Should Worldcom Ceo Bernard Ebbers Been Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison free essay sample

The WorldCom fraud that came to light in 2002 was an example of many things that went wrong within the organization. Unethical conduct by its senior leadership beginning with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bernard Ebbers was certainly at the forefront of these problems. The question is should a CEO like Ebbers have been sentenced to prison for his liability in the WorldCom scandal? My answer is yes, he should’ve gone to prison as well as other CEOs who engage in unethical conduct that results in laws being violated. I will support my answer by aking a look at the duties of a CEO, focusing on leadership responsibilities and accountability. I will discuss causes of ethical problems in CEOs and finish by discussing utilitarian and deontological ethical issues as they pertained to Ebbers. Background As the telecommunications industry slowed in the late 1990s, WorldCom’s stock price began to decrease. Ebbers came under pressure from financial institutions to cover margin calls on WorldCom stock he used to finance other businesses (Vasatka, 2007). We will write a custom essay sample on Should Worldcom Ceo Bernard Ebbers Been Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page From 1999 to 2002, a few WorldCom senior executives engaged in fraudulent accounting practices. These practices were esigned to portray losses as growth to the public. Ebbers resigned as CEO under pressure for several reasons unrelated to the accounting fraud on April 29, 2002 (Beresford, Katzenbach Rogers, 2003). Cynthia Cooper led an internal audit investigation of suspected accounting irregularities in May-June 2002. According to Ms. Cooper’s statement, she discussed the investigation with WorldCom Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Scott Sullivan on June 12, 2002. She then discussed her investigation with two others on June 13, 2002. They were Max E. Bobbitt, Chairman of the Audit Committee, WorldCom Board of Directors and Mr.Farrell Malone, engagement partner of KMPG, LLP, an external audit agency. The Board of Directors met on June 25, 2002 and decided to publish a revised financial statement for 2001 and first quarter 2002. They also decided to report this action to the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the events leading up to it (WorldCom, 2002). The SEC launched its own investigation into the matter (Vasatka, 2007) and brought civil action against a number of WorldCom executives in June 2002 (SEC, 2002). WorldCom filed for bankruptcy protection on July 21, 2002. The U. S. Justice Department rought criminal charges against Ebbers and several other WorldCom executives. For his role in the scandal, Ebbers was convicted in Federal court on March 15, 2005 and then on July 13, 2005 sentenced to 25 years in prison. The CEO as a Leader To examine the issues in this case from a normative ethics viewpoint, I believe that we should see what a CEO does in performing the leadership functions of their job as they relate to ethical issues. A good description of the CEO’s leadership role can be found in The Duties of a Chief Executive Officer (Wibowo Kleiner, 2005). The authors cite information in CEO Causes of Ethical Problems in CEOs The position of CEO is one that has a great deal of power. There is a quote from British historian Lord Acton (1834-1902): â€Å"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men† (Lewis, n. d. ). In the article No Fair Shake for Shareholders, the author discusses the CEO personality as possibly contributing to the ethical problems that arise with some CEOs. Traits such as a strong ego, left unchecked can turn into bad behavior. CEOs normally are good salesmen and they often sell themselves on how good they are which inflates their egos. A weak board of directors can fail to hold a CEO accountable. He stresses board responsibilities relative to CEO accountability (Wilson, 1989). In the article The Responsibility of the CEO Providing Ethical and Moral Leadership, Lewis says that there is a difference between what is legal and what is ethical. He stresses the need for a culture of ethics within an organization where all team players practice good ethics, including the CEO. He says laws only deal with part of the ethical issues faced by businesses. He cites heavy competition and pressure many employees feel to engage in unethical behavior as some of the keys to the problem. Good corporate governance, beginning with the CEO, is very important to building a good ethical culture within the organization (Lewis, 2002). Discussion of Ethical Issues Pertaining to Ebbers Ebbers had a responsibility to the employees of the company, investors, and the public to report WorldCom’s finances accurately and honestly. He was accountable to the board of directors for his actions as CEO – both good and bad. Ebbers should’ve had loyalty to these people to help them avoid the monetary losses resulting from WorldCom’s shaky financial situation. This is an example of a utilitarian ethics issue. Due to his position, he should’ve had the greater good of all these people in mind as he ran WorldCom. However, Ebbers allowed unethical practices to continue with his knowledge, with the consequence that many people lost money when WorldCom went bankrupt. Ebbers had an obligation to provide honest financial statements in order to not to violate the rights of others. He failed in this obligation, violating the rights of many people in the process. This is an example of deontological ethics. Continuing on this track, investors also have a right to know the truth about companies that they are investing in or may invest in. They also have an obligation to learn as much about the companies they are investing in or planning to invest in. Due to the fraud committed by senior executives and allowed by Ebbers, WorldCom’s public financial statements made it difficult for investors to know the truth about its financial health. Even with the fraudulent statements, some investors were able to learn of some of the irregularities in WorldCom. Shareholders filed a lawsuit against WorldCom in June 2001 alleging widespread fraudulent accounting practices. The case was subsequently thrown out by a judge in Mississippi (Weinberg, 2002). In this example of deontological ethics shareholders acted to protect their rights. Also by learning the truth about WorldCom they fulfilled their obligation to gain as much knowledge about the company as they could. In addition to Ebbers’ failings, there are others that should be mentioned in this discussion of ethics. First, WorldCom documents and testimony of employees revealed that some employees discovered problems as far back as 2000, tried to do something to correct them, and failed (Waggoner, 2002). The question is how hard did these people try to correct what they saw that was wrong? From a utilitarian ethics perspective, they had to know many people could get hurt if this continued. Secondly, regarding the shareholder lawsuit previously mentioned why didn’t the board of directors or the SEC act when these allegations were made? The board failed to hold Ebbers accountable for the accounting fraud that was being uncovered nearly two years from the time it went public in 2000. From a deontological ethics viewpoint, they had an obligation to look into these allegations so that the rights of others wouldn’t be violated. Conclusion Ebbers’ conviction and prison sentence were justified. From a utilitarian ethics perspective, he was responsible and accountable to serve the greater good of others and failed in that capacity. From a deontological viewpoint, he also had an obligation to ensure the rights of others associated with WorldCom wouldn’t be violated and he failed to meet this obligation as well. Contributing factors to the WorldCom fiasco were poor corporate governance and a corporate culture where some employees were aware of problems but failed to get corrective action taken.

