“In a surprise move, Texas wildcatter Oscar S. Wyatt arrived at a plea deal with the Department of Justice and plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on October 1.

The Houston gas and oil maverick magnate Oscar S. Wyatt was being tried for wire fraud and prohibited transactions. It is alleged that he paid kickbacks to the Iraqi government to obtain vouchers allowing him to purchase oil through the UN sanctioned “”Oil for Food Program. Ben Berry, head of the FBI white-collar crime unit, said Wyatt was also guilty of “”terrorist financing”" because he violated a Bush order prohibiting these dealings with Iraq.

Wyatt, 83, explained his decision to accept a plea deal by saying that at his age he could “”not …waste any more time fooling with this operation.”" He will serve 18 to 24 months and pay a $11 million fine.

A few others have been indicted for paying kickbacks to Iraq, and there is no way of knowing if Wyatt is innocent or guilty. It seems that the US did not object to people buying oil under the Oil for Food program until 2002, when some went to Syria. It that year, Saddam started demanding kickbacks for vouchers in 2000. Some American firms refused to pay but others continued to do business with him. There is a 2004 CIA report on these operators that runs 918 pages, but the names of firms and individuals were redacted. It is estimated that Saddam may have garnered $10 in illegal profits and that Wyatt may have ponied up a little less than $4 million for $23 million in profits over 7 years.

Few Americans were indicted; although, various sources identified many persons and American firms being involved. Neo-Cons, anxious to discredit the UN, obtained a report by Paul Volcker that showed that many corporate interests were involved. Chevron, which had named a tanker for former employee Condi Rice, was named, along with Mobil Exxon. Marc Rich, whose pardon by Bill Clinton was denounced without end by conservatives, was also named but was not indicted.

What is interesting is the manner and intensity with which the Department of Justice went after Wyatt. The prosecution made Wyatt’s patriotism the issue. His lawyers are trying to exclude from the evidence the diary of an employee of Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization. It states that Wyatt bragged on January 27, 2003, while in Iraq, that he persuaded a US Senator to speak against the proposed invasion. Reuters claimed the senator was Edward Kennedy. The diary also stated that Wyatt warned of a US invasion and estimated the kinds of US forces the Iraqi were likely to face.

The government does not claim he told them anything that was classified. An intelligent reader would assume Wyatt wanted Saddam to back down so that oil would continue to flow. He was probably trying to prevent the war the Bushies were determined to launch.

The prosecution insists upon making him appear a traitor. His attorneys claim this information will prejudice the jury but they admit that Wyatt was no fan of George W. Bush. They add that he flew bombing missions in World War II. Reactionary columnist helped along the government’s case, writing that Wyatt is “”lucky he isn’t charged with treason.”"

Apparently Wyatt’s communications were being monitored since 2001. His former business partner David Chalmers, was also inducted. Chalmers has been described as a big Republican donor, but the fact is that he gave more to Democrats. Since 1989, he and his wife have given more than $500,000 to Democrats. Wyatt has angered the Bushes because he questioned the senior Bush’s claims to have risen in the oil industry from humble origins. In 1990, he and John Connally incurred the wrath of the Bushes again when they negotiated the release of 22 oil workers being held by Saddam Hussein as “”human hostages.”" Mrs. Bush signaled him out in her autobiography for placing “”gain above honor.”" He has frequently been a thorn in the side of the big Texas energy interests, most recently leading a stockholders revolt against El Paso Corp., which had acquired his Coastal Corp.

It has been said that the touch and free-wheeling Wyatt is not even afraid of the devil. He will need every ounce of courage to face up to two years in a federal prison at his advanced age.

Some may draw the conclusion that it is not prudent to make large donations to the Democratic Party. There is a growing body of evidence that the Justice Department could be engaging in selective prosecutions for political purposes. In Mississippi, Paul Minor was sent to prison for donating to the campaign of a state supreme court justice even though Mississippi law seems to open the door to contributions by lawyers and companies. In Wisconsin, Georgia Thompson went to jail for awarding a contract to the lowest bidder. Fortunately, an appeals court reversed her conviction. In Alabama, former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman was sent to prison for appointing a contributor to a state board. In this case, there is compelling evidence that that charges were brought for political purposes.

The author is a retired history professor. Sherm has just released African-American Baseball: A Short History, which can be purchased through Internet book sellers.

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Tags: ethical, issues, articles, business, decision

With the continuously surfacing scandals in Corporate America, the idea that any form of ethics exists in business is suspect. We are also seeing similar situations within the ranks of government and religious leaders. And, the lack of ethics is not confined to America. It’s global!

By definition, ethics reflect the type of morally permissible standards of conduct a group places upon themselves. It is basically a contract with the society an entity serves. Greed, the desire for power, and blind ambition are some of the factors that have all but eliminated ethical standards. We have lost our conscience. It seems that anything one can get away with to reach their defined pinnacle of success is becoming more and more acceptable.

But the truth of the matter is that a society without rules is a society that is on the brink of chaos and self destruction. Likewise, a society with the wrong kind of rules will ultimately suffer the same fate. Now I’m not sounding the doomsday bell. We still have much residual ethics left in the world to overcome the current trend. But, like a natural resource, our supply is getting lower and we must reverse this downward spiral otherwise a valuable fabric of human society will disappear.

What about you? Do you have your own personal code of ethics that form the core of your decision making process? Allowing a small slip today, without a checks and balance system, can ultimately lead to a major spill. Bad habits start small and can quickly grow into an unethical monster. Without conscience serving as a standard of measurement, ethics disappear.

Once we could say that a strong religious orientation was a good standard to govern our ethical conduct. But today, when religious zealots kill in the name of their god, they taint the idea that religious beliefs always produce ethical behavior. Patriotism was once considered a driver of ethical behavior. In my lifetime, I have witnessed a sharp decline in the loyalty to the American ideals of yesteryear. We now have leaders in America speaking out against these ideals almost to the point of being treasonous. These are scary times.

Call me a sentimentalist or a fool but I believe that eventually good triumphs over evil. The lackluster presence of any kind of ethical standards simply means that the effort to turn the direction of our global society must be increased. There has always been unethical behavior in the world. Apathy and acceptance of behavior blatantly unethical must be replaced with a commitment to return to sound principles of conduct. As a starting point, let me suggest that if we simply all began to follow the mandates of the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule, we’d be very much on the path of corrective action.

Start with yourself. Hold “”you”" to high standards and morally sound ethical principals centered on the eleven rules just mentioned. By your example, others will begin to see the soundness of your actions. Your life can affect the life of friends and family. Don’t underestimate the power of one. Make a difference by teaching the world to return conscience to decision making.

The next time you face a particularly difficult decision, try answering these questions:

* Can I share my decision with everyone?

* Is it legal?

* How does the decision make me feel about myself?

* Who does this decision negatively impact?

* Why am I making this particular decision?

* Have I clearly defined the problem requiring a decision to be sure I’m addressing the correct issue?

* Does this decision serve the company or me personally?

* Is the decision based upon facts consistent with fair play?

* Is the decision consistent with organizational values and culture or my own personal system of ethics?

* Is the decision fair and balanced to those it impacts?

The answers to the above list of questions will clearly identify the ethics of a decision relative to your own personal standards. By being very clear on our five to ten core values, we establish the ground rules for running our life. We know when we act contrary or incongruent to our values. Ignoring this feeling usually gets us in trouble. Most understand the difference between right and wrong. They just choose to follow wrong!

Some Final Thoughts on Ethics

Everyone has moral autonomy. We have the power to make individual choices, important to us, as we move through life. Choices are based upon the personal set of values we’ve established as rules for how we will live our life. Most understand that all choices are not necessarily ethical. But most know when such choices are made.

Whatever ethical standards we’ve established for ourselves are with us twenty-four hours a day. There is no different set of business ethics. Our personal ethics come to work with us.

We need to be more keenly aware when we have ethical lapses and continuously strive to make them less frequent. Life is not perfect and we are not perfect. Placing a high moral standard to govern our actions is the right thing to do. The question to answer is, “Do we have the moral courage to do so?”

Billy Arcement, MEd.,-The Leadership Strategist, is a seasoned professional speaker, author, facilitator and coach. Learn more about his services at his website

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Tags: ethics, decision, making, ethical, leaders

“Every month, for that matter every week, without fail, an indictment or an announcement about a prison sentence makes the news in a dramatic fashion. Now is no different. What is different is a trend that should capture attention – especially to those who might consider the gray area of ethical choices.

The Wall Street Journal reports, “On Monday, former Adelphia Executives John and Timothy Rigas reported to the federal prison in Butner, N.C. John, Adelphia’s founder and his son Timothy, Adelphia’s former chief financial officer, were convicted in 2004 on multiple fraud charges, but had remained free on bail while appealing their convictions. John has been sentenced to 15 years, Timothy 20. Here’s the story from the Washington Post”

Twenty years and fifteen years, count back and ask yourself where you were fifteen and twenty years ago, then think to now. For these men, that’s the time that they will serve in Federal Prison for their actions. For those reading, do no misinterpret my comments, I am not expressing an opinion on the fairness of the sentence or the crimes they committed. That judgment is certainly not up to me. Rather, just think about the consequences from the choices they made.

In the case of the Rigases, the eldest 82 and the youngest 51, they lived lavish lifestyles but will find the end of life dramatically different. Prison is not “club Fed.” There is no club to it. The consequences of their choices mean that, no only does their life change, but the lives of those they touched do as well. Certainly, shareholders of Adelphia (the company they are convicted of defrauding) have suffered financially, but likewise, their families will have their lives changed in unexpected ways.

The elder Rigas is reported to have cancer. What a potentially dramatic end to life to find that one’s death occurs in prison. The likelihood that an 82 year old man will survive 20 years in prison is unlikely. Needless to say, his grandchildren will be affected along with other members of his family.

Likewise the New York Times reports, “Sanjay Kumar, former chief executive of Computer Associates, now known as CA Inc., began serving a 12-year prison term yesterday for his role in a $2.2 billion accounting fraud at the software company. Mr. Kumar, 45, reported to a federal prison in Fairton, N.J., said Mike Truman, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He will serve his sentence at a minimum-security federal prison camp there.

