Discussion 1: An Overview of Financial Management
A. In your judgment, what were the principal causes of the recent financial crisis and Great Recession? Would you include Government policies that encouraged housing purchases for those who could not afford them, artificially low interest rates implemented by the Federal Reserve, banks and mortgage brokers who were greedy, the failure of Government regulators to provide proper oversight to the banks and other financial institutions, individuals who borrowed and spent more than they should have, or some other causes?
B. From the e-Activity, examine ethical behavior within firms in relation to financial management. Provide at least two (2) recent (in the last 5 years) examples (other than Enron, WorldCom, and Bernie Madoff) of companies that have been guilty of ethics-based malfeasance related to financial management. What were the specific sanctions that were imposed and explain why the sanctions and penalties were appropriate?
C. From the scenario (Scenario Topic: The primary objective of the corporation is value maximization), what are at least two (2) actions that Trevose Fitness Center (TFC) could take in order to raise capital that will, in turn, enable it to achieve its expansion goals? How can you defend your response? Support your observations with at least two (2) recent and real-world examples of implementations of these same actions?