* People talking on the cell phones when someone is speaking from the podium?
* People texting on their Blackberries or Treos or PDAs responding to text messages or emails?
* People with wireless Bluetooth ear pieces or similar devices?
* People talking on the cell phones in the lobby and letting everyone know that they are talking on the phone?

What does this really tell you about these individuals? First, they have a lot self importance. Second, they are rude and clearly do not have positive business ethics. Third, they are truly people I probably do not want to do business with given their observed behaviors.

During a recent luncheon honoring some local and dedicated business leaders, I watched at my table (6 men and 3 women and none being physicians) five of the men busy replying on their PDAs. One gentleman actually did leave the table and went outside to take a call. My thought as I looked at all of this activity is that “No one unless you are the President of the United States or a physician on call, is that important!”

As I continued to watch this type of self importance behavior, I began to have these two thoughts:

1. Would anyone want to do business with a CPA, attorney, dentist or real estate agent who cannot give her or his focus for at least 30 minutes?
2. Would I be confident in referring one of these individuals?

Our behaviors demonstrate to the outside world as to our internal attitudes and the beliefs that drive those attitudes. Sometimes, individuals forget that the rest of the world is watching from an entirely different perspective.

If we look back 10, 20 and 50 years ago, was this type of behavior prevalent. For the most part, no because the excuse of technology was not available and people in general were far more polite and respectful. Men took off their hats when the flag passed or when entering a building and always in a restaurant. Women also were more respectful in the marketplace from their dress to their own behaviors.

Business ethics is the sum total of your behaviors and how you respond in public regardless if public means your place of work or public means a business luncheon. As some would say, leave your ego with all of your own self importance at the door for you never know who is watching.

Effective leaders understand the importance of business ethics. Take this FREE leadership audit to help you identify your leadership skills

Are you seeking a motivational speaker for your next conference or sales meeting?

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, chief customer officer, helps organizations through business coaching training services to return to the purpose of business that being building ravings fans while increasing productivity and profitability. With offices in Chicago, Indianapolis and colleagues nationwide, she can help you become the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits.

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Tags: behaviour, ethical, issues, practice, work

Ethics is very personal. In so many ways ethics is the very “how?” and “why?” of relationships. Your integrity, values and fortitude are expressed in your ethical behavior and position in all your relationships. Among your relationships, those at work and/or your membership in organizations must be attended to with a special kind of care, similar to but different from those of a domestic nature. Why?

Earning Your Living. It is very likely that your work is how you support and sustain your household in financial terms (including any benefits that might come along with your job). Most people “need” their jobs. Your ethical behavior at work is how you ethically earn your income. We presume here that your job is fundamentally an ethical undertaking. In this essay, robbery, theft, fraud and other similar enterprises which damage persons or property are excluded from our discussion. The extent to which you earn “an honest living” has much to do with how ethically honest you are. Thus, to be ethical, you must do honest work. Ethical work in an ethical work place helps you keep your job, too.

Your Influence on an Organization. Membership, both at work and by way of belonging to groups, is where you impact and influence how your industry’s or organization’s reputation is formed, for good or ill. Truthfulness, honesty, fairness, dependability, quality, helpfulness, etc., all help form public opinion of your group and industry. Note how people tend to group other people together by types and then render a universal statement about them all based on an experience or report about one or a few of them. Politicians, the media, lawyers, bankers, bureaucrats, and the like all bear the impact of a negative label. You as an individual who is thoughtful and responsible have the opportunity to leave others with positive memories of their dealings with you. Frankly, many positive memories fade away, but negative ones often outlive their usefulness. All the more reason for you to give serious consideration to how you relate to others. We certainly seem to need many more positive memories than the negative ones.

Growing an Ethical Organization or Business. Presuming you have an ethical leadership group in your business or organization, your personal ethical behavior will be both attractive to them and supportive of them. Thus, how the many behave together ethically actually increases the ethical qualities and intensity at that group and industry. Your ethical behavior makes it easier for them to be ethical, and they in turn make it easier for you to be ethical. There is a mutual benefit to all concerned when we each and all commit to being our best.

Good Example. Others watch how we do our business. They consider and talk about us and our business. One never knows fully just how much of a positive influence might come about from our ordinary ethical behavior, i.e., from our ethical second nature. If it is true that “what goes around, comes around,” then the positive impact of our ordinary goodness may be great. You might be an unsung hero already!

Personal Peace. Ethical people sleep well. Those who have embraced a deliberately healthy ethical way of life simply don’t have to worry excessively about stories they’ve told, mistakes they’ve made or weaknesses they have. They have already engaged reality from a healthy perspective and committed themselves to being their best. They can be proud of and comfortable in what they have done and how they have done it. They can tell their families and friends what they are up to and will likely be respected for their genuine selves.

Ultimately, all these reasons become even more important the greater one’s personal ethical awareness becomes. Those who study the ethics of being in an organization are those who take themselves and their memberships seriously, and want the world to be a good and healthy place for all. One doesn’t become a very ethical person by accident. It takes effort, help, some degree of learning and a desire to be good.

So, if you enjoy (a) earning an honest living, (b) having a positive moral organizational influence, (c) building your organization or industry’s positive reputation, (d) giving a good personal example to others, and (e) the genuine peace and well-being that comes from an ethical life, then you will enjoy what you learn from the deliberate study of organization ethics. Your “ethical awareness” can always increase by a systematic and understandable presentation of how personal ethics works in organizations. Your ethical presence can be a powerful force in the lives of those around you!

For more information and for the opportunity to arrange for a seminar on Organization Ethics go to this site and click on the Organization Ethics web page. Author & presenter: Nathan Mamo.

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Tags: analysts, behavior, business, ethical, honor

Coming off the sea at the end of Brighton Pier, and blasting its way through the air conditioning system of the Horatio Bar, a gale was blowing down the back of my neck.

Despite this, sitting wrapped in my coat as if about to leave, I listened with great interest to the ‘ethical’ businesses who bravely gave their websites up for scrutiny at the ‘Striding Out – Ethical marketing and branding event’ held in Brighton, UK, at the end of February. It was a great event, but I do have a general gripe about these kind of sessions.

As an entrepreneur, I am frustrated by the lack of goody bags at these kind of events. Yes, we get the information and inspiration, but what exactly am I supposed to DO now? What can I take away that allows me to put this newfound knowledge straight into action

I believe one thing is to create an ethical sustainability policy for my business, but what I really want is to walk away from these kind of events with a template for creating my own, with links to appropriate help if I need it (even if that means paying for that help).

I was inspired by Sam Wilson of EcoEvents who has done so much homework in creating ways for events to be more ethically run, but also (and just as importantly) defined systems and mechanisms for measuring the successes and failures, and making the organizers of the events accountable.

And if businesses want to not just be part of the ‘Green Wash’, they should be accountable, at least to themselves.

What is the point of me creating a sustainability policy if my vision is not balanced by my commitment to achieving deadlines? And buffeted by the realities of every day life, will I not need to make constant revisions for my ethical goals to still be attainable?

I spoke recently with Vania Phitidis, an elected member of the Green Party, who is working with Wealden District Council on awards for ‘green’ businesses. Vania is keen to give advice and encouragement. Businesses should not be shy to make use of their local green MPs to get feedback and advice.

I shall be asking for plenty of help to not only get my first ethical sustainability policy for my business into good shape, but I then want to encourage other businesses to do the same, hopefully providing a basic ‘template’ that they can use as a starting point. Maybe I need to begin a section on the blog part of the site called “Starter Packs” – self help guides for SMEs who want to make the first steps themselves into creating ethical policies for their businesses? Perhaps even have a ‘an ethical PR starter pack’ – or ‘Create your own branding workshop’ (which would incorporate your ethical values into how you present your business)?

Getting expert guidance would be even better, but that costs money, and sometimes I think it is good to make the first steps on your own, since it is your own passion and commitment that will lie at the heart of any ‘policy’, and that may need some uninhibited development first.

One of the companies at the Brighton event were Green Rocket (who also trade as Blue Rocket, but their principles don’t change with the colour). Their genuine ethical agenda is refreshing to see in the marketing industry. They have created a succession of articles on how to be an ethical business , and try to set an example for the values they hold dear.

Kim Stoddart, Managing Director and Founder of Hove based ethical media relations consultancy and social enterprise, Green Rocket, was concerned about the environmental impact of her business from day one. As a community interest company with an authentic environmental purpose(75% of the company’s profits are reinvested in green initiatives), Kim felt that the company really had to be green to the core and that meant the first place to start had to be the office.

Prior to launch, an environmental charter was put in place which was designed to reduce the environmental impact of the business’ everyday operations. This looked at every area of the business and just some of the broad range of initiatives put in place included: recycling everything recyclable, including paper, cardboard and plastic waste as well as old computer equipment, mobile phones and furniture.

Choosing suppliers for their green and ethical credentials; such as Good Energy for electricity, Magpie for recycling, the Co-Op for banking and Green Your Office for office supplies and office cleaning. Offices were chosen in a central location, to make it easier for staff to walk, or get public transport to work and to travel to client meetings.

Being an ‘ethical’ business is about more than leaving a reduced carbon footprint. Green Rocket is a social enterprise, but what exactly IS a social enterprise, and how can my business take on some of the same values and practices?

I asked this question of Martin Murphy, who along with Tom Howat runs Network 2012, a website dedicated to promoting the values of social enterprises.

Martin’s explanation was as follows:

“When thinking about this question I suppose the natural place to start is my own motivation. Late in 2006 Tom Howat, my now business partner came to me with an idea he wanted me to get involved with. That idea became Network 2012 an online business and social networking website and events company and we have been up and running now for just over 8 months with nearly 400 members signed up.

“Our aim is to charge a small monthly or annual membership fee, which will contribute towards providing bursaries for those individuals, or groups who wish to start their own social enterprise but would otherwise struggle for start up finance.

“In a small way we are working towards a more inclusive society and a fairer distribution of wealth and that is the driving force behind Network 2012. Working towards a social goal as well as a business goal is in my view what makes a social enterprise. In essence we want a fairer world and see business as the method of providing that fairer world. In our case an online networking business.

“Though in business people see things differently and there are many different methods of working. For example some want to maximize profits and use those profits for a good cause while others wish to provide supported employment for those who would struggle to gain employment through the normal channels, and are not necessarily profit focused. Break even focused, sustainability focused maybe but not necessarily profit focused.

“But then what does profit mean anyway? We live in a world today where I would argue for the most part profit is almost seen as another word for greed. We hear of “fat cat bonuses”, we see utility companies making what some might call obscene profit while the average person struggles to pay their bills and get by.

“The world I want to see would entail those same utility companies run as social enterprises and the profits reinvested in the community instead of going who knows where! What if the profit were used to ensure that no one dies of exposure in winter instead of high bills being a reason people wont turn their heating on and do die of exposure? One day this is how it will be and I’m convinced that when that day comes we will look back at the way we generally do business now and see it as almost barbaric!

