“You’ve probably heard that it’s much easier and less expensive to get existing customers to buy from you than it is to go find new customers. And it’s a true statement for all businesses whether they are on or off-line.

Yet many businesses take the approach that getting new customers is their number 1 priority. They actively seek out those interested in their wares, entice them to buy and then after they make the sale they treat them like D.I.R.T.

D – Disposable

I – Insignificant

R – Removable

T – Trivial

One of the things that has always confused and irritated me is how some businesses penalize their customers for their loyalty. Here’s an example of what I mean:

We used to live in the Denver, CO metro area and subscribed to both of the Denver newspapers. (Yes, there used to be 2 large, popular newspapers in Denver.) Almost every year we received notices that the subscription rates were going up. This went on for several years and we didn’t think much about it since it seemed the price of just about everything was always going up.

Then 1 day I received a sales call for 1 of the newspapers. Like most telemarketing phone calls, they went through their entire sales pitch and offered me a “”special rate”" if I would subscribe before I had a chance to tell them I was already a subscriber. When I did tell them I was a subscriber they thanked me for subscribing and were just about to hang up when I asked – “”Since I am already a subscriber can I get the special rate?”"

This question seemed to shock them when they stuttered, “”no.”"

I then asked them why not and their response was that the special deal was only for “”new”" subscribers.

Since the special deal was for more than 60% off the normal subscription price of several hundred dollars a year, I was, shall we say, slightly perturbed.

When we hung up I immediately called the subscription department for the paper and asked them about getting the discount that new subscribers were getting. They also stated that I couldn’t because it was “”only for new subscribers.”"

As soon as they finished the statement about only new subscribers getting the discount, I replied, “”I see, then cancel my subscription – TODAY.”"

Did I ever take that paper again? Yes, 1 year at a time.

You see, I knew that every 6 months there was a subscription drive to get new subscribers. And even if I didn’t get a phone call, I’d see a table set up at any of the grocery stores I visited where I could get a new subscription with a new subscriber discount. Plus, if I signed up at 1 of these tables, I’d get an additional gift.

Now I’m not opposed to giving gifts to get new subscribers. I do it myself. What does upset me is having a business that I’m paying on a regular basis tell me I have to pay more because I am already 1 of their customers.

To this day I don’t understand why that newspaper and many other businesses treat their loyal customer base so badly.

The point I am trying to make is: while you’re working so hard to gain new subscribers and customers, treat your existing subscribers and customers like the precious gems they are. Don’t forget about them and don’t penalize them.

As online marketers we are always looking for new and better ways of doing things so we can increase our profits. We look for ways to increase our traffic and ways to increase our conversion rates. We look for ways to build our lists and then for ways to get more of our subscribers to buy from us. Unfortunately, some of us forget that making our loyal subscribers and customers feel special is 1 of the best ways to keep and profit from them. Over the years I’ve offered several different free gifts to gain new subscribers. However, when I put the gift online I also either send out a mailing to my list giving them the same gift or make it available inside the member area. When I’ve sent a mailing about the addition of a bonus on an existing sale, I’ve included information about how those who had already purchased the product it could also get the free bonus.

Am I obligated to give my existing subscribers and customers the new free gift. No, it’s not an obligation. It’s just good business.

Unfortunately, too many businesses have forgotten the old business practice of. “”take care of your customers and they will take care of you.”"

To Your Success,
Susan Carroll

——–

Susan has been helping people with their online marketing for more than 4 years. You’re invited to join her free membership site at: FriendsWhoCare.us where she gives many free tools and resources.

You may re-publish the article in its entirety, with the resource information at the bottom left intact.

