#173 Ernst & Young Sued for Lehman Bros. Failure

The most recent "big" example of auditor responsibility for audit quality:

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#172 Woman Sues McDonalds Over Happy Meal Toy Offerings

With regard to contingent liabilities, I think it's safe to say that McDonalds will be able to consider this lawsuit to be frivolous and won't need to even disclose in their financial statement footnotes. On a personal note, if you can't regulate how often your child eats fast food or watches television which subjects them to marketing that promotes toys, perhaps you need some coaching in the parenting sector. I think the only winners here are the attorneys.

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#171 Groupon

Groupon is an awesome idea and represents a radical shift in the promotion part of marketing!

#170 Ziggy on Avoiding Contingent LIabilities

http://www.gocomics.com/ziggy/2010/12/10/

#169 Ben Bernanke on the Current Economy and More

#168 Justice Stevens

A great American serving a great American institution for over 35 years!

#167 Re: Post #61: Go Community Colleges!

Dr. Jill Biden continues to be the top cheerleader for the wonderful work that community colleges do for students nationwide. We change lives!

#166 Toyota Ideas for Good

Toyota has an innovative way to improve their reputation.
Toyota Ideas for Good

#165 GM Uses Marketing to Improve Image

#164 The Truth About Extended Warranties

#163 Beware of Bank Fees

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#162 GM IPO Good News for Automaker

Streamlining their operations has led to renewed profitability and positive interest in the company.

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#161 Deficit Panel Proposal Released

Not for the faint of heart, the bipartisan deficit panel has put forth their plan for deficit reduction and tax reform.

#160 Customer Service Challenges Customers

#159 Big Bets Pay Off for Ford

Alan Mulally's strategies are paying big dividends in the form of increased profits and customer loyalty generated by Ford's ability to sustain without government bailout funds.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39786621/ns/business-us_business/

#158 GM Hopes Volt Charges Up Other Model Sales

An interesting audio segment on how Volt may be the answer to General Motor's prayers!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130680247

#157 Neiman Marcus Notable Gifts for 2010

They may not sell all the items, but they get Americans talking about their store - wonderful marketing!

#156 Change Coming to Starbucks?

Starbucks is mulling the addition of wine and cheese to the menu:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39719692/ns/business-consumer_news/

#155 From CNN - 10 Ideas to Change the World

Simple, but important suggestions to improve the quality of life worldwide are featured in this slideshow:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/23/10.simple.things/index.html

#154 Walmart Looking to Open Smaller Stores

From the WSJ, a story about a new strategy for the world's largest retailer:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703673604575550243762557882.html?mod=djem_jiewr_OM_domainid

#153 Wall Street: The Speed Traders

The stock market has always had elements of both investing and gambling, but the use of technology is shifting the balance between the two. Learn more in this video segment from CBS' 60 Minutes.

#152 Court ruling will influence consumer goods pricing

From USA Today - "How you pay for stuff could soon determine how much you pay"
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2010-10-12-yourmoney12_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

#151 The New Age of Walmart

#150 The Social Network

While this account of the origins of Facebook is somewhat fictionalized, the movie does point to a number of ethical issues.

More On Education

Research from Peabody College concludes that performance based pay for teachers by itself doesn't impact test scores significantly.
http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2010/09/teacher-performance-pay/?utm_source=vuhomepage&utm_medium=vuhomeslider&utm_campaign=springer-pay-performance

#149 The New Normal for the Middle Class

NBC News Education Nation

NBC's website for this important discussion - clips begin airing Sept. 26
http://www.educationnation.com/

A Call to Action for Public Schools

A link to the Time Magazine Cover Story for 9/23/10

A Call to Action for Public Schools

#148 Phasing Out Old School Light Bulbs

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#147 Logistics!!!!

Thanks for this little ditty, UPS! It's cute, but it's also about supply chain management and JIT!

#146 Have Your Complaints Heard!

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I generally don't think of Hoda and Kathie Lee as a source for solid business advice, but I guess I need to rethink that!

#145 New Health Care Rules Effective Today

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#144 Facebook Controversies

Success draws controversy as Mark Zuckerburg faces lawsuits regarding the ownership of both the Facebook concept and the company itself. Paul Ceglia is a man who claims he owns 84% of Facebook according to this BusinessWeek article:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_33/b4191035345142.htm
And then there's the Winklevoss twins who aren't happy with their 2008 settlement about the origins of fb. After their settlement was locked in, they discovered the privately held shares of Facebook were worth less than 25% of the value they had used in agreeing to the settlement.