Mr. Kumar pleaded guilty in April 2006, two weeks before his trial was to begin, to charges including conspiracy, securities fraud and obstruction of justice stemming from an accounting scandal that cost CA shareholders more than $400 million. When he pleaded guilty, Mr. Kumar admitted that he had improperly booked software license revenue to meet Wall Street profit targets and then lied to investigators about it.”

In my opening I made a comment about the “gray area” of ethical choices. Some would argue that there is no gray. Yet, those in the business community are called upon daily to make decisions regarding business activities that, upon review, could be called into question. Over the years I have seen many restatements of financial information, due to better information, or a change in interpretation. So what is “gray?”

Interesting, but just a week or so ago, I had the privilege of speaking to a group on the subject of ethics (something I enjoy doing – by the way, I’d consider it a privilege to speak to your organization!). But, back to the subject, during that presentation the group was presented with several situations where “ethics” may be called into play. The result was fascinating. Among a group of professed ethical people, there were no clear answers.

So what does that have to do with prison sentences for folks judged to be guilty of various crimes. Perhaps nothing or perhaps everything. From my own experience as an otherwise ethical person, my first venture into clearly unethical behavior didn’t start out as a blatant unethical choice. Rather, I dipped my toe into the “gray area” of ethical decision making thinking that there was no consequence. At first there was none – at least none that I could discern. But, every choice has a consequence.

The Rigases and Kumar are experiencing that today, even as you read these words. They will be counted six times per day. They will be known as a number. They will be fed what the inmates cook at a time dictated. They will be expected to work for some nominal amount per hour (I earned 12 cents per hour). And, they will quickly come to understand being disconnected from society – there only connection being mail and collect calls from pay phones. There life has changed as a result of their choices.

Every choice has a consequence! Do your employees make the best choices for your company – or for themselves? Most organizations are vulnerable to unethical activities at any level. The message, I share as a keynote ethics speaker, crystallizes, for those who hear, the critical importance of making the right choices and the positive results that can follow…a must for those who want to promote individual and organizational integrity in the workplace.

Chuck Gallagher is an international speaker and author who shares his life experience in a way that is meaningful for his audiences. As an Ethics Keynote Speaker he shares insights into Ethical behavior and Fraud Awareness. For information on Chuck’s presentations or how to subscribe to his free ezine…visit this site.

If you feel that your organization can benefit from straight talk about success, choices and ethics…visit my website.

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Tags: decision, making, ethics, choices, consequence

“As authentic self-knowledge begins to unfold, our principles, thoughts, commitments, and actions rise up to be in accord with who we truly are.” (Yasukiko Genku Kimura)

Typically, integrity is perceived as it relates to the external world such as integrity in relationships, integrity in business, or integrity in financial decisions – as examples. There is much said on the subject today as the country, as a whole, evaluates and debates ethical behavior. Many have said that Kenneth Lay and others lacked integrity because of their participation in, what most would call unethical decisions. Yet, people who knew Kenneth Lay believed him to be a man of high standards.

How did he get involved in business issues that lacked integrity or ethics? Many have said that he and many others never intended to do wrong. What happened? They were lead by their ego rather than by their authentic self?

Self integrity is truly the foundation of ethical behavior. Wikipedia defines integrity as “the basing of one’s actions on a consistent framework of principles and adherence of each level to the next are key determining factors. One is said to have integrity to the extent that everything he/she does and believes is based on the same set of values”. Self-integrity is being what Socrates stated “to thine own self be true.”

We are all born with a pure essential nature, and self-integrity exists by being true to that nature – our authentic self. It is through awareness and knowledge of your authentic self – that self-integrity, which is the foundation of ethical behavior, is created. When you have that authentic awareness, you then can have self integrity as well as integrity with other people and situations. When our ego can be set aside, our lives can be truly open. How we live and what we say in private is no different from how we live in public. There is congruency.

With self integrity – our principles, our public behavior, our decisions are all in alignment and it is easy to make good ethical choices. It is difficult with self-knowledge and self-integrity, to behave contrary to that knowledge. If you truly have self-integrity, then it is not natural to live in ethical illusions or create ethical dilemmas. Behaving ethically to and with yourself translates into behaving ethically with other people.

As I write this – I must say – I wish I had gotten this concept much earlier in life. Reality is, I spent many months in Federal Prison because of my unethical choices. I had a great life. I was a college graduate with a Masters Degree in Accounting. I was a partner in a very successful CPA firm and I taught seminars within the accounting field. I had a wife, two beautiful sons and a large home in the suburbs. We attended church. I was even the choir director. I truly appeared to be successful in the community. People trusted me with their money and I was considered to have a lot of integrity.

However, all that was just an illusion – a manifestation of my ego. I did not know my authentic self and had no idea what that even meant. All I knew was that my ego had to “be somebody.” And, everything I showed to the public, I believed, defined me as a “somebody”. I felt I had to maintain that illusion in order to be accepted and highly thought of by community leaders. Unfortunately, I was living beyond my means and in order to maintain the illusion, I chose to embezzle money from my clients. There was a need – an opportunity – and I rationalized it. It was, frankly, easy. I had no intentions of doing harm to my clients, my partners or my family. I was, after all, a good person. I was only borrowing the money – so I thought.

As all illusions are prone to do, it broke apart when a client wanted to liquidate and “cash in” the money he invested. What he didn’t know was – the money was invested in my lifestyle. There is a consequence to every choice we make. It was now consequence time. Because I was unable to produce the money, I had to confess to my embezzlement. The illusory life was over. I lost everything: my job, my license as a CPA, my house, my family, respect and trust from the community. The consequences were swift and devastating.

Even though I paid restitution, I was convicted of embezzlement and tax evasion. Apparently, if you steal money, you still owe taxes on it! And to think I was a tax partner in a CPA firm, yet that never crossed my mind. Go figure. Going to prison was the worst day of life and yet, the absolute beginning of my new life.

Had I truly known about “to thine own self be true”, my life journey would have been completely different. I knew only what the ego wanted and the ego wanted to be perceived as being successful, wealthy, well-liked. Had I known my authentic self, then living a truly principled life would have been easy. Perhaps, I would still have all the external definitions of success as a bonus to living a principled life.

Do you live a private life congruent with your public life? Does your intrinsic self lead or does your ego lead? Are you aware of your authentic self? Many people are not and it is a process to find yourself and then find your self-integrity. There are many ways, other than going to prison, to do this. Today, as a Motivational Speaker, I share my story with others in hopes that it might spark an awareness of self-integrity. When you find your true self, you lay the foundation for positive ethical behavior.

Chuck Gallagher is an international speaker and author who shares his life experience in a way that is meaningful for his audiences. For information on Chuck’s presentations or how to subscribe to his free ezine…visit here.

Chuck Gallagher is an international keynote speaker on ethics and ethical behavior. For information on his presentation Choices: Negative Consequences – Positive Results – go to this site.

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Tags: ethical, decision, intergrity, code, issues

Bill Murray portrays Phil, a man of little integrity and dubious character, who covers the story of ground hog day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He is caught in a repetitive pattern of life that he is not even aware of. Only because he awakens every day to the same day does it dawn on him that he is stuck in his own muck.

In business I see and hear the same thing. People in organizations will look at performance results and make comments like: if we don’t do anything different, then why do we expect anything different?

Leaders come and go but the fundamental problem remains the same. Many employees will confide that “they just don’t get it”. I am not sure who “they” are or what “it” is, but we may conclude that “they is us” and we like Bill Murray just don’t get the idea that the organization is stuck in its own muck.

In life, I see and hear people, especially in relationships and in jobs, recreate the same old story over and over again. Even when they experience a real world failure of job loss or relationship breakdown, the new job or a new relationship simply becomes another vice grip of old patterns of behavior and broken dreams.

Nothing really changes and everything quickly becomes the same old, same old.

Bill Murray discovered that if he did nothing different, then everything would be the same. Only when he realized that in order to change his world he had to change himself, did something different occur. Each day then began a new adventure of learning from his mistakes and building on his successes.

The world moves on whether we like it or not. We may want to believe that life will always be the way it is today but it is not. The world of 2000 is no longer here and the world of 2010 will be different but will you be the same?

You have a choice. And you have time. That choice is whether you allow circumstances to impose their shadow on you or whether you want to see those circumstances in a different way.

“Everyone has problems; everyone suffers to different degrees at different time. The only way out is to be objective.”

This Buddhist saying points us to a fundamental truth; we either let the circumstances of our life control us or we choose to overcome those challenges that limit our happiness. In other words instead of letting the rain destroy the long awaited holiday, we simply enjoy the rain and continue enjoying our holiday with the rain. It is not that difficult.

Bill Murray behaved differently each day and he learned that people reacted differently. He saw a new world of possibilities open before him. He found purpose in love and he worked toward it. When he learned to truly help others, then he found the way to his own happiness. When that happened, the next day became the beginning of a new life.

Lest you believe this is a warm fuzzy story about people only, please stop. Organizations are designed to help people. That is their purpose. Money is only a feedback mechanism that demonstrates how well the organization meets its purpose. When organizations help people, people are allowed to pursue what they love. Organizations get caught in ruts and they too have choices.

Integrity is defined as wholeness, consistency and purity.

In our story about ground hog day, Bill Murray embraces parts of his character that were always part of him but never given the chance to emerge. By transforming himself, he transformed others and in so doing he became an everyday hero.

In business, organizations that embrace the diversity of their people through inclusion become catalysts for change throughout the world. They become successful at realizing their purpose and the results follow.

Consistency is the cumulative journey of lessons learned. It takes time and there is time in each day to do what needs to be done. There are no quick fixes. It is a process of improving people, systems and structures. There are no secrets here. Because it is the right thing to do, it starts with one person in the organization and grows to include everyone.

Purity is the process of becoming objective about your situation. It is about facing reality. So if you are saying” this is the same old story,” then you know that you are the same old story.

Once you face that reality, then you can change the way you react tomorrow and you will become the everyday hero we need in our communities, our organizations, and our families.

Douglas Ross is a Senior Manufacturing Professional with extensive experience in product launches, cultural transformation and plant turn arounds involving lean operations and performance leadership. He has worked in such organizations as General Motors, Textron, Lennox, Rockwell, DuPont, as well as numerous federal and provincial governments and organizations. He also has worked with a 15 member High Performance Manufacturing Consortium dedicated to becoming world class.