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Tags: ethical, management, power, financial, resource

“With the globalization of integral business and corporation expansion, has come the increased focus on corporate compliance. Companies cannot do as they please; there are regulatory factors that balance ethics with rationality. For example, simply because a company can make a product cheaper by polluting the environment, does not give it the right to do so. Compliance simply means following the law. The law for corporations comes in many forms: federal laws, state laws, agency law, and industry standards. Breaking any of these regulations could have disastrous consequences for a company. According to Gentiva “The initial purpose of compliance was to act as a mitigating factor to reduce liability under the law. Over the years, compliance has evolved into a more integral business component with its focus on maintaining the company’s status as a good corporate citizen.” This emphasis and new standard has caused many companies to create a corporate compliance officer position where the sole duty of this individual is to maintain and monitor the company’s state of compliance. Some of the main concerns with corporate compliance are ethics, financial statements, equal opportunity / fair hiring practices, sexual harassment, and environmental preservation. Company’s that maintain vigilance on these fronts are normally safe when it comes to compliance issues. Maintaining a good record of compliance is not only beneficial, but more times than not will make or destroy a company. The main point is that non-compliance can affect a company’s bottom line.

Sexual Harassment: Civil Rights Act of 1964

Sexual Harassment is part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and applies to companies with 15 or more associates. It is defined as “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment” (visit the site).The circumstances include but are not limited to:

• The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.

• The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.

• The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.

• Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.

• The harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome. (visit the site).
Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Passed in 2002, Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) was enacted to help win back the public trust in companies after the disasters of such companies as Enron and WorldCom. The first part of the act was to create the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which is charged with “overseeing, regulating, inspecting, and disciplining accounting firms in their roles as auditors of public companies” (read this).

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

The EPA comprises 18,000 people in headquarters program offices, 10 regional offices, and 17 laboratories across the country. The EPA employs a highly educated, technically trained staff, more than half of whom are engineers, scientists, and environmental protection specialists. A large number of employees are legal, public affairs, financial, and computer specialists.
The EPA provides leadership in the nation’s environmental science, research, education, and assessment efforts. The EPA works closely with other federal agencies, state and local governments, and Native American tribes to develop and enforce regulations under existing environmental laws. The EPA is responsible for researching and setting national standards for a variety of environmental programs and delegates to states and tribes responsibility for issuing permits, and monitoring and enforcing compliance. Where national standards are not met, the EPA can issue sanctions and take other steps to assist the states and tribes in reaching the desired levels of environmental quality. The Agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts.
In July of 1970, the law that established the EPA was passed in response to the growing public demand for cleaner water, air and land, spurred by such scandals as the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire. Prior to the establishment of the EPA, the federal government was not structured to make a coordinated attack on the pollutants which harm human health and degrade the environment. The EPA was assigned the task of repairing the damage already done to the natural environment and to establish new criteria to guide Americans in making a cleaner environment a reality
Compare Company’s Researched

Toyota North America Inc and Denny’s Inc.

Both company’s, Toyota Motor North America Corporation and Denny’s Inc. were cited in a lawsuit claiming sexual harassment against a female employee. Involvement by the EEOC helping both employees with their claim helped with changing the mindsets of both company and employees. The size of the company did not play a fact in the lawsuits but showed that any type of discrimination or sexual harassment will not be tolerated.

According to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, it states:
“Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA).”

Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, and/or age. Harassment becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; or opposing employment practices that they reasonably believe discriminate against individuals, in violation of these laws.

Petty slights, annoyances, and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not rise to the level of illegality. To be unlawful, the conduct must create a work environment that would be intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people.

(visit the site)

Both company’s tried to silence the acquisations by either terminating the employee as in the lawsuit against Denny’s, Inc. or relocating the employee to a different department then termination as in the lawsuite against Toyota North America Corporation. In either lawsuit, the person in charge was in the wrong.

Apple Computers

The first company looked at in violation of the SOX was Apple Computers in which an internal investigation showed that there was backdating of stock options. The results for Apple Computers were developing a special committee to investigate the allegations. Though the investigation found no fault on the part of Apple Computers there were some serious concerns raised. The end results for Apple Computers would proactively report to the SEC as well as providing non-cash charges for compensation relating to past stock option grants.