Conjugation of Creer

Conjugation of Creer Creer, an everyday verb usually meaning to believe, is irregularly conjugated in terms of spelling but not pronunciation. The -i- in the conjugation ending is either accented or changed to -y- as needed to avoid diphthongs or an awkward -eie- combination. Common verbs that follow the same conjugation pattern are leer (to read), poseer (to possess) and proveer (to provide). Uncommon verbs with the same conjugation include descreer (to disbelieve), desposeer (to dispossess) and releer (to reread). Note that proveer has an alternative past participle, provisto, in addition to proveà ­do. Poseer also has an alternative past participle, poseso, in addition to poseà ­do. Irregular forms are shown below in boldface. Translations are given as a guide and in real life may vary with context. Infinitive of Creer creer (to believe) Gerund of Creer creyendo (believing) Participle of Creer creà ­do (believed) Present Indicative of Creer yo creo, tà º crees, usted/à ©l/ella cree, nosotros/as creemos, vosotros/as creà ©is, ustedes/ellos/ellas creen (I believe, you believe, he believes, etc.) Preterite of Creer yo creà ­, tà ºÃ‚  creà ­ste, usted/à ©l/ella creyà ³, nosotros/as creà ­mos, vosotros/as creà ­steis, ustedes/ellos/ellas creyeron (I believed, you believed, she believed, etc.) Imperfect Indicative of Creer yo creà ­a, tà º creà ­as, usted/à ©l/ella creà ­a, nosotros/as creà ­amos, vosotros/as creà ­ais, ustedes/ellos/ellas creà ­an (I used to believe, you used to believe, he used to believe, etc.) Future Indicative of Creer yo creerà ©, tà º creers, usted/à ©l/ella creer, nosotros/as creeremos, vosotros/as creerà ©is, ustedes/ellos/ellas creern (I will believe, you will believe, he will believe, etc.) Conditional of Creer yo creerà ­a, tà º creerà ­as, usted/à ©l/ella creerà ­a, nosotros/as creerà ­amos, vosotros/as creerà ­ais, ustedes/ellos/ellas creerà ­an (I would believe, you would believe, she would believe, etc.) Present Subjunctive of Creer que yo crea, que tà º creas, que usted/à ©l/ella crea, que nosotros/as creamos, que vosotros/as creis, que ustedes/ellos/ellas crean (that I believe, that you believe, that she believe, etc.) Imperfect Subjunctive of Creer que yo creyera (creyese), que tà º creyeras (creyeses), que usted/à ©l/ella creyera (creyese), que nosotros/as creyà ©ramos (creyà ©semos), que vosotros/as creyerais (creyeseis), que ustedes/ellos/ellas creyeran (creyesen) (that I believe, that you believe, that he believe, etc.) Imperative of Creer cree (tà º), no creas (tà º), crea (usted), creamos (nosotros/as), creed (vosotros/as), no creis (vosotros/as), crean (ustedes) (believe, dont believe, believe, lets believe, etc.) Compound Tenses of Creer The perfect tenses are made by using the appropriate form of haber and the past participle, creà ­do. The progressive tenses use estar with the gerund, creyendo. Sample Sentences Showing Conjugation of Creer and Similar Verbs No puedo creer que lo hayamos hecho. (I cant believe we did it. Infinitive.) He leà ­do todos sus artà ­culos. (I have read all of her articles. Present perfect.) Posees muchos talentos pero no eres lo suficientemente tenaz para explotarlos. (You have many talents, but you arent perseverant enough to take advantage of them. Present indicative.) Los escritores proveyeron muchas clarificaciones como esa. (The writers provided many clarifications like that one. Preterite.) Creà ­an que era un perro perdido pero la realidad era muy diferente. (They believed he was a lost dog, but the reality was much different. Imperfect.) Lo creerà © cuando lo vea. (Ill believe it when I see it. Future.) La abogada leerà ­a los contratos buscando una clusula de revocacià ³n. (The lawyer would read the contracts looking for a revocation clause. Conditional.) La felicidad no se encuentran en los bienes que poseamos. (Happiness isnt found in the goods we possess. Present subjunctive.) Era una manera para que proveyeran para sus familias de una manera digna. (It was one way for them provide for their families in a dignified manner. Imperfect subjunctive.)  ¡Lee este libro! (Read this book! Imperative.)

