After the Enron, Tyco and WorldCom scandals, more companies have stressed a business code of ethics that define the basic ground rules of how they should operate on a day-to-day basis. Customers, clients and employees are holding businesses accountable for their business practices and social responsibilities.

Even the government joined this crusade by introducing the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), enacted by Congress and either amends or supplements existing securities regulations. This Act protects investors from the fraudulent accounting practices of corporations.

What is a business code of ethics? Specifically, it’s a statement of rules and procedures which govern the professional conduct of a business or entire industry.

Why is it necessary to have a Business Code of Ethics?

Many companies have decided to make their business code of ethics prominent on their website. They are included in new hire materials and employee handbooks.

This is necessary to help define what is considered acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Companies that want to promote high standards of practice must draft and enforce what is expected of each employee. The employer should communicate to employees a consistent standard for a particular industry. Ethics provide a level of behavior for employees to evaluate their own behaviors and decision making.

Another reason why it is necessary to have a business code of ethics is to provide structure for professional behavior and responsibilities. Not only will employees make the right decisions at the right time, but they also will report any unethical behavior that is observed from others. Employees will feel invested in upholding the company’s reputation, eliminating adverse consequences to the company and employees.

Guidelines for Developing a Business Code of Ethics

Remember, a business code of ethics should be tailored to the needs and values of your company. What does your company aspire to achieve in its industry? This should be outlined in the introductory section. Also, the order in which the codes are listed in the policy will determine its prominence. This does not, however, diminish the value of the other codes.

Developing a business code of ethics not only establishes standards to govern how we do business, but also encourages employees to think about the importance of their obligations towards sound business practices.

Consider the purpose for the ethical codes when developing ethical guidelines. Has there been a concern about certain business practices of employees and you want to regulate behavior? Or, do you want to inspire your employees to take pride in their work and decision making? If your real purpose is to guide employees rather than set requirements, a Statement of Values, Mission Statement, or a Code of Conduct might be a more appropriate document.

Once the document is complete, you must determine how the new code will be implemented within your organization. Of course, you will want to publicize for employees. Consider posting the code to your company’s Internet site where all employees will have access. It can also be distributed individually with a memo from the president or CEO.

Like most business practices, you will need to periodically review and perhaps revise the business code of ethics, once they have been established. Make sure you have a trusted committee that is committed to the process.

There’s so much more to this topic. Please come and read more here – Organizational Ethics

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Tags: business, code, ethics, enron, corporate

There is a marketing industry term called ‘Generated Impressions”, this term refers to company’s products and services being constantly visible through media images and slogans. These product’s images literally appear everywhere, millions of times per minute worldwide. When a company like Coca Cola spends a million dollars to purchase a commercial spot during the Super Bowl, it is not so that individual immediately will run to the store and purchase Coke, it is to make sure that Coca Cola stays on Top of Mind of all it’s potential customers.

Everyday the average person is bombarded with millions of product images via television, print media, billboards and every imaginable vehicle for transmitting these images. The images portray everything from consumer products to plastic surgery, from investment schemes to borrowing money.

As if all those images are not enough, then there are all the generated impressions of every imaginable behavior pattern known to man. The American Psychological Association estimates that the typical child watches 27 hours of television a week and witnesses 8,000 TV murders and 100,000 acts of violence by the age of twelve. Is it any wonder that we are overwhelmed with a sea of emotional challenges with our youth.

Guess what, generated impressions really get a result; now you may be starting to realize why companies spend billions of dollars on Generated Impressions. It is a never ending constant reminder of what to eat, wear, drink, drive and what to do for entertainment. And while all this is going on there are also millions of impressions being generated portraying negative behavior that stretches from lack of ethics and integrity to out right criminal behavior. In other words we have developed a culture of situational ethics, morals and integrity as a result of “Generated Impressions”, anything goes as long as we get our desired result.

Now here is the interesting question, when is the last time you have seen any generated impressions that represent values, ethics, morals, honesty and strength of character. It would be like if the front page headline of USA today read, There is Nothing More Important than Your Character, or a NASCAR car having a decal that read ” Integrity is Everything” or Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) wearing an embroidered shirt on stage that read “Live with Honesty”. Maybe this sounds too altruistic to think these examples would actually cause a shift in awareness, maybe this is so simple that you did not notice exactly why you drink Coke or eat at McDonald’s and drive a Honda.

It gets even more interesting when you start to realize that every time you say in front of your children, tell them I’m not here when the phone rings, that you are actually generating an impression that says to your children, it is OK to lie. Or how about when the boss says, tell him I’m in a meeting to avoid a call, and then finds out that his employees are stealing his funds as a result of his generated impression that reinforces ethics are optional. Or maybe it takes a government official that decides that extra marital affairs are an entitlement of their position and generates an impression that Trust is not important.

Now maybe you are crystal clear that “Generated Impressions” are subtle and extremely powerful, and influence everything from fuel prices, addictive behavior, health, blue & white collar crime, school crime and the divorce rate.

The general appearance is that we have created a society where honesty, ethics, morals, integrity and character are optional.

So, what impressions will you generate today? Do you choose to be part of the problem?, or the solution.

Gary King is an international speaker and writer. Gary’s current projects include, The 24 Hour Truth Challenge®, Pay Truth Forward™ and Honesty Rocks™, The Sacred Key™. He is currently working on several books and was published in different magazines including the January 2006,”Oprah Magazine”. He fervently works with schools and prisons and corporate businesses to spread the message of truth and integrity. He is available for guest lectures and you can reach him at his website for details.

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Tags: ethics, corporate, business, code, marketing

I well remember as a young bank clerk many years ago, sitting at my desk one morning. Around me were the sounds of hustle and bustle of a busy office – people were sipping their coffee (in those days it was instant!) opening the mail (ah, for the days before email!) and telling of the events of last evening or their trip to work that morning. As a morning person, it was my best time of the day when I was at my most positive, creative and effective best, so I had my head down and bum up. Time later for relaxing. Suddenly, the air was split with an earth shattering yell. My usually very quiet, reserved manager, had come out of his office, red in the face and yelling “Who did this?” Everyone stopped dead. When he recovered enough to tell us what the “this” was, I discovered to my horror that it was obviously something that I had done that had upset him. Apparently, I had made a blunder that would impact one of our best customers most unfavourably. I very tentatively, put my hand up “Mm, mm, mm, me, Sir”, I managed to stammer. “Into my office, now!” he replied.

By the time we had both sat down in his office, he had recovered his composure somewhat. To my great surprise, he started the conversation with “Bob, I really appreciate your honesty in admitting to this mistake. I am very disappointed that it has happened, but with some luck, we can probably correct it. Thank you for owning up to your mistake so readily”.

That experience for me was bitter sweet and obviously long lasting. It certainly had a major impact on my later mode of operating when I became a manager. On the one hand, I was mortified to have made such a stupid mistake yet on the other hand, I had really felt good and upbeat about the way it had been handled. I thought of that experience as I read an article in the Herald Tribune this week (Jan 3, 2007) titled “2 of 5 bosses don’t keep their word”. The article reported on a soon to be released study in The Leadership Quarterly that found that by and large, many bosses today are dishonest with and about their workers. The study specifically pointed out some damming evidence reported by workers about the honesty of their bosses:

• 39% said their supervisors had failed to keep promises.
• 37% said their supervisors had failed to give credit when due.
• 31% said their supervisors had given them the “silent treatment” in the past year.
• 27% said their supervisors had made negative comments about them to other employees or managers.
• 24% said their supervisors had invaded their privacy.
• 23% said their supervisors had blamed others to cover up mistakes or to minimise embarrassment.

Florida State University, the authors of the report, suggest that such dishonesty creates problems for companies such as poor morale, lower production and higher turnover. These results confirm my own research in interviews and focus groups with managers and their employees over the last twenty years. I too found that the major reason why people leave an organisation is because of poor management and leadership. People don’t leave a company, they leave their boss!

What may surprise some readers is that the Florida State study also confirmed many earlier studies about the relationship between pay and turnover. It found that a good working environment is more important than pay and that “employees were more likely to leave if involved in an abusive relationship than if dissatisfied with pay.

My own research also throws up two other factors of note:

• People join a company because of the excitement or enticement of an interesting job.
• People stay in a company because of the values they share with their fellow workers (assuming of course, that they have good management).