Douglas was the senior advisor for two benchmark product launches in the one of the world’s most globally competitive industries. He has been involved in successful plant turn-arounds and has served as senior cultural change subject matter expert. Douglas’s expertise is in cultural transformation and performance improvement. He has extensive experience in lean manufacturing operating systems as well as the leadership development and the people involvement processes necessary for successful lean implementation.

He holds a Master’s degree and has completed doctorate course work in organizational development.

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The purposeful choice to pursue creative thought as we seek greater understanding of ourselves, our associations, and our world is foundational to the development and ultimately, the establishment of our personal values and ethics.

Judicious, strategic thought processes enable individuals to realize the qualities within themselves as well as areas that need eradication or improvement. “A person’s attitude toward himself has a profound influence on his attitudes toward God, his family, his friends, his future, and many significant areas of his life.” (Institute,1986) God tells us in II Corinthians that we are “epistles…known and read by all men.” It is through clear understanding of the facts, principles, and concepts presented in God’s Word that one can manifest the person God declares him to be. If I were to be the only book that an individual might read, it is my sincere desire that they will read Jesus in me.

God calls His children to prepare their minds for action (I Peter 13:1), to purpose to increase in knowledge and wisdom (I Peter 15), and to do so with gentleness and respect. God summons us to critical thinking, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and correctly handles the Word of Truth.” (II Timothy 2:15) Utilizing the tools of critical thinking; observation, remembering, wondering, inquiring, interpreting, evaluating, and judging, we align ourselves with the mandates of Scripture in every context of our lives. God said in II Timothy 3:16 & 17 that, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The decisions I make in my personal, professional, organizational, and civic life are scrutinized under this biblical lens.

Many thoughts run through a young mother’s mind the moment she gives birth and the doctor declares, “It’s a boy!” My very first conscious thought was, however, not so typical. I replied to the Lord as He impressed upon me His plans for my son, “Oh no Lord, I don’t want him to have to face the ravages of war. Please God, spare my son from such misery”. Throughout Jeremy’s growing up years God confirmed His calling for my son. Trusting God implicitly, I surrendered my son to Him.

It takes a purposeful study of God’s Word to truly come to know Him in all that He is. He is the Creator of sunsets and of hurricanes. He is the Creator of majestic mountains and of tidal waves. He is Sovereign, Holy, God Almighty, Creator, Redeemer, most loving and most terrifying. Jeremy called me from Colorado State University one evening just prior to his junior year. He informed me he was going to enlist in the Armed Forces. I disclosed to him that I had always known. I assured him that God would protect him. Thirty days later, the World Trade Centers and the lives of many innocent victims were destroyed. God, in His sovereignty created my son for such a time as this.

Throughout the tumult of war I had to continually guard my heart from fear. My son’s wife spent much of the time during his deployment with our family. She was reading the living book God had provided, page by page, chapter by chapter. Had she found evidence of Jesus amongst the pages?

Stuart C. Gilman, President of the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) stated in speech delivered May 6, 2004 at Tranparancia por Colombia’s Annual General Meeting:

A strategy based on integrity holds organizations to a more robust standard. While compliance is rooted in avoiding legal sanctions, organizational integrity is based on the concept of self-governance in accordance with a set of guiding principles. From the perspective of
integrity, the task of ethics management is to define and give life to an organization’s guiding values, to create an environment that supports ethically sound behavior, and to instill a sense of shared accountability among employees. The need to obey the law is viewed as a positive aspect of organizational life, rather than an unwelcome constraint imposed by external authorities.

To be truly effective, ethics must be an integral part of the organizational culture. What then, are the character qualities that define and support ethically sound behavior? I have taught ethics values in my home, Sunday School classes, sales training courses, leadership development courses, and to those I have mentored. One of the most effective strategies for defining and understanding personal and professional ethics is to define each desired quality and then to follow with its antonym.

Attentiveness

Attentiveness is intentionally observing, listening, speaking or behaving toward someone that shows them you accept and value them. It is also being aware of trends, the competition, shifts in the economy, changes in the organizational climate and other factors that could impact your organizations future.

I exemplify attentiveness when I:

Adjust my schedule to accommodate the needs of those I am serving. Consistently follow through with what I have promised.Apply the resources I have in a creative way to overcome obstacles and
provide solutions.

Synonyms: conscientious, thoughtful, considerate, proactive, self-less, thorough

Antonyms: inattentive, inconsiderate, ignorant, insensitive, reactive, self-absorbed

Grace

Grace allows individuals to dream, plan, and take calculated risks in their personal and professional lives without criticism or judgment.

I embrace grace when I:

Allow others the freedom to fail forward, without admonishment, in order that they may effectively learn valuable life lessons necessary for future achievement.

Demonstrate unconditional acceptance.

Withhold discipline when discipline is warranted, but compassion would be the better teacher.

Synonyms: benevolent, courteous, empathetic, generous, just, merciful, patient

Antonyms: arrogant, callous, critical, discourteous, inconsiderate, legalism

Integrity

Integrity is the distinguishing characteristic of purposely acquiring and steadfastly adhering to a set of high moral or professional principles. It establishes an organizational foundation built on the cornerstones of personal and collective accountability, mutual respect, open and honest communication, and credibility. It prevents an organizational identity crisis.

I demonstrate integrity when:

My attitudes, words, and actions consistently reflect my values. I incorporate ethical practices in myself, family, community, and my profession. I devote my energy and resources to furthering the organizational goals and objectives of my employer. I promptly and resolutely confront unethical behavior.

Synonyms: accountable, honorable, principled, righteous, steadfast, tenacious, truthful

Antonyms: immoral, deceitful, devious, dishonorable, fickle, unreliable, unscrupulous

I have purposefully chosen to pursue creative thought to seek greater understanding of myself, my
associations, and my world. It has been foundational to the development and ultimately, the
establishment of my personal values and ethics. Through judicious, strategic thought processes I
recognize the qualities within myself as well as areas that need eradication or improvement. My personal and professional code of ethics are one in the same. They do not reflect the way I perceive myself. They

reflect the way God perceives me; that I might be an “epistle…known and read by all men.” It is through clear understanding of the facts, principles, and concepts presented in God’s Word that I can manifest the person God declares me to be.

Reference Page

Auxillium West. (2002, August 19) Effective Organizations: Organization Development

Retrieved August 31, 2004 from www.business.com

Department of Institutional Research and Effectiveness. (2004, March) University of

Phoenix Fact Book 2004. Phoenix, Arizona.

Gilman, S.C. (2004, April 6). Private Sector – The Co-Responsibility in Building

Integrity. Ethics Resource Center 2004-05 Speech ID: 855. Retrieved July 28,

2004, from the website

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Tags: ethics, decision, making, ethical, standard

Well, we finally did it to ourselves. Our profession refused to police itself, much less exercise prudent lending practices; now the government (state and soon federal) will do it for us … plus …

FBI Suspicious Activities Reports have tripled in the last couple of years, from 10,000 to 35,000. That is an indication that fraud is blooming in the business. One statistic from the FBI is that 80% of all known fraud cases involve somebody internal in the industry. Frequently people see the other guy, cutting corners and the like, all in the name of commissions commissions commission! I don’t think it’s strictly “”I want to maintain these good times for my own income.”" There is a little element of “”I’m making the American dream come true for somebody. I’ve got this person who has a perfect house and if I can just inch their income up by just $10K …”" These aren’t industry experts, they’re loan officers (industry entry-level personnel), so they don’t necessarily understand that the raging good times always have resulted in a significant downturn, as the cycle swings in reverse for a similar length of time.

It’s also a large problem from the origination base to when they go into loan pools and are bought and sold on Wall St. as bonds, these bonds are underperforming as well, it’s becoming a major problem in the past couple months. These loan pools are getting downgraded every day. Usually this was due to prepayments (‘churning’ by originators also hurt a great deal here). Now you have to look into the escalating Early Payment Defaults (EPDs) as well, because it was normally factored in as a fixed, half-percent, but now we’re seeing a lot of times it’s rising into a whopping 6% and 7% factor! When these bonds are bought and sold to investors that try to sell them for fixed-income and aren’t getting results, their reputations are getting hammered in a big way.

The reason it took several years to finally explode, is that underwriting used to be what we call the three C’s: Character (credit history), Capacity, and Collateral – somehow credit and capacity fell by the wayside for the most part and everybody seemed to start focusing on the Collateral part. If a lender had a decent AVM along with the added plus of warp-speed appreciation of 15%-25% per market, you could not do a bad loan.

As rates have finally stopped falling like a stone, and property values nationally are sinking back onto a more realistic plateau (from values soaring up and up year after year), everybody needs to re-assess their new role as career industry professionals (those who don’t see this as a career or as professionals need to exit the industry immediately for everybody’s good) since they are not a positive force for those of you who love the biz – and I know there are many of you out there that feel that same way as I still do.

I myself learned this ‘brother’s keeper’ lesson early in my career; it has done me well ever since I was a ‘twenty-something’ newbie. Everyone needs to look-out for the other guy. When you see things being done that are inappropriate, it is your duty as a good industry citizen to speak up and help all of us out. Lately you have all seen where when one sector is injured, it goes around full circle and bites YOU and me on the butt … every time … so I guess you could say in addition to being Ethical, you are protecting yourself by doing your best to influence others to stand up and do the right thing. With the right set of values, the career minded ones of you have a responsibility to ‘help them’ … and when they don’t, there’s another answer right HERE for you to consider.

Article by Peter Samuel Cugno, Chairman & CEO of Secret! University, the educational division of Americas Money Center, Inc. with 40 years experience in the subprime industry niche. Questions or comments may be directed to Peter at this site

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Most people would agree that decision making has never been more challenging, quite simply because more information does not make the decision better. Knowing what information to trust does. Business decisions today demand a balance of intuition and logic. The blend is best captured by what Malcolm Gladwell referred to as thin slicing… the art and science of thinking without thinking.

Making business decisions in today’s complex environment demands a level of attunement and trust in your intuition that calls for a pretty high level of self-awareness. Without that the signals come and go and you are left none the wiser. It is way too easy to dismiss the ‘soft skills’ to be dismissed as too much woo-woo. Right now, without the ‘soft skills’ the dots just do not get connected.

In decision-making and in ethics, self-awareness is the foundation for seeing the context with the widest and clearest lens possible, the underlying forces impacting direction, the web of people who are affected, and the dynamic in its entirety.

For someone with a high level of awareness, the map is before them at all times.

