# data[].attributes.body
Semantics can be used in a humorous way, but when used in a professional setting, can cause interruptions in understanding for those with different views or beliefs

# data[].attributes.body
This is an interesting article with the approach that leadership is about leading by example and influencing those around you to succeed, instead of taking on an authoritative role

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In a recent conversation with a leader whose lens I always respect, she brought up a point about increasing leadership through influence, not authority. I reflected on that the rest of the day and wanted to dig into that…

# data[].attributes.body
Steve Jobs took a Free-Rein style Leadership role in both the beginning of Apple and the creation of Pixar. This allows employees to have creative freedom to create new products or ideas for the company

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Mapping Pixar's candid, creative culture

"Getting the right people and the right chemistry is more important than getting the right idea." - Ed Catmull

Pixar's thriving, creative culture is the result of a systematic approach to churning out lots of ideas over brilliant breakthrough ideas.

Above all, Pixar trusts smart people over processes and ideas. Everybody can talk to anyone. All ideas are welcomed, regardless of where or from whom they originated. Trust means trusting someone even if they screw up. Directors are given unfiltered, candid feedback, but they maintain control of their films.

The Core of Pixar's Culture: Values and Purpose

Unlike most companies, Pixar doesn't have a clear mission statement or values. The film company believes that "quality is the best business plan ." However, the company clearly articulates what it wants to achieve in the form of principles.
Pixar's goal is: "To make great films with great people."
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."-Ed Catmull

Pixar's key principles/ values are:

1. Failure isn't a necessary evil

2. Don't confuse the process with the goal

3. Quality is the best business plan

4. People are more important than ideas

5. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody

6. Prepare for the unknown

7. Give good notes (this refers to feedback notes provided during 'Braintrusts'-see below)

Pixar establishes the following priorities: Smart people even over breakthrough ideas Trust people even over the process Build community over free agency Creative vision even over conformism
In most creative cultures, egos and individualism get in the way. Ed Catmull and his team have put a lot of energy and dedication into building a collective creative culture.

Pixar rewards: creativity as a team sport, having fun, excellency (having the same quality bar across all films), and a peer culture (everyone supporting each other across different levels).

Pixar punishes: mediocrity, egos, and Silicon Valley's culture.

Pixar's Culture Design Canvas: The Emotional Culture

"It is not the manager's job to prevent risks. It is the manager's job to make it safe to take them." - Ed Catmull

The above quote captures an obsessive dedication to building a safe culture where people can be candid, experiment, and take risks. Pixar has been building psychological safety by making people comfortable with being uncomfortable as well as supportive peer-to-peer feedback.

Originality is fragile; it requires to see the potential and nurture the "ugly babies." They are the first iterations of originality, which need encouragement and care before they can grow into beautiful creatures.

As Catmull says, "No Pixar movie ever started out as funny, heartfelt, and well-written as what we see in theaters. In fact, many of them were complete disasters at the start."

At Pixar, people are expected to get used to the 'embarrassment' of showing their work in progress. One's colleagues are not there to judge the work, but to help it grow.

Pixar practices radical candor building on empathy; honesty is not meant to harm others or destroy an idea but to nurture them. Conversely, people don't pull punches to be polite.

The overall environment supports people and encourages everybody to support each other. Trusting someone is about trusting them even when they screw up.

Pixar University has become a vital component to make it safe for people to experiment. The belief is that if people aren't scared, they are not doing their job. At Pixar University, employees learn anything from improv and drawing to screenwriting.

Pixar has a strong feedback culture. Directors appreciate all ideas, regardless of from whom they originated. Divergent perspectives are considered as additive, not competitive.

Issues are shared and addressed to the entire crew at the same time, not cascaded from one level to another. The film company leverages the "vulnerability loop" that happens when two people are vulnerable together.

Pixar Team Rituals

Pixar uses Braintrust meetings to root out mediocrity and to push toward creative excellence. The Braintrust meets every few months to assess a film that's under development.

According to Catmull, it's essentially the same as any creative get-together; the only difference is that people give candid feedback in the form of notes. It's like a version of a peer review, a forum to raise Pixar's game.

The members of a Braintrust don't have any hidden agenda. They are not there to steal the movie from the project owners. That's one essential rule of this method; Braintrusts are formed of a group of peers that are working on another film.

Participants should provide clear notes at the end of the meeting. Good notes should be timely, not too late to fix the problem.

According to Catmull, good Braintrusts' notes are specific and capture:
What is wrong? What is missing? What isn't clear? What makes no sense?
At the Tools department, Guido Quaroni instituted "personal project days." His engineers had two days a month to work on anything they wanted - it didn't have to be directly related to any particular film.

On Notes Days, Pixar shuts down all work for a day to facilitate a kind of collective coming-together of all employees. People break apart into groups to share their thoughts on various topics to solve a problem. Managers are excluded from Notes Day so that employees can feel freer to offer candid feedback.

Pixar's Culture Design Canvas: The Rational Culture

Meetings

To help staff and ideas grow, Pixar runs on a steady diet of daily review meetings, 1:1s, and postmortems when projects are completed.

Pixar avoids unnecessary meetings with the mindset that it's okay (for a senior manager) to walk into a meeting and be surprised. This means getting rid of review meetings with different levels.

"Dailies" are morning sessions to review each team's work in progress. It's part of the collective mindset where everyone on the team knows what's going on.

"Post-mortems" is a discussion about learning from past mistakes or successes. The team gets together to review a complete projet and must address "5 things they will continue to do" and "5 things that they wouldn't do again."

Rules

The most important rule at Pixar is that the company doesn't like rules. However, there are various norms that guide the way the team works and collaborates.

Pixar trusts talented people. The company hires - and bets big - on great, creative people and then gives them enormous leeway.

Failure is encouraged: "Fail early, fail often."

Catmull identified the initial division between certain areas. He purposefully worked on getting rid of the class structure: technology inspires art and art challenges tech. They both have to work together.

Decisions

At Pixar, film leaders make all operating decisions; their bosses don't have to second guess or micromanage them. Managers only get involved when production is running into a problem. They intervene to provide support without undermining the director's authority.

The creative decision-making authority lies solely on the film's creative leadership. The Braintrust provides input and feedback, but has no authority-it's up to the director to decide what to do with that input.

Overall, Pixar has a creative culture that is a safe, open, and high-candor environment. The secret of Pixar lies in building continuous introspection. As Catmull said, "If we are successful, we will be equally blind."

You Might Also Like

Sources used for this culture canvas example

To map Pixar's culture, I used the following resources, among many others:

How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity (HBR)
Pixar's culture deck
Creativity, INC by Ed Catmull
Pixar University: Thinking Outside the Mouse
No values, no mission statements
Great Ed Catmull quotes
The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
Pixar's purpose to make great films with great people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Pixar Designed a Culture of Collective Creativity | By Gustavo Razzetti

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Getting the right people and the right chemistry is more important than getting the right idea." - Ed Catmull Pixar's thriving, creative culture is the result of a systematic approach to churning out lots of ideas over brilliant breakthrough ideas. Above all, Pixar trusts smart people over processes and ideas.

# data[].attributes.body
E-Leadership can be difficult in remote settings because while companies expect employees to have a dedicated home office that is free of noise and distractions, this is often not the case.

# data[].attributes.body
Employee disengagement "drains the global economy of $8.8 trillion annually". This number was shocking to me, as I have felt disengaged in positions before but have not felt less productive in my role.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Nurture an Engaged and Satisfied Workforce | Vantage Circle HR Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Staggering Cost Of Disengaged Employees: How Disengagement Impacts Your Bottom Line

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explore the staggering cost of disengaged employees with research-backed insights and statistics. Discover strategies to boost engagement and safeguard your bottom line.

# data[].attributes.body
Managers are the main motivators for their team. * content contains strong language*

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Andy Elliot's Motivational speech: change your life #andyelliott #motivation

# data[].attributes.body
Employee Evaluations allow management to make decisions about their employees and for employees to evaluate how they have improved and where they may have begun slacking since becoming comfortable in their role

# data[].attributes.body
Strategic management has been massively improved since the addition of AI, optimizing the process

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The analysis of strategic management decisions and corporate competitiveness based on artificial intelligence - Scientific Reports

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Scientific Reports - The analysis of strategic management decisions and corporate competitiveness based on artificial intelligence

# data[].attributes.body
Cost-Benefit Analysis, when presented in this way, is comical in nature. The cost for some may outweigh the benefits, but for someone in a different situation, this may not be the case.