“At the moment we have people who we describe as social entrepreneurs out there running social enterprises and working towards a better world. They are not people who take the attitude that we’ll never make a fairer world it’s too big a job they are people with a can do attitude who believe we have to start somewhere. They are heroes who work not just for their own benefit but also for the benefit of others. They do this often by working all the hour’s god sends with very few resources and the usual struggle for start up funding and most would say they love it!

“I admire every single one of them. They are tired of living in an unfair and out of balance world where we see daily worldwide inequality, extreme poverty alongside fantastic wealth and children dying for lack of food, clean water or medicine and are doing something about it.

“It is the doing something about it through business that makes a social enterprise and if current trends are anything to go by in the future we will be much more of a force to be reckoned with. By all accounts the social economy is growing 10 times faster than the normal economy. Being aware of this fact could be the make or break of any business! “

I agreed wholeheartedly with Martin, but had to admit:

“Martin, I want to develop a more ‘ethical’ business, but don’t know what I can do to ‘make a difference’ right now, whilst struggling to run my small business. I know that with making good ‘profits’ will come the opportunity to reinvest it and do good, but what can I do now while my business is still growing?”

“I take your point completely. I appreciate that starting and running a small business is difficult I think there are definitely things small businesses can do.

“Check out their suppliers for example. Can they use a business that is a social enterprise/fair trade? Hopefully one that is competitive. Can they employ someone with disabilities, a single parent or long term unemployed?

“The overall advantage and this is something that shouldn’t be lost is that in the long run this kind of thinking may give that company a competitive edge.

“I attended a round table discussion last week with some representatives from large corporations all talking about Corporate Social Responsibility and whereas before the job of leading CSR was one given to someone an employer didn’t really know what to do with now they all have experience in the marketing arms of their respective companies.

“A lot of it is about brand recognition and appealing to a consumer who is becoming more conscious about what products they buy. I also think that in future perhaps the rate of corporation tax may be lower for companies that do something for their communities.

“As I’ve said earlier though Suzy I do think it may be hard to convince someone struggling to get their business off the ground that they can do anything but I’m sure with a bit of thought that they can.”

Useful blogs and articles on ethical business practice are available here

Suzy Miller currently owns her own company (see the site, an interactive online directory of vetted professional service providers recently voted by the Independent newspaper as one of the “101 most useful websites that will change your life”. Suzy has also created a blog to help the technically nervous join in with social networking online here

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Tags: business, cases, code, ethical, practices

“There is an old english saying that we can “”know the price of everything, but the value of nothing”" and in our all-consuming, “”I want it now”", society this saying still has great relevance. When I walk around the supermarket I am bombarded with the offers “”half-price”", “”buy one get one free”" otherwise known as “”BOGOF”", “”30% extra”" and so on, but what does this actually mean to me, the consumer?

Take the case of fresh strawberries, they seem to have been “”half-price”" all season, in fact I am sure I have yet to see a punnet without a half-price flash. Do we as consumers actually remember what we paid for our strawberries last year? I don’t, but perhaps I could rummage around and find an old till receipt that would tell me. Does the “”half-price”" flash make us buy more strawberries even though they are always badged as such? Well it certainly attracts our attention as shoppers and make us feel that this could be the good “”deal”" we’ve been looking out for! Our eyes instinctively always go to the part of the receipt that tells us what we have saved today on the special offers. If it is a BIG number we feel duly gratified, even if it means we have actually spent more money than we intended or that a week later we throw much of the food away because it has then gone out of date.

If a product is always discounted, how long is it before the reduced price become the “”actual”" price? When a product is always sold at a reduced rate will this eventually devalue it as a commodity for the consumer?

Do we consider the actual production costs of our purchases? We all start to become uncomfortable at the point of purchase if our attention is drawn to issues such as animal welfare, use of global resources, worker welfare or fairness of trade with suppliers, even more so if we are actually required to make an ethical decision. The problem with ethics is that whilst it is a good idea in the abstract sense, when we are sitting watching television reports, planning corporate social responsibility strategy or having a drink with friends, in the actual sense when it starts to hurt our pockets or require us to implement change then suddenly it isn’t as clear-cut.

So, whilst we seem to care about the price of our purchases, do we care about their true value?

Visit this site.

“compete with the price wars inflicted upon them by the relay networks and their order gatherers. Nor can they compete for the advertising space over the internet that these huge organizations can afford.

Unfortunately many of these small businesses cannot see past the relay services, some cannot even afford, at this stage, to be without them due to geographical and population reasons. Why is it that there are numerous ‘floral communities’ on the net that ‘bash’ these organizations, yet still belong to them? (Some of the biggest ‘whiners’ are still affiliated). Is it a fear of change, habit, or is it actually a good business decision to belong to a ‘service’ that provides you with sales that you must fill at discounted rates, then to add insult to injury, make you wait up to six weeks to be paid (even though you pay for your stock on a weekly basis)?

Am I being naive in thinking that I can actually change this industry for the better (before there is no such thing as a local florist), or will I be able to gain the support of the independent florist and finally gain some momentum?

What am I talking about? My answer to the shenanigans of the flower ordering process, is a way to introduce florists and their beautifully skilful work, directly to the consumer via an online florist directory. No service fees for the consumer to pay and 100% payment going directly to the florist.

And what’s so unique and special about that may you ask? Has it not been done hundreds of times already? The florist directory thing certainly has. It’s been done well, exclusively to florists in certain parts of the world, and very poorly by others that are full of non researched and misleading information.

The difference that my directory provides is that it is for real florists only, from all over the world, who are committed to providing the highest standard of customer service available by sending the consumer (through the purpose built software), a link to view a photo of the flowers that were delivered (which is hosted on the website), thus making the consumer feel more of a part of the gift giving process and providing them with proof of their purchase and that their flowers have in fact been delivered.

Why bother having the florist send a photo when the recipient can do that for you? Why should they? How appropriate is it for you to ask for a photo of the flowers you sent to your friend for her mother’s funeral, when she may have received flowers from a number of people and is grieving? What about that bouquet six of you chipped in for? Wouldn’t it be nice to show everyone who did pay up, proof of where their money went? Wouldn’t it be nice for you to know what you had sent to your loved one before you are talking to them?

And what makes me the (wo)man to do this job? As a qualified florist and floral shop owner, my business partner and I built from scratch, an upmarket florist shop in a small town, and by offering such a service we managed to sell our 16 month old shop at market value within five weeks of putting it on the market. I’ve been there. I’ve had ups. I’ve had downs. And through it all, my passion for this industry has remained (and grown some what), and I want to see it once again bloom.

Only with outstanding customer service can the real local florists win out over the ‘flower selling’ giants and the time to make it happen is NOW. To make it happen we need to educate the consumer (without getting on the relay bashing bandwagon), and become united on a global scale to save the real local florists…..the backbone of the floral industry.

Emily Stevens. Qualified Florist and Director of new Online Florist Directory. Go this link .

What causes people to make unethical choices when they know it is wrong? Ask someone who has stolen money – did you ever think of yourself as a thief? Their answer is always a resounding – No! Yet, their unethical choices tend to lead them to disastrous consequences.

As a Motivational Speaker, no matter how much I share my story, people continue making unethical choices. What really saddens me is to watch people I know enter into ethical dilemmas after all I experienced and all that I share. I certainly do not withhold sharing my story, believing that telling my story helps other people.

There are those who learn by observation – the ones my story helps the most. Then there are those who insist on learning lessons by experience regardless of what they hear. Those people are the ones who live in denial who already have rationalized their behaviors.

My friend shared with me a story of a phone call she received from her niece. She was crying and upset. She felt frightened like the world was crashing in around her. She felt like she needed help – she needed a way out.

My friend listened and finally the story was shared. Apparently a few months ago there arose in her family medical issues. They felt they had nowhere to turn. Her husband managed an account in North Dakota. They decided to “borrow” money to help them cover the medical issues. They believed they had a way of paying it back without anyone knowing. Over a period of months they paid back all but $2000. The account could soon be audited. The niece and her husband were terrified of the outcome. There were many sleepless nights and lots of planning on how to replenish the balance – and how to cover up the fraud.

My friend’s heart ached. She knew from my experiences what the possible outcome could be. Her niece knew as well. They could be exposed, lose their reputation, be charged with embezzlement, and even go to jail. It seemed the house of cards was crashing down. My friend was frightened for them and the possible outcome. Her niece had so much integrity and kindness in her. She was shy and quiet. She hated to draw attention to herself. What happened?

This woman had grown up in an environment where lack and limitation was practiced. There was a period of time that she and her mother were homeless. Her mother worked hard to take care of her. This woman as a child, felt ashamed of where she lived, what she wore. She was envious of what other people had in their lives. She didn’t have a father and money was a huge problem. Although she knew her mother did her best and that her mother loved her dearly, she wanted a different for herself and her children.

They have raised their children to have everything they didn’t have. Both parents came from broken homes. Her husband was given everything he could want by his parents, but love. The woman was given all the love she wanted but not the things. They worked hard to have a home in the suburbs, meaningful jobs, name brand clothing for the children. Maintaining the illusion of a happy life was getting quite expensive. There was no savings account. They went more and more into debt. When the medical situation arose, they felt there were no more options and they “borrowed” the money – rather stole the money under the guise of “borrowing.”

Whenever someone enters into making an unethical choice, typically there are three things that occur. First, there is a need. In this case, this young family had a medical necessity and no immediate money to cover the expense. Second, there is opportunity. They had access to the money. Third, there is rationalization. This family had to take care of a medical need, the money was there, and they would pay it back.

They were good people. But then, in reality, most “white-collar criminals” would call themselves good people as would the people they associated with. All the ingredients were in line for them to make an unethical choice and in their mind they were only “borrowing” – a typical rationalized cover for theft.

Now they are faced with another ethical dilemma. They want to turn the finances over to someone else recognizing that they made a mistake. Can they do that without the new person reviewing the account records? Will the leadership demand a financial accounting? Do they hold onto the books so no one will find out? Do they turn them over confessing their situation and hope for mercy? What if there is no mercy? Will there be jail time? What about the reputation?

There is nothing easy about the consequences of making unethical choices especially if you are a person of integrity. In this woman’s case, she had a lot of integrity. She moved away from her authentic self. She did not honor who she is as a person. This just didn’t happen overnight. It happened over time. Once we move away from self-integrity, we are living with illusion and open to attracting more illusions to our lives.

As of this writing, the outcome is yet to be determined. What choice they make today will have an effect on their lives and the lives of their family forever. All I know for sure, is that if they make an ethical choice today, they will reap the benefits in the future. If they make an unethical choice today, eventually it will collapse around them.