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#143 Steven Rattner Overhauls the Auto Industry

Did failure to practice sound financial reporting contribute to the collapse of GM and Chrysler? Watch and see!

#142 Teaching Kids About Money

Jean Chatsky appears frequently on both The Today Show and Oprah discussing financial issues. There's a good reason she is in such demand. Now she has a new book out on talking to your kids about money.

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#141 Rent or Buy - What's Right Now?

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#140 Suspect Pleads Guilty In Disney Tips Case

An interesting article on insider trading.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575447480788739938.html?mod=djem_jiewr_AC_domainid

#139 BMW - Small Improvements Lead to Improved Productivity with Aging Workforce

I think Dr. Deming would love this!

#138 Government Regulation - The Ultimate Quality Test

While many people argue for smaller government, Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, makes a persuasive argument for improved government regulation of many industries - agriculture, oil, mining, etc. This might not necessarily mean increased government regulation, but could mean improved, more organized regulatory authorities. For example, maybe chickens and eggs could be regulated by the same agency!

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Re: #137 - GM's Internal Controls

The internal control statement in the S-1 filing for General Motor's IPO is not designed to inspire confidence!
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/a-red-flag-on-g-m-internal-controls/

#137 GM: The IPO

Nothing new after the 4 minute mark in this 5 minute video, but it does cover the essential details. Give some thought to how GM plans to raise $14-18 billion dollars by offering $200 million worth of stock. How does that happen?

#136 Building Credit 101 for College Students

Recent changes to credit laws have meant that it could be harder for young people to build a credit history.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2010-08-17-yourmoney17_ST_N.htm

#135 Starbucks - Customer Service Lacking?

Could this have been handled better?
http://www.popfi.com/2010/08/17/english-professor-picks-fight-with-starbucks/

#134 - CNN's The Turnaround

Each month, this series features a story of business re-invention. I love these stories!

#133 -Meltdowns - Jet Blue and McDonald's McNugget Attack

Is it the heat or the economy that is leading to employee and customer meltdowns?

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#132 Schizophrenic Shoppers

Saving on toothpaste, but spending on luxury items - this clip provides a synopsis of this week's cover story in Business Week.

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#131 Wal-mart Wants to Get Into Your Pants

A new method of controlling inventory will hopefully reduce shrinkage for the world's largest retailer.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38376726/ns/business-retail/

#130 Disney Raising Prices

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38551343/ns/travel-family_travel/

#129 Whistleblowers Get a Raise

From the 8/2/10 issue of Business week, the SEC will now be eligible to make offers of up to 30% of fines to whistleblowers, as opposed to the previous limit of 10%.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_32/b4190031434221.htm?chan=magazine+channel_news+-+politics+%2B+policy

#128 Secrets of Super Savers

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#127 Will You Have Enough for Retirement?

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#126 Toyota Changes How It Develops Cars

For QMS, consider how this change impacts the cost of quality for Toyota. More prevention costs should be more than offset by lower external failure costs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703620604575348811212533700.html?mod=djem_jiewr_HR_domainid

Re: #66 - What Are People Saying About the PCAOB Decision?

What Are People Saying About the PCAOB Decision?

Gulf Oil Spill: BP Suspends Dividend, Agrees to Set Aside $20 Billion - CNBC

Corporations hate to forego dividends since it typically drives away shareholders and lowers market price, but this is probably the appropriate action in lieu of the Gulf disaster.
Gulf Oil Spill: BP Suspends Dividend, Agrees to Set Aside $20 Billion - CNBC

#125 New Bank Fees - Watch Out!

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Education - It Matters!

#124 Warren and Peter Buffett on Achieving Success

#123: Zappos Delivers Happiness

For QMS, this video segment from CBS Sunday Morning pretty much covers it all - leadership, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction & empowerment, continuous improvement, etc.!
Watch CBS News Videos Online

#122 Why Wal-Mart Wants to Take the Driver's Seat

From Business Week, an interesting article on how Wal-Mart's efforts to lower costs for their customers will likely raise costs for their vendors and competitors.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_23/b4181017589330.htm?chan=magazine+channel_news+-+companies+%2B+industries

#121 Theft suspect accused of bar code scam

Theft suspect accused of bar code scam

Re: #1 General Motors IS a Going Concern Again!

So much discussion of the equity concepts that we cover in our end of semester chapter on stockholders' equity in this CNBC video segment! Nice to report this company seems to have turned the corner.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

#120 Waiting for Superman

I can't wait to see this documentary on education which was an award winner at the Sundance Film Festival! This issue is critical for our country's future.