# data[].attributes.body
Budgetary Controls are used by companies to safeguard access to funds given to employees, i.e. company credit cards

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Be it an individual or a corporation, budgeting is a crucial element of financial planning for everyone. Almost one third (31%) of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) had to stop or momentarily halt a part of their business due to a lack of finance over the last couple of years. This data from research commissioned by Manx Financial Group PLC underlines the necessity of funds for a business to run. Given its significance, effective management of these resources is critical, and budgeting is central to this process. However, creating a budget is just the beginning; it is equally essential to follow and adhere to it. Mastering budget and budgetary control is vital for business success. Thus, this blog aims to walk you through its numerous aspects, covering:

1. What is budget control?

2. Why is budgetary control important?

3. The budget control process

4. The benefits of budgetary control

5. Best practices and common principles of budgetary control

6. Leveraging technology for efficient budget control

What is budget control?

Budget control is the process of effectively managing cash flow and capital by closely monitoring planned budgets. It involves ensuring that spending aligns with the established budget plan and allocated funds, preventing overspending, and making necessary adjustments when required. This process is crucial for meeting the financial objectives of an organisation.

Why is budgetary control important?

Every reason that underscores the importance of budgeting also justifies the need for budgetary control. Without proper budgetary control, an organisation faces numerous risks and financial consequences. For instance, excessive spending in one sector, such as marketing, might cause financial deficits in essential areas like research and development, potentially impeding long-term growth and innovation.

Mismanagement and budget overruns can lead to considerable debt if not promptly addressed, straining cash flow and disrupting operations and financial forecasts. Moreover, inadequate monitoring can obscure financial irregularities, increasing the risk of undetected fraud. These consequences are particularly severe for organisations with limited resources, including SMEs, potentially threatening their very survival.

Budgetary control helps mitigate overspendi ng and maintains financial discipline. It establishes accountability by tracking spending and ensuring adherence to financial constraints and policies. Additionally, it aids in cost control and debt management by aligning expenses with company priorities and identifying unnecessary costs for elimination. This is especially important in a high-inflation economic climate. Tracking expenses provides a clear trail of cash flow, facilitating effective management and potentially uncovering signs of financial fraud.

Overall, a lack of budgetary control impacts financial stability, affecting operational efficiency, profitability, and stakeholder confidence. Therefore, maintaining control over budget is critical for sustained business success.

The budget control process

1. Setting the budget

The very first step is planning and setting the overall organisational, as well as individual departmental budgets. Budgeting is a collaborative effort based on estimating the resources each department needs to operate effectively and achieve new initiatives. It includes setting a revenue budget (defining revenue goals), an expense budget (allocating funds for fixed and variable costs), and a capital budget (for capital expenditure).

2. Implementing the budget

Once the budgets are set, they must be implemented by allocating funds and resources to various departments and cost centres according to the plan. Responsibility centres are also established, assigning budgetary control to specific departments or individuals who are tasked with managing and reporting on their budgets to ensure alignment with the set limits.

3. Continuous monitoring

Continuously monitoring spend and financial targets is a critical aspect of the process. Expenses, revenues, and actual financial performance are regularly compared against the allocated budget and forecasted figures. This comparison highlights variances, for instance if there is any overspending or where results fall short of expectations.

4. Analysis

When discrepancies or deviations between the budget and actual figures are identified, they are investigated to determine the root cause. This process may involve examining overspend, underspend, or revenue fluctuations and compiling financial reports, such as a variance report.

5. Corrective actions

After identifying the root cause of the variance, the subsequent step is to apply suitable corrective measures to resolve the issue and lessen the impact. Such actions might include reallocating resources, modifying financial strategies, or establishing procedures and controls to prevent overspending, such as adding an extra approval process for substantial purchases. Revising the budget in response to changes can also help keep it practical and applicable.

Generating reports to communicate budget performance to stakeholders and periodically reviewing the budget control process to align it with market trends and organisational needs, are integral to improving its effectiveness.

The benefits of budgetary control

Beyond preventing overspend and managing expenses, there are numerous other benefits to budget management and control. Let's explore them in detail:

1. Financial risk mitigation

By tracking and monitoring expenses and financial performance against budgeted targets, it helps identify potential financial problems and risks early on. This enables organisations to be proactive and take measures to avoid and mitigate negative impacts, maintaining financial stability.

2. Improve efficiency and productivity

Tracking expenses thoroughly reveals where overspending occurs and where resources are wasted without achieving the desired outcomes. By investigating these issues, organisations can uncover inefficiencies and potential mismanagement in processes or systems. Thus, budget control plays a crucial role in enhancing efficiency and driving productivity.

3. Performance monitoring

Controlling costs and keeping expenses within budgeted limits requires measuring and comparing spending against allocated budgets, setting spending targets, and tracking actual performance against those targets. Thus, the budgetary control process provides a framework for monitoring financial performance against budgeted expectations, enabling organisations to identify variances and assess overall performance.

4. Increase profitability

The financial benefits of budgetary control, such as cost control (which aims to drive higher revenue and reduce costs), effective resource allocation, eliminating unnecessary spending, and curtailing overspending, directly contribute to the company's overall profitability. Additionally, identifying and addressing inefficiencies in various departments and processes indirectly enhances overall profits.

5. Data-driven business decisions

The process accumulates extensive financial data over time, offering insights such as spending patterns, resource utilisation and their outcomes. This data is crucial for supporting business decisions, enhancing both financial and operational choices. For example, it can be used to enhance future budget forecasts by building on past insights to develop more accurate and reliable budgets.

Best practices and common principles of budgetary control

How an organisation carries out the budget control process may vary, but certain best practices, which also serve as guiding principles, should be followed for effective outcomes. These are:

1. Set clear financial goals

Be clear in your financial goals and keep them specific, measurable, and achievable for the budget. This helps in better financial planning that aligns with set budgets and overarching strategic goals.

2. Keep the budget realistic

Budgets must be realistic, ensuring they meet both current and potential needs without being overly restrictive to cut costs and save money. A practical budget can be developed by using accurate past data. It should consider the business's current spending, income, and expenses, while also allocating funds for unexpected costs.

3. Be flexible

Market and business conditions can change dramatically in a short time, so it is crucial that budgets remain flexible, allowing for necessary adjustments to respond and adapt to these changes.

4. Have open communication

Managing the budget is not just the finance department's duty; it is a team effort that involves all departments working together towards shared financial objectives. Each person should recognise their role and its effect on the organisation's budget. Open dialogue is vital, allowing everyone to voice their concerns and engage in the process.

5. Ongoing monitoring of progress

Continuously monitoring results against budgets is an essential part of the process, ensuring that any issues are spotted early and addressed promptly, avoiding escalation.

6. Be prompt in taking corrective action

It is crucial to address any issues or variances immediately, without wasting time, to ensure that spending and expenses return to within limits without affecting financial stability.

Leveraging technology for efficient budget control

The importance of budgetary control is undeniable, and integrating technology can make the process more efficient and effective.

Automated budgeting tools

A budget control system is a structured framework for setting budgets, tracking expenditures, and taking corrective actions. By integrating automation, the system's effectiveness can be significantly increased. Tasks such as data entry, calculations, and reconciliations can be automated, boosting both accuracy and efficiency. Automation also streamlines and optimises the budgeting process from creation to approval, monitoring, and analysis, resulting in more precise budgets. Automated programs can perform regular audits to identify discrepancies and generate reports. These systems can issue alerts when spending nears its limits or when variances are detected. Additionally, automation reduces human errors and enhances time efficiency within finance functions.

Real-time monitoring and analysis

Employing cloud-based financial management software enables real-time monitoring of spending against set limits, reflecting changes instantly. By centralising all financial elements, such as invoices, payroll, budget allocations, and expenditures, it allows for detailed, real-time analysis. This extensive data can be easily interpreted with BI tools, which provide insights into trends, anomalies, and patterns in budget data and financial performance, often through user-friendly visualisations and graphical formats.

Integration with financial management systems

Having a centralised financial management system is a boon to any finance team and the budget control process. Financial management software like Financials consolidates various financial functions, such as budgeting, accounting, and financial reporting, into a single platform, ensuring consistency and accuracy across all financial data. It enables accurate management of all accounting elements, including a flexible general ledger, accounts payable, credit management, and bank reconciliation.