My greatest lesson in life came from sitting in Federal Prison 13 years ago. I, too, created an illusory life and my house of cards crashed down around me. I made the exact choices my friend’s niece except mine involved $250,000. Just the amount of the money is different. I had a need, I had the opportunity and I rationalized it. Eventually it caught up to me. It was the worst and the best time of my life. It was the worst because I lost everything: my job, my family, my reputation, my things. It was the best because I became integrous to myself for the first time in my life. I learned invaluable lessons which I share today as a Motivational Speaker whenever possible. We can all make mistakes. We are not our mistakes. We are more than what we seem…especially when we make choices that create a positive outcome.

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

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Tags: ethical, dilemma, issues, corporate, business

The current regulatory environment enveloping the title insurance industry is clouded by constrained enforcement resources, minimal oversight of title agents and a lack of coordination among state and federal regulators, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) long-awaited report on the title insurance industry.

On April 17, the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, released the results of its much ballyhooed probe of the title industry, launched a year ago at the request of then-House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley.

The report, titled “Title Insurance: Actions Needed to Improve Oversight of the Title Industry and Better Protect Consumers,” identified significant barriers to the successful regulation of the title industry, but for every weak link in the regulatory chain, the GAO offered a remedy, calling for the active participation of federal, state and local regulators.

“Given consumers’ weak position in the title insurance market, regulatory efforts to ensure reasonable prices and deter illegal marketing activities are critical,” the report stated. “Given the variety of professionals involved in a real estate transaction, a lack of coordination among different regulators within states, and between HUD and the states, could potentially hinder enforcement efforts against compensation for consumer referrals. Because of the involvement of both federal and state regulators, including multiple regulators at the state level, effective regulatory improvements will be a challenge and will require a coordinated effort among all involved.”

This effort is one strongly supported by all industry players, but exactly how and when the GAO’s recommendations will be implemented is a source of some debate.

Frustration exists at federal and state levels

Limited state and federal oversight of the title industry has resulted in proposals for change, the GAO found, but those changes are focused on the state level, mainly in the affiliated business arena.

“Some state regulators expressed frustration with HUD’s level of responsiveness to their requests for help with enforcement, and some industry officials said that RESPA rules regarding ABAs and referral fees need to be clarified,” the GAO said.

However, the more limited regulation and oversight of title agents and AfBAs in less active states could provide greater opportunity for potentially illegal marketing and sales practices, the GAO said. While the GAO listed states such as Colorado, California and Minnesota as leaders in enforcement and oversight, the report concluded that states’ enforcement of anti-kickback and referral fee provisions were uneven.

That would place the onus on HUD, but HUD officials expressed concern over a lack of enforcement authority for RESPA Section 8 violations, the GAO said.

“According to HUD officials, it is difficult to deter future violations without stronger enforcement authority, such as civil money penalties, because … companies view small settlements as simply a cost of doing business,” the GAO said.

Viewing these concerns as critical to the health of the industry, the GAO made a number of recommendations to improve oversight at each government level as well as to better coordinate the various efforts of those regulators.

Agents: Where’s the beef?

State regulators could most benefit by examining title agent costs, the GAO found. Officials in several state insurance departments last year questioned whether agents are worth their premium splits, and the GAO quickly picked up on this debate, finding that regulators do not fully assess title agents’ costs during rate reviews.

“Few regulators review the costs that title agents incur to determine whether they are in line with the prices charged,” the report stated. “In fact, in the majority of states, agents’ costs for search and examination services are not considered part of the premium and thus, receive no review by regulators. Therefore, title agents charge separately for their search and examination services, yet they receive about the same percentage of the premium as agents in states where these costs are included in the premium.”

Title insurers told the GAO that they generally share the same percentage of the premium with their agents, around 80 to 90 percent, regardless of whether those agents were in states where consumers pay for agents’ search and examination services within the premium rate — known as all-inclusive states — or whether they were in states where agents can charge consumers separately for those services — known as risk-rate states.

However, reliable data to determine whether consumers in risk-rate states consistently paid more than those in all-inclusive states does not exist, the GAO said, and thus recommended a “multi-step process that could involve detailed analysis of some title agents.” While the GAO placed the onus of this auditing function on state insurance regulators, some industry experts pointed out that reporting requirements currently vary by state, making it difficult for some companies to provide the type of uniform data needed to form constructive conclusions.

In California, for example, some companies are concerned that the Department of Insurance’s proposed statistical reporting requirements will force them out of business, as they cannot now provide data from past years that was not required of them at the time.

“Some of the information the GAO wants to collect drills into personnel and hiring practices and micromanages the entire process,” said Joe Petrelli, founder of Demotech, a ratings firm based in Columbus, Ohio. “It’s a level of detail I don’t think people have. It’s a tremendous layer of fixed overhead that no one anticipated, and it’s not like you can snap your fingers and get that type of detail.”

Matters for Congressional consideration

As far as Congress’ role in the melee, the GAO recommended that Congress reevaluate certain aspects of RESPA.

“Revisiting RESPA to ensure that consumers receive this information as soon as possible when they are considering any type of mortgage transaction … could be beneficial,” the GAO said.

The GAO’s recommendations to Congress were twofold. Congress could provide HUD with increased enforcement authority for Section 8 violations, such as the ability to levy civil money penalties. Congress could also make a detailed homebuyer information booklet available to consumers.

These recommendations are in line with what HUD’s RESPA office has likely been discussing since Fall 2005, when the department retreated into its chambers to mull over RESPA reform. Thus, by all accounts, the GAO’s Congressional recommendations stand a fair chance of becoming reality.

“HUD has long sought such authority, and the GAO report may be HUD’s best chance to get it,” said Rich Andreano, partner with the Washington, D.C., law firm Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider PC.

Doubting Thomases

But the apparent consensus between HUD and the GAO does not mean these recommendations will see the light of day, at least in the foreseeable future, said some skeptical industry leaders.

Some industry players are hedging their bets that the recommendations will be swept under the carpet as Congress contemplates changes to predatory lending and FHA reform.

Noted RESPA attorney Phil Schulman of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis said, “The timing of the report works in the industry’s favor, given that the focus on Capital Hill and elsewhere is on subprime lending and the avalanche of foreclosures, not title insurance reform.”

National mortgage training expert Christopher Cruise observed that “the title insurance industry has dodged a bullet here. Asking the states to step up their enforcement activities seems reasonable, but, except in a few states with strong insurance commissioners, that simply won’t happen. I believe, in the long run that this report will have minimal effect and that title insurance rates will change little, if at all.”

Ken Trepeta, regulatory policy representative for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), likewise said, “The RESPA civil penalties issue is intriguing, but I wonder if anyone in Congress really has the stomach to revisit RESPA. I know Sen. [Mel] Martinez is interested in RESPA, but he has spoken more along the lines of disclosure.”

The writing on the wall

Although some are skeptical that the report will matter much in this era of increased scrutiny on predatory lending and mortgage issues, others believe it is a fallacy to say that the problems of the title and settlement services industries are that far removed from the problems in the mortgage industry.

Indeed, Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, has commented, “The GAO’s findings are significant, and I look forward to reviewing those findings thoroughly.”

Some respected sources have indicated to The Legal Description that Congress has been waiting for the results of the GAO report in order to determine if there were issues that needed to be addressed before putting RESPA and title industry reform on the front-burner.

Other industry leaders willing to speak on the record agreed that this scenario is not as farfetched as some skeptics believe.

“Congress obviously is still reviewing this and will be, I presume, taking that under consideration along with any other appropriate legislation,” said Sue Johnson, executive director of the Real Estate Services Providers Council Inc. (RESPRO). “I would be surprised if Congress did not touch base with HUD to check on the status of their RESPA rule and consult with them. A lot of this has to simply play out.”

Andreano was perhaps most confident in the prediction that Congress will put all of the pieces of the puzzle together to bolster its ongoing homeownership initiatives.

“I think it’s safe to say that the GAO will not be on the title industry’s Christmas list this year,” Andreano said. “While the report focuses on, and is critical of, the title industry, all settlement service providers need to focus on Congressional reaction. Clearly, title industry revenues are now under a microscope and the industry needs to be prepared to address scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers.

Amy Swinderman is the editor of The Legal Description, a trade publication specializing in focused analysis of legislative, regulatory and legal issues facing the title insurance and real estate settlement services industries. The Legal Description is a publication of October Research Corp, the nation’s premier provider of real estate industry news and analysis.

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Tags: marketing, ethics, ethical, competition, compete

“As a president of an ERP consulting services company specialized in J.D. Edwards implementation, I had the chance to meet a lot of people who were bragging to be good JDE developer. The real life prove me that most of the time, people were lying. In fact, this is a great deal to find a real professional in this area. As a former trainer for J.D. Edwards Montreal, I had the chance to teach to different people with different background and I can assure you that the most dangerous resources are the one that know how to do development in any other languages than an ERP one. J.D. Edwards developer learning curve is impressive. In order to become a good junior developer in JDE, you need at least three or four years of experiences….Otherwise…

In my past ERP trainings, I explained the phases that a developer need to apply in order to have the capacity to become one of the Pros in is industry…instead of being a Charlatan. The first point, for me, is the most important. “”Integrity and Honesty”". Please, say the truth. This is a new time and what if…I can propose a NEW WAY to do JDE technical consulting? Before creating my own company, I worked for a very high reputation firm in Montreal. Unfortunately, I was not involved in the hiring process but I was in charge of the development team. The bottom line was that in rush time, the so called JDE developers that were assign on my team were not good. They were able to full the HR hiring process with their level of experiences with OTHER languages and each time, they were not able to do the job. As a team leader, I was the one who was talking to the client and making specs for the team. It was so obvious to feel the lack of expertise in my new arrivals when I was explaining the work to accomplish. Absolutely everything can be done with the JDE development tools. If someone tried to propose something outside JDE, be on your guard. In fact, this is a small example of what can destroy a win-win situation between a client and his consulting services.

Having a high level of Integrity and Honesty should be the only way to do business. It will bring a win-win situation and the client will always turn to you when he will need high quality services for his need…NOT more. Here some successful point to remember about Integrity and Honesty in a B2B deal:

1. Win-Win situation

2. Confidence between partners

3. Reliability

4. Truth on the real needs…

5. Respect

6. Loyalty

7. Credibility

8. Success

9. Durability

A NEW WAY to do business, the only way. Find these qualities with your staff or your consulting services and you will add tremendous value to your enterprise.

Stephan Painchaud is President of SNI consulting services. These are ERP consulting services companies in USA and Canada.

“This is a very old story. A man owned a fruit stand on a busy street. He was born totally blind. He loved his fruit stand and all of his customers. Every morning his son drove him to his fruit stand and every evening his son picked him up after the stand closed. The fruit stand was very successful. One day his son read in the news paper about an operation that could cure his father’s blindness. He read the article to his father and told his father that he had more than enough money for the operation. His father agreed.

