On Corruption in America

On Corruption in America
Author: Sarah Chayes
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2020-08-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0525654860

From the prizewinning journalist and internationally recognized expert on corruption in government networks throughout the world comes a major work that looks homeward to America, exploring the insidious, dangerous networks of corruption of our past, present, and precarious future. “If you want to save America, this might just be the most important book to read now." —Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains Sarah Chayes writes in her new book, that the United States is showing signs similar to some of the most corrupt countries in the world. Corruption, she argues, is an operating system of sophisticated networks in which government officials, key private-sector interests, and out-and-out criminals interweave. Their main objective: not to serve the public but to maximize returns for network members. In this unflinching exploration of corruption in America, Chayes exposes how corruption has thrived within our borders, from the titans of America's Gilded Age (Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, et al.) to the collapse of the stock market in 1929, the Great Depression, and FDR's New Deal; from Joe Kennedy's years of banking, bootlegging, machine politics, and pursuit of infinite wealth to the deregulation of the Reagan Revolution--undermining this nation's proud middle class and union members. She then brings us up to the present as she shines a light on the Clinton policies of political favors and personal enrichment and documents Trump's hydra-headed network of corruption, which aimed to systematically undo the Constitution and our laws. Ultimately and most importantly, Chayes reveals how corrupt systems are organized, how they enable bad actors to bend the rules so their crimes are covered legally, how they overtly determine the shape of our government, and how they affect all levels of society, especially when the corruption is overlooked and downplayed by the rich and well-educated.

Competition and Efficiency in International Food Supply Chains

Competition and Efficiency in International Food Supply Chains
Author: John Williams
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2012-07-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1136332340

Why have food crises seemingly become more frequent in recent years, compared to the last few decades? This book examines an array of different issues and distortions that are causing food supply chain dysfunction in many countries, particularly for staple non-perishable foods such as grains, oilseeds, pulses and sugar. It outlines the underlying changes that are currently occurring, which will have an influence on the direction of future food supply chains, and provides some solutions to current food security problems. Based on an analysis of total regulation in the 1950s-60s through to deregulation during the 1980-90s, as well as post-deregulation, it focuses on liberal trade and deregulation as a more successful solution to creating efficiencies in food supply chains and distribution. The author highlights a common thread of either farmers using government for vested-interest intervention, or autocratic governments seeking market and supply-chain power. The book examines the role of government after 70 years of food supply chain intervention. It discusses the role of commercial ‘trade’ markets and cluster industries and how these can quickly disintegrate when price distortions occur. The author studies both food importing and exporting countries and concludes that comingled commoditization of food has led to increased hoarding, corruption, and dependence on food aid. He argues that a competitive food supply chain that has minimum intervention is more likely to provide future food security. In conclusion the book emphasizes that adequate rewards, competition, and striving for supply chain efficiencies are the essences of sustainable food security.

Counterfeiting and Fraud in Supply Chains

Counterfeiting and Fraud in Supply Chains
Author: Sanda Soucie
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 173
Release: 2022-09-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1801175764

Counterfeiting and Fraud in Supply Chains explains the reasons behind the popularity of counterfeiting and fraud among both consumers and companies, a systematic and holistic overview and critical examination of the situations that have caused an increasing trend of those criminal activities.

Corruption

Corruption
Author: N. Kochan
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2011-09-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0230343341

The dangers of involvement in corruption need to be embedded in corporate strategy. Companies' response to these dangers must also be reflected in their practices, particularly if operating outside its own borders. This book guides managers through the complexity of bribery issues with advice on how to implement anti-corruption strategies.

Supply Chain Risk Management

Supply Chain Risk Management
Author: John Manners-Bell
Publisher: Kogan Page Publishers
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2017-11-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0749480165

WINNER: ACA-Bruel 2014 - Special Mention Prize (1st edition) With increased outsourcing, globalization, and just-in-time production, the ability to effectively identify, assess and manage risks in the supply chain is more important than ever. Supply Chain Risk Management is a practical learning resource which explores a wide range of external threats to the supply chain such as natural disasters, economic risk, terrorism and piracy. An ideal companion to academic and professional training courses, it presents a robust set of strategies which can minimize and mitigate supply chain risk. Supply Chain Risk Management includes numerous best practice case studies, with each case documenting the company's supply chain or production strategy and outlining the catastrophic event which occurred. This comprehensive second installment of Supply Chain Risk, which won the 2014 ACA-Bruel Special Mention prize, analyses the supply chain consequences, material losses, management response, and resultant changes to a company's supply chain strategy. With a new chapter on cyber threats to supply chains, Supply Chain Risk Management also includes academic pedagogy such as objectives, summaries and a key point checklist in each chapter.