Financials also includes project management functionality, providing visibility on income and project cost at every stage of their life cycle. This system offers total control over planned commitments, costs, and revenue in any currency, delivering a summarised and clear view of the entire process and tracking performance against budget.

Powered with dashboards and reporting tools, it enables real-time tracking of expenses and revenues and offers insights into budget performance, variances, and trends, supporting informed financial decisions.

Whether it's forecasting, budgeting, or financial control, Financials is here to support you through every step.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is budget control? Process, importance, and benefits explained | OneAdvanced

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover what budgetary control means, the process, its importance, key benefits, and how to master it with the right technology.

# data[].attributes.body
When thinking of scams found during audits, FTX is a major contributor to hesitancy in crypto investments because of their failures. Because they are a smaller company, audits were not done properly and millions of dollars were lost with no way to be traced

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Getty Images/iStockphoto

By

The popularity of cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX rose rapidly after it was launched in 2019. However, FTX came crashing down in November 2022.

Cryptocurrency has become popular for investments and sending payments to other people and merchants. Cryptocurrencies differ from other digital currencies because they are encrypted and use blockchain technology to track transactions.

Cryptocurrency coins quickly increased in value, such as the Shiba Inu coin's 45 million percent increase in 2021.

One way to get cryptocurrency is to open an account on a digital trading platform, which lets people buy one coin and trade for another. Through the trading platform, people can also convert cryptocurrency into cash or fiat currency.

Until late 2022, FTX was one of these trading platforms. Sam Bankman-Fried started FTX in 2019. Customers began opening accounts on FTX to trade and buy cryptocurrency, and top venture capital investors started pouring in. By January 2022, the company was worth $32 billion.

However, that came to an end in November 2022. What first appeared to be an accounting oversight turned out to be major fraud, and billions of dollars were lost by customers and investors. It was discovered that customer funds went to accounts controlled by Alameda Research -- a cryptocurrency trading firm headquartered in Hong Kong -- instead of FTX. After this revelation, FTX began to unravel.

The timeline of the FTX collapse.

What is FTX?

FTX was one of the largest digital currency exchange platforms for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. As more people invested in cryptocurrencies, they turned to these platforms because they provided a digital wallet to store cryptocurrencies directly in a personal account. Customers could also store cryptocurrencies on their own by creating a crypto wallet either using software or hardware, which is not part of the platform.

The growth of FTX

Soon after its inception, FTX quickly rose to dominate its market through high-profile acquisitions of struggling competitors, such as Liquid Global, LedgerX and Blockfolio. FTX used aggressive marketing campaigns, such as Super Bowl ads, celebrity endorsements and naming rights to the Miami Heat's arena. These marketing campaigns promised that people could put their money in these accounts and earn higher yields than the average bank.

Cryptocurrency began to boom in early 2021 and the price of Bitcoin peaked at $64,000, up from $10,000. Customers began to take notice and venture capital groups invested nearly $2 billion in FTX.

What is FTT?

Cryptocurrency platforms often create their own tokens to attract new customers. As more people invest and demand a digital token, its value increases, so platforms may offer perks. FTX created its own digital token called FTT in May 2019. FTX also offered other perks for staking FTT, such as discounts and NFT rewards.

The downfall of FTX

In late 2021 and early 2022, the price of Bitcoin started to decline drastically from its high in the beginning of 2021, and other cryptocurrencies started to follow. Many major platforms started shutting down, except for FTX, which continued acquiring competitors.

However, the rise of FTX came to an end in November 2022 when CoinDesk published an article stating that Alameda Research -- also founded by Bankman-Fried -- was heavily dependent on FTX's digital token FTT, with assets valued at $5 billion. FTX's balance sheet was leaked and showed there was a lack of diversification and the two companies were tied too closely together. The balance sheet listed $9 billion in liabilities and $900 million in assets, with poorly labeled entries showing a negative $8 billion balance.

Alameda borrowed as much capital as it needed from FTX. It was later found that this funding was mostly from customer deposits, and the trading firm would borrow money routinely from FTX customer assets.

FTX and its sister companies did not produce balance sheets showing assets and liabilities, which is standard financial reporting procedures. FTX's balance sheets were never audited because it was a private company. Without these audits, there was no record of cash flow or assets to show the company could cover liabilities or customer assets. FTX balance sheets showed assets were less than Bankman-Fried had stated.

Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform and FTX competitor, agreed to buy out FTX on Nov. 8 before the full extent of its problems went public. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, was one of FTX's first investors. However, the deal fell through, and Binance cited the mishandling of customer funds and the U.S. investigations as the reason for backing out of the acquisition.

The collapse of FTX

In November 2022, FTX's collapse lasted 10 days, starting on Nov. 2 and ending on Nov. 12. It began with the CoinDesk article and the leaked balance sheet. Binance initially announced it would sell all its FTT tokens because of the mishandled and blurred funds.

The value of FTT dropped significantly, prompting FTX customers to withdraw money from their accounts. However, other cryptocurrency platform collapses, such as Celsius Network and Voyager Digital, had people worried about their investments.

During this mass withdrawal, FTX lost billions of dollars. Bankman-Fried ordered Alameda Research to sell assets to cover the needed capital from the withdrawals and he also looked for financing to cover the gap of about $8 billion between what was owed and what could be paid.

On Nov. 8, FTX blocked customers from taking money out of the platform by removing that option online, which meant hundreds of thousands of customers did not have access to their money. When FTX could not pay the $8 billion gap, the company filed for bankruptcy. FTX crashed due to mismanagement of funds, lack of liquidity and the large volume of withdrawals. Binance announced it would buy FTX to prevent a larger market crash, but quickly bailed out of the deal as more news reports of mishandled customer funds surfaced.

Bankman-Fried used FTX funds to buy personal luxury items, finance elaborate advertising campaigns and make political donations.

Criminal charges and lawsuits

Authorities arrested Bankman-Fried on Dec. 12, 2022, for multiple fraud charges with FTX. Bankman-Fried was indicted by the U.S. District Court on eight criminal charges, including money laundering, wire fraud, campaign finance violations and securities fraud.

Bankman-Fried was released from custody with a $250 million bond, which is the largest in history.

As of January 2023, $5 billion in assets has been recovered in cash and liquid assets. The total assets missing was estimated at $8 billion.

FTX investors filed a class action lawsuit against FTX and its celebrity endorsers on Nov. 15, 2022. The civil suit claimed FTX used "false representation and deceptive conduct." The lawsuit also accused FTX of using a Ponzi scheme to misuse funds and move customer money between entities.

How the FTX crash affects other digital currencies

While the overall demand for cryptocurrency fell after the FTX scandal, Bitcoin has made a comeback as of January 2023 with values above $21,000. Values had gone below $16,000 in November 2022 as the FTX news was breaking.

After the arrest of Bankman-Fried, the Securities and Exchange Commission, along with the U.S. Congress, planned to discuss regulations of the cryptocurrency industry. If a cryptocurrency exchange files bankruptcy, there is no backup -- unlike U.S. banks, where the government insures the funds up to certain limits.

More cryptocurrency companies have fallen on hard times. Genesis, a cryptocurrency lender, filed bankruptcy on Jan. 20, 2023. Genesis owed creditors nearly $3.4 billion after the downturn of the cryptocurrency market with the FTX news.

People are already skeptical because of the stability of cryptocurrency, its security and increased scams. The broader consequences on the cryptocurrency market are unknown, but this large collapse in cryptocurrency's short history may deter a lot of investors.

FTX debtors' report

On April 9, 2023, FTX debtors released their first report outlining the failures of FTX Group's management team before bankruptcy. "The FTX Group lacked appropriate management, governance and organizational structure," the report stated.

The findings included security failures, such as private keys to move crypto assets often left in unencrypted files and crypto assets left unsecured in hot wallets connected to the internet. It also named failures to use multifactor authentication in critical areas and several people with access to the billions of dollars in the crypto wallets.

In addition, FTX lacked accounting and financial controls. FTX did not have experienced personnel to handle financial reporting, risk management, audits or accounting procedures. Most financial policies were generic or did not exist for a firm handling significant financial assets, according to the report. There were also no formalities for intercompany transactions, allowing liabilities and assets to transfer between insiders and FTX Group entities without any documentation or checks and balances.