After the surgery the doctor asked him what was the first thing he wanted to see when the bandages were removed. The man said, my son and my fruit stand. The doctor and his son went down to his fruit stand on the busy street. The doctor began removing the bandages slowly. The man was so excited to see his son’s face and then the fruit stand. He was so filled with joy.

After enjoying his son and the fruit stand for a while. The man noticed there was another fruit stand about fifty yards to the right and fifty yards to the left of his fruit stand. He then looked across the street and saw three more fruit stands.

Every day he kept an eye on all the other fruit stands and soon he was out of business. The moral of the story is mind your own expectations. Every minute you mind other peoples expectations, that is a minute you take off of your own expectations.

All of your possibilities are located in your own personal expectations. What matter most is how you see yourself? How you see yourself is how you will take care of yourself. How you take care of yourself is how you will mind your own expectations. Take care of how you see yourself. How may I serve humanity with humility? What can I do?

Mike Marino, Jr. aka “In Person,” is the co-author of two books and a Distinguished Toastmaster who helps people fall in love with learning. He speaks and writes on the love of Knowledge is the root of all good!. To book Mike for your next association meeting, conference or corporate event. All presentations are available in PowerPoint or Keynote.

Today’s MLM or Direct Marketing carries the weight of many ill conceived notions and negative connotations. Much of this bad press in the MLM industry comes from within the industry itself.

How can that be? We all remember our parents telling us that our Actions speak louder than words and that is the main way that we have created this negative view from the general population in regard to direct marketing.

Perception

Perception is everything in our industry. How we portray ourselves and our industry is the key to everyone else’s perception of not only our products, but also the MLM industry.

When you promise the sun and moon and deliver an asteroid it tells a lot about who you are as an individual and it also delivers a message about the industry you are involved with.

Market your product line with honesty and integrity. Its easy to fall into the trap of misleading your site visitors into believing that what you offer is more than what it is.

This happens when you misrepresent what your product is and what it offers.

Certainly play up the qualities of your products, but do not exaggerate or be misleading about what you offer.

In addition when you are sharing information about your business opportunity, its important to be real. Provide accurate information about the history of the company as well as the residual structure set up by the company.

When you provide information in a clear and accurate way, your prospects and customers will be able to draw their own conclusions and make their decision based on facts not hype.

Deliver what you promise

Direct Marketing has huge potential to provide an affordable way for people from all walks of life to realize their dreams. It also has the one of the highest failure rates estimated at 95%! How can this be when we are supposed to be in control of our own future and success?

Many who sign up in an MLM quickly become disillusioned when the support and tools provided to them fail. This is also because of the lack of true leadership within our industry.

Our industry is filled with the empty promises of our sponsors and uplines. Its up to us to educate ourselves on what works and doesn’t work and then to pass that information and training along to our downline.

We promised to help them and we can’t do that when we don’t answer our phones or use double speak when answering their questions. Its important to make ourselves available to our downline and provide them with accurate information and usable tools.

Realizing that deviating from the standard tools is not a practice that is smiled upon in our industry, how can we continue to promote these tools knowing that they don’t work. I know I got pretty tired of hearing, don’t reinvent the wheel, but if the wheel is broken, someone needs to fix it.

Back to Basics

Somehow we have gotten away from the products in our business and started focusing only on the opportunity, and our dropout rate continues to climb.

You can combat this by teaching your team to build a strong foundation. Pay attention to keeping your training focused on the products. Allow your team members to develop their own individuality when it comes to marketing, remember they got into this because they didn’t want a JOB or a BOSS.

The ability to break down the different aspects of what we do in their simplest form and relay that information to our team will help us to help them start building their dream and ensure that we continue on the path to achieving our own dreams.

Its up to us to keep focused and consistently provide what we promise. Our ability to do this will do volumes in rebuilding the reputation of our fast growing industry. It will also do wonders in our own retention rates and start a trend of lowering the percentage of folks that quit out of frustration.

With a background in Human Resources and Retail, Cherrie Fishlowitz uses a common sense approach to internet marketing and training that comes from her personal experiences both online and offline.

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Tags: ethical, implications, moral, internet, information

Several companies have certain rules and regulations that one must follow. Call centers are no exception. Here are some of the things that you should never do when you are working in a call center:

1. BEING LATE.
Time is everything in a call center, and you cannot afford to slack off in the job and be late. Not only will your boss scold you, but also you will get disapproving stares by your co-employees the moment you get inside that door. Worst, you might lose your job on the first day. Call centers are very strict when it comes to punctuality so make sure that you comply if you do not want to end up unemployed.

2. POOR HYGIENE.
I think that having smelly feet will not give you any bonus points wherever you work. Who would want to sit beside a co-employee who has not taken a bath? Maintaining a good hygiene shows that you are considerate with your co-employees, plus it will give you more confidence when you are taking your calls or writing a content for a client.

3. POOR ENGLISH SKILLS.
The reason why you are hired in a call center is that you have great communication skills. Improve your basic grammar and pronunciation and you will have a long, prosperous career in a call center. Practice makes perfect.

4. ARGUING WITH CO-EMPLOYEES AND BEING DISRESPECTFUL TO THE TEAM LEADER.
This is one of the mortal sins you can commit when you are working in a call center. There is a reason why a certain person was promoted to become your supervisor or a team leader, and it will be wiser if you follow than argue with them. I have seen people come and go in a call center because of this grave mistake. People arose from their respective ranks and did not become leaders in a day. It would be wiser for you if you do not offend them, but what you should do is learn from them instead.

5. PHONE SEX.
This is like committing suicide. Do this, and you are sure to head out of the door the moment you are found out. Not to mention, you will be very embarrassed. Usually, all calls are recorded and are being reviewed to determined if the agents are doing their job properly, or the content of the conversations are proper. The last thing you would want to do is flirt with the client over the phone.

6. DRESS LIKE YOU ARE GOING TO THE BEACH.
It is funny sometimes when I see people wearing spaghetti straps and mini skirts in a very cold working environment. Not only is it inappropriate, but it does not seem like a practical idea to sit there semi-naked when the air conditioners are in full blast. Call center agents are supposed to be professionals, better dress like one.

7. STEALING.
I have heard stories of missing equipment and personal things of agents in a call center, and then later find out that it was stolen in the first place. This will not only be the reason for you to lose your job, but this will be a bad employment and criminal record against you.

8. GO TO WORK IN A STATE OF WRECK.
Okay, so you went out with friends and had a drinking binge the night before. That is perfectly fine except for one thing: you have to work in the morning or worst in the next 3 hours or so. The outcome? You become a zombie, half-drunk or suffering from a nasty hang-over. The result is you do not become productive in your job and you become the center of attraction, in a negative way.

Do not do any of the enumerated things that you should never do in a call center, and you will be assured of a promising career in a call center.

Virginia Magallanes, 25, works as company writer for Call Center Philippines Unique Interaction

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Tags: analysts, behavior, business, ethical, honor

“Our offices handle many different areas of law. One area in particular is Employment Law. Employment Law is one of the most difficult and complex areas to handle.

An area I have come across lately is employer retaliation against an employee. Below is a brief summary of what retaliation is. This will help you in picking the right person to handle your legal issues. If the person you speak to does not know the elements of retaliation watch out. They may not understand the complexities of this tough area of the law. This brief summary will help either employers or employees in understanding Retaliation.

DEFINITION

California law prohibits an employer, labor organization, employment agency or person from discriminating against any person because that person has opposed any discriminatory practice.

The Fair Employment and Housing Act proscribes retaliation more broadly than discrimination. The general prohibition against discrimination extends only to discrimination “against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment.” In contrast, the prohibition against retaliation states simply that an employer may not “discriminate” against any employee who opposes discrimination.

To establish a prima facie claim of retaliation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, a plaintiff must show that he engaged in a protected activity, his employer subjected him to adverse employment action, and that there is a causal link between the protected activity and the employer’s adverse action.

The California statute prohibiting retaliation discrimination is the Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA). CAL. GOV’T CODE §12900 et seq. The FEHA’s federal counterpart is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 42 U.S.C. §2000e et seq.

THESE ARE THE ELEMENTS YOU NEED TO PROVE IN WORK PLACE RETALIATION

PROTECTED EMPLOYEE

An employee is one engaged by an employer to do something for the benefit of the employer or a third person. CAL. LAB. CODE §2750.

EMPLOYER, LABOR ORGANIZATION, EMPLOYMENT AGENCY, OR PERSON

The FEHA prohibits an employer, labor organization, employment agency or person from retaliatory discrimination.

ADVERSE TREATMENT

An employer may not discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against a person who has opposed discriminatory practices.

RETALIATORY INTENT

The plaintiff must show a causal link between the employee’s opposition to a discriminatory practice or activity and the adverse action of the employer.

EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES

Before filing a complaint for retaliation under the FEHA, the employee must first exhaust available administrative remedies by filing a charge with the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing.

SO WHAT ARE YOU ALLOWED TO GET IF YOU CAN PROVE RETALIATION?

• Back Pay

• Front Pay

• Emotional Distress Damages

• Attorneys’ Fees

• Punitive Damages

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (SOL)

A plaintiff must file a discrimination charge with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) within one year from the date of the most recent act of discrimination. CAL. GOV’T CODE §12960. This period may be extended for up to 90 days if the plaintiff did not learn of the discrimination within a year of its last occurrence. CAL. GOV’T CODE §12940. The employee must file a civil lawsuit within one year from the date that the DFEH issues a “Right-to-Sue” notice to the employee. CAL. GOV’T CODE §12965(b).

The Law Offices of Paul P. Cheng is a full service firm with its main location in Pasadena, California. Paul Cheng is a master communicator and has lectured to thousands of individuals in many different areas of the law. His goal is to empower the public by giving them the basic legal knowledge to achieve their goals. To get to know Paul P. Cheng go to this site.

“One of the backside realities of case law in Discrimination Cases is known as the Equal Opportunity Harasser. It is based on the 1998 U.S. Supreme Court Case of Joseph Oncale vs. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.

In this Supreme Court Decision, the basic players were a Macho male He-Man of a rough and rowdy nature, and a small 5’4″” male co-worker who became the brunt of Mr. Macho’s attentions, disdain and pranks. To say the Mr. Oncale was picked on understates the situation completely, and threats reached all the way to rape. Our macho guy loved to bully and demean Mr. Oncale and it only got worse when Mr. Oncale complained to management.

This case establishes the concept of Sexual Harassment being inclusive of Male — Male, Female — Female, as well as heterosexual pairings.

The backside of the law is the concept of the Equal Opportunity Harasser. Had Macho Man been abusive to underlings of both genders–then the sexual component of Sexual Harassment would have been nullified.

In parallel situations a manager who is abusive of persons of all AGES, may avoid being charged with age discrimination. And the same with abuse to persons of multiple races, national origins, and varying ability levels.

