Financing Of Organizations Research Articles

Michael Freeman, ed. Financing terrorism: Case studies

Michael Freeman, ed. Financing terrorism: Case studies Farnham: Ashgate, 2012. 266 pp $89.96 (cloth) ISBN: 978-1-4094-4261-5By the turn of the millennium the not-yet 10-year-old international anti-money laundering regime already appeared moribund. It was the War on Terror that reinvigorated this regime with a newfound zeal to counter terrorism financing. The Financial Action Task Force the regime's central inter-governmental actor to fight money laundering was asked to target terrorism financing. Several states proposed new legislation, or amended existing legislation, to make terrorism financing illegal. A broad literature emerged on international and national policies to counter illicit finance. Though we have a fair sense of how criminal organizations launder funds, less is known about how terrorist organizations finance their activities. Financing Terrorism, edited by Michael Freeman, attempts to address this gap.Financing Terrorism is not a theory-driven book; contributors present detailed accounts of terrorist organizations from around the world, their principal modes of operation, and their financing activities. The book's objective is to be practical on the assumption that better policy should come from a more complete understanding of how specific organizations operate. The book largely assumes that terrorist organizations need sustained and reliable funding to pursue their political objectives, continue operations, and in many cases, buy popular legitimacy. Contributors consider four key funding sources: state sponsorship, illegal activities, legal activities, and popular support (often provided knowingly or unknowingly through charitable donations). The book presents terrorist organizations region by region: the Middle East (Iraqi insurgent groups, Hezbollah), Asia (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Taliban, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and Filipino terrorist groups), Europe (Loyalists in Northern Ireland, and Islamist groups in Albania), and the Americas (FARC and National Liberation Army, Colombia). Contributing authors come from academia as well as from military establishments in the US and elsewhere; all appear to possess excellent knowledge of the groups under consideration. Taken as a whole, the book provides a comprehensive overview of how various terrorist organizations finance and support their activities.Financing Terrorism's main conclusion, which is more implicit than explicit, is that while combating terrorism financing is important to diminishing a terrorist group's capacity to inflict harm, it is only one instrument among many with which to target organizations. From a Canadian perspective, the chapter on the Tamil Tigers written by Christopher L. Corley is most enlightening. The Tigers' apparent demise, as Corley argues right from the start, had more to do with the offensive launched by the Sri Lankan military in 2008 2009 than with any measure to block the organization's financing operations. The listing of the Tigers as a terrorist organization by foreign governments, including Canada's in 2006, made fundraising more difficult for the Tigers, especially from the diaspora. …

Safety by the Numbers

When “safety” and “numbers” are mentioned in the workplace, people automatically start thinking about the number and costs of work‐related injuries, as well as the unnecessary pain and suffering that accompany them. Workplace safety can't be overlooked. Unsafe practices and conditions can jeopardize workers, equipment, service, and an organization's finances. As companies and communities struggle to make ends meet, investing in safety is an easy way to protect employees and avoid the direct and indirect costs of injuries.

Fashioning the popular masses: accounting as mediator between creativity and control

PurposeThe paper aims to investigate accounting's role as a mediating instrument between the tensions of creativity and control within the price competitive world of the fashion chain store.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a case study approach, gathering interview data from key members within a UK fashion chain, and uses Goffman's work on impression management to inform its theoretical argumentation.FindingsDrawing on Goffman, the paper considers the roles adopted by organizational actors within fashion retailing and the actions they pursue in order to maintain a team performance. The authors suggest that accounting, as a form of stage prop, helps to sustain this team impression by mediating between the creativity and control concerns inherent in fashion design. In the process, they also gain some understanding of the use of accounting by actors beyond the confines of an organization's finance function.Originality/valueDespite the magnitude of the fashion industry and its dominance in the identity construction of both individual and streetscape, the role of accounting within this domain of popular culture has remained remarkably unexplored. This paper attempts to redress such scholarly neglect. It also furthers an understanding of the relatively unexplored role of accounting as a mediating instrument within the complex dialectic of creativity and control.

Denial of Service to Authorized Computer Users

Unhappy employees have always had the potential to cause great damage to an organization's finances and reputation. With the widespread use of computer networks, this threat has become more ominous in recent years. A discontented employee with access to highly confidential network and password data can paralyze an organization and make it susceptible to blackmail, severe financial strain, and public ridicule.

The Cost of Illegal Business Practices

The article focuses on the consequences of illegal business practices. It states that the price paid for illegal corporate activities often is heavier than just court-imposed fines. It mentions that firms convicted for wrongdoing suffered significantly reduced return on assets and return on sales, possibly as a result of customer rejection of those firms, or increased cost of business as a result. It comments that multiple convictions would be more harmful for an organization's finances than a single conviction.It states that economic downturns as a result of violations would manifest several years after the conviction, which may result in future violations as management does not see an immediate negative impact as a result of their actions.

Managing finance for quality: bottom-line results from top-level commitment

Traditionally associated with manufacturing and customer service functions, total quality management (TQM) can also help an organization's finance department perform more effectively. At the same time, finance supports TQM by tracking its contribution to the bottom line. This book shows how to manage both sides of this integral relationship and improve day-to-day operations.