So, where does that leave today’s managers? And, most importantly, what does it suggest for companies who want to boost morale, increase productivity and decrease staff turnover?

I suggest there are three answers to this question on which every employer should focus in the relationship with his or her workers, whether he or she be the CEO or a new supervisor.

1. Make sure pay and conditions are appropriate for the job and industry; and that they are fair and equitable. This removes one of the stumbling blocks to effective employee morale and satisfaction.

2. Ensure that the job provides the employee with the ability to gain:

• a sense of real achievement for the work that they do
• recognition for what they achieve – regular “thank you’s” and notes of appreciation go a long way
• responsibility and even increased responsibility for what they do – make sure they are able to make decisions regarding their area of responsibility without having to “upwardly delegate”
• from a job that has real interest and meaning for them
• advancement and development, either by way of career progression, professional or personal development.

Remember, people join a company because of the excitement of the job. It is up us as managers to do whatever we can to keep that excitement level high.

3. Above all, be honest in what you say and do. A true manager’s mantra should be “Do as I do”, not “Do as I say”. People leave a company because of poor leadership and management. I have found that people will accept mistakes if we are open about them. They will not accept cover ups. The foundation for effective leadership and management is honesty. These are qualities that everyone values.

So, where have all the honest managers gone? I have no “amazing* research to provide the answers (although it would make an interesting study). However, I will suggest that:

• Honesty, particularly in western society, is in decline generally due to the emphasis on individualism not community. We have become a “Me too” society, where material and personal gain are valued above the good of the community. Every day one reads in the press or hears on the TV some new “revelation” about a cover up, lack of integrity, or just plain dishonesty that has led to yet another major commercial or international disaster.

• Organisations, particularly since the late 80′s, have spent an inordinate amount of time and resources on boosting the job “satisfiers” (as Frederick Herzberg called them) – pay and conditions at the expense of the true “motivators” – achievement, recognition, responsibility, meaningful and interesting work, and growth and advancement. The result? When material gain becomes the all consuming and overt goal pursued by organisations (such as maximum shareholder returns and exorbitant senior manager benefits) over intrinsic basic human motivators, managers will do almost anything to “cover their bums” so that their extrinsic rewards are maintained.

Am I being too harsh on today’s managers? I’d appreciate your thoughts, opinions, comments and stories. I wonder how many of today’s managers would take the same approach as my old manager when faced with a similar situation to that of “my mistake”?

Copyright (c) 2007 The National Learning Institute

Bob Selden is passionate about developing leadership and management within organisations. He also works with individual managers in their personal development as a part time faculty member on the leadership development programs at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne and the Australian Graduate School of Management, Sydney. He’d like to hear your thoughts on leadership development via the National Learning Institute

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Tags: business, ethics, corporate, responsibility, managers

One of the fundamental life principles that many people teach their children is the “Golden Rule.” This age old philosophy tells us that we should treat others as would like to be treated. This makes perfect sense, right? It is a strict and intuitive moral code that is actually written into our very being. However, it is shocking how few people actually take these words to heart in everyday living, especially as it pertains to business.

This concept should be of utmost importance to us all entrepreneurs because it is so easy to take shortcuts to success. It is easy to have a momentary lapse in judgment and abate our inherent knowledge of the “Golden Rule.” This should be avoided at all costs. Now, let me be clear on this point. I am fully aware that not one of us is perfect. But I am not talking about some high minded and ideological concepts. This concept is near to all of us an can easily find application in our every day affairs.

Absolutely no one benefits (in the long term) from shady business practices, lies, deception and greed. There may be some short-term gain but I guarantee people or companies that build on this type of a foundation are doomed to failure. Do Enron and WorldComm ring a bell?

In making business decisions the “Golden Rule” also has extensive room for application. If what you are deciding to causes unnecessary damage to another person in any way then that course of action should probably be avoided.

I understand that some circumstances are less “black and white” than others but the point is to do the best you can.

When you treat others right, others treat you right. Sadly, it seems that people are so used to being suspicious of one another these days that when you do treat people well you stick out like a sore thumb. But that is the kind of attention that you want to have, isn’t it?

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Tags: principles, ethics business, corporate, moral

In today’s society everything from grocery shopping to ordering pizza can be done online? Lets face it, everyone wants convenience. Today’s society is fast paced. It is no surprise that most business owners have taken their products and services and placed it online. In the present day and age it is almost impossible to have a successful business unassociated with the Internet.

The Internet opens new opportunities for any sort of business. Such as: low overheads, convenience for customers and clients, and presents various methods to display important and relevant information about your business to your clients and so that they remain up to date and well informed.

As a new business owner, starting an online business may be your first alternative. The question that arises is how to go about starting an online business? You may have heard of many who have tried and failed or may have succeeded but are not as successful. This may be due to lack of tools and research.

Research is very vital to the success of any business. Once you have decided what type of online business you would like to develop, then research the topic. The first step is to research your competitors. Research the products or services they offer. Find out as much information as you can. What makes their business successful? Who are their target audience? Where do they advertise? What products or services sell most?

Now that you have educated yourself and you feel comfortable with the knowledge you have gained it is time to research and develop your business plan and expense report. It is always recommended to prepare these documents especially, if you are planning to apply for a business loan or working with investors. Once these steps are taken care of it is time to focus on other key objectives.

The main focus of an online business is the website. Your website will act as the middle-man when it comes to selling and buying. The domain name you select is very important and should be chosen wisely. You may have already chosen your business name; but is it catchy enough to be used for your domain name? Your domain name should be catchy, easy to remember and unique.
After deciding an appropriate domain name, it is required to select a good web hosting company. When searching for a web hosting company there are some basic points you need to consider:

1. Reliability:
It is very important to find a web hosting company that is reliable and have a low percentage of downtime. As a new online business owner, your business needs to be up and operating at all times. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Research the web hosting company of your choice and it may be a good idea to find a web hosting company that offers a money back guarantee.

2. Server Hard Drive Space:
Keep in mind that most web pages average 10-50 kilobytes in size. It is important to cover all of your web pages. It is recommended that you select a package which offers web space more than your requirements to be on the safe side.

3. Customer Care or Technical Support:
We have all been in a situation as a customer where you order something online and have question but there are no answers. In most cases, technical support is offered in the Web Hosting package. However, double check before purchasing. See how quickly the technical support center responds to your questions.

4. Secure Server:
Ordering products or service from an online business can have its consequences. Especially identify any theft and possible security issues. It is important to your customers that their information is protected and safe. Most online businesses offer this protection by having secure servers. It may be an additional cost; but it is one that is worth it.

5. POP Accounts:
Allows you access to emails sent through your website. Each account is password protected. In most cases, you will receive 5, 10, 100 or more POP Accounts. You can assign an account to all your employees.

6. Other Tools Such as FTP and Website Wizards:
If you are like most online business owners, you do not have the skill to create a website from scratch nor do you have the money to pay some expensive web site designer. In this case, a web host company that offers a web site design wizard and other tools will be of great convenience.

7. Price:
It is not impossible to find a web hosting company that offers you quality and quantity at a great price. Make sure to bargain with the company you are purchasing from as most hosting companies are willing to offer further discounts to acquire new customers.

Now it is time to create your website. Here are a few tips:

The content on your web site should be informative, interesting and well written. It should catch the attention of the reader and keep them interested. Each page should sell your product or service. Include a mailing list and maybe a referral program. Newsletters are great as well.

Building a web site is usually fun and inventive. However, marketing your website will prove to be a little more difficult. Nevertheless, some web hosting companies offer great information and additional marketing tools for an added fee.

This information should assist you in starting an online business and help you towards developing a new website for your company.

William King is the director of UK Wholesale Suppliers Directory, Wholesale Trade Supplies, Dropshipping Directory, and Pakistan Property Portal . He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

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Tags: business, ethics, corporate, management, companies

Due to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations of 1991, several companies comply with the requirements which requires that companies implement a code of conduct, have high level oversight, provide ethics training to their employees, establishing the company’s ethical cultures as well as make periodic assements of the effectiveness of the program. An amendment of the Act in 2004 prescribed much stricter guidelines as well as emphasising the need to create a legal as well as ethical culture for businesses.