As one young man I was explaining this concept to so eloquently stated “”This manager is just an A**hole”". He was exactly right. Unfortunately there is little you can do within Discrimination Law with managers of this description.

But in the case of Sundowner Offshore Services Inc., it was an all male crew, so Mr. Macho Bully and his company were taken to court, in fact to several courts, and much to Mr. Oncale’s surprise and disfavor, ended up with a precedence setting case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Disfavor, yes, Mr. Oncale just wanted to be left alone to do his job, and he did not wish upon himself the notoriety of being involved in a case at this level.

Now the last thing I want to be seen as approving, is bad management of this nature. I would much prefer that managers and employees get along in a humane and respectful manner. To hide behind a concept such as the Equal Opportunity Harasser, will not serve you or your company well at all. You may stay out of court, but that is the least of your worries when you treat your employees badly.

Why is it the least of your worries/ Disenfranchised employees are always looking for things that might not be being done within the job protocols or job specifications. They may veiw themselves as self-proclaimed auditors, and most of us cringe with the thought of auditors being invited onto the premises. So it is best for all concerned to treat your employees fairly, causing them to aspire to the credo of a fair days work for a fair days pay. Everybody wins in that situation.

More information on Harassment and Sexual Harassment can be found here

Bill Barger

Barger Specialties LLC

Mr. Barger became interested in the subject of Sexual Harassment early in his present job. He then began a course of study ending in the 2001 awarding of a Master of Arts degree in Business. During that course of study, and since that time he has researched, reported on, and taught Sexual Harassment to Business Communication’s Strategies students, and Ethics students in the Business and Nursing Colleges.

“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

As an Internet consultant and marketing trainer affiliated with multiple schools and professional associations, I have observed that there are two key contributors to success for business people. The same factors apply to any type of sales or consulting, whether related to product markets (weight loss, nutrition, auto parts, Websites, etc.) or services (health care, mechanics, personal trainers, search engine optimization, etc.) The first contributor is indisputably ethics, and a solid sense of above-board business practices. The second is continued, professional growth in the pursuit of expanding your knowledge base.

If your career involves consulting, advising, or otherwise providing solutions to other people in any capacity, whether it is to consumers who seek your expertise, or peers within your own specialty who stand to gain something from the information you can impart upon them, your personal sense of ethics is a premier point by which others will judge you. In fact, your entire professional reputation that takes years to build can be irreparably (or significantly) damaged by a single instance of poor business practices. If you have ever met people who are more preoccupied with their own achievements than with empowering others to succeed, their personal standards (ethics) become apparent when they downplay the achievements of others. Those same people feel entitled to personal recognition and typically have an insecure need to be the glorified center of attention, and they feel robbed or threatened by any recognition earned by others. Consequently, their own need for a personal spotlight governs their actions, creates an agenda, and affects their ethics.

You have undoubtedly crossed paths with people who are motivated like that, and at the mention of their names, their reputation is apparent with a knowing roll-of-the-eyes or casual comment such as, “Well, you know how they are,” with no further explanation necessary. Those types of people play office politics well and make fair-weather friends, so long as their purpose is served. Sometimes the materialism and shallow behavior of such people can confuse a new employee or team member, creating the impression that flashy one-upsmanship is what it takes to become a leader, but never forget the old expression that “the bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

In actuality, most truly successful, self-actualized leaders are unremarkably non-showy. They are comfortable with themselves, and do not need cheers from a crowd to feel like they’re somebody. They have a live-and-let live outlook, but will unselfishly assist others to empower others to enjoy success, rather than try to suppress others in an attempt to remain the center of attention. When you dig into what makes successful people respectable and admired rather than thought of as self-righteous, superficial, and arrogant, you will commonly find a fundamental difference in ethical motivation.

How do your ethics affect your success in your profession?

Ethics spans beyond honesty. Integrity involves the moral courage to adhere to high standards interdepartmentally within a company, and inter-corporately between businesses within the same industry. Take, for example, the competitive nature of retail sales. Most consumers have dealt with merchants that are mercenary against competing vendors at one point or another. If it has happened to you, then you know the bad impression it leaves when a salesperson in one store belittles or degrades what they perceive as the competition. Conversely, consumers tend to appreciate and value a vendor who is comfortable enough to refer business elsewhere. If a merchant is truly interested in the well being of his or her clients, he/she helps clients expand their horizons versus acting in a self-protective, self-interested way by trying to shield clients from any cross-market exposure.

In one such case, a clerk at a local computer store referred me to a computer mega-store to get a better selection for one particular part that I had been trying to find, knowing that the larger store had more selection. In doing so, the clerk was looking out for my best interests instead of his own profits, and he forever after earned my business. In the end, the consumer remembers the helpfulness of the referral and will typically become a repeat customer of the referring merchant. I have sent many friends and associates to that small computer store, knowing they will be treated fairly.

There is simply no room for back-biting or subversive behavior in a successful career path, whether it is inside an organizational environment or between companies. To ignore this guidance is to earn the distrust of co-workers, competitors, upper management, and, yes, your customers as well. A simple downplay of your other associates or competitors is quickly seen for what it is: thinking of yourself instead of your client. Instead, focus on how your product or service can add value to your customers’ quality of life, rather than how someone else’s product or service is unnecessary.

Think about the ongoing presidential candidate political debates, for example, and how candidates within each party are often less intent on critical issues, and more intent on degrading the other candidates within their own party. How does it affect the way you think of them? They are each trying to be the best, be the winner, be the favorite, and win the vote, so much so that they lose sight of the issues. Would politics be more respectable if personal agendas gave way to focusing on the well being of the voters and the country? In the mind of the politician, the risk of embracing another candidate could mean losing the vote, but in the minds of the voters a tactful, refocusing reply to the mud slinging (rather than a counter-attack) would score a more favorable public opinion. Therefore, although they’ve succeeded to get on stage or behind the podium, politicians have the general reputation of being big talkers and small thinkers. “Politics” has a bad name. Do you know any politicians in your company? Is that how you want people to think of you in your business?

Whether you are a sales person or a consultant, remember the significance that 1) referring business and 2) keeping the customer central to your focus will yield better results than “bashing” other businesses within your same profession. In the end those who spew negativity towards specific people or companies are seen as small-minded and insecure. It’s gossip. It’s small. And it is so transparently evident to those who are witness to it. Do not fall into that trap!

When a potential customer approaches you with a question, of course you want to make the sale. That’s natural. And if you are ethical, you ought to strongly believe in (and personally endorse) the product or service you are selling. The sales term, “become a product of your product,” means that you believe in what you sell and therefore use it yourself. Sometimes a customer’s question can force you to compare or defend your own product or service to explain how it stands up to your competition’s. You have a choice on how to do so, and the way you decide to answer the question will reveal your personal ethics.

Example:

Suppose the question you are asked is “How does your product compare to XYZ’s similar product?”

There are a number of potential responses, but only two basic paths to take in your reply.

1) XYZ’s product is a great product, too! It has features A, B, and C and I’ve heard a lot of customers who are happy with it. In comparison, ours also does D, E, and F. The price difference isn’t appreciable, but tell me, how will you be using the product? Let’s figure out which one best fits your needs.

or

2) Oh, you don’t need XYZ’s product. It does A, B, and C, but it doesn’t do D, E, and F like ours does. Plus theirs costs a little more. If you want that kind of a product, I have just the right one for you.

Notice the emphasis in number one is on the customer, not personal gain for the salesperson.

In order to maintain your profitable edge over your competition, one of the best things any professional can do is to stay abreast of the latest marketplace trends, technology, and so forth. How would either sales person (in number 1 or number 2 above) be able to answer the question comparing the two products unless they were educated on the different options available in the marketplace? Some career fields actually force this concept by mandating continuing education credits (sometimes called CECs) within their professions, usually in those disciplines that are fast-changing and that have significant impact on consumers: medical, legal, real estate, insurance, etc.

Whether or not your specialty requires CECs, as an ethical business person, you owe it to your customers, patrons, or clients to become the best you can be at what you do. Read relevant information, attend trainings and certification events whenever possible to stay in tune with the latest developments in your field, listen and watch pre-recorded presentations that expand your horizons, and participate in seminars or Webinars to enhance your professional knowledge. Acquiring the knowledge to become more successful in your field is predicated on having the right attitude to pursue that knowledge.

Anyone who would advise you not to enhance your professional growth and development is advocating ignorance, probably working under some hidden personal agenda, and certainly not looking out for your best interests. Take ownership of your success and be the best at what you do. In the process, remember that your moral courage and character are not defined by what you do while people are watching you; they are defined by what you do when no one is looking.

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Tom Elliott is the author of Website 411: Business Survival in an Internet Economy (available here). He is a Board of Directors member of the Central North Carolina Better Business Bureau, and has been the president of a Business Networking International (BNI) chapter. He His undergraduate degree is from Purdue University, and his Masters in Information Systems is from Florida Institute of Technology.

He served 13 years as a Naval Officer, followed by two and half years as the Director of Internet Training for a large marketing company, simultaneously building his own business. He also serves on the bachelor degree advisory board for a technical college, and is a keynote speaker.

For articles, books, and seminars essential to building your knowledge of online business and your business’s future success, please visit this site for more information on Websites, search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing (SEM), and ecommerce.

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Tags: behaviour, ethical, issues, practice, work

Did you ever walk into a large building and did not know which way to go? Did you ever wonder who the idiot was who forgot to put office numbers and arrows on the hallway walls? Did you think you could have done a better job of managing the building? If you have answered yes or no to any of these questions, read on.

A little common sense goes a long way and sometimes without even trying a situation hits you between the eyes. The stupidity of the situation can take your breath away and you wonder where the brains are of the people who are in charge of certain projects.

I was in a huge medical building the other day of several floors. When you walk in the main door and walk towards the hallways you expect to see a sign directing you to which offices are on the right and which are on the left.

But in this huge office building of extremely long halls this was not to be. I did not have a clue which way I was suppose to go for the correct doctor’s office. I stopped and thought where are the brains of the people who are responsible for this huge mistake. At lease I hope it was a mistake.

Most buildings you walk into however small are definitely marked on the walls for your convenience of knowing which way you need to go to reach your destination.

I am asking for all building small and large to please label your walls with simple instructions as to which room numbers go to the left and which room numbers go to the right.

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Thank you for reading my article. Please feel free to read any of my numerous articles on various subjects.

Copyright Linda E. Meckler 2007

Linda is the author of her first published book, “Ghost Kids Trilogy. “”Christy, 12 and her Brother Brad, 16 moves into an old house on top of a mountain and meet two Ghost Kids.

Then we have a mysterious, magical Blue Vase where Uncle Charlie the villain is trapped. He wants out of the Blue Vase and exchange he will tell Christy and Brad where Pirates’ Treasure is Hidden.