Next Steps
Pig butchering scam explained: Everything you need to know Silicon Valley Bank collapse explained: What you need to know

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
FTX scam explained: Everything you need to know

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Getty Images/iStockphoto By The popularity of cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX rose rapidly after it was launched in 2019. However, FTX came crashing down in November 2022. Cryptocurrency has become popular for investments and sending payments to other people and merchants. Cryptocurrencies differ from other digital currencies because they are encrypted and use blockchain technology to track transactions.

# data[].attributes.body
Morgan Stanley is using AI to allow workers to be more productive on tasks that cannot be automated

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management (MSWM) today announced the next innovation milestone in its AI @ Morgan Stanley suite of GenAI tools for Financial Advisors (FAs). The new AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief is an OpenAI-powered tool that, with client consent, generates notes on a Financial Advisors' behalf in client meetings and surfaces action items.

After the meeting, it summarizes key points, creates an email for an Advisor to edit and send at their discretion, and saves a note into Salesforce.

"We are thrilled to add yet another groundbreaking tool to our FA toolkit-further enhancing our industry-leading1 Advisor platform," said Vince Lumia, Head of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Client Segments. "AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief drives immense efficiency in an Advisors' day-to-day, allowing more time to spend on meaningful engagement with their clients. Because at the end of the day, the Financial Advisor's service, advice, and relationships with clients-the human touch-remains fundamental."

Feedback from Financial Advisor teams has been overwhelmingly positive:

"AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief has revolutionized the way I work. It's saving me about half an hour per meeting just by handling all the notetaking. This has really freed up my time to concentrate on making decisions during client meetings. It's been a total game-changer." (Don Whitehead; Houston, Texas)

"AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief has become a crucial part of how I engage with my clients. After the meeting I can quickly review, edit and send an executive summary email while the meeting is still fresh in our minds. Clients have found these summaries to be a valuable addition to our process. I feel that all Financial Advisors should incorporate this tool into their client engagement model." (Zach Goldberg; Short Hills, NJ)

"Because of AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief, I can have deeper, more personal conversations with my clients. I don't have to rely on my team to jot down notes and action items anymore. It summarizes discussion topics and outlines the next steps, which makes our meetings so much more productive. Clients are also really excited to take part in Morgan Stanley's journey in adopting Artificial Intelligence." (Victoria Bailey; Menlo Park, CA)

AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief comes after Morgan Stanley Wealth Management announced its relationship with OpenAI as its only wealth management strategic partner in March 2023 and fully rolled out the AI @ Morgan Stanley Assistant in September 2023-an award-winning2 GenAI powered chatbot offering FAs quick access to all of Morgan Stanley's intellectual capital. To date, 98% of Financial Advisor teams have adopted the Assistant.

"As we reach critical mass in our AI @ Morgan Stanley endeavors, we envision a world where AI serves as an efficiency enhancing interaction layer that sits between our colleagues and the many applications they interact with such as execution and order entry, CRMs, reporting tools and risk analysis, just to name a few," said Jeff McMillan, Head of Firmwide Artificial Intelligence at Morgan Stanley. "Through this rollout, Financial Advisors continue to see first-hand the real benefits GenAI delivers to their practices. And we're just getting started in unlocking the true power of this technology for all of Morgan Stanley."

1. Euromoney: North America's best bank for wealth management 2023: Morgan Stanley

2. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management: AI @ Morgan Stanley Assistant

About Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a leading financial services firm that provides access to a wide range of products and services to individuals, businesses, and institutions, including brokerage and investment advisory services, financial and wealth planning, cash management and lending products and services, annuities and insurance, retirement, and trust services.

About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in 42 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit https://www.morganstanley.com/.

This material may provide the addresses of, or contain hyperlinks to, websites. Except to the extent to which the material refers to website material of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, the firm has not reviewed the linked site. Equally, except to the extent to which the material refers to website material of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, the firm takes no responsibility for, and makes no representations or warranties whatsoever as to, the data and information contained therein. Such address or hyperlink (including addresses or hyperlinks to website material of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management) is provided solely for your convenience and information and the content of the linked site does not in any way form part of this document. Accessing such website or following such link through the material or the website of the firm shall be at your own risk and we shall have no liability arising out of, or in connection with, any such referenced website. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC ("Morgan Stanley") provides certain technology tools and services supported by artificial intelligence via an arrangement with OpenAI LLC ("OpenAI"), an unaffiliated third party. Morgan Stanley employees using such technology tools and services are bound by all applicable Morgan Stanley policies and procedures. Neither Morgan Stanley nor its affiliates are responsible any products or services offered by OpenAI on a basis separate from its arrangement with Morgan Stanley and any references to such in this material do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, or verification by Morgan Stanley.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is subject to limitations, and you should be aware that any output from an IA-supported tool or service made available by the Firm for your use is subject to such limitations, including but not limited to inaccuracy, incompleteness, or embedded bias. You should always verify the results of any AI-generated output.

© 2024 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.
Contacts:
Media Relations:
Lynn Cocchiola, Lynn.Cocchiola@morganstanley.com
Lindsey Madnick, Lindsey.madnick@morganstanley.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Launch of AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief | Morgan Stanley

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn about AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief from Wealth Management, an OpenAI-powered tool to enhance efficiency and enable scale for Financial Advisors.

# data[].attributes.body
Non-verbal communication was a hot topic during the presidential elections and non-experts were putting in misleading opinions of candidates' true intentions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Decoding the body language of politicians: Beware of misleading analyses

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Body language experts have been having a field day since the U.S. presidential debate. They want us to believe that it’s possible to tell what Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are thinking, but not saying, just by looking at their body and facial movements.

# data[].attributes.body
Fidelity is a financial investment company that offers top employee benefits

# data[].attributes.body
Spotify has an onboarding process known as "controlled chaos" where employees are purposefully put in situations where they are not prepared in order to make them grow

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ok, sure, we don't look a lot like that group you put together in high school that could only play one Led Zeppelin song, but we still think the comparison fits.

Like a band, we're dependent on each other to create the best audio experience. Like a band, we need to be in sync. And like any successful band, we have a set of rules, a band manifesto, that keeps us focused on where we want to go and guides how we get there.

This is that manifesto. It explains our mission, our beliefs, our culture, our values, and everything else in between. Pretty much the only thing it won't teach you is how to play a new Led Zeppelin song - that's just something you're going to have to learn on your own.

Spotify is a purpose-driven company, using our strong values and beliefs to guide us in our strategies as well as our everyday decisions. Our mission is simple:

To unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million creators the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it.

How do we get there?

By believing in our talented band members, giving them the support and autonomy they need to create. (And lots of cold brew.) If you join the band, there are five values with which you'll quickly become familiar as they form the foundation of Spotify culture. If these values align with your own, if they sound like the kind of people you want to be surrounded by, then come and help us shape the future of Spotify.

Our values are informed and influenced by every member of the Spotify band.

For us, these are more than just words on a page - these principles guide each decision we make, serving as the path we'll follow to achieve our goals and mission. These values help us build trust with our users, creators, advertisers, partners, and even amongst ourselves. They ensure that we are the same company that stands for the same things no matter our audience.

Making some noise

We've made it our business to make some noise. We're not content to sit idly by and wait for others the forge new paths - we want to learn faster than the world around us is changing. In short, change is our constant. We're dedicated to relentless innovation, ensuring our technology stays relevant, easy to use, and easy to scale.

The Spotify rhythm

We believe that speed of iteration beats quality of iteration, which is why we're not big on bureaucracy. To us, complicated processes and guidelines can kill innovation. We'd rather just stay focused and prioritize ruthlessly.

And in the spirit of transparency, we'll admit that being process-light sometimes invites a little bit of chaos into our everyday. We embrace it. A little bit of chaos forces you to think in new ways, break out of your old patterns. It keeps us fast, focused, and inventive.

Working fast means acting with consent, not consensus. Even if the majority can't come to an agreement, it's important to keep moving, take a chance, and execute.

As long as we're always making grounded and informed decisions, we shouldn't be afraid to make a bet. Because here, getting ideas out into the world take precedence.

Dream big, act fast

We believe in maintaining that relentlessly resourceful start-up spirit. Complacency is our enemy - we take smart risks and set the bar high as we continually think, build, ship and tweak. We strive to stay receptive and flexible, adapting and acting on what we observe. We work hard to find the best way to get things done, even if it's not the most obvious way. And then we do it again and again.

The beat goes on

When we win, we celebrate the success together. When we fail, we celebrate the new valuable information that we learned.

