Martha Stewart Essay

Its headquarters is in New York and it employs near 760 people with annual turnover of $327. 9 million dollars (Martha-Stewart-Living-Omnimedia,-Inc. ). Martha Stewart achieved her fame beca practice session she was able to reach the masses. She managed it through her affordable produce line along with lot of common sense. Her television shows gained popularity in the U. S. A. MSLO earned good revenues through her snip sales. It appears that Americans took pride in having Stewarts products whether they atomic number 18 for decorating the home or used in their yard.This demonstrates MSLOs popularity in the U. S. A. Any companys mission statement is reflected in its business culture. The mission statement of Martha Stewarts MSLO is Martha Stewart Living enriches the e trulyday lives of women with a sense of pride, creativity, and how-to confidence. Our relationship is comprised of dreamers and doers those who aspire to a more beautiful flavour and those who atomic number 18 acti vely in pursuit of one, in ways big and sm e precise. We provide both the tools and breathing in they need to elevate their timber-of- flavour.Martha Stewart Living sharpens their senses to the world around them, trains them to see the potential of beauty in their surroundings, and helps them try out a distinctive signature style to enhance their world (Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. , 2010). It appears that MSLOs culture is very vibrant and focuses on having a stylish and meaningful life. Martha Stewarts values reflect on MSLOs culture. Those are Pursue your purpose with passion. Practice solid values. Lead with your heart as well as your head. Establish connected relationships.Unfortunately Martha Stewart, an American home decorator icon, was convicted of conspiracy, making senseless statements, and obstruction to an place proceeding. On December 27, 2001, Sam Waksal, the key shareholder in ImClone, ordered his broker, Peter Bacanovic to sell all his channel in the c ompany. Bacanovic was also Martha Stewarts broker and told his assistant to phone Stewart. The assistant left Stewart a message about Waksals sales (insider information), suggesting she might do the same. Martha Stewart called Bacanovic back and ordered him to sell her entire holding of ImClones 3,928 shares.The sale took place on December 27, 2001 (Fox News, Martha Stewart timeline, 2005). ImClone stock plummeted and Waksal was investigated. The SEC learned of Stewarts sale, and called Stewart to a formal interview. Before the interview, Stewart and Peter Bacanovic conspired. Rather than admitting that Bacanovic gave Stewart an inside tip, they invented a story of a standing(a) sell order. Stewart gave this story to the disposal in formal interviews. After a lengthy investigation, Stewart was found inculpative by the court on various charges on June 4, 2002, although not for insider barter. (AcaDemon term papers and essays).Obviously, Martha Stewart was engaged in this unethic al and illegal doings along with her broker Peter Bacanovic. Selling shares was just a onetime(prenominal) incident on December 27, 2001. Martha Stewart was tried in U. S. District court. On June 4, 2003, James B. Comey the United States lawyer of the Southern District of New York, and Kevin P. Donovan, the Assistant Director in Charge of New York Office of the federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the filing in Manhattan Federal court of indictment charging Martha Stewart, chief executive guardman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. and Peter Bacanovic, a former securities broker at Merrill Lynch & Co. , Inc. , with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making senseless statements to federal agents. The indictment separately aerated Stewart with securities fraud in connection with her artificial manipulation of the monetary value of MSLO common stock (Justice Government Press Release, 2003). The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the c urbants are presumed cleared unless and until proven guilty (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 230).The defendants filed a motion for a new trial, alleging that skilled sweetheart Lawrence F. Stewart, director of the Forensic Services Division of the United States Secret Service, had committed perjury in his testimony on behalf of the prosecution. Motion for new trial was denied by the court on the basis that defendants cannot range the fact that the jury acquitted both defendants of making false statements relating to the existence of the $60 agreement, and the fact that plenteous evidence supports the charges (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 42). Stewart did not enter into a plea bargaining agreement.A plea bargain is an agreement in which the accused admits to a lesser crime than charged. In return, the government agrees to impose a lesser execration than might obtain been obtained had the case gone to trial. This saves mak e ups, avoids risks of trial, and reduces the burden on the prison houses (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 231). Defendants Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic were both convicted of conspiracy, making false statements, and obstruction of an agency proceeding. A jury panel of eight women and quartet men found Stewart guilty on all four counts.Stewart did not appeal. The conviction came exactly one week after