10 Interesting Fluorine Facts

10 Interesting Fluorine Facts Fluorine (F) is an element you encounter daily, most often as fluoride in water and toothpaste. Here are 10 interesting facts about this important element. You can get more detailed information about chemical and physical properties on the fluorine facts page. Fast Facts: Fluorine Element Name: FluorineElement Symbol: FAtomic Number: 9Atomic Weight: 18.9984Group: Group 17 (Halogens)Category: NonmetalElectron Configuration: [He]2s2sp5 Fluorine is the most reactive and most electronegative of all the chemical elements. The only elements it doesnt vigorously react with are oxygen, helium, neon, and argon. It is one of the few elements that will form compounds with noble gases xenon, krypton, and radon.Fluorine is the lightest halogen, with atomic number 9. Its standard atomic weight is 18.9984 and is based on its single natural isotope, fluorine-19.George Gore managed to isolate fluorine using an  electrolytic process in 1869, but the experiment ended in disaster when fluorine reacted explosively with hydrogen gas.  Henri Moisson was awarded the 1906 Nobel Memorial Prize in Chemistry for isolating fluorine in 1886. He also used electrolysis to obtain the element but kept the fluorine gas separate from the hydrogen gas.  Although he was the first to successfully obtain pure fluorine, Moissons work was interrupted multiple times when he was poisoned by the reactive element. Moisson was also the first person to m ake artificial diamonds, by compressing charcoal. The 13th most abundant element in the Earths crust is fluorine. It is so reactive that it is not found naturally in pure form but only in compounds. The element is found in minerals, including fluorite, topaz, and feldspar.Fluorine has many uses. It is found as fluoride in toothpaste and drinking water, in Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene), drugs including the chemotherapeutic drug  5-fluorouracil, and etchant hydrofluoric acid. It is used in refrigerants (chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs), propellants, and for the enrichment of uranium by UF6 gas. Fluorine is not an essential element in human or animal nutrition. Topical fluoride application, as from toothpaste or mouthwash, was once believed to be effective for a conversion of tooth enamel hydroxyapatite into stronger fluorapatite, but more recent studies indicate fluoride aids enamel regrowth. Trace dietary fluorine levels may impact bone strength. While fluorine compounds are not found in animals, there are natural organofluorines in plants, which typically act as defenses against herbivores. Because it is so reactive, fluorine is difficult to store. Hydrofluoric acid (HF), for example, is so corrosive it will dissolve glass. Even so, HF is safer and easier to transport and handle than pure fluorine. Hydrogen fluoride is considered to be a weak acid at low concentrations, but it acts as a strong acid at high concentrations.Although fluorine is relatively common on Earth, it is rare in the universe, believed to be found at concentrations of about 400 parts per billion. While fluorine forms in stars,  nuclear fusion with hydrogen produces helium and oxygen, or fusion with helium makes neon and hydrogen.Fluorine is one of the few elements that can attack diamond.The pure non-metallic element is a gas at room temperature and pressure. Fluorine changes from an extremely pale yellow diatomic gas (F2) into a bright yellow liquid at -188 C (-307 F). Fluorine resembles another halogen, chlorine. The solid has two allotropes. The alpha form is soft and transparent, while the beta form is hard and opaque. Fluorine has a characteristic pungent odor that can be smelled at a concentration as low as 20 parts per billion. There is only one stable isotope of fluorine, F-19. Fluorine-19 is highly sensitive to magnetic fields, so it is used in magnetic resonance imaging. Another 17 radioisotopes of fluorine have been synthesized, ranging in mass number from 14 to 31. The most stable is fluorine-17, which has a half-life just of under 110 minutes. Two metastable isomers are also known.  The isomer 18mF has a half-life of about 1600 nanoseconds, while 26mF has a half-life of 2.2 milliseconds. Sources Banks, R. E. (1986). Isolation of Fluorine by Moissan: Setting the Scene.  Journal of Fluorine Chemistry.  33  (1–4): 3–26.Bà ©guà ©, Jean-Pierre; Bonnet-Delpon, Danià ¨le (2008). Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry of Fluorine. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-27830-7.Lide, David R. (2004). Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (84th ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0566-7.