Failure is an important part of our process. It's the best indication that we're trying something new, that we're reaching for what's next. And an undesirable outcome doesn't mean that the wrong decision was made - it means we took an informed risk, as you must when pursuing innovation. If it worked, we would've won big. If it didn't, that's ok. We move on, keep trying, and give each other the freedom to fail again. We don't fear mistakes but we refuse to repeat them.

This extraordinary rhythm requires extraordinary people. We seek those who have the creativity to discover, the accountability to deliver, and the courage to embrace complexity as well as polarity. Being part of the Spotify band means staying passionate, nurturing your curiosity, and welcoming (and oftentimes even driving) change.

Ideas drive us, not bureaucracy. Typical corporate career paths with ladders, hierarchies, and bureaucracy? That just isn't our way.

We don't believe in up or out. We don't believe in rest and vest. We want to give you the opportunity to grow with us. Neither your career nor Spotify is a sprint -they're both marathons.

The best people in their field may not be the best people for our band. We put an emphasis on finding the right people every time, rather than just recruiting the rock stars. In our hiring process, we look for three essential factors: adaptability, ability, and drive. We've discovered that great performances come from the right people, all working collaboratively toward a shared goal. As a team, we are our mission.

Who you are

Our band is dependent on all of its members to give and get the full experience. We rely on you to help bring our values to life in real time, to discuss them openly with your team and work together to integrate them into your process.

If you join Spotify, we expect you to care - about your work, about Spotify, about the success of the entire band. You should take ownership for the work you do and take pride in what you deliver, both individually and as a team.

If you join Spotify, we expect you to grow. Growth is our mantra, both for Spotify and for our people. The two go hand in hand. You should be self-driven, ready to take control of your own development and reach your full potential. We can't guarantee that you'll get a promotion and a new title every six months but we can help you design your future. So you should be ready to expand your skills and learn new ones. You should want to make conscious and deliberate decisions about what your journey will be.

If you join Spotify, we expect you to nurture collaboration and just, well, be nice. Remember: listening is everything. In our band, there's no room for entitled egos.

Playing in sync

So - no egos. Got that. But what else goes into "being nice"? Well, we treat all of our colleagues, users, creators, and partners with respect. We assume good intent and work hard to achieve mutual understanding. We recognize that we all bring our own unique perspectives to the table and that with those perspectives may come some unconscious biases. So while we have the confidence to voice our opinions, we also have the humility to listen and learn from others.

Here at Spotify, we're dedicated to fostering a workplace free from discrimination and a culture built on the principle of inclusion. We strongly believe that a diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and a better product for our users and creators. Think about it - without a diversity of instruments, a band's output would be pretty boring. (There's a reason why your favorite band isn't just five tubas playing at once.) Music is global and so Spotify should be too.

We believe in an inclusive culture where everyone feels empowered to do their best work, where everyone feels like they belong.

A culture where innovative, passionate, and playful people can grow, have fun, and do their best work. A culture that develops and deepens with every new team member but always stays true to our core values.

Leading the band

The foremost thing we look for in our managers is the willingness and courage to lead. Leaders at Spotify need to be brave as well as resilient and adaptable. They need to build healthy teams, work from a sustainable mindset, and - most importantly - hold themselves accountable. When you lead with purpose, engagement and drive follow.

But we don't hire highly competent people to have them micro-managed. We use constant planning and one-on-ones to open communication channels rather than admin-heavy, time consuming, template-driven appraisal talks. We believe that it isn't our responsibility to manage talent - we're here to develop talent.

"We have no patience for entitled egos"

"Welcome to controlled chaos."

Katarina Berg, Chief HR Officer

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's our culture. It's our values. It's why we do things the way we do and why that matters. It's all here in the Spotify band manifesto.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a funny tiktok I found to accurately describe the change in recruiting process since the introduction of remote work

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Candidates then VS now. 😂 . . . . . . . . . . . #resume #resumetips #careertips #careeradvice #jobsearchtips #jobsearch #careercoach #careercoaching #howto #howtoprofessionallysay #relatable #corporate #wfh #candidates #jobcandidates #ALPFACon #ALPFACon22 #ALPFAFamilia #ALPFA50 #recruiter #recruiters #funnycorporate #corporatelife #corporatelifebelike #recruitment #corporatememe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
@darrylcvega
Candidates then VS now. 😂 . . . . . . . . . . . #resume #resumetips #careertips #careeradvice #jobsearchtips #jobsearch #careercoach #careercoaching #howto #howtoprofessionallysay #relatable #corporate #wfh #candidates #jobcandidates #ALPFACon #ALPFACon22 #ALPFAFamilia #ALPFA50 #recruiter #recruiters #funnycorporate #corporatelife #corporatelifebelike #recruitment #corporatememe
♬ original sound - Darryl

# data[].attributes.body
Walmart Academy is an employee empowerment program aimed to excite and motivate their workers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Launch your career in the People function

# data[].attributes.body
Modular Organizations are often found in the technology and automotive industries, and Toyota is a great example. They are revolutionizing the production of their vehicles through new processes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Toyota is transforming the future of cars and manufacturing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover Toyota’s transformative approach to leverage and strenghten its human-centred approach to manufacturing.

# data[].attributes.body
Customer-based structures are commonly found in hospitals where most positions are customer-facing. This hospital posted an article about their efforts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A customer-centric focus in healthcare ensures that taking care of the customer becomes the responsibility of every single staff member. It emphasizes the importance of providing personalized and exceptional care to meet each patient’s unique needs and preferences.

# data[].attributes.body
Hierarchy of Authority is easier to understand when looking at a basic family tree

# data[].attributes.body
Aron Katsenelinboigen's other works available to read through my e-reading platform

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Books by Aron Katsenelinboigen (Author of Evolutionary Change)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Aron Katsenelinboigen has 12 books on Goodreads with 19 ratings. Aron Katsenelinboigen’s most popular book is Evolutionary Change: Toward a Systematic Th…

# data[].attributes.body
Apple's successful launch of the iPod and successful launches after have caused customers to develop a "halo effect" when software issues do arise and be more motivated to buy new products

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is the Halo Effect? Apple’s Secret to Brand Loyalty

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Why does one Apple device make you trust the whole lineup?Uncover the psychology that keeps Apple customers loyal.Apple has a hidden strategy behind their ecosystem success. Read on... — Apple Scoop is America’s leading destination for reliable Apple news and rumors. Our fast, secure, and modern platform is curated by a team of dedicated journalists, developers, and creators delivering the latest updates on iPhone, MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. From breaking Apple rumors to in-depth product reviews, we cut through the clutter to bring you essential stories straight from the heart of Apple innovation. Join our global community of tech enthusiasts and Apple fans on an exciting journey of insight and discovery.

# data[].attributes.body
E-Commerce was one of the most popular "get rich quick" schemes during lockdown; however, content creators were not transparent about the time necessary to launch a successful dropshipping business.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An I’ll Just Wait Here meme. Caption your own images or memes with our Meme Generator.

# data[].attributes.body
Unlike most companies, Zappos rewards employees for finding more efficient ways to complete tasks.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At Zappos.com, our purpose is simple: to live and deliver WOW. Learn more about our service company, which just happens to sell shoes, clothing, and more.

# data[].attributes.body
Microsoft has a strong mission statement and it is the basis of all other regulations and ethic expectations within the company

# data[].attributes.body
7 Eleven has become an amazing example of how a multidomestic strategy can lead to great success in many regions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How adapting to a local market helped 7 Eleven - BusinessToday

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This case study of 7-Eleven illustrates how a brand needs to and can benefit from adapting to a local market.

# data[].attributes.body
Gender egalitarianism has been an issue since before women joined the workforce. While there are still issues, we have come so far in a short time.

# data[].attributes.body
My fiancé is an avid Harley-Davidson lover and has owned a few. We were surprised to know they have outsourced labor to other countries

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Harley-Davidson Is Moving Production Overseas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here’s how the EU retaliatory tariffs affect the motorcycle manufacturer

# data[].attributes.body
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) doesn't encompass all Asian countries

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is ASEAN and why are Asian countries like Japan and South Korea not part of it?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The bloc has a GDP of around $4.2 trillion and came up during a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday.