Benefits of Ethics Training for Employees:

Ethics training for employee programs are part of all companies as they provide insights for liability protection as well as improve employee morale, their retention is also positively affected by these programs. Ethics are very important for a business as it helps to determine how your company is percieved by others. If your company has a reputation of being ethical and reputable employees as well as customers and collegues will feel proud to be associated with your business, not the same scenario if your ethics and reputation is bad.

Ethics training for employees programs have to be carefully structured taking into consideration and setting standards for ethical behaviour in your company and what you want the training to accomplish. Companies have to make ethical training mandatory for all employees setting a good example that no one is above the law. The ethics training should help the employees become familiar with the company’s code of ethics, know more about decision making using ethical models. Good ethical training provides training covering five basic aspects of ethical training, responsibility, respect, fairness, honesty and compassion. Compliance laws and other topics such as using internet, computers only for company related work and not misusing these resources, about work place romance etc. are an itregral part of the training program.

The training has to provide information regarding reporting ethics violation to specific personnel and reassure them that offenders will be punished severely. This will inhibit the employees from giving into temptation to violate ethical code of the business. The most successful ethics training programs are in house training programs as it helps boost employee morale. These training needs to be an ongoing continuous program and employees must be aware of the ethical code always. Training should be provided in areas such as keeping confidential information safe, how to take the right decisions when there is a conflict of interest, personal versus business etc.

When the ethics training for employees is carefully planned and executed, the employees will have a clear idea of the company’s code of ethics as well as being intimidated with punishment techniques for those guilty of violations. Thus, ethics training for employees is an integral part of any training program provided to employees.

There are firms that offer their help and products to help new businesses function smoothly and efficiently.

Alexander Gordon is a writer for this site – The Small Business Consulting Community. Sign-up for the free success steps newsletter and get our booklet valued at $24.95 for free as a special bonus. The newsletter provides daily strategies on starting and significantly growing a business.

Business Owners all across the country are joining “”The Community of Small Business Owners” to receive and provide strategies, insight, tips, support and more on starting, managing, growing, and selling their businesses. As a member, you will have access to true Millionaire Business Owners who will provide strategies and tips from their real-life experiences.

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Social responsibility is the belief that firms should voluntarily contribute to society and the less fortunate. There are many different ways companies can make their voluntary contributions. Examples include donating percentages of profits to charities, causes, local communities or society in general. Firms can also make contributions to improving the quality of life for employees and their families through benefit packages such as profit sharing and 401K accounts. Examples of some companies who practice social responsibility are Ben and Jerry’s, UPS, Starbucks, Walt Disney, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, and McDonald’s. Larger firms and corporations seem to make the largest social contributions. Many people would argue that this is because they have the largest net profits to work with.

Although social responsibility undoubtedly benefits society, it has become a hot topic because of different concerns that circulate the issue. There are those who argue for social responsibility; since society benefits from the firm, they should give back to society. Others believe the only social responsibility of a firm should be to make a profit.

Corporate social responsibility has many supporters. Firms support social responsibility because it can benefit them in many ways. Many firms have realized that social responsibility is a great recruiting tool when looking for new employees. People are attracted to a company that does good things for society. Also, socially responsible firms have a higher retention rate than those that are not. People enjoy being a part of an organization that is bettering society. Employees of socially responsible firms may be happier in the place of work because they feel like they are a part of something larger than themselves. Furthermore, in a competitive marketplace how a customer views your company is crucial. Companies that are socially responsible build a positive reputation for themselves. In return, more customers may buy their product, or purchase their services.

Social responsibility is also supported because of the way it benefits society in general. Many believe that if enough firms practice social responsibility, in the long run a healthier economy will be molded. A stronger marketplace will be a result of this. People believe that since firms benefit from society that they should in return plow back in some of their profits.

On the contrary, there are many who criticize social responsibility. Refuters of social responsibility argue that this practice can actually harm the balance of a business. Profit given away may disposition a company because these means could have been invested into growth, and improvement of the firm. When portions of profit are being given to charities as opposed to reinvestment for internal growth these socially responsible firms are being put at a disadvantage to those firms that are not.

In addition to this, challengers also argue that it is unethical for corporations to deprive or short challenge stockholders’ dividend payments because of social responsibility investment. Since they are the ones investing in the success of the company in the first place, they are the ones that should be benefiting from profits. Many argue another place these funds should be allocated is to the employees themselves. If they are the ones that are driving the business’s high profits, they should be benefiting from their labor. Instead of investing these additional funds into society they should be reinvesting it into their employees in the form of bonuses. In my opinion, corporate responsibility should be the responsibility of only those who desire to make a difference. Responsibility should not be pushed onto anyone and everyone as a requirement. Only those who will take the time to assure the money they donate will go to a good cause should practice this behavior. Otherwise it is a waste of money that could be spent elsewhere. If the financial situations of the people who work at the company or the stockholders are at stake then I would view social responsibility as irresponsible. I also believe that if social responsibility denies the firm of a reasonable profit margin than this as well is wrong, and a bad business decision. I believe that social responsibility should be a choice, and a luxury, to those firms who can afford to use this tool to their advantage.

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Tags: corporate, ethics, responsibility, business, governance

This is a new world. A world where the common man or woman on the street has words like “Enron” and “Arthur Andersen” and “Worldcom” on the tip of their tongues. Yet will major corporate scandals have shaken the bedrock of America’s trust in its companies and their executives, this world is new in another way as well. Global competition has never been sterner. U.S. companies are sending jobs overseas to centers of cheap outsourcing labor at a record pace to try to staunch the flow of red in their profits column. Companies are competing with rivals from all over the world – rivals that may not hold to the same ethical standards of conduct, using child labor for instance, or refusing to insure its workforce.

Can American organizations really afford to operate ethically? Will it improve their bottom line over time? The answer can be found in examining the five major benefits that corporate ethics training, and the presumed accompaniment of ethically-behaving employees, can have within an organization. Before listing these benefits, it must be first stated that the tendency for corporations that do train its staff concerning ethics is to have workshops or other one-time “events.” These are, for the most part, ineffective when compared to a consistent ethics program which seeks to incorporate ethics into every piece of training and management disseminated company-wide.

Therefore, in this article we will refer to “ethics programs” rather than ethics training.

Benefit One: Ethics programs chart a course in time of change. Times of upheaval is precisely what we are facing in today’s economy. In these seasons, the line between right and expedient can become blurred, but choosing to make the quick yet questionable buck can permanently harm your company’s future ability to function with moral integrity. If it becomes kosher to gain money from outside the unit through unscrupulous means, what’s to say that employees won’t begin to defraud their employer as well?

Benefit Two: Public image is key to survival. The vast majority of companies in the U.S. are publicly traded, publicly held, or at the very least dependent on the public as consumers of their product. A company which strives for ethical integrity and gains a reputation for doing so, as well as fending off corporate scandals, will win the public’s trust and therefore financial fidelity.

Benefit Three: Ethics are cheap. In the long run, ethics save you money. Period. Less policing internally must go on, saving you expense. But far more important, scandals, siphoning, and embezzlement can be caught before they reach a truly gigantic scale. As well, any government fines for wrongdoing are reduced by catching them in an earlier, smaller stage of criminality.

Benefit Four: Ethics promote teamwork and work ethic. Hard work is just that: an ethic. An ongoing open dialogue for ethical questions and issues, and stress by the management upon key company values, over time produce a culture that reinforce and reward teamwork and hard work.

Benefit Five: Peace of Mind It feels good to good is an old but true report. Owners, executives, managers, and employees can trust an ethical operation, and that makes for happier, more well-adjusted personnel that tend to have longer careers, higher production rates, and more enjoyment than companies less trustworthy. Do right and it will reward you in the long run every time.

Nathan Warren owns and operates Ethics Education

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Tags: corporate, ethics, standard, code, business

Business ethics is a form of applied ethics that examines just rules and principles within a commercial context; the various moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business setting; and any special duties or obligations that apply to persons who are engaged in commerce. Generally speaking, business ethics is a normative discipline, whereby particular ethical standards are advocated and then applied.

It makes specific judgments about what is right or wrong, which is to say, it makes claims about what ought to be done or what ought not to be done. While there are some exceptions, business ethicists are usually less concerned with the foundations of ethics (meta-ethics), or with justifying the most basic ethical principles, and are more concerned with practical problems and applications, and any specific duties that might apply to business relationships.