New business plan - organic oil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

New business plan - organic oil - Essay Example The implementation of this strategy will be a costly and demanding task as numerous procedures will be involved in transforming this vibrant business idea into a practical reality. The company has therefore developed a number of business processes that will be handy in the holistic endeavor of realizing this business plan. Advertisement and promotion will be performed extensively to publicize the company and establish a niche in the oil market. This will involve numerous media activities through which a business awareness of the prospect will be accomplished. A succinct SWOT analysis will be accomplished to guarantee the company’s success in the oil business. Organic Oil Company endeavors to collect the pure oil from Morocco and provide its clients with inherently pure organic oil. The company will as well sell to resellers, small businesses, traders along with wholesalers. Additionally, the oil company plans to sell the oil to individual customers particularly through electronic means like websites. The kind of oil to be produced will be unique as it will only be produced in morocco. Therefore, the oil is estimated to have great demand and a competitive edge in the international market. Owing to the fact that the company target America as its main market, the uniqueness of the oil will be an added advantage as most clients will be inclined to purchase it. The oil to be produced will be applied to a variety of uses and clients will demand the products for several applications. For instance, the oil will be used in the production for cosmetics along with culinary. Since these are daily uses in life, the oil will enjoy great demand among individual clients for personal and commercial uses. There is immense competition in the business of exporting oil from Morocco, this could be a great challenge and threat to the survival of Organic Oil since it is a new venture (Bush and Johnston 56-64). Most of the

Nominal and Real GDP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nominal and Real GDP - Essay Example As per common belief nominal GDP is the total of all the products and services produced by a country in a particular time span, generally one year, expressed in current prices (NZIER.org, 2006). Nominal GDP technically does not include all the goods and services produced by any country. This would lead to double counting of certain products. To avoid this error, only the final product value is taken into consideration. In this value the share of intermediaries (Eg: Raw material suppliers) is apportioned according to their value add to the final product. This usage of intermediates to produce a final product is called as intermediate consumption. Hence nominal GDP is the sum total of all the products and services produced in a country in a specific time period minus the intermediate consumption (NZIER.org, 2006). Increase in nominal GDP is not a reflection of actual economic growth according to economists (Baumol and Blinder, 2004). In nominal GDP, as the current prices are considered, the increase over the previous year is not comparable. Nominal GDP will also show variations according to inflation. If inflation is higher, then nominal GDP is higher. This explains that nominal GDP only reflects changes in prices and does not reflect changes in output levels. Hence GDP is indexed against a base year and the increase from that year is calculated.