# data[].attributes.body
The World Bank is the regulator of the economy

# data[].attributes.body
A funny newspaper clip-style comic about Global Trade Agreements and who our products go to.

# data[].attributes.body
Walmart's scandal with Mexico involved the monopolizing of the market through under-the-table payoffs. That's one way to cut out the competition! 😳

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Walmart’s explosive Mexican bribery scandal: A concise guide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The New York Times reports that Walmart allegedly paid at least $24 million in bribes to become a dominant retailer in Mexico

# data[].attributes.body
Amazon’s DEI Rollback was also brought up in my Case Study from this module. Without any DEI numbers in place, is the company at risk for discrimination within its hiring process? Or is this truly a shift to only hire based on skill?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Amazon’s DEI Rollback: The Impact, Employee Reactions, and What’s Next

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Amazon’s DEI rollback in 2025 sparked industry-wide discussions. What’s happened since? Explore the latest updates, legal challenges, and employee reactions to Amazon’s diversity policy changes.

# data[].attributes.body
In doing research for the Sun City Case Study this module, Amazon's Sustainability page came across my page. For a company that produces such a significant amount of waste, I wonder how much their sustainability efforts actually impact the environment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We strive to harness Amazon's scale and innovative spirit to help build strong communities now and for future generations. We invest in the communities where we live and work, helping to generate economic growth, while working alongside community partners to build impactful programs and create solutions to pressing challenges.

Committed more than $75 million in support to address immediate and long-term needs in Ukraine

Delivered more than 10 million meals through our Community Delivery program in 2022

Committed $2 billion through the Housing Equity Fund to preserve and create affordable homes

We focus on addressing immediate needs, such as reducing hunger and homelessness, providing affordable housing, and serving communities in need following natural disasters. We also look to the future, by providing programs that support science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and skills training.

We focus on a small number of priority areas where we are uniquely able to make a positive impact:

Creating and preserving affordable housing

Improving access to food and basic needs

Community education and skills training

Disaster relief and response

Product donations

Creating and Preserving Affordable Housing

We believe that all people should have access to housing they can afford.We're working to address national housing affordability challenges in the U.S. starting in our hometown communities.

By the end of 2022, we committed more than $1.6 billion to build homes that will support approximately 18,000 people.

In 2021, we launched the Housing Equity Fund, a commitment of $2 billion to preserve and create more than 20,000 affordable homes in three communities where we have a high concentration of employees: Washington state's Puget Sound region; Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia; and Nashville, Tennessee.

Improving Access to Food and Basic Needs

10+ Million Meals Delivered

We leverage our network of Amazon Flex delivery partners to provide free grocery, meal, and supply deliveries from food banks and other local organizations to those who need them with our Community Delivery program. In 2022, we delivered more than 10 million meals through the program. Amazon Fresh also donated over $500,000 to organizations addressing food insecurity in our communities.

We strive to bring healthy, affordable food to customers. In 2019, we became one of the first retailers to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) payments for online transactions. SNAP is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance to people with low or no income. Through it, customers can purchase fresh, healthy foods from Amazon, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods Market, both online and in-store.

Our online delivery coverage includes 49 states plus the District of Columbia. In 2022, we launched a pilot in Washington state that enables SNAP EBT customers to earn and redeem incentives for purchasing more fresh fruits and vegetables through Amazon Fresh online.

AWS Health Equity Initiative

In 2021, AWS launched a three-year program to enhance health outcomes for underserved and historically marginalized communities. By 2024, the AWS Health Equity Initiative plans to distribute $40 million in cloud computing credits and technical expertise to organizations promoting equitable health care access, addressing social determinants of health, and leveraging data to develop inclusive care systems.

In 2022, AWS awarded $14 million to approximately 90 organizations globally. We also expanded the program to cover innovations in diagnostics and screenings, a frequently overlooked and underfunded area of health care.

Skills Training and STEM Education Programs

We believe in the power of education to unlock human potential, which is why we invest in programs and tools to help children, students, and adults develop valuable STEM skills.

In 2020, we pledged to help 29 million people around the world grow their technical skills with free cloud computing skills training by 2025. Our programs to support this commitment include Amazon Future Engineer, AWS Training and Certification, AWS re/Start, AWS Academy, AWS Educate, AWS Think Big Space, our partnership with Girls in Tech, and AWS GetIT.

Amazon Future Engineer is our global childhood-to-career computer science program, created to inspire and educate thousands of students each year from underserved and underrepresented communities. As part of this program, students explore computer science by meeting actual Amazon employees in virtual live career talks or explorations of our real-world innovations.

Disaster Relief and Response

We leverage our technology and logistics to provide fast, effective aid following natural disasters.

To better facilitate this, we developed a global disaster relief hub in Atlanta that stores 1.2 million items, including shelter and repair materials, hygiene supplies, medical equipment, and basic household items. Alongside Atlanta, we now have a global network of disaster relief hubs in the U.S., Europe, and Australia, which, collectively, have donated 22 million items as of the end of 2022.

To further support global disaster responses, our AWS Disaster Preparedness and Response team delivers cloud technology to relief organizations. These advanced computing capabilities aid recovery by accelerating damage assessments and restoring internet connectivity.

Supporting Those Impacted by the War in Ukraine

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we've worked to deliver timely and appropriate relief. Just 10 days after the Russian invasion, we built aid hubs in Slovakia and Poland, and we have donated aid items such as medical supplies and critical relief products since the start of the conflict. We also collaborated with the Ukrainian government to keep critical services operational.

By the end of 2022, we committed more than $75 million in support to help address both immediate and long-term needs. This was realized, in part, through Project Sunflower-AWS' coordinated effort to maximize humanitarian relief and ensure government and business continuity by protecting critical data and digital infrastructure. AWS directly supported government authorities, universities, and companies with digital infrastructure protection. This included helping migrate over 10 petabytes of essential data to secure vital digital information. In 2022, AWS was awarded the Ukraine Peace Prize in recognition of our rapid and ongoing support.

Just because an item is returned to one of our facilities doesn't mean it's at the end of its useful life.

At our global fulfillment centers, we use software to identify and sort eligible items that are fit for donation. We partner with local community organizations to collect these items from Amazon facilities and distribute them to people in need.

By donating surplus inventory to charitable organizations, we keep usable products out of the waste stream and help strengthen our local communities. To date, we've donated millions of products to global charity partners in North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan.

Whole Foods Market runs a Local Producer Loan Program to support small, local, and independent food producers across the U.S. and Canada with business expansion loans. Since 2006, the program has delivered more than 375 loans-totaling nearly $28 million in capital-to support growth potential. In 2022 alone, Whole Foods Market funded six loans of nearly $1.8 million.

To make an impact in our communities, Whole Foods Market has three foundations to support strategic programs across the globe:

Whole Planet Foundation is committed to alleviating global poverty for people living in communities around the world that supply products for Whole Foods Market stores.

Whole Cities Foundation expands healthy food access and nutrition education by partnering with community-led organizations to build thriving local food systems.

Whole Kids Foundation supports schools and inspires families to improve children's nutrition and wellness.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We strive to harness Amazon's scale and innovative spirit to help build strong communities now and for future generations. We invest in the communities where we live and work, helping to generate economic growth, while working alongside community partners to build impactful programs and create...

# data[].attributes.body
Unethical Labor Practices have been a major concern with the rise of fast fashion. This was an eye-opening article from a few years back that made me reconsider how I purchase clothing items.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Before dawn six days a week, Norma Ulloa left the two-bedroom apartment she shared with four family members and boarded a bus that took her to a stifling factory on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles.

She spent 11 hours a day there, pinning Forever 21 tags on trendy little shirts and snipping away their loose threads in the one-room workshop. On a good day, the 44-year-old could get through 700 shirts.

That work earned Ulloa about $6 an hour, well below minimum wage in Los Angeles, according to a wage claim she filed with the state.

Ulloa's claim is one of nearly 300 filed since 2007 by workers demanding back pay for producing Forever 21 clothing, according to a Los Angeles Times review of nearly 2,000 pages of state labor records.

Sewing factories and wholesale manufacturers have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle those workers' claims. Forever 21 has not had to pay a cent.

Like other major clothing retailers, Forever 21 avoids paying factory workers' wage claims through a tangled labyrinth of middlemen that stands between the racks in its stores and the people who sew the clothes.

The company benefits from an 18-year-old state law that was originally intended to stamp out sweatshops but has come up short. The law allowed workers to recoup back wages from their factory boss, and any garment manufacturing company that does business with that person. Forever 21 says it is a retailer, not a manufacturer, and thus is always at least one step removed from Los Angeles factories.

One paradox of that arm's-length relationship: Forever 21 says it often inspects factories abroad that produce its clothes as part of its "social responsibility to better protect workers," but it doesn't do that in Los Angeles. The company said it takes that approach because in California the Department of Labor enforces strict worker protections, whereas there's no government body that does that for overseas factories.

