paper relates that the setting of each story is a house, which becomes central to the moralistic message each author conveys.
From the Paper "Greed becomes the basic conflict in each story. In "The Destructors", T, a major character, is greedy, which becomes apparent when he becomes obsessed with what Old Misery's house represents. In "The Rocking Horse Winner," Paul's mother, a primary character, is also very greedy, becoming obsessed with having more money. Lawrence and Greene use greed to introduce conflict, which is a realistic problem of life. The irony in each circumstance is that the internal struggle that Paul and T encounter cannot be solved by their attempts. T and Paul choose to deal with this conflict in very different ways and, as a result, experience very different results. "
Abstract The paper discusses "Anatomy of Greed", which shows the author's place as an Enron insider and his view of the overall scheme of things in the Enron scandal. The paper explains how Enron was building itself up for years, based on few assets, tricky accounting and a building debt. Higher officials inside Enron were benefiting from this at the cost of employees and others who were depending on stock or employment options that did not exist. The paper reveals that accounting practices that were legal gave Enron the idea that it could hide its dealings. The paper explores how it was fear and greed that led Enron to continue acting unethically until it destroyed the company and many people's lives in the process.
From the Paper "Chapter One, entitled "Welcome to the Death Star," explains how Cruver started with Enron. It explains how lucky he thought he was to work for such a highly respect and world-renowned company that was a leader in business. Shortly after beginning, Cruver became aware of many things that may not have been common knowledge to those outside of Enron. Some were light-hearted, like the many comparisons of Enron to Star Wars; Enron headquarters was the Death Star (hence the chapter title), Chief Executive Officer Jeff Skilling was Darth Vader, and Ken Lay was the Emperor."
The paper disusses the need for reforms in business school curriculums to include subjects such as business ethics, in the wake of the recent spate of dishonest business practices.
Abstract The paper shows that in the wake of recent dishonest practices by Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Xerox, Qwest, Arthur Andersen and Merck, many people are asking how businessmen, believed to be so well educated and leaders in corporate America, lacked the moral courage to seek and state the truth. It shows how business ethics has been thrown to the side as a wild-wild-west form of capitalism has taken hold on America's corporate leaders. This corporate malfeasance has cost thousands of jobs, trillions of dollars in stockholder value, and a skepticism of our once revered free economic system. This paper shows show why a lack of business ethics is such a far-reaching problem in our society and suggests reforms in the business school curriculum to help instill responsibility and accountability in our business leaders. It also shows how consumer education classes would help protect individuals from becoming victims of corporate greed.
From the Paper "Everywhere we look corporate America is bombarding us with advertising in the hopes of creating demand for their relatively unneeded products. Britney Spears dancing around selling Pepsi, the Dell Computers "Dude you"re getting a Dell? guy, and the billboards for SKYY vodka with images of sexy supermodels are used to create desires for individuals to increase their spending and sink further into debt. One of the underlying problems that corporations have had is that even if they bombard us with sexual images that sell products is that our demand can only be as big as our pocket books. Corporate America then came up with the idea of credit cards, which eased the liquidity problems. An article entitled "Corporate Power and the Evolution of Consumer Credit" appearing in the December 2000 issue of The Journal of Economic Issues, John Watkins, professor of Economics at Westminster College, describes how corporate power has perpetuated the debt crisis in America."
Abstract This paper takes a look at Ken Auletta's book 'Greed and Glory on Wall Street: the Fall of the House of Lehman'. According to the paper, the book tells the story of how the old and prestigious company Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb (LBKB) self-destructed from within because of infighting among its leaders.
From the Paper "At the same time, the SEC relaxed certain investing rules, which made it tempting to ignore the long term picture -- Peterson's strong suit -- in favor of short-term investment decisions -- Glucksman's preference. But for long-term stability, the company needed to consider the long-term picture when making short-term decisions. Glucksman could not or would not do that. The market turned from bull to bear, and LBKB's profits began to decline (p. 144). Meanwhile, Glucksman nominated Robert S. Rubin, a man who openly stated that he might not be suitable for the position, as President of LBKB, which brought the dislike some felt for Glucksman to the surface. Gradually Peterson and others discovered that significant opportunities had been lost, such as an offer to buy LBKB for three times its worth at the time, which would have been a huge windfall for all of the partners. Peterson didn't hear it because those in the know didn't like him and didn't take the information to him (p. 154). "
Tags: Peter, G., Peterson, Lewis, L., Glucksman, affluent, New, York, City, Wall, Street, investment, banker, trader
This paper examines the way greed is portrayed in the films "Boiler Room" by Ben Younger, "Three Kings" by David O. Russell and "Wall Street" by Oliver Stone.