#119: Improving Health Care Now

Many of the reforms passed in the health care bill won't take affect for several years. Business Week offered these continuous improvement efforts last November. Many are just common sense.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_47/b4156034717852.htm?chan=magazine+channel_top+stories

#118: Innovation's Accidental Enemies

A good story of how everyone doesn't embrace change/innovation for QMS students.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_04/b4164080555772.htm?chan=magazine+channel_business+views

Really !?! With Seth, Amy, & Tina

Not for the easily offended, Seth, Amy & Tina offer some thoughts on current events including the largest plunge in the Dow ever and the economic crisis in Greece.

#117 Warren Buffett for Kids

Watching CNN this morning, I saw a profile of this new cartoon for kids on ABC. What a great idea! This shows it's never to early to start financial literacy education.

Derby Day!

Sometimes (but not often) it's nice to be old enough to remember things when they really happened. The 70s were an awesome decade for the Kentucky Derby with 3 Triple Crown winners - Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed. Riva Ridge won the Derby (and the Belmont) in 1972 for Meadow Stable, but what no one knew at the time was that this team had an even better horse in training - Secretariat, possibly the greatest Thoroughbred of all time. I can hardly wait for Disney's version of this wonderful story later this year!

#116 Oprah's No Phone Zone Day

What a great movement! Most importantly, this will save lives, but it will also save our nation from the costs associated with medical care related to injuries caused by distracted driving. Thanks, Oprah!

#115 Boeing Practices Lean Manufacturing

This article provides more details.

#114 Ben Stein Tells It Like It Is

Before he was a befuddled teacher searching for Ferris Bueller, Ben Stein was an economist working for the Nixon Administration. Here he shares how he is squarely behind the Obama Administration's call for immediate financial reforms as a first step in preventing future financial frauds such as we experienced in 2008.
Watch CBS News Videos Online

#113 A Few Thoughts About Post Its and 3M

I love Craig Wilson's Final Word column that appears each Wednesday in USA Today and I love to talk about 3M and their innovation efforts in my Introduction to Quality Systems class. That means I especially loved this column!
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/finalword/2010-04-21-final21_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

#112 Experts Dismiss Proposed Financial Regulatory Reforms

I saw this on the Today Show this morning and noted that Lynn Turner, former SEC Chief Accountant, was speaking out against the proposed reforms as being too weak. I have seen Dr. Turner speak at American Accounting Association updates and if he says its not adequate reform, I believe him!

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Re: #109 Is Goldman Sachs Being Scapegoated?

Now that the initial hoopla has started to settle, here's a more objective report:

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#111 Walmart International CEO Gives Leadership Advice

At age 43, Doug McMillon has achieved great success with Walmart. In this USA Today article, he shares some of his theories on management and the competitive advantage that Walmart enjoys.http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/advice/2010-04-19-advice19_ST_N.htm

#110 Katie's Optimism

Katie's view that fraud by Goldman Sachs and others will be punished may be on the naive side - we'll see!
Watch CBS News Videos Online

Re: #4 i.o.u.s.a. solutions

This update by CNN shows how the debt crisis continues to grow. View the 30 minute version of the original documentary for the basics on this problem - link at #4.

#109 Goldman Sachs Faces Fraud Charges

The SEC is trying to flex some muscle with this investigation. It's about time, but whether these charges will stick is yet to be seen.

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#108 In Honor of Tax Day

A significant number of Americans pay no taxes. Many of those that pay feel overtaxed and yet our rates are much lower than those paid in the 1960s - 1980s! This article from CNN Money.Com tells more.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/30/pf/taxes/who_pays_taxes/index.htm

#107: Toyota Was In Denial

This opinion piece offers an interesting perspective about Toyota's failure to proactively address their current recall problems.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_16/b4174076731775.htm?chan=magazine+channel_business+views

Re #20: The Smartest Guys in the Room

I didn't know this Academy Award nominated documentary had been airing on CNBC for the last few days, but found it this evening. There is one more airing on April 15 at 7 pm CT. You may be busy, but I encourage you to DVR this and take it in once finals are over. This story is a critical piece of the puzzle as far as current accounting regulatory practice goes.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/35836210

#106 Discontinuing a Segment, Store, Etc.