Business ethics can be examined from various perspectives, including the perspective of the employee, the commercial enterprise, and society as a whole. Very often, situations arise in which there is conflict between one and more of the parties, such that serving the interest of one party is a detriment to the other(s). For example, a particular outcome might be good for the employee, whereas, it would be bad for the company, society, or vice versa. Some ethicists see the principal role of ethics as the harmonization and reconciliation of conflicting interests.

Ethical issues can arise when companies must comply with multiple and sometimes conflicting legal or cultural standards, as in the case of multinational companies that operate in countries with varying practices. The question arises, for example, ought a company obey the laws of its home country, or should it follow the less stringent laws of the developing country in which it does business?

To illustrate, United States law forbids companies from paying bribes either domestically or overseas; however, in other parts of the world, bribery is a customary, “accepted” way of doing business. Similar problems can occur with regard to child labor, employee safety, work hours, wages, discrimination, and environmental protection laws.

Business ethics should be distinguished from the philosophy of business, the branch of philosophy that deals with the philosophical, political, and ethical underpinnings of business and economics. Business ethics operates on the premise, for example, that the ethical operation of a private business is possible — those who dispute that premise, such as libertarian socialists, (who contend that “”business ethics”" is an oxymoron) do so by definition outside of the domain of business ethics proper.

The philosophy of business also deals with questions such as what, if any, are the social responsibilities of a business; business management theory; theories of individualism vs. collectivism; free will among participants in the marketplace; the role of self interest; invisible hand theories; the requirements of social justice; and natural rights, especially property rights, in relation to the business enterprise.

Business ethics is also related to political economy, which is economic analysis from political and historical perspectives. Political economy deals with the distributive consequences of economic actions. It asks who gains and who loses from economic activity, and is the resultant distribution fair or just, which are central ethical issues.

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Tags: value, ethic, business, corporate, training

If you are new to the Networking world than this bit of advice should save you a lot ill used time and unnecessary troubles. If you aren’t new, than this is something you should not really have a problem with. I hope.

I have found time and time again that companies in the MLM world sometimes send out a false sense of hope. Don’t get me wrong, whether or not one is successful in this industry depends entirely upon themselves and the work they are willing to put into their business and training, but is it appropriate for a company to lead people on with their Sunshine and Rainbows, and how they have the “Perfect Opportunity for Everyone” approach? Then once they are in, they are locked into this business, by contracts hidden in the fine print. Forcing the new distributor to stay there and basically buy their products against their will. Who is that the perfect opportunity for? That is the exact same thing as me going out, buying a store, having a giant grand opening sale, and once all the customers are in, I lock the doors not letting anyone leave. I’m pretty sure that that is not only unmoral, but also against the law.

On the other side of this, there are the distributors who then seemed stuck, and are then forced to be deceiving, just as their company was to them, in order to recruit new prospects and actually build any type of business. I don’t believe that going out and deceiving new prospects is right, under any circumstance, even if you’re stuck with a company against your will. If you are a true leader, than you wouldn’t knowingly and willingly lead people into holes that they can’t dig themselves out of.

As you read this, I hope you see the trend of how lies compound in a business, trickling down through the entire organization, eventually making it crumble onto itself. You cannot have a strong building without a strong foundation, in that, you cannot have a strong and successful business built on lies and deceit. If you start your business by being a true leader, than you will start by being honest to yourself, your team and everyone you come in contact with down the road. I hope this helps you build a strong foundation for your business. Remember, if you are honest from the start, your business will be predictable and the sailing will be much smoother out in the front. Good luck on your journey.

My Name Is Brandon Darling, I Have Been In The MLM Industry For Some Time Now And Love The Oppurtunity And Leadership That Comes Along With It. I Offer My Advice And Experience In Hopes To Help Other Network Marketers In Their Journey. I Also Offer Products And Advice On My Products For People Who Are Interested, Visit my my website

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Tags: business, corporate, ethics, ethical, networking

From Monday the 21st of August 2006, Royal Mail changed the rates for the postage of letters.

Previously, the cost of postage depended purely on the weight of the letter. But now it has been decided that the price should depend on the size of the letter as well as the weight of the letter.

This means that a single sheet of paper sent in a small envelope would cost just 30p for first class postage. Whilst the same sheet of paper sent in an A4 envelope would cost 42p.

I’ve always believed that the business should make a profit. And also that businesses should have the right to determine their own pricing. But I really can’t believe that this one has been thought through properly.

Our first concern in the office on the morning of Monday 21st August was trying to understand the new system and making certain that our letters were going out with the correct rate of postage. The new system is undoubtedly more complex and has caused us plenty of confusion.

But what really baffles me is that the new system is so easy to manipulate. Instead of sending out documents in an A4 envelope, they can simply be folded in half and put into a smaller envelope which qualifies for the lower rate of postage. A saving of 12p per letter! You have to make certain that the letter does not exceed a certain thickness but most business post would quite easily meet this criteria.

Even more bizarre, you could put your letter into the same large envelope and then simply fold the envelope in half in order to qualify for the lower rate of Is Royal Mail Another Business That Is Making It Difficult For Customers To Buy From Them
By Derek Williams Platinum Quality Author

From Monday the 21st of August 2006, Royal Mail changed the rates for the postage of letters.

Previously, the cost of postage depended purely on the weight of the letter. But now it has been decided that the price should depend on the size of the letter as well as the weight of the letter.

This means that a single sheet of paper sent in a small envelope would cost just 30p for first class postage. Whilst the same sheet of paper sent in an A4 envelope would cost 42p.

I’ve always believed that the business should make a profit. And also that businesses should have the right to determine their own pricing. But I really can’t believe that this one has been thought through properly.

Our first concern in the office on the morning of Monday 21st August was trying to understand the new system and making certain that our letters were going out with the correct rate of postage. The new system is undoubtedly more complex and has caused us plenty of confusion.

But what really baffles me is that the new system is so easy to manipulate. Instead of sending out documents in an A4 envelope, they can simply be folded in half and put into a smaller envelope which qualifies for the lower rate of postage. A saving of 12p per letter! You have to make certain that the letter does not exceed a certain thickness but most business post would quite easily meet this criteria.

Even more bizarre, you could put your letter into the same large envelope and then simply fold the envelope in half in order to qualify for the lower rate of postage! How nuts is that? And even more bizarre (as if that is possible!) this is exactly the advice being given across the counter at the post office!

When you add to all of this confusion to the cost that must’ve been incurred by notifying every single address within the United Kingdom of the new system (including templates to help users gauge the size of a letter) and the new charge rates, has this really been a successful initiative?

I very rarely criticise a business by name. And I hope that my comments will be taken constructively. But I really do feel that Royal Mail have shot themselves in the foot and have lost a huge amount of consumer confidence. Maybe I will be proved wrong. I hope so.

What do you think?

And I beg you, please take a look at your own systems and make certain that it is easy for customers to buy from you. This is one area in which we cannot afford to make mistakes.

If customers are put off buying from us at the first hurdle we will very rarely get a second opportunity. You may have lost the customer without even knowing that you had them in the first place!

Derek Williams is creator of The WOW! Awards™ an International Professional Speaker and Chief Executive for the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Europe.

For more information about Derek Williams, visit this site

For The WOW! Awards (including access to a FREE customer service newsletter) visit this site

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Tags: value, ethic, business, corporate, training

These are the fundamental steps that lead a business to a path of progress and competitiveness enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of the business. There are 7 steps that are discussed below:

1. Finding the Gaps
It includes the skills and knowledge your company possesses and is a major determinant of your success. In this step you need to identify your strengths, areas needing further study and areas of concern that could seriously affect your ability to stay competitive. Once you are through with this step, you would have access to practicable online information and other references that will help you bridge any knowledge and skill gaps. Filling these gaps will help in making your organization better prepared and to ascertain benefit from valuable information relating to the various management functions.

2. Pre-Planning
Pre-Planning is the process by which the management of an organization foresee its future and develop the necessary measures and operations to achieve the goals of future. It includes development of the purpose, mission, vision, and value statements of the managing teams; communication of these documents and suggestions for improvement, culture survey to create a base against which change can be compared and last but not the least celebrating achievements and learning from mistakes. After Pre-Planning the team needs to formulate strategies and, clearly identify an action plan on which implementation is to be performed. As part of this phase, you will also need to repeat your mission and restate your company’s vision. Although there are many kinds of strategies but in this situation basic strategy should not change much in the short term, whereas sub-strategies can change rapidly in reaction to competitive situations.