Abstract The paper compares the greed and ethical concerns in the films "Boiler Room", "Three Kings" and "Wall Street". The paper describes in detail the insider trading in "Wall Street", the corrupt soldiers in "Three Kings", and the brokerage firm in "Boiler Room".
From the Paper "Greed is a human trait that can be found in many different forms in many different life situations, and greed generally raises ethical issues for those who act out of greed, for those who follow them, and for society at large. In the 1980s, in the film Wall Street (Oliver Stone, 1987), the super trader character Gordon Gekko observes, "Greed is good." The intent was to show the way the stock manipulators of the time put their own desire for more above all ethical concerns. Other characters in film have done the same thing, and the way greed is portrayed can be shown to differ in the films Boiler Room, Three Kings, and Wall Street. The three films also raise somewhat different ethical concerns as well."
Abstract This paper explores Arthur Miller and his play "All My Sons" in the context of Miller's background, his intentions for the play and the time in which the play was created. This paper takes place in two parts. The first part assesses Arthur Miller's personal history and remarks upon his history which helped create the foundation for "All My Sons". There is an emphasis on the historical, political, social and cultural influences that had an impact on Miller. The second part of this paper explores the character of Joe in "All My Sons" in order to demonstrate how Miller emphasizes his background within Joe, as Joe is a character who is working to achieve the American Dream through conducting unscrupulous business deals. This paper concludes by demonstrating that the character of Joe is remarkably similar in his business ethics to the current state of American business in the wake of Enron.
Abstract This paper reviews and discusses the history of the idea that Jesus is the Son of God and the lasting light. According to the paper, the notion of Jesus as the unique son of the divinity emerged as one of the key, theological divisions between the Christian and the Jewish belief systems of the ancient world. The paper goes on to discuss the various interpretations of the term 'Son of God'.
From the Paper "But nowhere in the Christian Bible are there more numerous phrases in which Jesus is specifically heralded as the Son of God, than in John's Gospel. Jesus repeatedly draws attention to his relationship with God the Father in such passages as: "My Father worketh until now; and I work.... For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things which he himself doth: and greater works than these will he shew him, that you may wonder. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and giveth life: so the Son also giveth life to whom he will. For neither doth the Father judge any man, but hath given all judgment to the Son. That all may honour the Son, as they honour the Father." (Cited by Aherene, 2002, v, 17, 20-23). John sets out the unique duties of Father and Son in this passage, and for Trinitarians, this provides evidence for the existence of a multifaceted, multi 'peopled' divinity with a Father and a Son."
Abstract The paper relates that the relationship that is most defined by the art of communication is that between a mother and a son. The paper examines C.S. Lewis' "Four Loves", where Lewis focuses on a mother's affection for her son, which can be detrimental if the gift-love of the mother isn't reciprocated or needed after a certain point in the son's life. The paper illustrates this with Lewis' example of Mrs. Fidget and then applies these principles to the writer's relationship between his own mother and his brother. The writer then describes how his mother needs to feel needed but this is not being reciprocated by his brother. According to the writer, when affection is not needed on the part of the receiver, the giver becomes embittered because she feels useless.
From the Paper "In the paradigm of schemata, there are delineations; these delineations are, self-schemata, event schemata, role schemata, and person schemata. The focus that will be addressed is on role schemata. The role of the mother toward a son in particular is one that is filled with many nuances. I have observed in my own family how my mother and my brother interact with one another. C.S. Lewis debates on the supposed affection which can be detrimental towards this delicate relationship if the gift-love of the mother isn't reciprocated or needed after a certain point in the son's life; Lewis gives Mrs. Fidget as an example, "She continued all these practices because if she had dropped them she would have been faced with the fact she was determined not to see; would have known that she was not necessary" (Lewis, 81)."