Areas of power and turf overlaps are clear and recognized along with what is driving the division. Reality has a sharper and clearer focus. The invisible forces that drive temptation no longer escape detection. You know when you are leading yourself into temptation and you know there are alternatives to choose from. This does not make you immune to making mistakes, but you do know why you made them. This learning can be immediately applied which is much less painful than repeating the same mistakes over and over again.

Ethical breaches demonstrated by Enron, WorldCom are bigger, more complex examples of the same kind of behavior seen when CEO’s or executives deceive boards on uncomfortable truths. In The Five Temptations of a CEO Patrick Lencioni named “”the desire to protect the status of career, the desire to be popular, the need to achieve certainty – make correct decisions, the desire for harmony and the desire for invulnerability”" as the pit traps for executive success. You will note that every single one of those temptations is also a pit trap for ethical breaches.

Clearly there is more to resolving the situation than just becoming more aware. Systems, procedures and totally outmoded business models hold a part of the responsibility. Obviously these can not be addressed until they are seen, noticed and the connection to results has been made.

Personally and professionally, it starts with awareness. Awareness is the information-gathering stage, and it normally begins when you notice something is seriously wrong with the picture-either within you or in the environment. Once you notice, you simultaneously open a window to question and understand. Questions reveal understanding and understanding brings clarity. Clarity is looking through the window defogged by assumption, desire, or need.

In gray zones, the advantage of being aware is even more magnified. Shades of gray can often have ethical and moral implications that you really want to know about. Not knowing about them can put you in the headlines or in jail. Without being able to see what put you close to the delicate line, you cannot see the line; much less know when you are standing on it.

So what gets in the way of this clear-seeing awareness?

* Ego: The need to feel separate from others. Your entire self-identity is based on who you are in relation to others.
* Misuse of Power: The desire to use the power of your position to serve yourself.
* Righteousness: The need to be right all the time; rigidity.
* Judgment: Too much judgment makes learning a risk-taking venture, and vulnerability a personal-safety issue rather than a springboard for strength.
* Unconsciousness: Walking around in a fog, being unaware of what is going on around you.
* Closed-mindedness: Not being receptive to information that informs who you are in that moment-and not wanting to know.

Dr. Charles Ehin in an article in Baseline named seven indicators signalling when an executive is out of touch. All of them source back to self-awareness. The indicators include:

* being clear on the personal lenses and filters used to navigate life,
* reliance on tried and true principles that ignore the current reality,
* the degree to which you rely on doing what has worked before without noticing it is no longer working, and
* the inability to be aware of when change has happened.

You can not change what you can not see.

Most of the indicators named, refer to the personal and professional need for external validation, rather than an intrinsic sense of security, identity and emotional self-knowledge.

The need for outside validation when making ethical decisions creates the shoreline where your relationship with yourself confronts your ability to be true to yourself. The capacity to be aligned starts with being aware of who you are and what your place is in the world. With the clarity that comes from constantly upgrading your self-awareness you can much more readily see when the cultural or social context is driving your personal integrity or whether you are holding the wheel.

©2007 From InSight to Action Publications – Dawna H. Jones – Evolutionary Provocateur. To access other information at no charge visit this site. Dawna H. Jones has spent 25 years helping companies and their employees expand insight and foresight to achieve higher levels of performance. Committed to doing whatever it takes to spark profound, lasting change in teams, organizations – or within oneself – she constantly pushes the edge to merge science, metaphysics, human and physical dynamics to optimal advantage. She can be reached at 1.866.605.0880.

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Twenty-one years ago I made a choice. At the time it seemed so simple and insignificant. I sat there with three questions as I pondered the “opportunity”: Who would know? Who would care? And the cost – what cost? Little did I know at the time that every, literally every, choice has a consequence. That is a universal law – a spiritual law – that governs us all…just like gravity.

Anyone that knew me, at the time, would have said that I was basically an honest and ethical person. I was respected in my community, a community and civic leader, active in my church, serving as music director. No one, not even I, would have suspected that ten years later that I would be an inmate in Federal Prison.

Have you ever found yourself over-extended? I did and I admit that I liked that lifestyle. The only problem was my bank account couldn’t support that lifestyle. This became the groundwork for the seed to be planted.

Throughout our lives, in fact many times during our lives, we are faced with temptations. It is not the temptation that’s the issue; it’s how we respond to it that defines us. In my case, I was more concerned with maintaining the illusion of success than I was with my own honesty and integrity.

After one Christmas, some twenty years ago, I received a call from my local banker, who said, “Chuck, we noticed that you’re behind in your house payment. Is their problem?” Now, being a successful tax partner in a CPA firm, I certainly did not want to appear to be incapable of managing my own money. So, of course, I suggested that his records were wrong and asked him to check again. The reality was, however, I was behind.

I had a problem. I needed money! Then, it hit me. I was the trustee of a trust. Why not borrow money from the trust? So, I put on my trustee hat. I looked at myself and said, “Don’t you need to borrow some money?” And as I took my trustee hat off, I replied, “Why, yes I do.” And with that little interchange, I stole money from the trust and changed my life forever. I planted the seed into the groundwork I laid.

Have you ever had one of those moments in your life, when you wish you could just rewind the tape? You wish you could just do it over? That was one of those moments. The fact is, when you make a choice, you have to accept the consequences. By my choice, I set the consequence in motion.

Therefore, I called the banker back, and apologizing profusely said, “My wife pays the bills. Considering this was our first Christmas with our new son, she must’ve just overlooked the house payment. I’ll make sure you receive it today.” Of course, I took the stolen money and made the payment.

Three months later, I paid back the trust. I convinced myself that it was just a loan. Unfortunately, I found out it was easy. Nobody was the wiser. It was easy to take money, in order to maintain the illusion. Thus, over the next several years, I took more.

Ten years later I found myself an inmate in Federal prison. I was reaping the consequences of the choices I made. From that first experience, I set into motion an outcome that would define my life forever. The following is an excerpt from my prison memoirs. Perhaps it can give you a glimpse of the reality of consequences one might face.

October 7, 1995. It’s Saturday morning and I just had my first prison visit. As I walked out of the visitation room, several of the inmates were standing outside near the make shift barbershop. Buck was standing there, so I stopped. From that vantage point, inmates can see their loved ones leave.

I can’t begin to describe how moving this experience was. Loved ones waving to the inmates, children hollering – “I love you Daddy,” inmates waving in return. Buck said this was the saddest time for him. He saw his family leave, as I saw you leave. I choked back tears then, but feel the depth of emotion now.

As I write this now, I would prefer to be away from here. How precious is freedom, and how much we take it for granted. There is wonderful humanity here — truly fine people, who made the wrong choice. Still, by the grace of God, I am protected. I have clothing, shelter and food.

We all seem to keep up this tough façade — I guess it’s a form of protection. But deep down, there’s a level of sadness. Many have it worse than me. For now, I need to get outside. I know some changes are taking place. And yet I feel I have a long way to go.

Now, 2007 some twenty years after the crime and eleven years since I’ve seen the inside of a prison, I know the law of reaping and sowing in greater detail. I sowed the wrong seeds and reaped, what most would describe as, a negative harvest. Yet, over time I have seen the law applied in more positive ways than I can imagine.

Today I am planting good seeds. Through accepting responsibility and living an ethical life, I have been given a second chance. I am blessed to serve as a Sales Executive in a Publicly Traded Company; teaching many people how to improve their lives through success in sales. Likewise, through my efforts in speaking, various groups allow me to share my direct experiences of reaping and sowing – therefore, providing a framework for their personal growth.

We all will eventually reap what we sow – that is a spiritual truth. The question is, will we enjoy the consequences of our choices? And believe me, there are always consequences to every choice we make.

Chuck openly shares the experiences of his life through his keynote address: Success Beyond Illusion or Ethics: Negative Consequences – Positive Results.

On a crisp October day in 1995, Chuck Gallagher took 23 physical steps… opened a door… and began a new experience that was life-changing. Gallagher explores that experience and the success that followed… while involving the reader in ways that could be life-altering for them. Gallagher captures the heart of the audience in an honest way that deals with human emotion. For information on Chuck’s keynotes and workshops go to this site

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As a former CEO of a publicly-traded company, I have watched the emerging revelations of corporate wrongdoing with more than a passing interest. While filled with the same revulsion shared by many to the immoral, illegal and greedy actions of some companies and their leaders, I am also concerned that we not overreact and undercut an economic system that is clearly the best in the world. The fault, my dear readers, is not with the system, but with an abuse of the system. We should also be careful to differentiate between the greedy abuse of the system and the criminal act of looting a company.

As I read attacks on stock options and other forms of incentive compensation, my thoughts parallel the arguments of gun advocates who say, “Guns don’t kill. People kill.” Stock options don’t harm shareholders, greedy people do. Inhibiting or eliminating stock options and other forms of incentive compensation plans will make it more difficult for the greedy to gain, but such action will also reduce the incentive for employees to add to shareholder value. There is nothing wrong with trying to maximize corporate profits, the problem lies in doing it with lies.

From my experience, all of these issues boil down to two causes; and they are greed and the system under which stocks are valued and marketed. Both of these are interwoven and feed of each other.

With the CEO and other top management there is a phenomenon of “entitlement” that can cloud the thinking. Charles Shepard in his book “”Forgiven – The Rise and Fall of Jim Bakker and the PTL Ministry,” identified this feeling as the driving cause of Bakker’s downfall. Shepard pointed out that if PTL brought in $5 million a month and Bakker diverted $2 million to his personal use, the rationale was, “If it were not for me, PTL would not have the $3 million that remained.”

This is a logic that can tempt many a CEO and, as we have seen, some can fall prey to this faulty logic. A number of CEOs and their management groups seemed to have adopted a philosophy that says, “Through my actions $1 billion has been added to shareholder value, so it’s ok for me to take $100 million. After all, If it were not for me, the shareholders would not have that $1 billion, so I am ‘entitled’ to this reward.” Of course, allowing those who add value to an organization to share in the value added is a good incentive to add value, but what we have seen is a corruption of that concept.
The inclusion of other members of senior management in these schemes is an insidious form of control. And a reverse of the “share value for value added” concept. It’s difficult to stop corruption if you benefit from the corruption.