Now, as retailers across the country face increasingly tough competition from e-commerce, budget brands like Forever 21 are putting more and more pressure on suppliers to keep prices low.

The U.S. Department of Labor investigated 77 Los Angeles garment factories from April through July of 2016 and found that workers were paid as little as $4 and an average of $7 an hour for 10-hour days spent sewing clothes for Forever 21, Ross Dress for Less and TJ Maxx. One worker in West Covina made as little as $3.42 per hour during three weeks of sewing TJ Maxx clothing, according to the Department of Labor.

Those sweatshop wages are the hidden cost of the bargains that make stores like Forever 21 impossible to resist for so many Americans.

A knee-length Forever 21 dress made in one of the Los Angeles factories investigated by the government came with a price tag of $24.90. But it would have cost $30.43 to make that dress with workers earning the $7.25 federal minimum wage and even more to pay the $12 Los Angeles minimum, according to previously unpublished investigative results from the Labor Department.

Forever 21 would have had to pay 50% more in order for sewing contractors to pay workers the federal minimum, the investigation found.

The Department of Labor discovered labor violations at 85% of the factories it visited during that four-month period and ordered the suppliers to pay $1.3 million in back wages, lost overtime and damages - but it couldn't touch the brands.

"This whole problem devolves from the retailer," said David Weil, the former head of the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, which led that investigation. "They force the production costs to as low as they want because of their power in the supply chain, with the result of ultimately the workers bearing the whole cost and risk of the system."

In addition to the federal investigation, there have been 67 formal complaints filed with the state since 2012 by workers who say they were paid sub-minimum wage rates to make clothes for Ross Dress for Less. Fourteen claims were filed by people who said they made clothes for TJ Maxx and Marshalls. Ross hasn't paid back wages in any of those claims, and TJ Maxx and Marshalls, which are owned by the same parent company, have settled three wage claims in the last five years.

After the federal investigation last year, Forever 21 said it stopped working with some of the manufacturers involved and gave others a second chance "if they remedied the situation and returned to compliance," a Forever 21 spokesperson said.

Forever 21 requires that its vendors produce clothes "in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations," said the spokesperson.

TJX Cos., the parent company of TJ Maxx and Marshalls, has taken a different approach. After the Labor Department investigation, it began inspecting the Los Angeles factories used by its largest vendors, said company spokeswoman Doreen Thompson. If it finds violations, it may cancel an order in progress or prohibit suppliers from working with the factory, Thompson said.

A spokesperson for Ross said the company "does not control what third-party vendors pay their employees, contractors or subcontractors."

Most apparel making has migrated overseas, though Los Angeles held on to a small niche of the business because it can produce limited runs quickly. To keep prices low, factories rely on immigrant workers willing to sew for a few dollars an hour.

The workers are mostly undocumented Latinos employed by Korean manufacturers and sewing contractors, many of whom owe their survival to L.A.-based Forever 21.

Jin Sook Chang and her husband, Do Won, left South Korea for Los Angeles in 1981. He worked for three years as a gas station attendant and she as a hairdresser. They opened the first Forever 21 store in 1984, in a 900-square-foot lot in Highland Park. The Changs spent the next 30 years turning their start-up into a fast-fashion juggernaut, sustained by a network of Korean manufacturers who were also trying to make it in Los Angeles and could turn out new styles every two weeks.

The thread that connects Norma Ulloa to Forever 21 begins in a corner showroom in the San Pedro Mart, occupied by Fashion Debut, one of hundreds of storefronts piled into the chaotic mall.

Sung Cho, 65, started the manufacturing company 16 years ago. He's moved most of his production to China, but still takes one or two orders a month from Forever 21 and has some clothes made in Los Angeles, where he can count on a quick turnaround. Cho's daughter, Joyce, the manager, says Forever 21 typically pays between $9 and $12 for a women's top.

Any manufacturer in Los Angeles can recount the next steps. After a retailer places an order, the manufacturer buys fabric, which costs as little as $1 and as much as $4 for a basic top. The manufacturer sends that material to a cutter, who charges around 35 cents per garment. The cut pieces go to a sewing factory, to be stitched, ironed, bagged and boxed. Cho says he pays no more than $3 to get a typical garment sewn, pressed and packaged.

Those rock-bottom prices are detailed in documents that Ulloa discovered in her factory, Dream High Fashion, which sewed clothes for Fashion Debut.

Before filing her wage claim, Ulloa talked to Mariela Martinez, an organizer at the Garment Worker Center, who told her to gather proof. A few weeks later, Ulloa noticed a stack of papers on a table near her boss' office. He had left to deliver clothes to a client, she said, so she pulled the documents off his desk and shoved them into her bag.

"I worked so many hours for such little money," says Ulloa, who pays $450 a month for the apartment she shares with her family. She said she worked on shirts that were priced anywhere from $12.99 to $25 in stores. "What do we get? Pure pennies."

The documents she grabbed showed that in the first week of August 2016, Fashion Debut paid Ulloa's factory as little as 90 cents a skirt and as much as $1.40 for a sweater.

Chang Mo Yang, who owns Dream High Fashion, confirmed those prices, which he said are so low he barely scrapes together enough to keep the factory running.

On a recent Thursday, Yang sat behind a sewing machine in his sweltering factory, stitching gray sweatpants alongside his workers. He pointed to the tank top a worker in front of him was finishing, to illustrate how retailers squeeze profits from businesses like his.

The manufacturer pays Dream High Fashion $1.30 to sew the top, Yang said. He pays his sewers 51 cents total: 5 cents to sew up each side seam, 3 for each shoulder and 10 for the neck; 21 cents to close seven points of the garment, another 4 to attach the label.

He pays 40 cents to iron, pack and ship each garment, leaving him with 39 cents to cover rent, utilities, workers' compensation insurance and taxes, and a meager profit, if there's any, he said.

Most garment workers are paid by the piece, according to the Labor Department's 2016 investigation. That's legal as long as employers guarantee the minimum wage.

Yang acknowledged that most of his workers make less than the hourly minimum. Ulloa, he said, took home the equivalent of around $6 - the state minimum rose from $8 to $10.50 while she worked for Yang - but he added that she had accepted that rate.

In her job trimming and finishing garments, Ulloa was paid a flat weekly rate - which actually started lower and rose in 2016, Yang said, to $360. "If she didn't want to do that she didn't have to come work here," he said.

Ulloa had long given up on the prospect of earning much more. When she first got to Los Angeles from Mexico, two decades ago, she was sure she'd spend a year here, save the money she needed to build a house back home, and return.

But she gave up that dream and has no idea when or how she might retire. "The only work here is in sewing," she said, shrugging.

When Ulloa showed up at the California Labor Commissioner's Los Angeles office to file her claim she brought clothing labels of more than two dozen brands, among them two rumpled Forever 21 tags, which she said she took from her factory. Her claim included the invoices she'd found in her factory, showing Forever 21's order to Fashion Debut.

But she didn't list Forever 21 as one of the companies she was pursuing for back wages. Martinez, the Garment Worker Center organizer who represented Ulloa, has handled more than a hundred wage claims over the last three years. She decided that trying to get money out of Forever 21 would only drag out the settlement process.

Martinez contends that during hearings lawyers for retailers "grill workers to get them to stumble on their responses." The point, she says, "is to make the process longer and make the worker feel like it's better" to drop the retailer from the case.

Forever 21 said the questioning is necessary to establish the credibility of the worker, and it added that it isn't always clear whether the labels workers submit are genuine or were actually found on the factory floor.

The company noted that in Ulloa's case there was "likely no valid claim" against it, since she did not pursue Forever 21 for back wages.

In her claim, Ulloa asked for $89,240 in lost wages and penalties. Fashion Debut has offered $2,000 to settle the case. No agreement has yet been reached.

Become a subscriber today to support stories like this. Start getting full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks.

Ulloa may not have had a shot at restitution at all, if not for a 1995 raid in El Monte that turned up 72 Thai workers sewing clothes in slave-like conditions.

That investigation uncovered a makeshift factory in boarded-up homes, surrounded by barbed-wire fences and guards to keep the workers from escaping. The case resulted in seven prison sentences for the factory operators, and a bill known now as the anti-sweatshop law.