Take a walk with Christy and Brad down a dark hall hunting for Pirates” Treasure. You will think were you there right there with them.

Love, Family Values and Charity burst off the pages. Visit this site

Check out my new 4 E books Titled:

How To Appeal Medical Bills

Appeal and Collections Letters for Medical Providers

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Computers Cause Pain on my website

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In life there seem to be two acceptable standards of ethics. One applies to personal life which I’ll call personal moral ethics and the other is the standard for sports or competitive games which I will refer to as competitive gaming ethics. Under the personal standard, “most of us would agree that it’s wrong to deliberately mislead or deceive another person, or to steal. In competitive games, the rules or ethics are different.

In gaming ethics, deliberately misleading and deceiving others is not only allowed, but is an essential skill for wining [the game].” (Quinn McKay, The Bottom Line on Integrity, (Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2004) p.71- 72) For example, a basketball player seeks to mislead and deceive his opponent with head fakes, screens, and misdirection plays. In baseball, stealing bases is a good strategy for base runners; in football stealing the ball is one of the objects of defense.” (Quinn McKay, The Bottom Line on Integrity, (Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2004) p. 72-73) The point to remember is that these are games whether professional or not they are still games.

Many have the belief that business is a game and profits and personal gain are the score. Many also believe that it is just as ethical to deceive another for personal gain while playing poker as it is to not keep ones word in a business transaction if it leads to personal advantage or gain. Much of the lack of integrity in business stems from the application of competitive gaming ethics to business situations. In business you commonly hear the phrase “It’s not personal. It’s just business.” Signifying that what they have done is not wrong because competitive games ethical should be apply to business and not personal moral ethics.

Competitive gaming ethics should not be applied to business. The same morals that guide personal life should guide every aspect of life including business. God did not create 10 commandment for personal life and 10 different commandments for business life. You can achieve financial success in business by applying competitive gaming ethics but by so doing you will most likely violate personal morals. Consider the following 5 choices.

Deception vs. Honesty

In the past several years, we have seen the devastating effects of dishonest business from companies such as Enron, WorldCom, Xerox, Qwest, Tyco, ImClone, Anderson and others. Through their competitive gaming ethics, they fraudulently were able to gain short term profits, but, in the end lost everything. Honesty is a key to long term true success.

Profit First vs. Integrity First

Donald Trump is an example of running a business with competitive gaming ethics. He wrote, “Business is about making money. It’s about the bottom line. I’m often surprised by people [who]… come in with lofty ideas and philanthropic purposes that have absolutely no place in a business meeting. It’s a waste of everyone’s time.” (Donald Trump, “The Bottom Line-Your Guideline,” Inside Trump Tower Newsletter, Issue 14:It’s Not Personal, It’s Business, August 30, 2005) With this view, business would not be directed or founded on integrity.

In contrast consider the Omni Hotel’s decision to not sell pornography. In 1996, hotel guest’s nation wide spent over $175 million watching in room ‘adult’ movies. Omni’s decision not to offer ‘adult’ movie will cost the chain $4 million a year. However, that’s not the point, according to Omni VP of Marketing Peter Strebel. ‘Money is not the issue in this matter,’ he said. ‘Not all business decisions should be fiscally driven. We believe that this is the right thing to do.’” (American Family Association, “Omni Hotels Drop In-Room Porn,” AFA Journal, January 2000: Volume 24, Issue 1)

Is It Legal? vs. Is It Right?

Many companies use the defense that “It is legal” to justify unethical business practices. When ending relations with a business who failed to pay as agreed, I received a call from the law firm who represented the company saying, “I have review the information and legally my client does not have to pay you.” I responded, “There is a big difference between what is legal and what is right.” It is important to remember that laws are to protect personal rights not to measure ethics against.

Best for Me/Shrewd vs. Mutually Beneficial/Fair

According to competitive gaming ethics, whatever you can get is okay. The more you can squeeze out of employees and customers the better. This would be ethical and considered good business. Many practices which are reported as shrewd are really unethical and dishonest. There are many companies who, at the expense of others, may turn great profits. However, they also forfeit their own integrity. Taking advantage of others is artificial success.

Win vs. Serve

Under competitive gaming ethics, the only goal is to win. A former general manager of an NBA franchise said “All we reward is winning. We don’t reward people who have high values, integrity or character.” This attitude is readily seen in the NBA as players more frequently are fined and suspended for bad behavior. A business honestly serving others will always have business and all involved will win.

The next time competitive gaming ethics are brought into the board room, blow the whistle and throw the penalty flag because people and family are most likely going to be injured. True success is using personal moral ethics in business. Being personal is good business.

Cameron C. Taylor is the author of the book Does Your Bag Have Holes? 24 Truths That Lead to Financial and Spiritual Freedom. Content for this article was taken from chapter 16 of this book. The book’s table of contents, overview, and sample chapters are available online here

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Tags: ethical, ethics, issue, living, moral

So how do we differentiate between making money to live and living to make money?

First let me say I am your regular workaholic. I spend hours working on my business and can get very obsessive about it sometimes. Is this healthy? Well that depend on where you draw the line. There are two types of people that I like to talk about. Those who work for a living, and those who live for work.

Those who work for a living

These people understand that their jobs are what they do to eat and not what runs their lives. They will spend the time needed to do their jobs well but when it time to go home they leave their jobs at the work place and they go home. Unfortunately some take it to the extreme and pay little attention to their work and development. This can cause their lives to be financially stagnant.

Those who live for Work

They are people who it seems like nothing matters to them but work. They will go to work more than 12 hours a day and neglect their family and friends. When in the company of people all they can talk about is work. They won’t make time for anything that is fun like sports or a hobby, and if they do happen to be in the company of others their vocabulary seems to be limited to words that surround their life of work. They thoughts are consumed with work and money. This may seem all well for them as these people are usually very successful, or are they?

Many people spend so much time concentrating on their work that they forget the other things in life that really matters. Like I said before, I too am a workaholic. However I know that there is more to life than work. It’s all well and good to make sure that your future is financially secure but I have learned the hard way that at any time in life Murphy’s Law can step in and you can lose all you have worked so hard acquire. Then what will you have? You can end up with absolutely noting, no money; no family; no friends and a chest full of heart aches. The other option is you can have no money but have a load of people around who love you and will support you and do what ever they can to help you back up. Now which one sound better to you? I know which one I would vote for. No one knows the future so DO NOT ever so much as to utter the words “IT CAN”T HAPPEN TO ME”. It may just bite you in the ass.

“Ok Richbajan you have my attention so how do we balance creating a nice fat bank account with the rest of our lives?” As you certainly know life is not all in black and white but there are some things I’ve learned from my own shortcomings and achievements in this great race against time. I hope I can be of some help to you.

It’s all about you.

No I am not about to tell you to be selfish, just a little self awareness. You need to know who you are before you can be anything to anyone or any job for that matter. When you come to the point in your life that you are satisfied with who you are as a person or then you are in a good place. You have to know who you are, know what you like and what you don’t like. You have to develop as a person so that being around other people is comfortable for you and for them. This is when you will be the best you can be to the world around you. The hardest person to get along with is someone who is confused about themselves and life. Think about it, I am sure you know someone like that. What am I saying? Take some you time and get to know yourself. Spend time meditating and be at peace with yourself and the world around you.

Take care of your body. Eat well, dress well and pay great attention to your personal hygiene. “Richbajan what on earth does that have to do with me making money?” I am glad you asked. Well to be honest, nothing. Not what you expected? Well this is what I know. Life is a holistic Picture. One thing affects the other in some way. One drop of water in a pond produces many ripples. Your personal hygiene affect how you feel about yourself, that is if you care. It certainly will affect the people you come into contact with whether you like it or not. It will have an impact on both your personal and professional relationships. So back to my first point Eat well and dress well it will make you feel good and when you feel good you can move mountains.

Your family

Finding time for your family is very important. Why? Well they are all you’ve got! I know I am presumptuous. But I know what I am taking about. Your friends which I always advice to choose carefully are your friends and that all, but family is family. They are blood and they’ll be there for you no matter what happens. If something happens to you and you can’t work or you are in a situation where you barely making it, your family is still your family and will in most cases take care of you. Like I said before never ever utter the word it can’t happen to me. This life is totally unpredictable and anything can happen to anyone at anytime. If for some reason you end up losing everything you have you will still have your family and that is more than enough to get you going again.

Let your family know that they are important to you. Spend quality time with them and give of yourself to them. If you have children make time to play with them and talk to them so they know that you care for and love them. This will go along way and play a great role in the success of your future. You don’t want to be rushing away from work every minute for some problem at school or maybe the Police Station do you? Your Children are an investment just like your financial investments. Invest wisely and you will have great returns. Enough of the mushy stuff lets move on.

Friends

A wise writer once said “Friends are the family we choose for our selves.” With that said all that I mentioned about your family applies to your friends. So why did I separate the categories? In my books there is small difference, your family is chosen for you but your friends you choose. This is something to take very seriously as it will impact on you for the rest of your life. I feel very strongly about the process of choosing friends. It is a great responsibility and it can make you or break you. This is why I mentioned that you should know yourself as one of my first points. People are not all good and sadly you will come into contact with both good and bad people in your life time. The upside is that you don’t have to make them all your friends. If you know who you are and what you like then it will be easier to know who you like and you will soon be able to discern who like you. When I say who like you I mean those that will like you for who you are and not only what you have. You will find that people can be very good at pretending. My challenge to you is to use all that is within you to seek out, analyze and select your friends as if your life depended on it, because it does.

Other people

The rest of the world needs your attention as well. You must think I am mad don’t you? No I’m not; I am very much in a good state of mind. You know the saying that goes “what you reap you will sow.” It is as true as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. The Universe is a place of equilibrium, when you give you will receive. Make it your business to be a kind person. Help people who are less fortunate than you are; share a smile with people you meet; share a kind word with someone who may seem to be down; assist a elderly person across the street; visit the shut in from your neighborhood or the district hospital. You get the idea. I am not saying you have to do all these things, just that you need to care about other people as “what goes around come around.” You WILL get old someday, you WILL need help from someone and you WILL need the attention of other people at some point in your life.

Are we still talking about money you ask? Yes! Remember we are looking at how to Balance Life and money. As I like to put it everything you do in life is an investment and the returns will be dependent on how much and how well you invested. If you are to have a fulfilling life you need to find a balance in everything you do. It can’t be all about work and it certainly can’t be all about play. Do your work to the best of your ability but make time for other things. Continually study to improve yourself and get better at whatever it is you do. Take time out for your family and friends and enjoy the time that the creator has loaned you. Once you focus on the big picture you will be on the right track. The bottom line is Balance your work with the rest of your life.

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Tags: ethical, person, personality, behaviour, ethics

“Everything is transparent these days” says Larry Hochman and he is also known to be one of the best advocates on corporate ethics and responsibility.