Wind River Systems

Next were Wind River Systems the international software company was found itself non-compliance with the regulations of the Sarbanes-Oxley with managing financial risk. The problem was solved Wind River streamlining its fragmented accounting teams in to three regional teams as well as closing unnecessary bank accounts. This reduced the risk of fraud as well as saving Wind River Systems thousands of dollars in unnecessary banking fees.

MSN and AOL

Another phase of protection that the SOX offer corporations as well as their customers and investors is requiring internal security. With the age of computer the latest form of communication known as IM raises new security issues. A great deal of corporations in the corporate world is finding that they are more reliant on these sorts of technological advances. Two major providers MSN and AOL rely heavily on their corporate partners as well as staying compliant with the SOX. Therefore they partnered up with a software provider known as Akonix that provides the real-time requirements and internal controls required by the SOX for these IM services.

Conclusion

The importance of a compliance program in avoiding anti-competitive conduct under the Act, and in detecting and dealing with such behavior, should not be underestimated. The procedures put in place as the result of a compliance program serve not only to identify unlawful or questionable conduct, but also to promote awareness that will result in ethical standards of conduct.
Implementing an effective compliance program which addresses both criminal behavior and civil reviewable conduct is good business. It can help a company avoid the adverse publicity and financial costs associated with contraventions of the Act. A compliance program will also enhance understanding of what is acceptable behavior so that legitimate competitive practices can be vigorously pursued without unwarranted concerns of contravening the Act.

Steven Brown, MBA is a loving husband and father of two boys. He enjoys his time with his family by providing a strong family foundation of Christian Faith. After completing his Bachelors degree, Steven wanted to further his ability to teach and share to others his mindset that they can do anything if they would believe in themselves.

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Tags: corporate, compliance,ethics, policy, financial

For businesses to reach financial stability, good morale and client satisfaction, corporate ethics must be a guiding policy for all involved.

Have you ever heard of the old saying “with friends like that, who needs enemies”? That is just the case where employees, managers or others working in a business are jeopardizing corporate ethics. Many corporations entrust great confidential, important issues and financial responsibilities to employees that could destroy not only their business, but also their customers. If the employees of a business are not ethical and loyal the results can be devastating.

Corporate ethics has come to the surface over the past several years with many fraudulent transactions. When managers are skimming off the top or conducting unethical actions with shareholders, customers or other employees it is sometimes difficult to detect. Others such as employees may keep quite about what they know for fear of losing their job or worse. In the past it has been so bad that those practicing the criminal or unethical behavior have threatened to hurt the employee if they speak up. Of course there is a “whistle blowers” law for protection, but law enforcement can not with them 24/7. Many of these people have families and fear not only for themselves, but also their families.

The business itself can suffer from the loss of clients/customers, financial issues and risk having to shut down operations when employees lack corporate ethics. Theft is not the only problem or behavior that can risk the businesses stability either. The treatment of clients/customers, their personal information and business dealings can also cause detriment to the business. That is the exact reason that many corporations have been implementing ethics training for all employees. There are many companies and individuals that will work on sight to teach employees and managers how to remain ethical, report violations and not fear in doing so. These topics may seem black or white, but they are often not that easy. There are several different issues that are commonly feared by those blowing the whistle. This person that they are “telling” on may be a family member, friend or boss and that can make the decision that much harder.

Corporation’s should make sure that they have a clear cut policy about reporting illegal or unethical activity. It is important that employees understand that by doing the right thing that they will not be sold out or punished for protecting the business. Low level employees are not the only ones that jeopardize corporate ethics, and the corporation should keep that in mind. This can be handled by requiring all employees to undergo ethics training and having a reporting system for them all, not only lower level employees. There should always be a second in command that employees can bypass their immediate supervisor to ensure they always have someone to report to. That way there is less of a chance of an employee remaining quite.

Jones Wright owns and operates Corporate Ethics.