Management Information System Essay Example for Free

Management Information System Essay In this subject, we tackled about the information technology system. Based in our generation today computers is the one of the most important in our country to communicate other, to make process easier and to help the businessman/ investor, to make faster in their work. When using computer, people can know work together as if they were sitting next to each other today the internet is a networks of networks, with a millions of servers or permanent cable link, they can access a huge number from internet servers, to research, participate in electronics discussion, shop, make purchase and make payments. In an economy that produces and consumes so much information managers must know how to use information system and virtually every business activity without information none of these activities or the decision making that underlies management is possible. Practically the only tool to handle is important resource is information technology they also tackled all about the types of information system. There are the transaction processing system, supply change management system, customer relationship management system, business intelligence system, decision support and expert system geographic information system. This types of information system gives supports one or more of this activities to transacts business with other parties , to produce in a product or services because the information that provides supports planning of shipping resources such as personnel, funds, raw materials and vehicles. They also tackled about the telecommunication. Telecommunication is the transmittal data and information from one points to another also the data communication it is transfer of data between computer and another device. In management and information system you can create a new and unique products or services that many organization and individual need gives an organization a great competitive advantage. We also tackled about the difference between effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness is the degree to which a goal is achieve while efficiency is determine by the relationship between resources expended and the benefits gain in achieving goal. Example, when you efficiency in your class the teacher is an effectiveness just like in management information system. People require information for many reasons and in varied ways. In business, people and organization seek and use information specifically to make some sound  decision and to solve problems too closely related practice that form the foundations of every successful compa ny. The computer a convenient means to execute the for main operations of information system the input, data processing, output and storage. It in business computers have changed the face of our business and personal lives as few others modern devices we have because computer is an electronic device design to accept input data process data, output information and store data of information for future used. We also tackled the strategies of information system the word strategy originates from Greek word â€Å"strategos† meaning general. A strategy is a plan to gain an advantage over the enemy other discipline especially business have borrowed the term as u know from media coverage, corporate executive often discuss actions in ways that make business competition sound like war. Business people must device decisive courses of action to win just as generals do. In business, a strategy is a plan design to help an organization outperform is competitors. Many strategies do not and cannot involve information system but increasingly, corporations are able to implement certain strategies such as maximizing sales and lowering cost – thanks to the innovation use of information system in other words better information gives corporation a competitive advantage in the market place. The internet has been the most exciting development in the field of information system and telecommunications the combination of advance telecommunication technology and innovative software is revolutionizing the way we communicate shop, make contracts and payments, educate, learn and conduct business. With the introduction of graphical interface on the internet world wide web, numerous companies throughout the world have established a Net presence. The World Wide Web became the killer application of the internet the new application brought multimedia to the internet. If without management information system in our economy many investors and businessman cannot deliver a thing at the right time. The internet was a communications network connecting government agencies, universities, and research institutions and it could transmit only text. Management information system is a beautiful subject even if not easy because in this subject is you can learn about the purpose of information system, the components of information system, the four processing, information system in business function, careers in information system. I know that this subject  is not easy to learn because it is information technology, and how to make use a computer machine. So we are so lucky because in our generation we can use a modern technology. Ma’am you are SMART which means Specific and Contextual, Meaningful measures, Achievable within the resources, Realistic and Time- Targeted.