And yes, everything we do as companies and corporations is transparent to our consumers nowadays, since via the new media they can compare and discuss and figure out what we are all about! And that is why it is important to have our corporate blogs and forums and podcasts to be able to participate in the dialog consumers are having about us online, because with or without us – this discussion is happening anyway!

And what is also becoming very important is our proof to our consumers that we deserve for them to be loyal to us. To give them more and more reasons to be happy to be associated with us and our brands – reasons off-line and on-line.

And here is one – just as an example, but a brilliant one on how social media and networking, the “consumer unions” as Larry Hochman calls them, are starting to lead the dialogue with corporations. I came across this yesterday and if you decide to invest the time, do watch it and here is why:

• First of all because it is from TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) and TED is knows for inviting some of the most brilliant minds to present at their events.
• Second because about 10 of those 18 minutes of your time might be one of these rare moments when we stop and remember how beautiful life actually is.
• Thirdly because it is YouTube and one more way to enter where a lot of our consumers dwell.
• And then at the end …. you will see how consumers are starting to demand corporate responsibility and all for a very good reason.

YouTube

Makes you think – does not it: What are the good causes your company would like to be associated with?

Would like to show your consumers where your stand on corporate responsibility and why they should be proud to be loyal to you.

Christina Vlahova is the founder of “Intellecta Srl” – Strategic marketing consultancy. She is also a “CSA Celebrity Speakers” associate, working with conference organizers from around the world in providing the best key note speakers and experts for their events.

To get an expert advice for the best speakers for your conference or event visit this website

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Tags: corporate, ethical, ethics, information, responsibility

It’s a well noted remarks that’s the shortest way to deal with the problem is to get thought it, and in its simplest form one must know were to aim an arrow. A timing with dedicated resources to be delivered at the most precise and control manner, sound simple in its trivial extend on how will look at it. But reality offer the most of what a situation can be calculate and deliver in order to justify the extent of possibilities, in such point that certainty with level of accuracy will not only relies on the hand of an archers. The path of a broken arrow is so elusive, even the possibilities are well presented and accepted for it to serve as reference guide, we are still in the inevitable state of making mistake and failure.

To put a reference comparison on how a business can be interpret in such way that it emulate the concept of a broken arrow, in a dynamic form, and not meant to be specific for it be applied. It takes a great amount of momentum and resources to drive an arrow to its target, and once it hit its target, its a anticipated battle to dwell on one of the law of natures, the strong point and the weak point to maneuver directly and indirectly to dominate one another.

The foundation has been lay down prior to the battle, and the tip of the arrow has been sharpen to a profound level, its body has been aligned to a precise straight pattern, and its edge that serve as navigational wings has been crafted to perfection, making sure that what the archer has targeted can be deliver with level of precision.

The archer’s eye is soaring like an eagle, finding its target from a far distance which has been viewed clearly with no doubt what the marks man use to interpret as Bulls-eye.
Inevitable factor has been well decoded to such extend that there are no rooms for error at the theoretical level, everything are well set and presented in manner that is said to be go for an aim.

The archer is preparing to aim his target, and the condition is well suited and timing by large percentage is in his hand. The art of archery is exercised at the most of its intent; it’s the very same art that determine the result to where an arrow will hit its target. It is the direct interpretation which is coherent for an art of this kind to provide such anticipated results. No less and no doubt this is truly an art that serve its meaning, philosophy and existence that worth to emulate and to adapt to a business emerging from competition.

The archer is interpreting the art into tangible state of motion equal to an action, and he is beginning to bend the bow to such extend with assurance that it has enough force with level of tolerance to deliver the arrow to its target. The opposing force has been created in the process, where the bow resist and trying to maintain a default stage, the string serve as the mediator to that action, but it’s the archer spirit that perceive in the process which determine the outcome, based on power and precision.

Timing is a matter of sense that require one self to be in the right place at the right time to aim and release the arrow, from then onward it is a maneuver with precise intent with force that break the boundaries of ones opposing force of gravities. It must maintain its momentum while making its way to its destination, and its just portion in such percentage of force and power and what comes to play is the remaining force to penetrate the target. Such force that can make or break it self or its target, to such extend that we have a broken arrow as a result of opposing force that collide to one another. One that carries the kinetic potential and the other with striking force that travelled with its arsenal of the toughness and sharpest steel. An event that has been presented in a flash of motion that is so fast where one will be unable to comprehend the underlying events, and only the end process will presented in our naked eye. We see such result either ways amongst our expectation, an arrow that hit its target, one that miss its target, and a broken arrow in a rare case. As to what extend of force does it create a broken arrow, to a midst of my curious thinking and trying to adapt the same concept in a business perspective it is sometimes lead me to un endless questions and inquiries that needed some answer.

The speed and swift action are sometimes or in the norm stages of our shared commonality are mostly interpreted as invincible. And he who see’s the invincible can do the impossible to some extent, this notion lead us to deals with things that are outside the box of our normal approach for making decision. Approaches that are self evolve from the emerging paradigm of such perspective collaboration of a creative thinking from individuals, groups, organization or entities at its general terms.

Broken arrow is a result of an excessive force with lock of understanding on the natures of its target, these one can say’s that you cannot solve the problem at the very same level it was created. It is the notion we must understanding what will happen if we have the same character and properties of the same kind for the two opposing paradigm or situation regardless who is the stationary target and the arrow it self.

One must know and understand who hold the most of the situation for them to equate the strong from the weak from the superior and inferior. To validated their decision making in reference from their current standpoint as defensive or offensive side. It is very important for ones self to understand where they are and where they are going, a reference point from where we should start. It is from that standpoint that we develop our action and decision making and applied it to a tangible motion of maneuver whether direct or indirect. This create a concept of formal decision making for any possible situation that will be calculated on hand to justify its veracity , those equate accuracy if it is combine by managing time and resources as a whole. This total combine force is just the arrow in its metaphysical stage.

Looking for the right archer…. To drive and navigate the arrow to its target requires such level of expertise, fashion and dedication to what he is doing. They come in many forms where age, origin, education, social status is merely trivial as reference guide in finding the them, its seems that there is no precise pattern for it, it’s just the way they are “an archer”. The only time one can tell is when they hit the target, one, twice, trice in the same spot, a marksman on their field at the time all the require factor are in existence and return to norm of who they are in the absence of such factor that makes an archer “a target to hit” an archer will always be an archer and marksman will always be marksman.

Anatomy of an Archer in the views of an observer

To what extend one can consider him self as an observer if an apple on his head become the target in such distance with underlying doubt or in the shadows of a doubt you give a level of trust on the credential of the archer. Are you playing as an observers or parts of system?

For the time being I will leave this inquires un answered as someone presented his self as a business phantom, whose currently the man standing still with the apple in his head while the archer is making his aim to its target, and I, I will be watching in close proximities among them, in such way am not going to loose the essence of a direct and indirect result of an event. In my assumption maybe not a broken for this time, but it’s an aim to a target with no guarantees. If the archer miss its target and the arrow hit the business phantom, my search will be prematurely ended if he’s truly the business phantom. If the archer hits the apple, a greater chance will be in my hand to authenticate the credential of the business phantom, it will be 1 step forward to my search.

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Tags: ethical, healthcare, issues, list, moral

Did you know that at home & at work, each year over 65 million inkjet printer cartridges & toners are unnecessarily thrown away when they run out of ink? Recycling these ink cartridges, inkjets & toners will help to protect the environment, subsequently saving energy & safeguarding the health of future generations.

When we throw these printer cartridges, inkjets & toners away few of us consider where they will end up. Many are ultimately put into land fill sites which are already seriously overburdened. These sites contain an ever-increasing amount of non-biodegradable material that can take well over 1,000 years to break down. By recycling these ink cartridges, inkjets & toners we relieve the burden on these landfills.

Printer cartridges, inkjets & toners which are not put into landfill or recycled are otherwise often incinerated. This process releases harmful poisonous toxins and gasses into the atmosphere thereby contributing further to the destruction of the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect.

Millions of new printer cartridges, inkjets & toners are produced every day. On average each new one requires nearly 3 litres of oil to manufacturer further increasing the massive drain to our otherwise fragile resources.

A recycled printer, inkjet or toner cartridge is comprehensively cleaned, conditioned and refilled for use again and in virtually all cases will produce as good a result as an original.

Not only will a recycled printer, inkjet or toner cartridge perform every bit as well as an original equipment manufacturers printer, inkjet or toner cartridge but the financial savings can be huge and up to 80% savings can be achieved!

But why do recycled printer cartridges, inkjets & toners cost so much less? No one seems to completely know this answer but we can suppose that like a lot of other companies, printer manufacturers make their money from consumables. Consider the scenario when a printer is purchased. More money tends to be spent on consumables in the first few months than on the initial cost of the printer! An excellent example of this is Lexmark where their printers sell for next to nothing but their original printer cartridges, inkjets & toners are expensive.

Furthermore, in many cases recycled printer cartridges, inkjets & toners last longer than originals as some manufacturers have been known as standard practice to deliberately partially fill their cartridges particularly those cartridges, inkjets & toners included with the new printer!

Don’t let printer manufacturers put you off using recycled printer cartridges, inkjets & toners by attempting to intimidate or scare you with an “invalid warranty” claim. Printer manufacturers have been contacted by the office of fair trading who have made it clear that printer warranties should not be affected just because the customer chooses to use a recycled printer cartridge, inkjet & toner and that to do so will be deemed unfair.

So there you have it. Some excellent reasons to recycle and use recycled printer cartridges, inkjets & toners.

Mark Reid works for Postpack Ltd, an online distributor of packaging materials & office consumables throughout the UK, Ireland & Europe. They also offer quantity discounts & free delivery for orders over £100. Click here to order recycled printer cartridges, inkjets & toners at great prices

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Tags: ethical, issues, problems, business, recycle

The Washington Post’s continued mentioning of the NFL’s Rooney Rule when a minority candidate is interviewed for the Washington Redskins head coaching position is a disservice and a slap in the face of affirmative action efforts everywhere. In a recent Post sports column, “Colts’ Meeks talks to Redskins” the reporter should have mentioned only that he is a great coach without mention of color but instead, after stating he was the fifth candidate for the position, added the disclaimer that the interview “fulfills the NFL’s Rooney Rule”… stipulating that a team must interview one minority candidate. Did they ever think of the impact of this caveat? Was there any consideration of how this would make Ron Meeks feel about the interview? Was he just selected to interview only because he is a minority so as to not have repercussions from the league?

That inclusion of the Rooney Rule in the article serves no purpose, is incredulous and unprincipled comments that have nothing to do with Mr. Meeks’ qualifications. How would any applicant for any position feel who read the next day that they helped the company they interviewed with fulfill some directed affirmative action requirement? I do not think it would give anyone much confidence that they are under serious consideration for the position. Ron Meeks should have been interviewed solely because he is a great defensive coach that is now in line for a head coaching position in the NFL.