The current system of valuing and marketing stock also contributes to the temptation to cut corners. I often felt the pressure from stock analysts and market makers of our stock to report consistent, increased quarterly earnings. To do so offered promises of increased stock value, and deviation led to swift punishment in the form of depressed stock value.

In and off itself, this is not a bad system. Companies with increasing earnings should have increasing stock value and visa versa. The problem is the extent to which the system is so volatile. In an effort to report consistent earnings, there is encouragement to “manage” the earnings. “Squirreling” away earnings in good times and “stretching” for earnings in bad times. Either way, the shareholder does not receive a clear and accurate picture of the performance of the company, but the analyst and the market gets what it wants. Taken to the extreme causes the revelations we’ve seen in recent years.

There’s a moral to this story for business owners of all sizes and their employees that make them successful and it is this: Pride, arrogance and secrets have a way of undoing even those with the best intentions. While most people will never face temptations on the same scale as Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker, or the multititude of other CEOs who fall from grace, the ingredients are often the same in small businesses and personal households. Whether large or small, they suggest there but for the grace of God, go any of us.

Bob MacDonald is a business maverick and 40-year veteran of the insurance industry. He’s the retired CEO of Allianz Life of North America and presently CEO of Allianz Income Management who brings a unique and sometimes controversial perspective to business ethics, entrepreneurial management and personal success on his well-trafficked blog here

MacDonald began his highly visible and remarkable career in the financial services industry in 1965 as a “”knock-on-the-door”" life insurance agent for New England Mutual Life. MacDonald, 64, quickly rose through the corporate ranks to become CEO of Minneapolis-based ITT Life. After seven years as chief executive, MacDonald struck out on his own in 1987 to form a new life insurance company, LifeUSA.

As chairman and CEO, MacDonald led LifeUSA to become one of the fastest growing and most successful insurance companies in the nation. Financial giant Allianz AG acquired LifeUSA in 1999 for $540 million and merged it with the larger Allianz Life of North America. MacDonald then became CEO of the merged companies.

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In case you haven’t caught up to the latest of the environmental catch-phrases, “Green Supply Chain” is a relatively important concept that everyone will eventually discover. We live in the early side of the environmental project, and it is common to find businesses ramping up to offer “Green Products” and “Green Services.” Green is, after all, a marketing concept as well as a environmental issue. So, we find a bevy of businesses selling Green believing that they are environmentally conscious as well as reaching out to a growing market of buyers.

What is under developed in these newly-christianed, Green businesses is the follow through that asks whether they are committed to buying and hiring Green in their business dealings. This often creates an unseen and embarrassing realization that their Green commitment is superficial. The Green Supply Chain concept is really part of the greater sustainable issue. Sustainability seeks to create a deeper and more complete cycle of Green actions. The Supply and Demand principles require that every seller needs buyers, and every buyer needs sellers. Consumerism is the yang of the vendor’s ying.

Green Supply Chain, therefore, asks for the commitment to include more than representing your business or product as Green, but that your business also prioritizes Green purchasing when possible. It won’t happen in a single decision, but it will happen in a progressive series of Green decisions. The Green Business League is a national association of Green businesses who have the fundamental commitment to “Buy Green, Hire Green.” This mentality will drive the businesses who wish to sell Green because the buying piece is being promoted.

The Green Business League also certifies Green Businesses through a point-earning system that requires more than paying for a membership in a name-sake-only listing. To Green the Green Business certification, a business must earn points through Green improvements to their business and by purchasing from other Green Businesses. This is certainly a step in the right direction. This program also allows a kind of Green networking to occur where it is easier to find a certified Green Business by providing a league of Green businesses that are ready to sell and buy with other Green businesses.

Beware of the Green hype, also known as Greenwashing, as many businesses try to add a Green branding of their own creation to their marketing efforts. The word “Green” is an unregulated word that can be appropriated by any eager marketing-minded person. The validity of their claims and hype may not be honest, and many consumers will one day have a bad taste in their mouth having been fooled by this practice. The Green Business League acts as an independent third party to encourage fair play and fair business among Green businesses. Ask the businesses that you do business with if they are Green Business Certified, and if not, ask them to start the certification process because your company intends to follow the sustainable practices of the “Green Supply Chain” program.

Learn more about Green Business Certified at Green Business League, find a Green Consultant at Green Consultant Directory

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Tags: ethics, decision, making, ethical, good

People tend to measure success in monetary terms. Financial success is, however, just one component of success. If it is achieved through greed (an excessive and selfish desire to acquire or possess more than what one deserves) it normally have negative consequences. This especially occurs when a person focuses on short-term gain at all cost – even if it involves “shady” or illegal actions. This article highlights the danger of uncontrolled greed for short-term gain and the potential long-term failure that often goes hand-in-hand with it.

The discussion is done under the following headings:

* Typical greedy behaviour;
* Perceived benefits;
* Reasons for failure;
* Consequences of failure.

Typical Greedy Behaviour

People that are controlled by their greed tend to go for the quick kill and try to make much more money in relation to the value that they add. They always look for short cuts. Some of their typical behavioural traits include the following:

* They embark on transactions that are too good to be true – they do this either as (foolish) investors or with transactions that promises phenomenal returns where they try to lure (foolish and greedy) investors.
* They take no or little risks compare to other people and investors – they often look for outside people (family, friends, rich people, etc.) to invest in their schemes.
* They charge very high gross margins – they often try to make a quick buck through very high gross margins that they charge to the unexpecting client.
* They are dishonest – they tend to lie and be dishonest in varying degrees. This includes websites that makes false claims, bribery of officials and other parties as well as many other types of fraudulent transactions.
* They tend to be very smooth – they try to win people over with their charm (not genuine), claimed religious beliefs (that have nothing to do with the transaction) and appearance of success (e.g. clothing, cars, secretaries, offices, etc.).

Perceived Benefits

The greedy person often sees many short-term benefits in bending the rules in business a little or even being outright dishonest or acting illegally. Some of the perceived benefits are:

* Financial independence – many people see this as the major aim in life regardless of anything else.
* Image – many people like to impress other people and believe that they can do this through the things they can buy with money.
* Respect – people believe that other people will see them as successful and respect them if they are financially well off.
* Social – people often see themselves as more socially acceptable when they have money.
* Marketability – some people believe they are more marketable if they have money.
* Success – many people equates money (irrespective of how they got it) as the measure of success.
* Instant gratification – many people are not prepared to work hard, honest and clever and delay their gratification. They prefer to enjoy everything that life has to offer when they want it and they will do (almost) everything to achieve it.

Reasons for Failure

Greed (and dishonesty) is generally not sustainable. People are caught out due to several reasons including the following:

* People see through them – it is not possible to fool all the people all the time. People will eventually see through dishonest people and then ignore them or expose them. Once a person has made a name for himself / herself as being dishonest it became more difficult to do business.
* Mistakes – it is not easy to remember lies in detail and to cover all the (dishonest) angles. One greedy fraudster that we knew gave us two written references (that we did not asked for). He made the mistake of swapping the telephone numbers of the businesses on their letterheads (that he falsified).
* Enemies – people that cheat other people tend to make unpleasant enemies that will expose them or get back at them at any opportunity that they have.

Consequences of Failure

Greedy transactions are generally not sustainable and will eventually come back to hurt the perpetrator. When the greedy person finally fails the consequences can be very unpleasant, including the following:

* Financial ruin – any wealth that is built on dishonesty can easily collapse and cause financial ruin at unexpected times.
* Legal ramifications – this include civil actions and criminal charges. The first one can take away your money and the second one your freedom.
* Lost of respect – people generally loose their respect for dishonest people. It is even worse if it is your spouse, children, family, friends and colleagues.
* Lost of self-respect – this is potentially the most serious of all the consequences. Once you have lost your self-respect and feel worthless (combined with all the other consequences) it can be very difficult to turn it around (but not impossible).
* Opportunities costs – while a greedy person was looking for all the short cuts they tend to miss the opportunity to built something sustainable that stands on solid foundations. Genuine opportunities are also ignored and lost.

Summary

People that act out of greed tend not to add value, they hurt a lot of people (including themselves in the long run) and it generally has very serious consequences. To do honest business can be so much more sustainable in the long run and with the potential of better financial rewards and self-actualisation.

Copyright© 2008 – Wim Venter

Wim Venter is the CEO of Ventex Corporation, a business development consultancy. To receive more information on how to start a new venture, to grow it sustainably and to finally harvest it successfully, sign up for our free newsletters or contact us via our website.

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Tags: business, decision, management, choices, ethics

Let’s think to ourselves: “”What is my wealth image and how has this money myth affected my inner image about wealth?”"

My very favorite movie when I was a little girl was “”Cinderella”" (the Disney cartoon); I watched it over and over. I began daydreaming of my own Prince Charming. You would have thought that I would have grown out of that but you must realize…women in my previous generation (my Mom’s generation) were really taught that you finish high school, get married and have children. That’s it!! And that’s what they tried to pass down to us. But my generation was supposed to be the revolutionary one where we were going to change the world (I mean just listen to the music of the sixties and you’ll see what I mean) but those imprinted ideas are like glue…they stick. (Or think of it like gum stuck in your hair…you must cut it out to get it out.) My mother didn’t help much because she was only interested in who I was dating and was I going to get married. Like there was nothing more to my life than that. But I did break the tradition and was the first in my family line to go to college and I did pursue my career in the field of architecture. I was a divorced/single mother then and I did raise my child. I did marry but what I did not find was my Prince Charming. I did not find my rescuer who took care of my every need for the rest of my life. I looked for it somehow knowing it was unrealistic; but when you are “brainwashed” to believe it, it does make it hard to let that idea go. And think of the pressure it puts on a man, what a heavy weight that is to carry.

Another part of the Cinderella story that gets ingrained into our thinking is the poverty mentality. The Cinderella story makes it look so romantic for Cinderella to be wearing rags, slaving for her wicked stepmother, living with the rats. The picture is painted too cute. She does all this and waits for her rescuer. So even now when I’m watching TV there are movies or shows that come on and they show the same thing and I have started saying out loud: “Poverty is not romantic. Being poor and hungry and in need is not romantic. Not having enough is not romantic” no matter how TV tries to make it look that way. Then I switch to another channel and the opposite is on…there’s a show about people buying islands or who has the most luxurious yacht. Now I’m all for being able to afford nice things, a nice house (or an extremely nice house), etc. But wealth affords the balance of being extremely rich and being an extreme help to the world around us. It doesn’t mean you give everything away but it doesn’t mean you spend it all on yourself. But before we get that far we must first begin to dispel money myths so we can be free to receive. Begin to think or even right down on paper what money myths you may have and may be preventing you from moving into your wealthy place.