Integrity is generally agreed to be a vital quality in a leader. It’s usually defined in terms of honesty and adhering strongly to an ethical code. However, when applied to non-human areas such as a body of data, or an ecosystem, something that has ‘integrity’ is ‘intact’, ‘whole’, or ‘not tampered with’. This was in fact the original meaning of the word (from the Latin meaning ‘untouched’).

Integrity therefore came to mean ‘ethically sound’ by metaphorical extension. As so often with metaphors applied to human subjective experience, we can discover something useful when we take the metaphor literally.

Consider a person who is grappling with an inner conflict. It may be that two of their most important values are in conflict, or that they cannot choose between alternatives that seem to be equally tempting (or equally scary). Because memory, learning and behaviour are influenced by emotional states, it could even be that what they believe and how they act change significantly depending on how they are feeling.

Can a person who has significant unresolved internal conflicts be a good leader? It’s doubtful. Such a person would find it hard to make decisions and stick to them, because whichever alternative they choose would leave part of themselves unsatisfied. In addition, when you feel ambivalent about your own decisions, it is hard to defend them against criticism.

So unresolved internal conflicts do not make for good leadership. They lead to indecision, inconsistency, and an inability to stick to your guns – none of which are desirable characteristics in a leader. In order to build the sound internal foundation (also known as “character”) which is necessary for leadership, you need to identify your own values and resolve any values conflicts that you uncover.

Being clear about your own values and acting in line with them also means that you will be perceived as “walking your talk” – the key element in leading by example.

The most important thing to remember about emotional intelligence as it applies to leadership is that self-awareness is the foundation on which all the other ‘competencies’ of emotional intelligence are based. If you are not aware of your own emotions, it’s impossible to manage them and hard to understand the emotions of others; in turn, self-management and empathy are prerequisites for being able to handle and inspire emotions in other people.

For a splendid fictional example of how low self-awareness impacts on leadership, see any episode of the hit TV series “The Office” or the nearly-as-good American remake, “The Office: An American Workplace”.

Andy Smith is an Emotional Intelligence consultant and NLP Trainer based in Manchester, UK. His website contains many free articles and downloads.

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Tags: ethical, management, power, financial, resource

Thomas Paine once said, “Character is much easier kept than recovered.” This dovetails with being prepared for an emergency. Planning to keep a reputation can help the organization avoid suffering a devastating loss. When the plan laid out in advance is to admit any faults and err on the side of honesty, the credibility of what is admitted will garner more respect than when an attempt to back-pedal is made.

Anticipation

How can management and decision makers control a crisis? The answer is simple. A crisis cannot be controlled, but the consequences of the crisis can be managed, mitigated and/or prevented. The first order of business is to know and understand the hazards that threaten the “”business.”" An effective organization must conduct a hazard vulnerability analysis that ranks threats. Dealing with threats against organizational character must be one of the threats considered.

Many disaster preparedness programs consider the traditional natural and manmade hazards, but a class of hazard often overlooked is related to business continuity, especially public relations. Public relations incidents raise concerns, and if not handled properly, can elevate to the level of a crisis. If the crisis grows large enough, it can threaten the very existence of an organization.

Crisis Response Begins With an Admission

The most critical part of crisis response is admitting that you are, in fact, in the midst of a crisis. It is only at this point that the consequences of a crisis can be managed. Following a predetermined action plan and set of organizational morals can guide the response. A public information campaign addressing the situation and describing what the organization is doing to rectify the problem is activated, and a trained public information officer addresses media and public concerns.

How To Be Seen As Responsive

* Be proactive in the approach, viewing the problem from the eyes of the consumer.

* Do not try to utilize the science of the issue to prove a point.

* Do not use the engineering aspect to explain that a repeat of the event is not possible or is incredibly remote.

* Do not try to utilize the facts as your defense.

* Remember that the public does not want to hear about the science, the engineering — or, at times, even the facts. The public wants to hear that you understand their concerns and that the organization sees the issue from their perspective.