Any affirmative action good faith effort is suppose to be just that. A good faith effort to ensure that companies have the opportunity to interview all qualified candidates regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, disability, sex, or any other protected category and that everyone has the equal opportunity for the position. With the Washington Post stating Mr. Meeks helped the Washington Redskins fulfill the Rooney Rule requirement, you basically paint the picture of an “Affirmative Action Only Candidate” stamp on a superbly qualified candidate. It is time to leave the rule unpublished in the news media and keep it as an internal rule for the league that has good intentions. It should not be broadcast and attached to every person who interviews that “fulfills” this requirement. Interviewing qualified diverse candidates should be the right thing to do not something any organization does just to protect itself.

John Fuller is the Diversity & Equal Employment Opportunity Consultant for Johns Hopkins Hospital. He has held prior EEO positions with Fortune 300, the US Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of Defense. He holds a Master of Science in Leadership/Business Ethics from Duquesne University and a Master of Arts in Education from Norwich University. John has been directly involved in EEO and prevention of sexual harassment training and EEO investigations since 1989.

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Tags: ethical, ethics, issue, living, moral

How many times have you heard someone bad mouth a business person? How many times have you heard someone bad mouth another professional in their industry? The truth of the matter is, even though the subject of ethics may seem easy to understand, its actually not.

Where do you cross the line between hard working aggressiveness and being unethical? Well, just look at the long-term consequences of what you are doing today in your profession. If what you are doing today constitutes “burning bridges,” then you know its time to re-evaluate how you conduct yourself. The person who feels they are getting the short end of the stick from you today, may show up in your office 3 years from now looking to do business, and they’ll probably walk out once they see that you are the one handling their account.

Put yourself in the shoes of the person sitting across from you, or the company sitting across from you. In the professional world, different companies do business with each other for a reason, all sides tend to gain from it. Its normal to do business with another person or company, with all sides coming out on top.

How would you feel if you got ripped off? Its something that’s hard to forget. Being lied to is another action that most people don’t easily forget. Try keeping the focus on making all sides happy, in all business transactions. You don’t want anyone walking away mad. Practicing bad ethics isn’t just the fastest way to a lawsuit, but it affects us emotionally. The long term scars of dealing with someone who is unethical is damage that is unrepairable.

Anyone who feels that they must be a “hustler” or a “smooth talker” in order to succeed in the professional world is sadly mistaken. Personally, I can’t stand people who are like this. I can smell them a mile away, and their attitudes usually turn me off. Attitudes like that turn alot of people off. At the end of the day, be ethical, it pays.

Sam Hachem is an electrifying Motivational Speaker who speaks on many inspirational, motivational, business, self improvement, health, and family topics. Sam was once over weight and unemployed but was able to turn his life around by losing weight, getting healthy, and creating a 6-Figure per year income. Sam wants to share his experience, his knowledge with the masses. Sam is available for public speaking engagements through his website, just click.

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Tags: ethics, ethical, issue, business, articles

Integrity is putting your values into action. Robin Siemens

Immediately, I jotted down this incredibly powerful definition because Robin had not only defined the word, but more importantly connected the word to performance. So many words are used to define business ethics and yet the lack of actual demonstrated ethics still remains very high within business and the rest of our society. One can only read the paper or listen to the media about “”corporate greed”" how how this corruption culture has damaged our country.

The reason for this disconnect is because the definition is not connected to any measurable action. By taking the word beyond the cognitive state and making it about behaviors, Robin now is walking the talk as some would say.

So, how do you define integrity for your business? If you cannot define key words within the values statement located inside of your strategic plan, you are trying to hit a moving target. Yes, moving targets can be hit, but it takes far more effort. Also, there does exist a greater likelihood of missing the target.

After you define integrity for your business, then how are you connecting to your daily business actions? Alignment is a key when making connections between the values statement and the actual behaviors of your employees and even yourself.

A recent survey of employees indicated that many managers lacked business ethics. The old Do as I say and Not as I do appears to be still very much alive in corporate America regardless of the size of the organization.

Since another survey indicated that bad attitudes which are a definite result of bad ethics are the reason for 68% of customers not returning. Take that with the knowledge that people leave managers and not organizations should be reason enough to construct and implement a values statement right now.

Then maybe you will be able to clearly articulate what integrity to respect means within your code of business ethics. And who knows some day when you are on the radio, you can quickly share your definition just like Robin did.

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Leadership of any business is responsible for demonstrating the ethics and beliefs. How do you fair as a leader? Take this leadership audit site.

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Anyone familiar with the book of Proverbs knows that it has a lot to say about the everyday issues of life, including things said about the poor. In Proverbs 14:31 of the Bible, we find that anyone who oppresses the poor shows contempt for God their Maker. Certainly, only someone truly cold hearted would systematically oppress them.

The problem with the poor being oppressed has been with us since the beginning of time. The only difference now is that those who are on the leading edge of this oppression can recruit the help of unsuspecting participants who do not realize they are helping in an evil scheme. They may even refuse to believe it if they are told because no decent person would want to do that.

Suppose this were actually happening. What if millions of people were unintentionally participating in something that could undermine our economic system? What if it was taking advantage of poor people while driving even more people to poverty in its wake? Chances are, anyone who tried to sound an alarm would be considered a paranoid extremist.

Allow me to illustrate the world’s wisdom, the exact opposite of God’s wisdom, with something I learned in a marketing class. I strongly disagree with this, but it is what I was taught. In marketing, you seek to identify trends. That’s good, I agree with that. You don’t cast moral judgement on trends, don’t try to sort out right from wrong, just sell, sell, sell. It may not have been put in those exact terms, but that was the gist of it. I choose God’s wisdom and disagree, but folly is a driving force in modern marketing.

For this reason, we have an abundance of predatory lenders. They set people up to fail and specifically target the poor. But that’s supposedly OK, because the people they are taking advantage of want instant gratification and easy money. They are filling a need in the market by giving people what they want without regard for whether they can really afford it or not.

If I told you right now that I am a marketing guy, that might surprise you with what I just said about the industry. Marketing is not the problem. Marketing without morality is the problem. Corporate greed and scandals have had significant news coverage in recent years, but the world system is too blind to actually learn anything from it.

One thing all con artists have in common is they have learned to play up on natural human desires and use them to their advantage. Unfortunately, marketing has sometimes become more of a con game which is bad for the industry, but also bad for the market itself.

Our generation has witnessed the rise of mega retailers. Some are good, some bad, and at least one started out as a discount store with a noble purpose. Somewhere along the way, many became power hungry. Their clout and tactics propelled them to the top of what has become a dung heap. This is not an attack on size or success. There is nothing wrong with being big and successful.

The problem is some have taken a leadership role to oppress the poor and systematically destroy many other businesses. It goes beyond a healthy competitive spirit, they conduct themselves as a playground bully, and they have led others to believe this is the way to succeed. This compounds the problem as they lead by a bad example.

Should this surprise people with spiritual insight? Absolutely not! The sad thing is that good people are being taken in because the marketing plays up on natural human desires. Even those who can see what’s going on sometimes participate as if their little contribution won’t make much difference. If hundreds of thousands of people have that attitude, it makes a huge difference.

This marketing trend has spawned both critics and defenders. I have kept an open mind for the defense, but as I review the case, defenders appear isolated from the working class as they sit well fed and well paid, making their defense for Goliath while they have no idea how the victims feel.

Some of the defenders are very educated, but education does not provide intelligence, nor can it provide morals. I’m not against an education, I have one, but common sense can go even further. Understanding the Bible is the best way to discern everything in life.

With plain common sense, here’s what I see happening.

Major Goliath retailer keeps expanding into more communities. Consumers with their insatiable appetite for low prices shop for the best deal regardless of how it is provided. Major Goliath retailer employs mostly part time help. Benefits eat up so much of the pathetic pay being offered that very few workers can afford it, but at least Goliath can say they offer benefits. Goliath claims that their average pay is not so bad, ignoring the fact that the numbers are easily skewed with creative math. The number of workers employed by Goliath who are drawing public assistance due to the pathetic wages is seldom discussed.

Defenders would say that these people might be totally dependent on public assistance if Goliath did not come to the rescue and hire them. Every time Goliath hires, many people line up to get the work. How can that be bad?

Critics would point out that this is because Goliath either drove their former employers out of business or forced them to let workers go. Now, low paid work is better than no pay at all. Former employers could not compete with Goliath because they did not have the buying power, nor could they compete while trying to provide better pay and benefits for their workers.

Oh, but maybe that’s just retail. It’s low end work anyway, right? If Goliath puts smaller retailers out of business, it’s just a sign of the times and we should embrace it because it’s good for the consumer. Maybe it’s too bad for that small family chain of 10 stores that grandpa worked hard to build into the community over three generations, but that’s just business. It is considered acceptable collateral damage for progress.

Unfortunately, Goliath doesn’t stop there. Drunk with power, Goliath begins leaning more and more heavily on his suppliers, forcing them to make cuts to provide products cheaper and cheaper. The cheaper Goliath can get it, the higher his profits soar. Goliath gets more powerful as his suppliers, and the workers for those suppliers, pay the price. Eventually, domestic suppliers can no longer satisfy Goliath’s appetite, so he buys from overseas slave labor markets.

Now Goliath has accomplished more than just cleaning up the retail competition. He has caused job losses in many industries that supply consumer products. Even where jobs have not been lost, the quality of pay and benefits has suffered and continues to go downhill. Instead of Goliath paying decent wages and benefits, the taxpayer gets to pick up the ever increasing burden. But at least we are paying less at the store so the defenders can pretend this is good for the consumer.

Is Goliath solely responsible for this trend? No he is not. But with the leadership role he has taken, his responsibility is more than a little significant. The consumer is equally responsible, but that is a hard pill to swallow because no one likes to admit responsibility. In defense of the consumer, they were easily mislead by Goliath’s greed and lack of restraint.

So there you have it folks. Through the example that has been set, you now know how to oppress the working class and create more poor using a proven business model. As an added bonus, you can even get the consumers to play along.

There is a positive side to all this. I firmly believe this story can still have a happy ending. Small business startups are on the rise and more organizations are forming to give them a voice. The Internet is changing the face of business and making it possible for anyone to succeed. Goliath has weaknesses, and creative people are finding the cracks in his armor.

If you adapt to the market changes and don’t try to compete with Goliath, you can and will prosper without violating any of God’s laws. In fact, God is your best advocate. Never underestimate what you can do with a few stones and a slingshot.

Steve Chittenden seeks to help business owners and organizations market themselves effectively and succeed. His company, Creative Business Services, provides carefully planned web design, graphic design, writing, and marketing services aimed at achieving this goal. Please visit here for more information.

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Tags: marketing, ethics, ethical, competition, compete