3. Financing
Financing plan is developed to increase the business competitiveness through an improved knowledge of the techniques and methods of funding available. Equity and debt are two types of financing available to business. Equity is the money that you put into your business and Debt is what you borrow from others to invest in your business.

4. Involvement of Technology
The businesses are becoming more dependent on technology. By optimizing the use of technology, the business may maintain progress, improve its customer services, and gain a competitive edge over those businesses that are not utilizing their technology. In the modern world the change of information technology has become a vital part in competition with the real world. Now the Question is that why do we use technology in business? The answer is simple that it enhances customer service, can decrease cost, can improve communication, can facilitate research, can increase productivity, efficiency as well as effectiveness in the business.

5. Improvement in Human Resource
Using this resource to its best advantage is a means to maximize the effectiveness of the other entire systems and procedures already in place. The business or an organization having skilled and competitive employees is considered as the most competitive business. Proper human resource management is needed to increase effectiveness in work and to smoothly achieve the goals and accomplish tasks.

6. Marketing strategy
Marketing and related activities in a business, small or large, ensure that your business gets information from its customers, develops and markets the services to satisfy their needs and gets feedback on their satisfaction levels. Marketing acts as an interface between the enterprise and its markets. Marketing can be defined as the function that encompasses most activities between the producer of a good or the supplier of a service and the consumers. It is also a set of business development activities which starts with the consumer from whose needs, the business gets its service ideas and to whom it will sell its services.

7. Process of Quality Assurance
The Process of Quality Assurance in a business refers to planned, and step-by-step activities that determines that testing is being carried out correctly, results are accurate, and mistakes are found and corrected to avoid undesirable outcomes. Quality assurance is a constant set of activities that help the business to ensure that the test results provided are as accurate and reliable as possible. Maintaining quality assurance leads to customer retention, and an image as a competitive business in the minds of clients.

Conclusion
Competition in businesses is now found everywhere and in such a competitive world it is difficult for any new business or start-ups to survive and thrive. Implementation of the above steps can definitely help towards effectively competing in any market.

© 2006, Wholesale Pages UK. All rights reserved.

William King is the director of Canada Wholesale, UK Wholesalers and Dropshippers Directory. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

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Tags: ethics, programs, business, corporate, training

Corporate social responsibility is an important-sounding phrase, but what exactly is it? Well, increasingly nowadays corporations have to be seen to act in a social, ethical and responsible manner. This arose because of the changing perception of the environment, the developing world and all the other issues of our time. Corporations have a huge influence over all these things – often a negative influence, for example in cutting down rainforests and employing children to make shoes for westerners. Social responsibility is the effort to give something back and improve, not exploit, conditions in poorer areas of the world.

Social responsibility isn’t just an ethical concern – it makes good business sense too. Every time a consumer doesn’t buy a brand of clothing because they’ve heard it’s made by children it hurts the business they’ve shunned. Consumers vote with their wallets and it’s important to present a good company image, otherwise you risk people choosing someone else.

So how can corporations embrace social responsibility? After all, there’s probably some kind of outlay involved and no-one likes spending money where they don’t have to. Well, cultural change within the institution is normally the first port of call. It’s imperative to change the attitudes of management so that they understand being socially responsible can actually benefit the business further down the line. The perception of your company within the target market can make or break your business in the long-term.

It’s important that if your company does take a stance on a social issue, it’s an issue that your customers care about or something that you have a direct impact upon. Beware of taking on debates with already strong pressure groups as you run the risk of getting a lot of bad press. It’s even more important that whatever issue you take on, you’re thoroughly prepared. You need to understand that you’re in this for the long run so if you make any bold claims be sure to follow them through. You should also be able to counter any bad publicity, not to mention answering all the questions you receive when you talk about what you’re doing.

The best corporate social responsibility comes from within the company, when members really care about change for the better and embracing new ideas. Sometimes it’s easier to get an outside agency to help with this – pr consultants for example who have done it all before and can help you see where change is necessary. If management-level staff embrace social responsibility this trickles down to the rest of the company a lot easier than if the change is forced from the outside.

Social responsibility will cost time, effort and money to implement, but your ongoing projects can give your company a greater ability to do good. It also gives you a greater perceived ability to do good, meaning that consumers buy into you more and trust that they’re buying from an ethical supplier or doing business with an ethical partner. Social responsibility is something that no corporation can afford to overlook.

Sylvia Kittens lives in Harrogate, England

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Tags: social, responsibility, ethics, corporate, business

Did you now you can beat your competition even when they cheat? In the company that started I have been beating the competition city after city even though my competition lacks integrity and I often catch them cheating.

In my industry we are in the business of cleaning fleet of vehicles and we often found companies breaking environmental laws and charging the companies they did business with extra for environmental compliance and then underbidding us in the process. At first we could not understand how they were charging such little amounts of money and still reclaiming the waste wash water.

So we kept redesigning our environmental control and reclamation systems to become more and more efficient until we could compete on price without cheating. Eventually we noticed that they were cheating and we simply advised the industry that, that was unacceptable and we helped advise committees that set up standards in the industry to see that the industry could police itself and do business without environmentally negatively impacting the ecosystems.

Of course this is only one example of how we have beat the competition even when they have been cheating. We often in business find cheaters who cannot pull their own weight in nearly every industry. This is because they have grown old in stodgy and weak and they cannot compete in the real world so they make rules for a created reality.

Unfortunately, they can only do this so long until the customer tells them where to go and when they do; all you have to do is be in the way of the money and have with that customer wants and they will give you unit of trade called a dollar.

It is easy to beat the competition even when they cheat and you should know that anyone who cheats is inferior, weak and therefore you have the moral high ground and they should boost your strength of character and confidence in your ability to cream them.

Indeed, I love winning and I love beating the cheaters without cheating. It must be so demoralizing for them when they lack the integrity, the perseverance and the dedication to it even stand on the same field with us and cannot make single play without cheating. They must be so envious and jealous; maybe that’s what causes them to cheat so much?

Western Red Cedar is among the most beautiful, colorful, self-preserving woods available on the planet. When considering your carved wooden sign project, you will only want to consider using this amazing wood. It’s omnipotent. It has warm colors and tones. It has a wonderful tactile texture. It smells great (even intoxicating to those “Green” sensitive). Western Red Cedar has no pitch. Cedar has to resin. Cedar has no sap.

Western Red Cedar does contain natural oils that help preserve it against insect attack and decay. This is a huge reason it is used for carved outdoor signs. Most welcome signs are placed outdoors, and will be asked to withstand a variety of weather conditions from extreme cold, to very hot, wet, warm, and everything in between. Because cedar can weather these conditions so well, it is the only choice for carved sign making. Cedar has literally been the outdoor construction material of choice for centuries. It is these natural oils which make carved cedar signs incredibly durable; maintaining your outdoor signs great appearance for a long, long time.

Cedar is, remarkably, dimensionally stable. This means it will tend to lay flat and remain straight. When Western Red Cedar is properly treated and finished, it will gracefully age and last for a very long time.

Western Red Cedar also provides an added appeal to your landscape. Since your welcome sign will likely be placed on or near a landscaped area, the carved sign will serve as a focal point and augment the environment for potential customers, visitors and guests. Quite simply, they see your lush landscape; and, they will also see your aesthetically pleasing cedar, personalized outdoor welcome sign.

Western Red Cedar is an affordable wood. Cedar and other wood products make up almost 50% of all raw materials manufactured in the United States. Yet, its share of energy consumption during manufacturing is less than 5%. Western Red Cedar is a renewable building material, recyclable and regenerated. “Green Building” and rating systems such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) recognize the environmental impact of the use of woods like western red cedar. Because cedar is so durable it lasts for a long time and doesn’t need to be replaced. Actually, the durability of western red cedar is a principle reason why North American and Canadian forests are still abundant after 150 years of harvesting. It’s natural, biodegradable, recyclable, and originates from sustainably managed forests.