The Great War Essay -- essays research papers

The Great War , or as it is known now, World War One was a global conflict fought between the Allied Powers ; Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States along will other smaller nations and the Central Powers ; Germany, Austria – Hungary, Turkey/Ottoman Empire and other small nations from 1914 to 1918. World War One began from a series of tumultuous events, that in turn affected the balance of alliances that had been made between countries at that time in the world. The ignition, or rather start of these events occurred on June 28th, 1914, when the Archduke of Austria – Hungary, Frances Ferdinand and his wife, were assassinated by a young Serbian militant, Gavrilo Princep. Austria – Hungary was ensured of support from the German government if the declared war against Yugoslavia, who had a defensive treaty with Russia. On July 25th, Austria – Hungary extended a ten point ultimatum to the Serbian government, along with a forty – eight hour deadline to enforce the ultimatum. July 28th marked the official declaration of war between Austria and Yugoslavia. The conflict was begun with the intentions of seizing a portion of Serbian territory and utilizing that as a leverage tool to gain their demands. The Russian military began its mobilization efforts to protect Yugoslavia. Trying to still maintain peace the Russians said they would not attack if peace talks would begin. The Germans then issued a twelve hour deadline for th e demobilization of the Russian build up, and the Germans declared war on the Russians on August 1st, 1914. Although Germany had perhaps not been planning for this conflict to materialize in the exact manner that it had, they did have a â€Å"contingency† plan. That plan was known as the Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan consisted of war plans for the invasions of all the European nations. The German Military leader Moltke determined that the war had to be fought and won on the western front in order to defeat the Russians (Germany in World War One, Holburn) . Germany then declared war on France on August 3rd , 1914, and invaded Belgium the following day. Belgium tried to resist the oncoming Germans, but fell in three days. The English became involved due in part to the Treaty of London of 1839, in which Great Britain guaranteed to help defend Belgium’s independence. Great Britain then issued an ultimatum to the Germans to withdraw f... ...ntry in a more thorough state of defense but also to exert all its power and employ all its resources to bring the Government of the German Empire to terms and end the war†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , ( First World War, Wilson). On April 6, 1917 Congress passed President Wilson’s declaration of war with Germany. American manpower contribution rose from 200,000 to over 2 million by the war’s end, in part due to Selective Service Act, passed in May 1917. this act called for all males to register for draft induction to the military, between the ages of 18 and 30. Of the 24.2 million registered, only 2.8 million were drafted, ( America, Past and Present, 7th ed., Divine). With American intervention, Allied forces doubled in size and were able to start making ground against the German/Central Powers in Europe. Throughout the fall and early winter of 1918, Allied forces catapulted on even the Germans eastern front (the Balkans and Rumania), when the German military leader Ludendorff st ated, â€Å" The condition of the army demands an immediate armistice†, (Germany During World War One, Holburn). On November 11, 1918 ( thereafter, known as Armistice Day), Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War One. The Great War Essay -- essays research papers The Great War , or as it is known now, World War One was a global conflict fought between the Allied Powers ; Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States along will other smaller nations and the Central Powers ; Germany, Austria – Hungary, Turkey/Ottoman Empire and other small nations from 1914 to 1918. World War One began from a series of tumultuous events, that in turn affected the balance of alliances that had been made between countries at that time in the world. The ignition, or rather start of these events occurred on June 28th, 1914, when the Archduke of Austria – Hungary, Frances Ferdinand and his wife, were assassinated by a young Serbian militant, Gavrilo Princep. Austria – Hungary was ensured of support from the German government if the declared war against Yugoslavia, who had a defensive treaty with Russia. On July 25th, Austria – Hungary extended a ten point ultimatum to the Serbian government, along with a forty – eight hour deadline to enforce the ultimatum. July 28th marked the official declaration of war between Austria and Yugoslavia. The conflict was begun with the intentions of seizing a portion of Serbian territory and utilizing that as a leverage tool to gain their demands. The Russian military began its mobilization efforts to protect Yugoslavia. Trying to still maintain peace the Russians said they would not attack if peace talks would begin. The Germans then issued a twelve hour deadline for th e demobilization of the Russian build up, and the Germans declared war on the Russians on August 1st, 1914. Although Germany had perhaps not been planning for this conflict to materialize in the exact manner that it had, they did have a â€Å"contingency† plan. That plan was known as the Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan consisted of war plans for the invasions of all the European nations. The German Military leader Moltke determined that the war had to be fought and won on the western front in order to defeat the Russians (Germany in World War One, Holburn) . Germany then declared war on France on August 3rd , 1914, and invaded Belgium the following day. Belgium tried to resist the oncoming Germans, but fell in three days. The English became involved due in part to the Treaty of London of 1839, in which Great Britain guaranteed to help defend Belgium’s independence. Great Britain then issued an ultimatum to the Germans to withdraw f... ...ntry in a more thorough state of defense but also to exert all its power and employ all its resources to bring the Government of the German Empire to terms and end the war†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , ( First World War, Wilson). On April 6, 1917 Congress passed President Wilson’s declaration of war with Germany. American manpower contribution rose from 200,000 to over 2 million by the war’s end, in part due to Selective Service Act, passed in May 1917. this act called for all males to register for draft induction to the military, between the ages of 18 and 30. Of the 24.2 million registered, only 2.8 million were drafted, ( America, Past and Present, 7th ed., Divine). With American intervention, Allied forces doubled in size and were able to start making ground against the German/Central Powers in Europe. Throughout the fall and early winter of 1918, Allied forces catapulted on even the Germans eastern front (the Balkans and Rumania), when the German military leader Ludendorff st ated, â€Å" The condition of the army demands an immediate armistice†, (Germany During World War One, Holburn). On November 11, 1918 ( thereafter, known as Armistice Day), Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War One.