U. S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum threw out the nearly serious charge against Stewart, securities fraud which carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine (Kellman). STEWARTS CRIMINAL INTENT AND CRIMINAL ACT Martha Stewart had mens rea and actus reus. Mens rea is a criminal intent when an act was committed. Actus reus refers to the actual performance of an act. Stewart was charged with insider trading (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. pg. 227-228).She gave universe statements saying she was not involved in much(prenominal) activity. Her intention may have been to defend herself and tell general public the truth. Government prosecutors became creative. They did not pursue their charge for insider trading just charged her with mens rea her criminal intent was to keep the MSLO stock price stable in the stock market. Later, Stewart corroborated the story that she already had a standing order with her broker to sell ImClone stock once it reached $60. She tried to falsify her trading records. Here she had actus reus. Brief time line of key trial events On June 4, 2003, Stewart resigned as chairman and chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. hours after she was indicted on obstruction of justice charges. -On March 5, 2004, Stewart was found guilty of conspiracy, making false statements and obstruction of justice. The charges carried up to 20 years in prison. -On July 16, 2004, U. S. District Court Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum sentenced Stewart to fi ve months in prison, five months of home confinement and fined her $30,000. She was spared an immediate trip to federal prison as the judge stayed her sentence pending appeal. On October 8, 2004, Stewart slipped into Alderson Federal Womenss prison in West Virginia in the early morning time hours and began serving her five-month sentence. -On March 4, 2005, Stewart was released from Alderson in the early morning hours and arrived back at her multimillion dollar 153 acre New York estate of the realm to begin serving the five-month home detention portion of her sentence (Fox News, Martha Stewart timeline, 2005). CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS The Constitution protects the rights of the people from ill-advised search and seizure by the government (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 241).Stewart was a criminal defendant. 6th Amendment was her second option. These rights mainly give rights to confront the witnesses against accused and have a speedy trial. IMPACT ON AMERI CAN PEOPLE Martha Stewart was a successful businesswoman. She not only influenced lot of American people but improved their quality of life. Americans were shocked to learn that Stewart was charged with criminal fraud. Her ImClone stock transaction deliver her approximately $45,000. This is a small sum of funds compared to multi-billion dollar white-collar crime cases, as well as in relation to her wealth (in the hundreds of millions).It is important to note that ordinary shareholders incurred sizeable losses by get Stewarts dumped stocks. Celebrities like Martha Stewart are always in the limelight. Illegal acts committed by them instantly hold up public word of honor (Heminway). PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND STEWARTS ILLEGAL ACT Going back some(prenominal) years in Stewarts life, one notices that she is a daughter of Polish immigrants. She put to worked as a stock broker in her earlier career. Whether Stewarts decision to sell ImClone stocks was either an impulse decision or a calculate d move to cut losses volition be difficult to determine.Everyone makes mistakes in life but we avoid making blunders. Sometimes somebodyal success, wealth, and ego make a person witness that he or she is invincible. Even though she was a multimillionaire, greed compelled her to commit an illegal act. Stewart has a very positive mindset. She is more of a leader than a manager. She believed that MSLO will prosper in the near future. She had resolution to overcome challenging circumstances. Stewart had faith in her heart that success is not too far if she sticks with amount business values and maintains the quality of MSLOs products. ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYEthics and social province are an integral part of any individuals life. They fit like a pop off in a glove. They should be followed strictly not only by individuals but also by company personnel. Both of these terms are very subjective. Any activity is considered ethically correct or good when it is differentiated by incorrect or distressing behavior or conduct. Milton Friedman strongly recommended that businesses should exclusively operate for profit. In my professional opinion, individuals as well as corporations owe their society. A corporation donating money to the local charity or church is an example of social responsibility.It adds value to mankinds quality of life. Martha Stewart change ImClones stocks ground on inside information to reduce her losses it was an unethical act. She conveniently ignored her social responsibility. She did not remember of the separate stock holders who suffered loss because of her action. It would be interesting to give way Stewarts act in light of three theories of ethics. These theories are Consequential theory Deontological theory and human-centred theory (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 