This green building principle literally deals with the health of the environment. Cedar is a natural material with centuries of proven performance. Green building rating systems are being applied more and more and cedar excels under the scrutiny of green building review. Western Red Cedar measures up to the requirements and comes out the winner in all aspects when compared to other materials. Creating signs from Western Red Cedar is a natural – it is the ultimate green material. It produces fewer green house gases, requires less renergy to produce than alternatives and comes from a profoundly renewable, sustainable resource. Equally important, Western Red Cedar is carbon neutral! That’s just plain smart.

I love Western Red Cedar and have been using this amazing and legendary material for over 40 years in construction and my art of carving personalized outdoor welcome signs. Find us here where we’ve been hand crafting personalized cedar outdoor signs since 1966?

May the Forest be with you!

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Tags: ethics, value, business, list, corporate

You’re looking for a work at home job and you come across a webpage that tells you it is going to steer you away from the hundreds of scams straight toward the scant few legitimate sites out there. Sounds great, right?

Wrong! It’s the latest in work from home scams and simple to create: all you need is a website and a affiliate ID with ClickBank. I have looked at over a dozen of these sites. They were all designed with one basic principle in mind: steering you toward the three to five sites they wanted you to purchase through their ClickBank affiliate links.

One note about ClickBank. ClickBank is not a bank as its name implies. According to them, they are a “”digital marketplace”" that sells “”digitally delivered products.”" While many of the questionable products I have found are sold via ClickBank and Google Ads, and you might wonder about a company who is willing to profit off such schemes, you shouldn’t necessarily blame them. After all, would you blame Amazon or BooksaMillion for selling you a bad book? It’s a moral quandary, sure, but it is simpler to teach consumers to protect themselves, then to try to battle against consumerism.

When looking at these sites, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does the person give himself or herself a title without proving it? I’ve seen sites where the author was claiming to be an “”online fraud investigator,”" although he never stated for what company. Other sites claim they are “”protection”" agencies, but in reality, they just people trying to part you with your money.

2. Does the site claim to have been seen on well-known sites, newspapers, magazines, or TV shows but fail to give the dates, times and links to this information? As far as you know, they could have been profiled on those programs as being scams. Don’t assume that those sites lend creditability to what you are looking at until you see it for yourself.

3. Does it use strong words in its title that are designed to produce a strong response? They might claim to be “”scam free”" or the “”top site.”" They’ll claim to be a “”review”" site or a “”consumer protection”" site.

4. Does the site provide affiliate links and only link to sites you have to pay for? A ClickBank affiliate link is easy to spot. Right click on the link and select “”properties.”" If you read something that has “”hop.clickbank.net”" in it or if you click on the link and you wind up at a site that has “”hop=XXXX”" (XXXX= the person’s unique affiliate ID) in it, it’s an affiliate link. You may have to click on more one of the links as the sites are learning to cloak the links to try to seem more legitimate. You might also want to see who owns the site and any sites they are promoting. Sometimes, these sites end up being the same.

5. Read the small print on the site. What is it saying that the big, bold print doesn’t? With many of sites, it seems the smaller the print, the closer to the truth. You’ll find statements such as “”this site is not to be regarded as advice”" and “”it is our opinion that these programs have been featured on the programs.”"

Once you’ve finished evaluating the so-called expert’s site, start looking at the companies it’s recommending. I’d start with the Better Business Bureau. Then, I would contact the company directly and ask what their guarantee is and what their refund policy is. If you don’t get a response from them, do you really want to give them your money? Finally, I would put in the company’s name in Google or Yahoo along with the word “”fraud”" or “”scam”" and see what happens. You might find other people have already fallen victim to this scheme.

Remember, these are sites offering you a job, how many legitimate jobs do you have to pay for in order to obtain?

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Tags: ethics, IT, Information, training, corporate

Ethics, by its very nature, implies that the representation is both honest in promotion and has the integrity of faithful practice by its advocates. It is a kind of “walk the walk and talk the talk” integration through the actions and decisions of those who lay claim to the cause. Yet, the environmental movement has those who see Going Green merely as a public relations or marketing issue. Knowing that the federal, state, and municipal lawmakers are pressing hard to encourage Green transition in the business community; many businesses sense the wave of interest in environmental issues as something to exploit. In response, there is hardly a business that isn’t trying to sidle up to some Green ideas whether they are valid or mere tokenism.

Environmentalism is ill served by token efforts of installing CFL bulbs, donating money to an environmental charity, or buying carbon credits. Regardless of of your attitude toward these highly-touted ideas, the fact is that it is the operational processes of your business or company that show that Green is part of your agenda. Right now, there are any number of companies writing checks to save the polar bears or attending a Green seminar that have anything but a Green operation in place. There is certainly a need for a Green Business certification like the one offered by the Green Business League that focuses predominantly on changing the way the people in the each business operate in our society.

Let’s get right at the obvious issues of a functional Green business that spends its financial resources governed by the lowest price or a favored relationship. This is true for the hiring of the janitorial service that hauls in dangerous cleaning chemicals using a uncertified staff to clean the building, or asking your various vendor if they are also Green business certified. The hypocrisy of promoting your business as a Green business is revealed when the questions are asked whether your business is installing Green practices and using Green vendors. Ethically, the need for practices that match the boast and the integrity that expects the same of those you purchase from is obvious though rarely applied.

The new discussions of Green Supply Chain, carries the message already promoted by the Green Business League which is “Buy Green, Hire Green.” We are hearing about concerns for Greenwashing where the Green hype is pure marketing regardless of evidences of misrepresentation and poor business integrity. To be a Green business, there are hundreds of simple and inexpensive ideas that should be gradually introduced into each and every business wishing to be an environmentally-committed business. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you must Go Green in one massive effort. Smart businesses hire a Green Consultant or follow a Green Management program to bring their business in the Green era with the credential that has the evidences to support the claims made by the marketing department. Go Green, but don’t Play at Green.

Green Business League invites businesses wishing to earn their Green Business Certification. If you need a Green Consultant, find one at the Green Consultant Directory.

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Tags: green, ethics, business, code, corporate

The basic idea of Fair Trade is one of connecting producers (rural workers and craftsman) with viable markets (you and me). The goal is to achieve this in the most efficient and transparent way possible to ensure that those producers:

* Receive a fair wage for the work they produce
* Work in conditions that are safe and hazard free
* Learn the business skills necessary to compete in the global economy
* Produce goods sustainably to ensure the resources they utilize will survive for generations to come.

According to Wikipedia, Fair Trade can be defined as: “an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods.”

History: The current fair trade movement seems to have found its footing in and around Europe in the 1960′s as a grass roots way of attempting to help third world nations by empowering the working class with capital. Initial Fair Trade efforts focused on seeking specialized channels of distribution for Fair Trade goods. As a result of this effort, so called “Worldshops” opened and became the destination for those seeking Fair Trade goods and wishing to support the movement. While this method of distribution brought attention to the cause, theses specialized outlets lacked the broad appeal of mass distribution. Enter the certification label. In the late 1980′s in response to a sharp decline in coffee prices the first certification label was created (so called Max Havelaar label after a fictional Dutch character who opposed the exploitation of coffee pickers in Dutch colonies ). By creating a certification process and label that branded a product as “fair trade”, the movement was able to move out of small specialty shops and into the mainstream. The success of this first Fair Trade label brought about the creation of many more, which naturally led to confusion in the marketplace. In 1997 FLO (Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International) was established as a governing body to set forth standards for the varying labels (referred to as Labeling Initiatives). In 2002 FLO created its own label, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark in an attempt to consolidate all marks into single recognizable symbol. However many individual Labeling Initiatives (such as TransFairUSA and TransFairCanada) still maintain a separate logo and work alongside FLO to ensure guideline compliance
.
How it works: Fair Trade products are general brought to market in one of two ways. The first is the “supply chain” method whereby goods are produced, distributed, and sold through a common organization whose goal is to enhance the living standards of the worker and promote fair trade. The second and more common today is the “certification” method whereby goods are certified by one of many third party independent sources as complying with a set of underlying goals. These goods are then allowed to use the certification mark which in theory will garner a premium over non certified products.