Managing and Maintaining Character

Management of character is easy when your organization has chosen in advance to do the right thing. Warren Buffet once said, “”First, state clearly that you do not know all the facts. Then state the facts that you do know. One’s objective should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out, and get it over. You see, your problem won’t improve with age.”"

Preparing for a crisis allows the “”if-then”" thought process to occur in advance of an issue. Decisions can be made in advance, not under duress. Preparing to have an open and honest response to a public relations crisis in advance of an onslaught of reporters and public scrutiny (when your legal counsel is attempting to persuade you to limit your liability exposure) will prevent senior management from being led astray.

Waiting until the disaster occurs puts forces upon decision makers that may change their perception of reality. “”Groupthink is a mode of thinking within a cohesive group that is engaged in by people who so strongly seek consensus that there is no realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action,”" stated Michael C. LeMay in Public Administration: Clashing Values in the Administration of Public Policy. “”A drive for consensus at all cost completely suppresses dissent.”"

Crises easily can become a groupthink phenomenon. With prior planning and decision making, you can avoid having your values go sideways during the crisis. Follow the advice of Warren Buffet by engaging in public transparency that will save the organization time as well as its reputation. It’s easy when the direction has already been established from the executive level to “”do the right thing.”"

Conclusion

All aspects of a successful emergency response are contingent upon planning. A successful outcome is achieved by doing the right thing at all turns, not solely attempting to protect the organization from legal liability. Organizational character can be maintained if advanced planning and training ensures that all parties understand the organization’s policy is to be open and honest. This will maintain the integrity of the organization, ensuring that organizational character is valued and protected.

Author Bio

Mr. Reilly is the President of Emergency Solutions Ltd. His credentials include Certified Emergency Manager from the International Association of Emergency Managers, Certified Business Continuity Professional from DRI International, and he is a Master’s Degree candidate in Public Administration.

Mr. Reilly can be reached through his company’s website.

Visit the website to see how he and his associates can help you prepare you business, school, or hospital for a disaster.

(c) 2007 Daniel J. Reilly. All rights reserved.

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Tags: ethical, management, power, financial, resource

1. Being Organized

There are so many ways to keep organized in your business. First thing you need to do is clear your desk! Working in a clutter will slow you down especially if you are constantly looking for something you are missing. After you clean off your desk, take an organizer for your papers, even if it’s an inbox, and put your papers in there neatly. Take all your office supplies and put them in your drawer neatly. There you have it, the top of your desk! Since we are working virtual, our main concern for being organized is our computers. I have my companies (I have two) in separate folders. In those folders, I have folders like:

- Client Projects

- Confidentiality Agreements

- Invoicing

- Newsletters

- Articles

- Website Updates

Now, your folders might be completely different and you might not like having about 10 folders but it works for me. If I am looking for something for a client, I just go to my clients’ folder and there everything is in their individual folder. There are endless ideas to being organized!

2. Being Able

Being able means showing your intelligence and talent to your clients. This will improve your business and show you are efficient if you are one step ahead of your client at all times. They will appreciate your ability to ‘read their mind’ and it shows that you have been doing your job all along!

3. Are you good at your job?

It’s simple. Your clients will be able to ‘figure you out’ in the first month of having you as their virtual assistant. If you are good at what you do and prove that to them, you are being efficient for their business. Being good at your job includes:

- Looking into problems on your own and realising that its okay to ask for help too!

- Answering their questions without hesitation.

- Staying focused on your work.

- Completing tasks before the due date.

- Making sure the work is done right.

Like organizational skills, the list can be endless and it ranges on the type of you work you do.

Looking forward to sharing many successes with you!

Trina Lamarche

Efficient VA

Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? You have my permission, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Trina Lamarche (Efficient VA) started her virtual career three years ago by helping launch and setup Business Services, ETC, a virtual assistance firm. After two years working for other people, she realized what she really wanted to do; become an owner of her very own virtual assistance business. In the past year, she has been working part-time as a ‘Virtual Assistant’s Assistant’ (a term she coined while working on client work one evening.) Always the overachiever, she decided to open a second virtual assistance company, Efficient Virtual Assistant (EVA), working directly with clients.