89). All of these theories revolve around good or bad behavior.Consequential theory, as its name suggests, is based on the consequences of the act in question. Deontological theory analyzes behavior based on set rules and principles which a citizen should follow. Humanist theory focuses on the good qualities and applying mind during instinctive behavior. Sadly, Stewart failed miserably if one applies these theories to her act of sale of ImClone stocks. She did not restrain herself from selling the stocks based on inside information. She incomplete applied the rules which are set in such a situation nor thought of the consequences of her action.In Stewarts case, humanist theory applies to her unethical behavior most. Honesty is a very important virtue. She did not use self-restraint when she quickly made the decision to sell the stocks. She lied to the Federal Court. If she had told the truth upfront, she would have saved herself from all the embarrassment. Let me attempt to evaluate Stewarts actions in terms of five schools of social responsibility. These are 1. Profit-Oriented school Only goal is to make profit. 2. Managerial school Corporations deal with people at large. 3. institutional school Deeds should help society. . Professional obligation school Top tier of the company owes to public welfare. 5. Regulation school Onus is on businesses to be responsible for actions. (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 98). It is open from the above brief description that Martha Stewart is from the Profit-Oriented school. She acted recklessly to reduce her losses to maintain the profits. MY OPINION Marthas behavior is understandable. maven should not forget that Stewart is a human being. A real life example will prove my point. Once in the middle of the night, a car was following me.I got scared and started f number thinking he was a shady person. The driver turned out to be a police officer but did not give me a ticket when I explained my position. Stewart, although successfully defended her from insider trading charges, was prosecuted for other crimes. Considering Stewarts rep utation, she should have used her poise, status, and considered the impact of her actions on her and on the general public. Celebrities minor mistakes and blunders become news and it is usually blown out of proportion. Martha, being a smart woman, was most certainly aware of this. From this perspective, Stewarts behavior is ifficult to understand. In my professional opinion the sentence is fair. Martha Stewart is characterized by egoism philosophy, where right or unimpeachable behavior is defined in terms of maximizing personal wealth. Marthas actions were purely out of selfishness. She sold the stocks thinking it was fair and acceptable to avoid personal losses. She did not bother to warn the shareholders about the approaching losses. She bluntly did not care about the shareholders bearing losses as long as she was not losing. With this is mind, the sentence she received is not too harsh and fair enough to warn other miserly people.With this said, I also think and believe that St ewart acted on the information from her broker which she was not entitled to. One should not forget, however, that she did not ask for the information. Hence Stewart did engage in common business behavior. Attorneys should have halt chasing her once they knew that they could not convict her for insider trading. In reality, I think she was simply a scapegoat. In business, a person has to be completely ethical. Ninety-nine good deeds are forgotten at the cost of one bad deed. That is human nature.To build ones reputation again, one has to real work hard, with no guarantee that his or her image will be renewed in the publics eyes. Martha is gaining popularity again. Recently she was on Donald Trumps popular show, The Apprentice. Business leaders will surely think of Martha Stewart if they ever are tempted to sell stocks to avoid losses, especially since she went through a lot of unpleasant things, such as serving jail term, house arrest, and losing approximately 250 million dollars o f her personal fortune. Martha Stewarts case is really different from other criminal cases like WorldCom, Enron, or Tyco.Stewarts wanting to sell the stock was a very personal decision and the US attorneys were successful in trapping her to make mistakes out of fear. In my opinion, this case will not provoke more government regulations and controls. Corporate let the cat out of the bag blowers are not an issue in this case. Bacanovics assistant, Douglas Faneuil who told Stewart of Waksals activity, reached a plea bargain with the government and became a witness (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. P. 229). I do not consider him to be a whistle blower. The first step to learn ethics and social responsibility is at home.Mistakes in life are acceptable we learn from them and try our best not to commit those again. Blunders are so obvious that one can stay away from them and not commit them at all. In the business world, chances are higher(prenominal) that, when a blu nder is committed, it is most probably illegal. Anything illegal has dire consequences. Illegal activity surfaces for sure. Until it comes to public knowledge, that person leaves in fear. So my recommendation is do noble things which are helpful to society. Make sure that you have a very clear conscious. Accept mistakes and be humble.