Directions

Locate a current article (within the last 2 years) from a professional journal (such as Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, etc) that deals with a topic from this unit’s chapters.

Brief the article and attach it to the post (do not copy and paste the entire article into discussion).

1. Student 1
2. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/former-yale-med-school-employee-pleads-guilty-admits-stealing-and-selling-40-millionLinks to an external site.

The linked article pertains to a recent announcement made by the Attorney General’s Office of Connecticut about a former employee of Yale University School of Medicine. The employee, Jamie Petrone, held a directorship with the Department of Emergency Medicine. Petrone pled guilty of stealing $40 million worth of computer and electronic hardware. The announcement details how Petrone authorized purchases in amounts less than $10,000 as to not require authorization from a superior. Petrone would then ship the stolen goods to an out of state business, who would wire payment to her business account. It is estimated that this fraudulent scheme went on from 2013 to 2022. During that time, Petrone falsified tax returns, for a loss of $6,416,618 to the U.S. Treasury. Petrone used the money earned to fund a lavish lifestyle of real estate investments, expensive cars, and travel. The courts seized Petrone’s business bank account, several luxury vehicles, and multiple estates. From the article, “This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, with the assistance of the Yale Police Department.” (“Former Yale med school employee”, 2022)

There could be a few reasons for employee theft. According to the textbook, employees may feel pressured to falsify documents to meet a company’s expectations or to help their own personal finances. (Jennings, 1999) An article from SHRM has speculated that employees commit theft in retaliation of their perceived notion that the company has wronged them. (Wilkie, 2021) Examples of this would be if a company cut benefits or if an employee feels generally mistreated and undervalued. It is estimated that 37.5% of employees commit theft. (Jennings, 1999)

References

“Former Yale med school employee pleads guilty, admits stealing and selling $40 million in Electronics.” The United States Department of Justice. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/former-yale-med… 

Jennings, M. (1999). Business: Its legal, ethical, and global environment. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Pub.

Wilkie, D. (2021). Why is workplace theft on the rise? SHRM. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/e… 

Student 2

Hi Class,

I love the topics covered in this unit, but more specifically the topics covered within international trade laws. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, also known as GATT, was a multilateral free trade agreement that minimized international trade barriers by eliminating tariffs and heightening the occurrence of international trade. There were several countries that adopted this agreement, after World War II and The Great Depression, in efforts to amplify and stimulate the economy of their domestic country and the world economy. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are an economic alliance that was created to encourage economic development that would lead to a stable and flourishing global economy. In order to achieve this mission, both of these institutions possess the responsibility to adapt to global economic changes and innovations. One of the largest innovations made by these two organizations was the birth of the “Most Favored Nation” clause.

Earlier last week, President Biden announced that he will revoke Russia’s “Most Favored Nation” (MFN) trade statusLinks to an external site.. The “Most Favored Nation” (MFN) is a policy that protects developing nations from being inadequately negotiated with and bargained with by developed countries; this particularly impacted the agriculture industry. The European Union and G7 countries agreed to execute this move due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The revoking of such status will and is increasing trade tariffs, increasing trade barriers, and decreased allowed imports into the U.S. and other supporting countries. On the contrary, this revocation allows the U.S. and supporting nations to impose higher tariffs and decrease exports to Russia from their countries.

Though this action is one of the most neutral actions that the U.S. could impose on the Russia and Ukraine conflict, this currently is and will continue to have a negative impact on the global economy. What do you all think are some ways in which international law and policies can be implemented by trade organizations to foster a trade buffer for surrounding nations in the western hemisphere?

Can’t wait to read your thoughts!

-Allison Anderson

Reference(s):

Amadeo, K. (2020, August 30). What Was the GATT? Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.thebalance.com/gatt-purpose-history-pr…

The IMF and the World Bank. (2020, March 25). Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/201…

Jennings, M. (2018). Business: Its legal, ethical, and global environment. Cengage Learning.

Watson, K. (2022, March 11). Biden announces U.S. will move to revoke Russia’s “Most favored nation” trade status. CBS News. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/biden-revokes…