Russian Energy Chains

Russian Energy Chains
Author: Margarita M. Balmaceda
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2021-05-11
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 023155219X

Russia’s use of its vast energy resources for leverage against post-Soviet states such as Ukraine is widely recognized as a threat. Yet we cannot understand this danger without also understanding the opportunity that Russian energy represents. From corruption-related profits to transportation-fee income to subsidized prices, many within these states have benefited by participating in Russian energy exports. To understand Russian energy power in the region, it is necessary to look at the entire value chain—including production, processing, transportation, and marketing—and at the full spectrum of domestic and external actors involved, from Gazprom to regional oligarchs to European Union regulators. This book follows Russia’s three largest fossil-fuel exports—natural gas, oil, and coal—from production in Siberia through transportation via Ukraine to final use in Germany in order to understand the tension between energy as threat and as opportunity. Margarita M. Balmaceda reveals how this dynamic has been a key driver of political development in post-Soviet states in the period between independence in 1991 and Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. She analyzes how the physical characteristics of different types of energy, by shaping how they can be transported, distributed, and even stolen, affect how each is used—not only technically but also politically. Both a geopolitical travelogue of the journey of three fossil fuels across continents and an incisive analysis of technology’s role in fossil-fuel politics and economics, this book offers new ways of thinking about energy in Eurasia and beyond.

Global Supply Chain Security

Global Supply Chain Security
Author: Andrew R. Thomas
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2014-12-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1493921789

This volume presents new theoretical insights, practical strategies, and policy initiatives in the rapidly evolving field of global supply chain security. As businesses, governments, and society at large have become increasingly dependent on a global network to provide goods and services, protecting global supply chains has become an issue of vital importance for industries, nations, and regions. The "supply chain" encompasses all the links connecting a manufacturer to end users of its products. Links may take the form of plants, supplier warehouses, vendor facilities, ports or hubs, retail warehouses or facilities, and outbound shipping centers. Links also involve all the ways goods are moved-by truck, ship, airplane, or rail car. A great deal can go wrong in the supply chain due to company or systemic mismanagement and inefficiency, criminal activity, employee or technology errors, or terrorism, to name just a few of the threats. Then there are government regulation, industry or association oversight, and security agencies (both public and private) keeping track. Globalization, stricter security regimes, and increasingly sophisticated criminal activity have made cross-border cargo movements more complex, putting the integrity of end-to-end supply chains at much greater risk. This is why the security of the supply chain has become such an important issue for business people: there is too much at stake to let problems proliferate or stagnate. It has been estimated, for example, that thieves now steal $50 billion in goods each year from various points along the supply chain. Synthesizing the most current research, practical application, and policy, Global Supply Chain Security covers a range of emerging topics—from risk assessment to technology deployment to continuity planning—and will serve as a useful resource for anyone concerned with supply chain security issues, including scholars, students, business executives and policymakers.

Agricultural Supply Chains and the Challenge of Price Risk

Agricultural Supply Chains and the Challenge of Price Risk
Author: John Williams
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2013-12-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1134058381

This book discusses the issues of integration within food and fibre supply chains and the challenges in managing price risk. The problems of integration and price risk are interwoven in agricultural supply chains with production and supply risk as well as hoarding. However, without supply chain integration through commercial trade markets there can be no forward market upon which forward transactions and the management of price risk can be based. Without a forward market that can reduce opportunistic behaviour, there is likely to be little security of supply, particularly under high production risk and price uncertainty. Whilst price risk management is possible under certain circumstances, there are many factors that can prevent the development of forward markets or cause them to collapse, thus undermining the ability to manage price risk within acceptable risk and return parameters. Market positions therefore need to be valued and often settled daily due to the risk of contract default. In addition, the issue of currency risk and its management applies to international market positions and transactional exposures. The book analyses a range of price risk management strategies from forward contracting through to futures and options hedging, and finally to over-the-counter products. Evaluation techniques are developed to aid decision-making. The author concludes that forward market development may be the exception rather than the norm, and that whilst favourable price risk management outcomes may be possible, they can sometimes be caused more by luck than through good management. It is shown how tactics are an important consideration in decision-making to minimize costs and losses.