Discussion responses should be between 300-500 words in length

Discussion posts should reflect scholarly analysis and interpretation of the topic as well as supporting research. Follow APA formatting guidelines (current edition) to integrate your research and cite your sources. Each post (the initial post as well as the response posts) should be between 300-500 words in length.

Warren Buffett, the self- made billionaire and business leader, is one of the most widely respected businessmen and stock investors in the United States.

 

I’ve chosen Warren Buffett because of the ethical leadership and integrity he has brought to his company, Berkshire Hathaway, and to all the companies in which his company has majority ownership in stock holdings. Many business people and investors have changed the way they think because of his ethical teachings and practices.  “Buffett is one of the most admired and successful investors in U. S. history.  His views on accounting, governance, and investment practices are topics that are inherently worthy of academic attention” (Bowen, Rajgopal, & Venkatachalam, 2014, p. 1610).   Since I teach accounting and finance, I have used YouTube videos of Buffett, Dave Ramsey, and occasionally, Suze Orman in my courses.  Ramsey had been my favorite with his dry and sometimes loud way of getting to the truth of matters but over the last year or so, I have realized there is much more to Buffett than just investing.   I have always listened to Buffett’s investing advice, but now I am more attuned to the “why” and “how.”  Most investors are secretive as to how they have attained success, but Buffett shares with everyone and educating in the process. 

Buffett has such an understanding and view of accounting practices that many seek his advice on the matter.  He only considers companies with “good” accounting or governance practices (Bowen, Rajgopal, & Venkatachalam, 2014).  Buffett is very vocal on what he expects of a company.  When he speaks, people listen.  He is only interested in and seeks out companies that “exhibit transparent, conservative, high-quality accounting, better disclosure, and stronger governance” (2014, p. 1638).  These views and others from Buffett have had a powerful impact on people in business, those that want to be entrepreneurs, and investors of all sizes.  Buffett is the most eminent advocate of a set of investment practices he considers value-based investing (Chew, 1995).

As far as difficulties and conflicts, Buffett is very vocal of his failures.  There are always problems and challenges.  His belief is to have great managers and leaders that know how to handle conflict and get things back on the right track and keep it that way.  Good leaders and management build great companies which in turn make money for shareholders.  When asked, Buffett discusses his worst investment which was Berkshire Hathaway.  Considered to be such a success now, but when he first bought Berkshire it was a struggling textile mill.  Determined to make it work, he put countless time, money and effort into the struggling mill only to eventually have to close it.  By his estimates, had he never invested a penny in Berkshire Hathaway and used the funds to buy other really good companies, his returns would have been doubled.  He considers this a 200 billion dollar mistake (Sizemore, 2013).  His advice?  “If you get into a lousy business, get out of it” (Sizemore, 2013, p. 2).  A bad investment is just that.  A bad investment.  Cut your losses and move on.  

Based on Northouse (2013, p. 259), “authentic leaders understand their own values and behave toward others based on these values…they have a clear idea of who they are, where they are going, and what the right thing is to do.”  Heart, purpose, values, relationships, and self-discipline are characteristics of authentic leadership that lead to corresponding behaviors such as compassion, passion, value-driven behavior, connectedness and consistency (Northouse, 2013).  One of the many philosophies of Buffett states that a business should be known for its integrity:  How it treats its employees, suppliers, and customers can manifest into healthier relationships that can help attract and retain the best employees as well as handling periodic adversity (Cunningham, 2015).

 
 

Bowen, R. M., Rajgopal, S., & Venkatachalam, M. (2014).  Is Warren Buffett’s Commentary on Accounting, Governance, and Investing Practices Reflected in the Investment Decisions and Subsequent Influence of Berkshire Hathaway?  Accounting Review, 89(5), 1609-1644.  Doi:10.2308/accr-50797

 

Cunningham, L. A. (2015).  The philosophy of Warren E. Buffett. The New York Times, May 1, 2015.  

https://nyti.ms/1DHyBD6

  

 

Donald, H. C.,Jr. (1995, Feb 07). Bookshelf: How a multibillionaire got that way. Wall Street Journal Retrieved from 

https://saintleo.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/docview/308230979?accountid=4870

 

Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.  

 

Sizemore, C., (2013).  The worst investment of Warren Buffett’s career.  Forbes/Personal Finance. May 8, 2013. Blog #51458d9c2d34  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2013/05/08/

you have indicated that President Mandela was a transformational leader. Please discuss the theory and the evidence which supports this conclusion.