Relevant to our discussion of short term relevant costs:http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_14/b4172028512211.htm?chan=magazine+channel_new+business

#105 On the Subject of Committed Fixed Costs

From Business Week, this article is called "March Payday Madness"http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_14/b4172058546496.htm?chan=magazine+channel_top+stories

#104 Becoming a Price Setter in a Competitive Market

How did this French bakery become a price setter when based on their industry they should be a price taker? If you choose this for an extra credit write up, be sure to talk about this somewhat unusual outcome!

Watch CBS News Videos Online

In case you need to place an order, here's their web site. Or, better yet, how about a class field trip!
http://www.poilane.fr/pages/en/company_produits.php

Re: #7 Saturday Mail Delivery Slated to End

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#103 Apple's New iPad - I Want One!

From Newsweek: Why the iPad Will Change Everything
http://www.newsweek.com/id/235565

The Office Webisodes: The Accountants

While there are a few off color remarks, I confess to loving it when Kevin asks in episode 3 of this series "What's depreciation?"

#102 Are You Middle Class?

This link from Yahoo!Finance to a U.S. News and World Report article will give you a metric for assessing whether you are achieving the "middle class dream" of most Americans.
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgetingk/article/109155/how-to-gauge-your-middle-class-status?mod=bb-budgeting

#101 Former Congressman Oxley defends SOX - Kinda,Sorta

http://goingconcern.com/2010/03/you-dont-want-to-imagine-what-the-world-would-be-like-without-sarbanes-oxley-says-michael-oxley/

#100 GE Announces Improved Dividend

Anticipating an improved economy, General Electric has announced that it plans to increase its dividend in 2011, but hasn't been specific as to amount/percentage. From the Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704688604575125590311051502.html?mod=djem_jiewr_AC_domainid

#99 "Blind Side" Author Documents Subprime Mortgage Disaster

In his latest book, The Big Short, Michael Lewis details how the warning signs for the subprime mortgage crisis were dismissed and how some of those responsible are now being rewarded for their involvement.

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#98 Companies Paying Dividends Beyond Current Earnings

Read who and why in this article from USA Today.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/2010-03-11-dividends11_ST_N.htm

#97 Target Puts Mobile Coupons on Customers' Cellphones

A great example of Target's aggressive approach to maintaining competitive advantage:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2010-03-09-targetcoupons09_ST_N.htm

Re: #96: Whistleblowers Aren't Pretty

An interesting comment on the personality traits of Harry Markopolos and other whistleblowers from Going Concern, a tabloid blog for the accounting profession.
http://goingconcern.com/2010/03/whistleblowers-are-not-pretty/

#96 No One Would Listen

Matt Lauer interviews Harry Markopolos, the whistleblower who was 4 times rebuffed by the SEC when trying to alert them to the Bernie Madoff fraud. The best line from Matt - ...but, Harry, no offense, you look like an accountant."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

#95 Suze's Two Cents

Suze Orman's latest personal financial advice from CBS Sunday Morning - as always, Suze encourages financial independence through debt reduction as part of her plan. However, she shares where to find the lowest rates on credit cards and a solid retirement savings strategy as well.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

#94 Getting Back on Track

Watch CBS News Videos Online

#93 Professional Shoplifters Circumvent Internal Controls

This recap of a Dr. Phil episode from November, 2008 details how a couple made a career from shoplifting.http://drphil.com/slideshows/slideshow/4784/?id=4784&showID=1171

#92 Toyota - Will It Ever End?

The news isn't good for Toyota, but it seems they invited this trouble in 2007 when they chose to cover up the potential problems by claiming it was all a floormat issue.

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#91 Today's the Day

New laws regarding credit card policies became effective today.

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#90 Continuous Improvement in Sports

While Six Sigma level quality is celebrated in manufacturing, in other areas, particularly when human lives are at stake, nothing less than 100% quality is acceptable. The recent tragedy in the Olympic luge event highlights that and the discussion here shows how sports officials must consider improvements to prevent future tragedies. Duncan Kennedy, 3 time Olympian and NBC commentator, was my "across the street" neighbor along with his 3 "active" older brothers in Lexington, KY in the early 1970s. At the time, the real celebrity of our cul de sac was the English Springer Spaniel who won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club two years in a row.

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#89 Cash Hoarders

Some companies choose to deploy extra cash for stock buybacks, rather than pay dividends.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126549994152342111.html?mod=djem_jiewr_AC_domainid

#88 Economy Spurs Kentucky and Other States to Consider Taxing Services

From the WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704829704575049861057266800.html?mod=djem_jiewr_AC_domainid

#87 More on Toyota

Secretive Culture Led Toyota Astray from the WSJ - print edition:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704820904575055733096312238.html?mod=djem_jiewr_OM_domainid