Fair Trade Today: The idea of Fair Trade has grown substantially in the years that have followed its inception. In order to learn a bit more about the challenges facing Fair Trade today we spoke with Barkha Malik of Barkhas Custom Sourcing LLC. Barkha has been working directly with rural crafts people (primarily in India) for over 15 years. She specializes in facilitating the creation of unique textiles for use in both residential and commercial settings. We asked Barkha about the obstacles confronting rural crafts people and the role she plays in bringing the goods to market. According to Barkha, “the greatest hurdle for the rural crafts people is probably the lack of education. This leads to exploitation of their talent by their employers. They often do not earn enough to make anything close to a decent living for their families. Lack of education also leads to ignorance about all the options that might be available to them through government funding programs or other avenues which can get them out of the ill-paid jobs they are trapped in”.

According to Barkha, markets exist in which many of the goods produced can be very valuable,it is the logistics of getting their goods out to those markets that is daunting for these native artisans. Barkha sees her role as one who helps facilitate this. In order to do so she says that communication is the key. “Advances in technology have definitely made this work a lot easier than it was when I did my first custom project almost 15 years ago. Email and cell phones have made for much faster communication as compared to black/white faxes and waiting days for courier packages to arrive before approving textile patterns etc. Skype is another great way of international communication which is very economical and very popular even with small artisan groups in remote corners of the Himalayas who can log on from internet enabled computers in their local village marketplaces.”

Future of Fair Trade: With the increasing awareness among consumers about sustainability and environmental issues it stands to reason that products produced under Fair Trade conditions may continue to enjoy acceptance and growth in the marketplace. According to FLO, 2007 saw a 47% increase in the sale of Fairly Traded goods to about $3.6 billion worldwide. If this growth is sustained Fair Trade items may someday become the standard rather than a niche brand.

Verde Home – A boutique home furnishings and floor coverings store specializing in sustainable style.

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Tags: ethics, fairness, business, corporate, code

Corporate social responsibility is a company’s duty to have a positive effect on society, the environment and its own employees. It has risen in importance as world issues have come to the fore – for example, child labour making clothes for western shops is quite rightly not allowed – companies have a duty to make sure that all their employees, no matter where they are in the world, are not exploited. If a company uses someone else’s land for its operations (again this is usually in a poorer country) they should provide schemes for native inhabitants such as schools, healthcare and employment opportunities. Companies are now judged by the general public based on their policies so it’s never been more important to be socially responsible.

Social responsibility is a difficult thing to pin down however, and it’s often unclear what the effects will be. Providing a school for the children of workers abroad for example might be great for the workers, but customers who buy the company’s products may never even know that school exists. This responsible scheme then has no knock-on effect on the company’s image. Similarly, making sure that the company abides by international laws is socially responsible, but no-one ever hears about anything like this unless the company breaks a law (in which case it’s all over the news).

Social responsibility is only good for the company if people know about it, so many companies try to publicise their good work or get something back out of it. For example, sponsoring scholarships for poorer students is a generous act, but those students might have access to fast-track schemes within the company when they finish their education. Sponsoring a charity event for a local hospital can be publicised in the news and helps to show customers that the company does a lot in the community.

When a company’s social actions pay off, they manage to present themselves as a caring brand and this can spell good times for the business. More people want to work for them and consumers recognise their brand as someone it’s ok to buy from.

It’s important for corporations to look after existing employees too, as this is also part of their social responsibility. Childcare schemes, extended leave options and even gym memberships all come under this umbrella. When a company offers benefits to its employees therefore it’s being socially responsible. It’s a business tenet that the more benefits a company offers the more likely staff are to stay with the company, and the more people will apply for available jobs.

Because of all these positive effects, companies have to look at social responsibility as an essential part of their PR and not just an expenditure. Some companies don’t participate in schemes unless they’re going to get some sort of positive PR out of it and whilst this does make economic sense it also comes across as a little cynical. Other companies do good just for the sake of it, but also make sure that they get something back most of the time. Whatever path a company takes, social responsibility is inescapable no matter the economic climate. In fact, it becomes more important as people start to struggle financially and the company that looks after its employees and dependents in bad times will have a head start in the good.

Bert Steiner has manufactured everything from worktops to plastic products He has owned a few small companies and likes to write about the issues faced by company managers.

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Tags: ethics, marketing, strategic, management, corporate

There are many circumstances in which it would be easy to enlist the aid of ‘white lies’ in the era we live in today. ‘The check is in the mail’ when in actuality it won’t be mailed until tomorrow. ‘She/he is in a meeting – out to lunch – gone for the day’ instead of stating that she/he is unavailable and take a message. ‘No we didn’t get your fax’ when it has actually come through hours before but gone unnoticed and unattended by the staff. A majority of humanity reacts favorably to honesty and integrity.

Often when the word ‘integrity’ is spoken it brings to mind a picture of trustworthiness and truthfulness.

Definitions for the word ‘integrity’ are: 1. Wholeness, Completeness 2. unimpaired condition, soundness 3. honesty, sincerity. A more current definition indicates that integrity is ‘comprised of the personal inner sense of wholeness – an honesty and consistency of uprightness of character’. Thus a relationship with an individual or business that promotes integrity would suggest an ethical relationship. One in which honesty and trustworthiness would be understood.

Is it possible that a definition of excellent Customer Service could include white lies? First and foremost, the definition of white lies has changed dramatically in the past 25 to 30 years. Webster’s New World Dictionary – published in 1974 – indicates that a “”white lie”" is ‘a lie about a trivial matter often told to spare someone’ s feelings.”"‘ Yet a current definition suggests: “”….is a lie which is believed harmless or innocuous, or is in accordance with the conventions of the culture”". Does this imply that we have become more complacent about accepting and indulging in “”white lies”". A “”lie”" – from current AND older resources – is an intentionally false statement. Albeit a “”white lie”", “”lying by omission”" or “”just a lie”" – it is still lying.

It is human nature to want to believe and trust. It is when a trust is broken that the problems begin – in all relationships. After we have been lied to,it is natural to disbelieve thereafter.

The success or failure of a service business is based on its customers. Satisfied, happy, trusting customers are
essential to success. A business that has a solid foundation and where the essence of excellent customer service
is an innate practice of every day’s operation has no need for “”white lies”".

So the business owner must decide if the ‘white lie’ is worth the risk of breaking the trust of your customers.

Assistant to the President – Visit the The Tab Store here. Honesty, Integrity, Values, Unparalleled Customer Service

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Tags: value, ethic, business, corporate, training

Most public and private entities today are trying to promote “Green” processes as a way of doing business to help the environment or are touting their “green” attitudes to improve their corporate image. Common examples may include using recycled copier paper, buying items with a minimum percentage of post-consumer waste, and encouraging recycle programs for their own waste. While all those methods are valid, implementation can be very costly and may prevent the programs from being successful and widely accepted. What some “Green” coordinators do not realize is that utilizing and implementing technology solutions that eliminate waste can be just as good or better.

The common misconception is that technology equals huge dollar expenditures and long implementation schedules that may cost more than they are worth. This may be true in some cases, but not for electronic reverse auctions. Public and private entities can save thousands of dollars and trees every year by posting their bids online in either a reverse auction format or electronic RFQ, The specifications and terms and conditions documents can be uploaded to a website so they do not have to be printed out every time a request for them is made. The vendors can then respond to these bids by uploading their responses or placing bids during the live reverse auction.

Hard dollar savings can be achieved by both parties by reducing the amount of paper, the mailing costs associated with issuing bids and responding to them, and the time it takes to process and report paper bid results. With an electronic bidding process, bids documents can be uploaded and results can be instantly reported on and saved without ever having to print anything on a piece of paper.

Reverse auctions with this site are easy to implement since you do not have to download anything to your computer to use them. This means that your IT department does not have to dedicate any resources to maintain your account. All documents and completed event results are archived in your account or can be saved in electronic format on your computer. We also offer many flexible and customizable payment options for your convenience.

Doug Luthringer is a Client Development Manager at this site with over two years of strategy, implementation and training experience in online reverse auctions and nearly six years with online forward auctions such as eBay. Doug has also been invited to be a guest speaker to talk about how to properly use reverse auctions to small and medium size business, as well as university students.

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I bet if you have been on the internet very long you have seen a few programs that market themselves with a matrix system. In the 2X2 matrix, the recruit would sponsor two and those two would sponsor two, filling the 2X2 matrix with six people.