The first draft of the law made any business that buys clothes from a manufacturer liable for workers' back wages if they were underpaid to sew garments with that company's label. But retailers lobbied against that proposal and persuaded lawmakers to take stores out of the equation.

"I made it clear to [the legislators] that we could not in any shape or form accept joint liability," said Bill Dombrowski, the CEO of the California Retailers Assn., who lobbied the Legislature. "We can't be responsible for what we can't control."

Darrell Steinberg, the mayor of Sacramento who authored the bill when he was a member of the Assembly, conceded that it may not have been "as much of an advance as it could have been." But he said that with contentious measures like this one "you make compromises to get them through."

The law now allows workers to claim back wages from their direct employers, and from manufacturers who contracted with those factories. Big retailers generally take the position that they are not involved in manufacturing clothes, don't employ factory workers, and therefore aren't liable for claims, even if a worker has stitched their label onto a garment.

That was the company's position when Alba Gomez Guevara filed a wage claim against it in 2013, alleging that she made less than $9 an hour gluing rhinestones onto the front of Forever 21 blouses in a factory in South Los Angeles, where she worked for three years.

According to documents from the claim, Guevara put finished garments into bags bearing Forever 21's name. The delivery person who picked them up worked for Forever 21, and Guevara knew the location of the company's facility where she said the clothes were dropped off.

A Forever 21 representative who testified at the hearing said the retailer "never employed or met" Guevara, that it didn't "have a direct contract" with the factory, and that Guevara didn't provide documentation or a name for the delivery person she allegedly met, according to hearing records.

The Labor Commissioner's Office found in 2015 that there wasn't enough evidence to hold Forever 21 liable. The hearing officer ordered the factory to pay Guevara $36,205 in back wages, fees and damages.

"Forever 21 is shielded from this whole thing," says Mitchell Kim, a partner at Litchfield Cavo LLP who represents wholesalers in wage claim disputes. "The manufacturers are at the retailers' mercy. How the law is set up is not in their favor."

Julie Su, California's labor commissioner, says that even though the law doesn't explicitly include retailers, it has made them more accountable because when workers name brands in their claims, those stores often lean on their suppliers to settle.

"If there's a settlement, whether it's paid by a contractor, a manufacturer, or any entity down the chain, because of pressure from a retailer, it's a partial success," Su says.

The law is a lifeline for workers, Su said, but it is also a boon to garment companies that pay their workers legally and shouldn't have to compete with law breakers.

Dov Charney runs one of those companies. The American Apparel founder launched a new company, called Los Angeles Apparel, and is paying workers an average of around $15 an hour to sew clothes in a sprawling warehouse in South L.A.

The only way he can afford it, he says, is to cut out all the middlemen and put everyone from the sewers to the designers to the retail executives under one roof.

"You want to make it yourself. That's what my pitch is for; it's for vertical integration," Charney says. "It's actually the path of least resistance, and you can make clothing less expensively than it's made offshore."

But Charney is an exception. Most retailers farm out their garment work to multiple small manufacturers, who might not be able to keep their business in Los Angeles if they paid the city's steep minimum.

"If you stamped them all out, all those illegal operations that did not adhere to the laws of the state ... it would annihilate manufacturing made in California," said Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Assn. "What are you going to do with 20,000 over-50 women who don't speak English who are now unemployed?"

One sewing contractor in his 50s, who runs a third-floor Los Angeles factory in a building next to a strip club, said he has to pay workers on a piece rate, to keep them productive.

In his corner office strewn with spools of thread, fabric scraps and an ashtray stuffed with cigarette butts, the owner, who asked that his name not be used for fear of retribution, complained that consumers are willing to pay a premium for local and organic food, but for clothing they just seem to want cheaper and cheaper prices.

The $9 an hour he paid Javier Garcia Martinez, one of his employees, is generous compared with the going rate elsewhere, he added. Martinez worked nearly 50 hours a week, ironing, trimming and packaging clothes headed for TJ Maxx. He took home a $450 paycheck.

His factory was busy at work on a sheer red crop top with a label that reads "ethereal," a brand sold at TJ Maxx from a manufacturer called Paper Crane. That manufacturer paid the contractor $2 for each top his workers put together, he said.

"If you're coming in at 7:30 and leaving at 5, and making $450 in this building, you're doing pretty well," the sewing contractor said, gesturing toward the rest of the factories crammed three or four to a floor.

Samuel Paik, who co-owns Paper Crane, confirmed that the company supplies TJ Maxx. The company has hired a consultant in the past to help ensure its contractors are complying with minimum wage laws, he said.

"Any case of paying below the minimum wage is not acceptable," Paik said.

After reporters contacted Paper Crane asking about Martinez's wages, the company ended its relationship with the sewing factory, according to the factory's owner. He said he was forced to shut down on Thursday and lay off the factory's 18 employees, including Martinez. Paik declined to comment on the sewing contractor.

Addressing a handful of fellow factory workers at the Garment Worker Center in downtown Los Angeles recently, Martinez asked them to imagine that they are producing a shirt that retails for $60 at Marshalls.

"I can make 700 pieces in a day. How much does the store get?" he asked. "Forty-two thousand dollars. That is what we would earn in a year and a half."

Worker advocates and manufacturers say that as long as massive retailers continue to profit off underpaid workers and escape the consequences, the system will persist.

Manufacturers say that no matter how tightly retailers squeeze their margins or how frequently the state penalizes them for contractors' unpaid wages, many can't turn down a buyer with the budget and scale of Forever 21.

"It's like moths drawn to a flame. They keep going for it," said Daejae Kim, a downtown Los Angeles manufacturer who once supplied garments to Forever 21. "They'll curse them - then go right back to them."

Sept. 1, 12:250 p.m.: This article was updated to include information about a factory closing.
The original article was published on Aug. 31 at 9 a.m.

Credits: Produced by Sean Greene

More from the Los Angeles Times

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How Forever 21 and other retailers avoid liability for factories that underpay workers to sew their clothes.

# data[].attributes.body
Volunteering is an amazing topic and one that is near and dear to my heart. I have spent hundreds of hours volunteering around Jacksonville to help the community.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In JAX, residents can give back to their community by getting involved and volunteering with a variety of organizations.

# data[].attributes.body
Mighty River Recovery is a new environmental sustainability group from Deland that is focusing on the preservation and renewal of the St.Johns River.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
New Group Forms to Address Decline of the St. Johns River

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mighty River Recovery is tackling the decline of the St. Johns River, focusing on habitat restoration, invasive species, and sustainable water management.

# data[].attributes.body
3M uses an entrepreneurial management approach to allow employees time for innovative ideas that further company development.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Innovation Management | Value Commitment | 3M Sustainability

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Innovation management at 3M is governed by policies and standards in our core principles. Learn more about our processes and programs around innovation.

# data[].attributes.body
After doing more research into Henry Mintzberg, I found that he is a multiple-time published author with amazing experiences.

# data[].attributes.body
Amazon has an interactive portion of its website that showcases Amazon's vertical organizational structure, which is very interesting and well-made.

# data[].attributes.body
Bar Rescue is a favorite in our household, and after starting this course, I realized how many topics we learned that were changing businesses in (mostly) real-time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Whos Managing This Costumer GIF - Whos Managing This Costumer Questioning - Discover & Share GIFs

# data[].attributes.body
Brent Ragsdale is the CFO of Chick-fil-a, which is the highest rank in a top-level management organization.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
February 24, 2025: Brent Ragsdale, EVP & CFO, Chick-fil-A

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Brent Ragsdale EVP, Chief Financial Officer Brent Ragsdale is executive vice president and chief financial officer of Chick-fil-A, Inc. and is a member of the company’s Executive Committee. In his current role, Brent oversees financial services and supply chain. Brent began his career at Chick-fil-A during high school as a team member and was later afforded the opportunity to become a member of the first WinShape® class at Berry College, a scholarship program founded by S. Truett Cathy. Upon graduation, he worked for accounting firm Arthur Young (now Ernst and Young) for two years. He then joined Chick-fil-A as a business intern, during which he served as the Operator of a Chick-fil-A restaurant in South Florida. He later moved back to Atlanta, working with the company as a business consultant before transitioning to the financial services department, where he has held multiple leadership positions. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Mercer University and is both a certified public accountant and a graduate of Harvard Business School’s advanced management program. Brent serves on the Berry College board of trustees, the board of directors of Fellowship of Christian Athletes Atlanta and serves on the board of Southwest Christian Care. Brent and his wife, Gigi, have three children.