Claudia Givens http://www.7khomebusiness.net/4

I’m self employed and love the time freedom and choices it affords me. I am a mother of two children (so to speak), my daughter is 34 and my son just turned 18 and attends college (studying business for entrepreneurs). I love networking with other people to hear what others are doing with their lives. I love to travel and can’t wait to begin that part of my life again. My business is being an MMCII ProRep with Advantage Conferences, LLC-Home of the Millionaire Mindset Conferences. I enjoy blogging as Millionaie Mentor at: http://www.christian-millionaire-mentoring.blogspot.com/ I’m also the founder/editor of the online magazine for women: Esther’s Legacy. I’m one of those people that believes life is getting better the older I get.

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Tags: ethical, classes, case, business, decision

First, a definition of Ethics: principles of human duty, rules of conduct and the duty of being honorable . Simply put: Being ethical is doing the right thing.

Much is said about Ethics and we all agree we have them. But just what is “them?” Lets tackle the business ethics first for it is simple and straight forward. The problem comes when you are asked by your supervisor to do something that you are not sure if it is the right thing to do.

There are two parts to the business ethical question:

What to do when you are asked to do something, would your action be ethical?
When you personally have to make decisions: How do you make them ethically?

Following Orders

This part is simple. You must understand your loyalties:

Be loyal to yourself.

Next, be loyal to the company

And finally, be loyal to your supervisor.

Remember the sequence: Yourself, the company and then your supervisor.

Texas Instruments has a simple three-step rule to follow if you question the ethical merits of a directive:

If you know it is wrong, simply don’t do it.

If you are not sure, ask.

Keep asking until you get an answer.

What if you are asked to do the unethical and there is no way out? You should always have “Go to hell money” available to say just that. Go to hell and let the chips fall where they may. Resigning is far superior to lowering your standards.

Making Ethical Decisions

This is a short article I wrote when I was studying ethics. First a brief history, followed by a brief outline of the ethical school I live by (Utilitarian Ethics) and then the “how-to” of making ethical decisions. It is an easy read as Word rates the article as suitable for grade eight readers.

Those who specialize in the study of and write about ethics are called Ethicans. By any definition they are a strange lot. Their main occupation is criticizing other ethicans and every ethical school of thought except the ones they favor.

Ethicans attempt to create an ethical school that applies to every occasion. The search is for a unifying ethical system is much like the search for the unifying theory of physics. It may happen in physics but not in ethics. Ethics is an emotional identity attempting to present itself as a logical and rational discipline. It fails miserably.

In addition, the ethical thinkers are not logical thinkers. They squabble amongst themselves and pass themselves off as great thinkers. If you want to read classical examples of poor writing, corrupt logic and pettiness, read the classical ethical writers. Yet they were brilliant.

For example, John Stuart Mills (1806-1873), regarded as the great proponent of Utilitarian Ethics was brilliant. By the age of seventeen he had completed advanced studies in Greek literature and philosophy, chemistry, botany, psychology and law. As a member of the British parliament he was considered a radical, as he supported such outrageous measures as public ownership of natural resources, equality for women, compulsory education, and birth control. He was one of the founders of the women’s suffrage movement.

His 1863 essay on Utilitarian ethics is regarded as the cornerstone of the Utilitarian principles. It is a disgraceful example of writing. For example the opening sentence is sixty-two words long. And things only get worse. Word processing grammar checkers get serious indigestion trying to analyze it.

Since 1863 I doubt if a dozen people have read the 24,000 word document from start to finish. I am not one of them. It is a masterpiece of confusion, bad grammar, and poor punctuation while making little sense. The concept is correct, but Mill’s explanation is so inept, it borders on the criminal.

In truth, the concept can be well expressed in less than five hundred words. Throw in a few examples and two thousand words would be about right. Strange, that is about the length of this essay.

I said they were crazy lot. Consider the founder of Utilitarian Ethics, Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). He was quite a fellow: he was a child prodigy, reading serious works at age three, playing the violin at age five, and studying French and Latin at age six. He entered Oxford University at age 12, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. Quite a fellow.

In 1771, thirty years before the industrial revolution, Jeremy Betham invented the Panopticon. A Panopticon was to remove all privacy from prisoners by placing them behind a transparent wall encircling a guard tower.

Jeremy was so impressed with his invention he was determined to have a Panopticon as his casket and be place on public display. Certainly and odd request. But there is a difference between being odd and being disgusting.

Ladies, if you are a bit squeamish you may not want to hear this so please close your eyes. In accordance with his wishes, his body was dissected before his friends. His skeleton, fully clothed and provided with a wax head (the original being mummified), is kept in a glass case at University College, which he helped to found. He may be viewed on the Web with the picture updated every fifteen minutes.

His head was embalmed and is kept by the University.

There are about fifteen schools of ethics. Including minor variations there are untold numbers. After reviewing many of the mainstream schools, I can honestly say I have little idea of what they are talking about except for Utilitarian Ethics.

Fool that I am, I delved into Utilitarian Ethics as it made sense to apply it to my life style.

My ethical system is based on Utilitarian Ethics: the doctrine that what is useful is good, and consequently, that the ethical value of conduct is determined by the utility of the result. Loosely put, its proposition is that the supreme objective of moral action is the achievement of the greatest good for the greatest number. This objective is also considered the aim of all legislation and is the ultimate criterion of all social institutions including businesses.

Like all other ethical systems, it fails if you expect it to solve all ethical problems. No one ethical system can solve a wide range of problems ranging from government to business to individual ethical questions.

Fortunately, I have serious limitations for which I am thankful. I seek answers to my problems and opportunities. I do not have the ability nor the need to solve such issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and suicide. Nor can I solve the problems of the world. As I said, they are beyond my capabilities and for that I am thankful for my limitations.

One beauty of Utilitarian Ethics is that it has only two definitions: Good and Evil. Good is defined as any individual’s good feeling ranging from pleasures of the flesh to extreme self-sacrifice. Between these extremes there are included such things as material rewards. Evil is defined as harm to any individual ranging from such minor irritants such as a sliver in the finger to the evils of Hitler. Again, somewhere in there is material loss.

One last consideration: morals. You come to the table with your morals and religious beliefs. Ethics does not teach or propose a moral credo. You are who you are. If you are morally corrupt, a thief or completely uncaring, ethics is of little use to you. The only way one can improve their moral values is probably through some form of revelation.

Living by an ethical system is not in conflict with your religion or lack of it. All the mainstream religions, whether based on love or law, urge you to be good to others while minimizing evil in all its forms. Ethics simply provides a method to assist you in achieving your religious obligations of doing the right thing while minimizing evil. A religious belief is not a requirement of being ethical.

Resolving ethical problems using Utilitarian Ethics has a logical almost mathematical, step-by-step approach to it.

Let’s assume you want to make a business decision. If it does not affect people, there is no ethical consideration. Ethics only concerns itself with people. That does not mean your can abuse animals. Nor does it permit you to burn down you house even if you own it. Wanton destruction is unacceptable.

Is slaughtering animals for human consumption ethical? How about using animals for testing which causes them pain? I have no idea how you feel about the subject. But I do know I could not be employed in such industries, yet I benefit from their practices. As I said, I have serious limitations of my thought processes when it comes to resolving such fundamental issues.

Fortunately all those tough problems do not face me. In truth, I am not sure I could face up to them let alone resolve them.

So on to the reality of everyday life:

Let’s assume we are contemplating installing some form of safety or pollution device.

We think of three possible methods, A, B, and C. And we throw in a fourth possibility D, simply doing nothing. We make a list showing all the benefits (Good) to both ourselves and others. Now consider disadvantages (Evil) to yourself and others. Evaluate both the good and evil, not just to us, but to everyone involved. Consider employees, the shareholders, suppliers, the community, and the government.

The first test is do you benefit from any evil side effect? The test is resolved by considering what, if somehow, the evil side effects did not happen, would you still benefit? If you would benefit only if the evil event occurred, then the act is unethical. It is unethical to benefit from some form of evil inflicted on others. This test quickly determines that theft, murder, cheating, and most forms of lying are unethical acts.

With the list made, consider what method has the least evils. Assuming all three methods meet your goals, only the method having the least evil is ethical. To select a method that does not minimize the evil consequences is unethical.

Let’s consider the ethical merits of laying-off people for lack of work. It happens all the time. Now lack of work can range from receiving fewer orders than expected to simply running out of money, i.e. a builder lays-off his construction workers because he has run out of money. The house is still there to be completed, but there is no money. Employees are certainly harmed by the layoff. We pass the first test, as we do not benefit from their hardship.

Now consider what happens if the layoff is not made. Eventually the company will lose money, become less competitive and the problems multiply for the lack of layoffs. The result can only be that many others such as the employees, suppliers, shareholders or the community will be seriously harmed when the business fails. However unpleasant, the layoff for lack of work is ethical, not nice, but ethical.

So the method is simple. Consider all the alternatives and select the one with the least harm to all. Easier said than done.

Time passes, the act is carried out, and you or someone else thinks of a better, less evil solution to the problem or opportunity. Was the original act ethical? Yes. You tried your best to be ethical. Not being clever enough is no sin. You must learn to live with and rejoice in God’s gift of your limitations.

More time passes. Given the identical problem there is no guarantee that the ethical decision you made in the past would be ethical now. Times change the priorities. What was important then may not be important now. What was a minor consideration then may be a major concern now.

In business we are trying to find the best balance for all: the employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers, government and the community. Demands of each change with time. For example, in recent years the governments drive for improve workplace health and safety, minimizing and controlling pollution have come to the fore. Twenty years ago they were just being thought about. Forty years ago, they were non-issues. Times change. The new balance must be found with the changing times.

If we pay too much for supplies and wages, our costs become excessive and we loose our competitiveness. Layoffs and perhaps business failure occurs harming all employees, the shareholders, our suppliers, customers etc.

If our wages are to low we loose good employees and their skills, endangering the business.

Our family life goes through similar changes. The balance of your influencing your children changes, demanding a rebalance of your private life. Consider the balance when the children were small to when you will have an empty nest. Both logic and Ethics demands you treat your children well. Be good to your children. Always remember: they pick your old age home.

