Adelphia Scandal Essay Example for Free

Adelphia Scandal Essay ? Adelphia was founded in 1952 by John Rigas and his brother Gus Rigas in Coudersport, Pennsylvania with the purchase of their first cable franchise for $300. After 20 years, the Rigas brothers incorporated their company under the name Adelphia which derived its name from a Greek word which means brothers, an apt corporate title for a business that would employ generations of the Rigas family. Adelphia was a cable television company and built its success on a strong commitment to customer care; and because of this commitment, a glorious growth spree would follow. By 1998, Adelphia passed the two million-customer milestone and served approximately 5.6 million cable television customers nationwide. The company made significant strides in product development and the implementation of fiber optic technology and expanded their home and business offerings to include digital cable, local and long distance telephone services, messaging, enhanced data, high-speed Internet and video services . John Rigas managed Adelphia from its corporate headquarters in Coudersport, PA. His brother Gus sold his interest in Adelphia in 1983. And after some time, John’s sons Michael, Timothy and James, serve as executive vice presidents, directors and principal stockholders. John built Adelphia on a strong commitment to family, community, quality service and customer care which became the core values and culture of the company. The Evolution of Adelphia In August of 1986, Adelphia Communications went public. Its first three years were focused on generating revenue by increasing its customer base through mergers and acquisitions. Although the company’s profitability had suffered as a result of the ambitious expansion, its revenue-generating capabilities had not. From the $30 million generated in sales during its first year, annual sales shot up to $131 million in 1988. Adelphia continued to make its presence known by making several important acquisitions of other cable systems such as the Suburban Buffalo System from Comax Telcom Corp., the South Dade System from Americable Associates, Ltd., New Castle System from Cablentertainment, Inc., and Jones Intercable which was the third largest cable system operator in New York during that time. Moreover, Adelphia entered into a partnership with unaffiliated parties to form Olympus Communications in southeast Florida which became a powerful money-making business as it served roughly 250,000 subscribers in West Palm Beach area. Adelphia was performing admirably and continued to expand by making other acquisitions and consolidation maneuvers through 1999 and 2000, bringing its subscriber base up to an impressive 5.5 million. Though the company was heavily indebted after the succession of major purchases of other cable companies, equipment, and infrastructures, analysts were looking favorably on Adelphia as late as January 2002, noting that the company was well positioned for acquisition or merger with another major cable company. The Discovery of the Fraud Oren Cohen, a high-yield-bond analyst for Merrill Lynch had followed Adelphia for a decade and thought there was something about the family’s spending that didn’t add up. He’d noticed that the Rigases were buying their own stock aggressively, but he couldn’t figure out how they were paying for it. They didn’t appear to have the cash themselves. John Rigas made $1.4 million in 2000. Michael, Tim, and James each took home $237,000. The Rigases didn’t have any sources of income outside Adelphia. They never sold their stock, and it didn’t pay a dividend. Cohen was pretty sure their private cable systems weren’t throwing off cash. But every time Cohen tried to get an explanation, Adelphia rebuffed him. On March 27, 2002, however, Adelphia officials disclosed $2.3 billion in previously unrecorded debt incurred through co-borrowings between Adelphia and other Rigas family entities under the umbrella of the family’s private trust, Highland Holdings. Under these loan agreements, the Rigas entities were responsible for repaying the debt, but if they were unable to do so, Adelphia would be liable. Cohen was astounded to see the footnote disclosure and pressed Tim Rigas for details at the end of a conference call that day. Things in Coudersport quickly spun out of control as shareholders asked for clarity and transparency. The revelations and the investigation that followed sent the company spiraling deeper and deeper into a scandal that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) eventually called, â€Å"one of the most extensive financial frauds ever to take place at a public company† . The stock continued to fall and on May 15, 2002 John Rigas resigned as chairman and CEO. Adelphia Scandal. (2018, Nov 11).

How does a contemporary theology of creation and eschatology Essay

How does a contemporary theology of creation and eschatology contribute to debates on the correct Christian response to the current ecological degradation of the planet - Essay Example Eschatology is also not only concerned about the end of ages and what is bound to take place, but also God’s purpose realization at every stage of the creation (Marmion and Hines 92). Creation is identified with Christ and is Christ-centered. This is because Christ in the book of John 1:1 in the Bible is identified with the Word: â€Å"It is by the Word that everything was created and, therefore, this implies that creation was done through Christ.† Therefore, as Christians, in order to enhance the fulfillment of God’s purpose in creation, Christians ought to take up their cross daily, participate in the work of God and be faithful followers of Christ (King 56). Christ’s redemptive power is what sets in the tone of eschatology as far as Christianity is concerned. Christ came in the form of man to be crucified and died on the cross, and He resurrected so that through His death and resurrection, human beings may be saved from the wrath of God that would come upon every son of disobedience. This is what eschatology is founded on. Since God created human beings in His own likeness, He desires to redeem them from the wrath at the end of ages and transform them into His likeness. Nevertheless, during eschatology, man will have to stand before the judgment seat and account for everything he did on earth as far as God’s creation and his own life are concerned (Gunton 24). This calls for a careful approach by man as he deals and interacts with God’s creation. Man has to deal with the environment in a way that will please and glorify God. Therefore, it is considered sinful if human beings will be reckless in dealing with the environment. The ecological degradation of the environment is a reckless way of man dealing with his environment. It is reckless because it leaves the environment in a worse condition than it was at the beginning. Not anything watering down God’s efforts and His creation work will

Conducting successful meetings Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Conducting successful meetings - Coursework Example Through allocation, the various people account for their action and, therefore, strive to achieve success in their respective roles thereby contributing to the success of the meeting. After assigning the tasks to different people, a meeting planner must maintain team operation with the various individuals. This ensures that they consult and, therefore, prevent mistakes. Reviewing all the actions and responsibilities at the end of the meeting further enhances the success of the meeting. The act provides the organizers with the opportunity to assess the performance of the various people assigned specific tasks. Furthermore, the review enables the organizers to assess the facilities used in the meeting and their status. Damages, loses and accidents are occurrences that even organizers must always anticipate. The review is, therefore, a perfect opportunity to assess the degree of damage and loses in order to evaluate the meeting. During the assessment, every individual assigned a task accounts for his or her roles and describes the challenges encountered. Such reviews enable the organizers to learn with the view to bettering future meetings by correcting they make in every meeting. A good meeting planer must provide a summary of the meeting coupled with the deliverables. The summary coupled with the deliverables act as the meeting’s blueprint. It explains the importance and significance of the meeting. furthermore, the summary explains the various features a meeting requires. This enables the planer to tailor an event that befits a particular meeting. The provision of a summary enhances the organization process since it helps in securing the resources in the organization of a successful meeting (Boehme, 2008). When outlining the deliverables, the planner must account for every facility and resource included and cover for miscellaneous. This way, the meeting anticipates