There are questions by many whether this is legal or not. That is almost like asking if concrete is legal. It really depends on how it is used. The matrix system itself is not illegal, unless it is used to perpetuate a fraud or a transaction or exchange of money without any substantial product or consideration for the money spent.

The 2X2 is limited in its width, but is still based on a pyramid with three levels. Level one has 1 person, level two has 2 people and level three has 4 people for a total of 6. A pyramid is not illegal in itself unless it is a pyramid scheme designed to separate people from their money and not deliver any goods or services in exchange.

If a company or individual is selling a product and uses a matrix system as a means of measurement then it certainly is not illegal or fraudulent. If the person parting with funds receives a tangible good or service for their money regardless if there are other considerations or possible bonuses for doing so, then that transaction is legitimate.

There are many products being marketed with a matrix system. Usually you fill up a matrix and move up to another level, which measures your performance and entitles you to move up to the next level, which has greater rewards for filling it.

You most certainly should do your due diligence to check out any program before you become involved with it, but don’t let names, titles or fears rob you from benefiting from these legitimate programs.

As long as there is immediate transfer of goods or services and not just a promise of hot air, you are good to go. Then there is the question of the main product the system is marketing. Is it a good product? Is there a great need or market for the product? Is it something you could see yourself being involved in with pride?

The biggest question of all is, will you be left on your own after you give up the money? There are many great programs around, but even a great program, great marketing plan and exceptional product does you no good if you can’t sell.

Oh yes, someone has to make contact, and make sales. There are systems now springing up designed to answer this difficulty. Some systems now offer to do the selling for you. Now isn’t that nice. You get leads and let someone more equipped on the team do the talking.

I know that most of us fit into that category. Who wouldn’t like to have a sales force built into their new business venture?

No doubt there are opportunities popping up and you have to be careful to choose the right one for yourself. I am involved in a few of these myself, so I have had to make many of these choices.

Do your homework. Check everything. Check it again. Make sure of the people involved. Take your time. If they want your money before you get much information, run for the exit.

Any legitimate company will be willing to give you most any information you need to make a decision. If not bid them goodbye. There are some great opportunities to make some real residual income. Just make sure you do your homework before you take the critical step.

But don’t become paralyzed with fear to the point you can’t be objective or you might as well unplug your computer.

Free Vacation Offer Author Terry L. McGee resides in West Virginia with Wife Valerie. He is an internet marketer and writer.

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Tags:ethics, business, training, corporate, accounting

“Wal-Mart Merchandising is on a mission to select and grow suppliers who will elevate their image with consumers and analyst. To achieve this mission they are beginning to set higher standards, increase reporting required by suppliers and limiting the number of suppliers. To be considered as a long-term supplier for Wal-Mart the supplier must closely align their directives with Wal-Mart’s. Below is a list of the top strategies successful suppliers will need to adapt.

d. Reliable Supply Chain- fill their orders complete and on time

The best part of Wal-Mart’s supplier strategy is that they are willing to work with and offer support to those suppliers who have the potential to eventually align with their strategies. The hard work is in convincing them that your company can be the supplier of the future with a little time and focus.

Need help aligning your corporate strategies? Contact Insight Consulting LLC, we are always here to help.

For more information regarding Wal-Mart’s buying strategies and tactics check out our blog

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Tags: ethical, will, corporate, business, training

First: Hard Work – Continue to be consistent in terms of what you are doing and actively pursuing. Hard work pays off if you follow through with a plan of action. Stay focused.

Second: Take Instructions And Guidance From Your Business Coach

Your coach (upline) wants you to be successful. They will show you the best way to promote and market your business that leads to consumer/public interest, desired customer spending and yields pure profit.

Third: Eliminate “Dead Weight” Mentalities

When people try to improve their personal situation; financially and physically, they encounter a lot of criticism and negativity.

Let us examine that for a moment. If someone is so consumed with what YOU are doing to the point that they take “personal shots” and levy harsh remarks, ask yourself or if possible, ask that person why does it bother them about what you are striving to do. Watch the response you get… a blank stare, shrugged shoulders, confused/dazed look as though they can’t believe you would ask them that, an indignant attitude, verbal hostility or a defensive stance.

Such reactions are a defense mechanism designed to conceal the true culprit: “jealousy”.
In a strange small way, it can be flattering but instead of allowing their issues to “poison your purpose” let it “motivate your momentum.”

Fourth: Use past failures as an educational tool. If you have been down this road but stumbled, assess where you went wrong and coordinate an alternate route. For instance, say you did not get a lot of prospects the first time. Alright, try Online Marketing which has tons of free tools to drive traffic to your advertisement or website.

If you keep these elements in your “playbook” and comply, you will attain that home-base championship title that is yours forever.

Maxine Telford-Wolfe is a loving, doting wife and mother of three busy children. They keep Maxine on her toes. They also serve as her inspiration to succeed in life. Maxine enjoys working from home. Her favorite things to do are perform Yoga, Pilates and Taebo to exercise the mind and body. Humanitarian issues are dear to Maxine’s heart. The plight, suffering and starvation of young children resonates with Maxine. She has sponsored children from other countries and will continue to do so.

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Tags: define, ethics, business, code, corporate

We all want to make a difference. To most, that means sharing some combination of their time, talent and financial resources. During the global economic crisis of 2008, a lot of people didn’t have the financial resources to continue to give to their families, friends, and the worthy foundations and causes they valued. So choices had to be made.

People still wanted to give – they just had to find creative ways to do it. In lieu of candles or coffee, Alison, a marketing director in Pittsburgh, opted to make a donation to a local pet shelter in honor of her sister. In Chicago, the adult members of the Bergh family drew names for their annual Christmas exchange. Only instead of physical gifts this year, they each made donations to non-profit organizations near and dear to the heart of the person’s name they drew. Gail, a development director in Yakima, Wash., adds money to the Salvation Army bell ring buckets and adds meal coupons for the Union Gospel Mission to her grocery bill when she checks out.

All of these people make a difference in their own way. But none of them stop there. They also look to spend their consumer dollars at companies dedicated to corporate social responsibility. Understanding this, today, multinational corporations — while still in business for profit — are adopting new corporate social responsibility [CSR] initiatives that are changing the way organizations of all sizes do business. CSR is not a widely-used term yet. Give it time.

The premise of CSR is that when an organization makes money in a community, they reinvest a portion of profits in that community and/or other global regions in need. That investment can come as a combination of money, employee volunteer time or products, such as pharmaceutical giant Merck which donates a drug to cure river-blindness, a dreadful disease which affects tens of millions of the world’s poorest people.

Even in a down economy — or perhaps enhanced by an economy in turmoil — consumers and businesses alike are prioritizing CSR. So much so, in fact, that CSR is emerging as a new trend in job security with companies adding entire departments dedicated to designing and implementing CSR initiatives.

Many Fortune 500 companies have committed their resources to CSR, in many cases budgeting for entire departments dedicated to setting and implementing their CSR strategy. It’s a job industry that will grow tremendously in the next decade as Internet retail gives consumers worldwide a greater choice of where to buy the products they need and want.

London-based Acre is a staffing organization dedicated exclusively to CSR/SRI [social responsibility investment] positions. At ethicalperformace.com visitors can search global listings of CSR and SRI professional services organizations, as well as learn more about events and training associated with this emerging trend.

Just because the media isn’t talking about this every day doesn’t mean it’s not already on the minds of world business leaders. A handful of public companies already entrenched in CSR/SRI initiatives include: Wal-Mart, Target, Levi Strauss, Gap, Timberland, General Electric, Whole Foods, Manpower, Inc., Dupont, Alcoa, IBM, and Hewlett Packard. Few CEOs are as globally generous as Microsoft founder, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda or his good friend Berkshire Hathaway founder Warren Buffett. Ted Turner and New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, also make that list. Generosity is “in” and the biggest names in the world are stepping up to make a difference and in many cases, to let their customers know about the difference they’re making through corresponding media campaigns.

Debra Yergen is a U.S.-based freelance writer with extensive experience in technology. She has held senior writing positions in the financial industry at firms including SunGard and Washington Mutual Bank. Debra is the author of Real Life 101, Creating Job Security: The 2009 All-In-One Workbook, published by The Graduate Group in West Hartford, Conn, and Creating Job Security Resource Guide. She holds a BA in Broadcast Journalism from Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow School of Communications.

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Tags: ethics, needs, good, corporate, training