I can understand if you object to my ethical system. But to object to mine while having none of your own is foolish.
This was written to clarify my thoughts and develop an ethical way of reasoning suitable to my life style. Over the years I have found it to be a great problem solver when dealing with personnel problems both at home and at work.

Jim Roe
Smart Job Hunting is a free web site providing a complete and proven method of job hunting. Job Entry positions? Re-entering the workforce? Senior executives? It is all cover here. Job hunting is much more than just writing a résumé.

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Tags: ethical, decision, moral, issues, work

Ponzi schemes are hot and even it’s illegal they always will be hot. If you go to some online forums on how to make money online you will see members posting threads promoting ponzi schemes and even the so called hyips are most of the time a ponzi scheme.

No matter what they have told you the creator of a ponzi scheme doesn’t care about your profits. Most people are running ponzi schemes to make some quick bucks from theirself.
I’m sure you have already seen high yield investment programmes where they promise you that they are a team of expert traders making five percent daily or even more. And the fact is that some people actually do believe, even the programme has no proven track record, that their money is traded as it should be. If you see some posting on a forum “earn money fast without doing any work” than you could say almost sure he/she must be promoting a ponzi scheme.

What exactly is a ponzi scheme

Ponzi schemes or pyramid schemes has nothing to do with investments, business or sales. Simply because they don’t trade your money or they don’t sell you anything. The fact is that a ponzi scheme uses the money of new investors to pay out old investors. Some ponzi schemes are surviving a few weeks and some of them even a few months. But this is for sure they all go die after some time. Why? Because mathematically it’s impossible to find new investors.
Or sometimes the legal authorities find out the ponzi scheme and close it.

Charles ponzi: The godfather of ponzi schemes

Charles Ponzi was not the first who created a ponzi schemes but actually he was one of the first people that created a fraud scheme on such a large base. In 1903 Charles Ponzi emigrated from Italy to the United states. He has worked on a post office and studied at the university of Rome, although studied is not a good word for Charles it was more a vacation.

Without almost any money he arrived at the United States and did some jobs there. Four years later he moved to Montreal where he worked in the Banco Zarossi. Zarossi the owner gave a six percent interest on bank accounts. But Ponzi discovered that Zarossi used the money from new client to pay out old client. The scheme failed and Zarossi escaped to Mexico. Ponzi stayed even in prison for fraud for some years but in 1911 he was released. After the war he started his scheme based on postal reply coupons and promised his clients a return of their money in a short time frame of 90 days. His own company called the Securities Exchange Company was a fact. He had a lot of agent that were working for him and in 1920 he had accumulated millions of dollars, a very large sum of money for this time. I think it is no surprise to you that Charles Ponzi lived very luxuriously.

But people were asking questions about his company after an unsuccessful lawsuit.
The Boston Post wrote some negative articles about his company. But however the newspaper offered Charles Ponzi five thousand dollars for his story and it became a headline. However a few days later federal agent closed down his company. On august 13 1920 he was arrested but however some people protested strongly, no wonder at all some of them had invested millions of dollars. He went to jail and stayed there to 1934 after he was released he was deported to Italy. Ponzi spend the last years of his live in poverty and in 1948 he died.

Frederik is an online marketer who blogs about affiliate marketing, adsense and adwords. In his blog he gives out some good tips that you can pick up to improve your businesses.

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Determining what should be your business practices and how you set policies is something that we need be very careful of. We should approach our research and advice we follow with a little extra caution and with an objective eye.

As we look at what is happening in the global economy, we can only come to conclusion that something went wrong with government and corporate policies. Oh and let’s not forget personal responsibility and some unwise decisions made at the kitchen tables – globally.

Here is what Carolyn Y. Woo, Dean of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business in Indiana, USA, had to say:

“I believe that our current crisis is caused by a failure of values fueled by perverse incentives, which trumped sound judgment and overwhelmed regulatory enforcements,”… “Having noted the above, this is definitely an opportunity for business schools to do more to make ethical thinking part of the fabric of their curriculum.”
- BBC News

As business schools commence their quest in investigating the failures of financial institutions, they have thus far discovered in a 2006 study about cheating among US graduates, published in the journal Academy of Management Learning & Education, that 56% of all MBA students cheated regularly – more than in any other discipline.

The study also suggested that business students are also more likely to find out about a test from a fellow student who had taken it.
Both Yale and Notre Dame business schools say they initiated change long before the current crisis unfolded, by incorporating ethics in the core as well as driving ethics discussion across the curricula.
- BBC News

Given the above study, isn’t it interesting how we hold educated people in such high regard. We have no idea how they acquired their degree. We would hope that the degree is evidence of their hard work and determination to achieve their goal graduating with that degree. Now, I am not suggesting that all graduates that hold a collegiate degree gain that degree in an unethical manner. On the contrary, the majority of university graduates acquired their degree the old fashioned way – they earned it with hard work.

Let us therefore not only consider the advice of professionals, however, we are to use God’s word as a filter that we may walk away with truth and understanding as we apply the wisdom we glean from seeking first the kingdom and His righteousness.

The historical and global importance of religious views on business ethics is sometimes underestimated in standard introductions to business ethics. Particularly in Asia and the Middle East, religious and cultural perspectives have a strong influence on the conduct of business and the creation of business values.
-Wikipedia.com

God’s word is clear in letting us know the reward of good business practices and diligence. Proverbs states that a man that is diligent in business, shall stand before kings (cf. Prov 22:29).

It is very important that we aspire to be men and women of God that:

• Apply Godly principles in the way we do business – As a whole
• Exude integrity in marketing & advertising our products and services
• Care for our employees – promoting an atmosphere of fairness and respect in the workplace. This encourages loyalty
• When setting policies, we seek insight from God’s word for wisdom & guidance
• Produce products and deliver our services with the quality we promised our customers

Should we keep these principle in play when we do business and carry out our objectives in the workplace, we will continually experience God’s favor in ways we could not imagine.

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Bobby E. Miller – EzineArticles Expert Author

Tags: decision, ethics, person, source, time

Any day we can pick up the paper, listen to the radio or see someone on television and learn about people whose core values have brought their behaviors to local, state or national attention. From the corrupt officials in Corporate America to the equally corrupted politicians, citizens from school age children to adults can see the affect of poor leadership when positive values or ethics are not present.

Values are the rudder for successfully navigating the challenges or rocks that we face as leaders when sailing through the various business seas. These non-negotiable rules of conduct keep us on course, our direction steady and focused even when the waves become turbulent and may appear to momentarily capsize our vessel.

As people navigate the issues of making good choices and tough decisions, what is so interesting is that very few identify the lack of value or ethics as the real problem especially those in leadership roles. Excuses are made from “It was over 20 years ago” to “that depends upon how you define is.” For if we acknowledge that values are the real issue, we are being judgmental and in America, making judgements are viewed as breaking some unwritten commandment.

When values are present, so are judgements along with personal responsibility and accountability. Without clear and articulated positive core values, we attempt to navigate the easy way around the storm and compromise our own personal integrity.

What I know as an executive coach is that companies who do not proudly display their company’s values statement both on their walls and through the daily behaviors of all shareholders are the first companies to lose loyal customers and market share. Also these same companies, in many cases, are the first ones to complain about having bad business results.

The founding fathers of the United States understood the importance of having a strong rudder or values when crafting the Declaration of Independence in their efforts to navigate the successful creation of a young country. If your business has not invested the time to construct a company’s values statement, now is the time to take such action. If you have a core values statement, take the time to review it as well as your overall strategic plan. Of course, if you want to answer to the rocks, the choice is yours.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S. is a business coach and executive coach with offices in Indianapolis and near Chicago. She writes, speaks and coaches people in businesses to quickly double or triple results through the creation of an executable strategic plan along with the necessary leadership skills “to pull it off.”

One quick question, if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one roadblock holding you back from success, what would that mean to you?

Visit this site and explore everything from free articles to connecting with Leanne.

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Tags: ethical, decision, leadership, issues, work

In addition to a clear strategy, good measures, and streamlined processes, reinventing enterprises requires a focus on personal relationships and human potential. As a result, it depends upon emotional connection and excellent communication to function well. The objective business world has often struggled with the sub­jects of emotions and communication. If they are considered at all, they are spoken of-in businesses and business schools-in somewhat demeaning terms such as “soft” skills.

Something that I learned as a consultant that I didn’t understand very well as an executive was that the notion of command and control with knowledge workers is largely a delusion. When I worked in a large company, people who reported to me would often nod their head “yes” when I asked them to do something. With regularity I would later discover that they really didn’t know what I was asking for, and many times I really didn’t either.

In large Enterprises these types of command and control misconcep­tions have the effect of making executives think that things are changing faster than they really are. After I began consulting, it became clear that co-creating solutions and building broad relationships was really the only way to achieve sustainable and productive change. It’s hard, but it is required. There is probably no business management area where I have changed my view more than on this one. The truth is that with knowledge work, the command and control mindset needs to be demoted, and communications and emotions need to increase in importance.

If knowledge work isn’t co-created, chances are it’s not going to get im­plemented productively. Co-creation is different from consensus, however, because co-creation also requires a decision maker. Even though co-creat­ing work produces slower starts, it will lead to faster and more sustainable results. Investing a little extra time now will save a lot of time later. If you want something done productively and sustainably, you’ll probably need to put more of your own skin in the game-in conjunction with those who are actually doing the work.

The objective nature of Scientific Management effectively bred subjec­tivity out of businesses during the 20th century. Nonetheless, it is very im­portant to articulate how you’re feeling so that you can better connect with how others are feeling. Emotions are important to productive knowledge work and Enterprise reinvention. They increase energy, clarity, and the productivity power of relationships. In this context, key motivators include the desire to win, achievement of something worthwhile, a sense of personal power, approval and acceptance, and recognition of efforts.

In the Operate work-behavior area of the an enterprise reinvention system, feelings influence actions which produces results. As part of this, it’s important to remember that people ultimately love others because of how they make them feel. We too often forget how important the need is to be appreciated, that neglect can often be more damaging than abuse, and that if you really want to honor someone, you should ask for their help. Leaders need to lead with their heads and their hearts, and in difficult times, emotional resis­tance can only be overcome by a stronger emotion. It’s important to turn negative emotions into positive ones, with special emphasis on the positive emotions of optimism, hope, faith, courage, ambition, determina­tion, self-confidence, and self-worth.

In addition to elevating the status of emotions in Enterprises, commu­nication also needs much more emphasis for companies to be more pro­ductive. This requires integrating the four steps of Enterprise Reinvention: Envision-Design-Build-Operate. Where a Design-oriented person might be overly blunt, an Operate-oriented per­son can instinctively be overly nice. Combining the blunt facts of Design with the emotional sensitivity of is the most productive answer. In practice it is called tact. It is the equivalent in the medical world, of the nurse who has the ability to give his or her patient a shot without having it hurt too much.

Productive communications are socially negotiated. This is harder than being blunt or telling someone what they want to hear. In the communica­tion process, it’s important to connect the dots between where you’ve been, where you are, and where you need to go, because if something doesn’t fit with the past, it will very often be discarded or misread by people. This logical and emotional transition from the past to the future is necessary for sustainability.

Effective communication requires leaders to ask great questions and stick to a few key points. Asking questions instead of giving orders empowers people. Statements limit creativity. When you communicate, it is important to articulate what needs to stay the same, what needs to change, the steps required, and the progress being made. Consistent with this, it is important to have a clear and formal communication strat­egy to control the dialogue and to channel formal and informal organiza­tional energy toward achieving the vision of the Enterprise.

Focus is as important to communications as it is to each step of the knowledge work productivity system. Short-term memory is lim­ited to about five items. Three is better. If you have more than five points, people won’t remember any of them. To communicate pro­ductively, it’s important to be consistent, give people something that they can’t get anywhere else, and make them genuinely feel wanted and loved.

Productive relationships are essential ingredients in effective and effi­cient Enterprises. To activate them, the Operate step needs to help in­dividuals achieve something as part of the company that they can’t achieve on their own.

Enterprises need leaders who set the tone, connect with people’s personal lives, support employees when they struggle, provide levity in dif­ficult times, and motivate people to achieve the firm’s vision. Motivation requires the combination of emotions and communications. As hu­mans we all need to be treated fairly, trusted, have a chance to grow, and have a vision that is larger than ourselves.

The Enterprise Reinvention system is an important mechanism to activate the human spirit on a sustainable basis. It requires Envision-Design-Build-Operate as a total system. All are needed to help Enterprises, functions, and individuals productively self-organize-using a unified framework and the cybernetic process.

To set the system in motion, it’s necessary to energize human relation­ships and activate human potential through the Operate work-behavior area. This requires that companies co-create the future with their custom­ers, recognize and capitalize upon informal as well as formal organizations, coach people effectively, and communicate with a combination of objectiv­ity and emotion.

Jack Bergstrand is an expert in enterprise reinvention and knowledge work productivity management. He founded Brand Velocity, Inc., the first company ever prototyped using knowledge work productivity principles, and created the Strategic Profiling (R) instrument, a tool to help firms accelerate and improve important enterprise projects. To learn more about his book, “Reinvent Your Enterprise, Visit .

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Tags: workplace, ethics, business, plan, decision

Since my first car was a Ford Pinto, I have always been interested in the Ford Pinto explosions that were caused by a defective gas tank design provides an interesting case study into approaches to ethical decision making. There are three possible approaches to make when making ethical decisions; a consequentialist approach, a deontological approach and a psychological approach. In a consequentialist approach, the decision maker would base their decision by focusing attention on the consequences of their action (Trevino and Nelson, 2005, p. 89). In the deontological approach, the decision maker would base their decision by focusing on what is right or wrong based on common values and rights of individuals and/or groups (p. 91). A decision maker basing their action on a psychological approach may vary their actions based on the level of their cognitive moral development (p. 115).

In the Ford Pinto case, an individual who took a consequentialist approach could easily make the decision which Ford did and produce the car despite the possibility of having the gas tank explode on low speed rear-end collisions. Furthermore, they would likely agree with Ford that the car did not need to be recalled once it was on the market. A decision maker using the consequentialist approach would look at the consequences for the broadest number of individual and groups as possible and make their decision based on doing the least harm and the most amount of good to all. Since the data should that there were no more accidents with the Pinto than with other vehicles and the companies stakeholders would greatly benefit from keeping the costs low and bringing the car to market as fast as possible; they easily could have decided that the most benefit would come from going ahead with the design since there would be many who would benefit and likely no more than what existing standards permitted would be harmed.

On the other hand, a decision maker using the deontological approach would easily have decided not to move ahead with production and/or to recall the car once it was on the market. Since this individual would base their decision on a set of moral values and/or the rights of individuals, they would likely argue that the car should not be produced unless the rights of the minority group who would be harmed could be assured.

The results of a decision of an individual following a psychological approach would vary depending on their level of cognitive moral development (p. 115). If for example, they were at a preconventional level they likely would have agreed to move forward with the sale of the Pinto and/or not to recall it from the market because they would have been highly influenced by others in the company. They would have feared punishment from management or they would have hoped that by supporting the majority opinion that they would have been rewarded in some way. Even if the individual was at the conventional level they might still not have decided to redesign the Pinto’s tank. While striving for “good behavior” they would have been highly influenced by the majority of decision makers in the company and not gone against their will. They also would have followed the “letter of the law” which supported the case of not needing to make a change to the design. Only if they had a highly developed postconventional or principled level of moral development would they have felt the need to go against the trend within the company in order to uphold the rights of the minority “regardless of the majority opinion (p. 115).

By the way, I survived my 1974 Ford Pinto! Thank goodness I wasn’t rear-ended!

References:

Trevino, L., and Nelson, K., (2005). Corporate social responsibility and managerial ethics. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Since founding Magnify Leadership and Development, James has developed, facilitated and coached programs including; Change Leadership, Coaching, Communication Skills, Sustaining Learning, Interviewing Skills, Leadership, Territory Management for dozens of leading global organizations; including, Advantis Research and Consulting, IMS, CMOE, Pfizer, Sinclair, Disetronic Medical Systems, StratX, ASTD, Coventry Health Care, Wilson Learning, and many others. James is bilingual and can facilitate and coach in both English and Spanish.

Prior to founding Magnify Leadership and Development, James headed Pfizer’s Learning and Development for all of Europe, Canada, Africa and the Middle East where he was instrumental in the development of a global management curriculum and other training initiatives to enhance organizational effectiveness for over 30,00 employees.

Visit James website to learn how we can you with your leadership and communication development needs.

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Tags: ethics, decision, financial, importance

“With over ten years behind me since I walked into Federal Prison, I can clearly see the effects of the choices we make. We can wander in the illusion of life and think that we have eluded the consequences of our choices, but those consequences are inescapable. Whether in our personal life or in business, the choices we make on a daily basis will always have a consequence.

Don’t mistake, however, the word – consequence. Consequence doesn’t carry with it an emotional outcome of good or bad. Consequence is just the outcome. Whether it is good or bad depends on the choice made and how the recipient feels about the consequence. Let me give you an example from a perspective that looks back over some time.

The day I walked through those prison doors was clearly one of the worst days of my life. I can’t begin to describe how low, unworthy, and valueless I felt as I took on my new identity. I went from being what some folks would describe as “somebody” to being what most would call a “nobody.” I was effectively the lowest of low in our society. Yet, looking back over my life since then, I found that this was one of the most valuable experiences of my life. Not only did I learn many valuable lessons that have been life changing, I’ve also found that sharing these lessons have been beneficial to others.

One of the greatest gifts we can give to others is to help them along their journey. Afterall we are souls having a human experience.

The following is my journal from the first day after my admission into Federal Prison. Perhaps the insight will help others. Read it and see where it takes you.

October 3, 1995.

I’ve been here less than 24 hours and understand that I will have time for reflection. I also now appreciate a good mattress! Sleeping on a 4-inch thick plastic mattress stretched across metal bars is not very comfortable. Should I expect more? This is prison.

As a new inmate there is nothing to do. I need to concern myself with something, but what — I have no idea. For now, I’m writing to my children. My first letter from prison, and I feel sad. I know will be amazing how much they will grow during my absence. It’s clear to me, that no amount of money can replace the loss that I feel right now.

It’s been less than 24 hours and I have never had so much time to do what I want and the lack of freedom to do it. What I want is what I can’t have.

It’s 9:10 p.m. My cellmate, Buck, and I have just had an interesting conversation. It took some time for Buck to ask me what I was in for. Still being concerned about self-preservation, I told him I was a thief. He asked me what I stole? I said, “money.” He asked, “how much?” And a sternly as I could muster a response, I responded, “Is it really important how much?”" We both seemed to understand that we were here, for reasons beyond what appeared on the surface. The amount was irrelevant. What was significant was what we did with the time we were given.

As we experience life daily, know that we are all more than what we seem and that each experience that we encounter in life has a purpose and meaning. We may not know at the moment what the meaning is or what value it brings. Make no mistake, meaning is there, we just have to look deep to find it.

As you read these articles, which include Lessons from Prison, you may find that you want to know more. Two specific results, which came from this experience, are the establishment of the Choices Foundation, a non-profit organization and a book that will be published in the late spring of 2007 – Success Beyond Illusion. The Choices Foundation funds educational scholarships for underprivileged youth and speaking to youth in High Schools, Churches and Universities about the effects of the Choices we make. If you would like to schedule a presentation for your organization, contact Chuck Gallagher here.

Whether the choice you make deals with your spouse, your family, business associates or people seemingly unknown to you, you do have an impact and your choices do have a consequence. In today’s society we seem bombarded with the effects of ethical choices and are reminded that bad choices = negative consequences. For information on how this message can be shared with your group go to this site.

Chuck Gallagher is a successful sales executive, business entrepreneur, and professional speaker with humble beginnings: he was raised by a single parent in the projects. He has led a $25 million sales region with 100 sales representatives and started his own training business with projects in 30 states. Gallagher currently helps corporate employees realize the ramifications of their ethical choices. Through his own choices, Chuck learned this lesson the hard way.

In the middle of a rising career, Gallagher lost everything because he made some bad choices. He has since rebuilt his career and his life back to immense success. With more vulnerability than the average keynoter, Gallagher shares with his audiences his life journey, the consequences of his bad choices, and how life gives you second chances when you make the right choices.

For information on booking Chuck Gallagher as a speaker for your event or conference go to his site.

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Tags: making, decision, ethical, marketing, moral