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Tags: ethical, management, power, financial, resource

A solid search engine marketing, or SEM, strategy often closely resembles a modern investment portfolio. Some attention is given to short-term gains; some to middle-of-the-road opportunities; and, some to emerging markets. But most of the core portfolio is dedicated to models with proven results, accurate tracking and long-term profits.

With Internet competition building at a wild pace, many companies have trouble looking beyond the glamor of top positioning on a paid-search results list. These companies need to be looking, instead, for an SEM partner that can not only see past the fervor, but also be willing to share those realities and set a new course.

An SEM firm that sets realistic expectations from the beginning has a stronger chance of keeping pace with competitive campaigns and accurately determining where to dedicate dollars on Google, Yahoo! and MSN.

When establishing a strategy that maximizes return on investment and gives clients a well-rounded approach, an ethical SEM firm examines:

– Market Optimization: Finding keywords that will garner results now, as well as offering potential keywords for campaign expansion, as budget allows, is critical. This shows the firm understands the client’s desire to see results quickly, but also participate in long-term, dynamic campaigns.

– Flexibility: Adding and removing keywords or turning campaigns on and off at will can make a client uncomfortable, at first. But by showing day-to-day comparisons and trends, the client becomes familiar with the benefits of a more-flexible strategy.

– Competitive Position and Approach: Many clients assume it’s best to be at the top of paid search results. This mindset can limit a campaign’s effectiveness if consumers are buying based on more than a simple “see-it-first” approach. When price, timing, delivery and location – to name a few – are factors, clients benefit from a well-researched strategy that reflects their customers’ Internet shopping habits.

And, because not every company is basing the success of its paid search campaign on dollars earned versus dollars spent, a good SEM firm can use its analytical tools and its experience to demonstrate real potential and honest results on more-specific levels, like cost per acquisition and impact on consumer awareness.

By partnering with an experienced, honest SEM firm, companies can look forward to building an Internet strategy that mirrors today’s top-performing investment portfolios. With balance, consistency and flexibility, the effectiveness of an overall campaign can take advantage of short-term gains and find opportunities for long-term success.

Aaron Wittersheim is president of Whoast Inc., a Chicago based search engine marketing firm. For more information, please visit here.

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Tags: ethical, seo, search, engine, financial

“Cost of implementation sarbanes oxley” – The cost of implementation regarding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could extend well beyond legal internal auditing practices and a concrete monetary figure. This truth will be explored through the actual calculated cost of implementation regarding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the underlying cost that money alone cannot satisfy, and lastly, how written articles optimized for Internet search engines can reduce cost and increase transparency with investors and the public.

As reported by the Financial Executives International, out of 217 companies surveyed with revenues above $5 billion, the cost associated with becoming compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act through standard means of implementation averaged at $4.36 million dollars.

It has also been reported that monetary cost will eventually reduce itself naturally as accountants increase their familiarity with Sarbanes-Oxley Act implementation and become more accustomed to corporate evaluation.

But what about the cost in public image towards a presently skeptical public? Is there no advantage in letting people and investors now about your internal activities?

A second report by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, an accounting and consulting firm, identifies impediments in implementation performance regarding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act far more hostile to corporate health than any actual monetized figures.

To quote from the report on such obstacles involved in implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act:

1. “”Project mindset: …many companies understandably treated section 404 compliance as a discrete project with a clearly defined ending point.”"

Any such endeavor not done in an open and transparent manner may not only hinder the goals of your business towards fulfilling implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, but could also fuel an already suspicious public from channeling their investments into your firm. Implementation should be seen through well-written online material, not discovered.

2. “”Improvisational approach: Another symptom of deadline pressure showed up in the jerrybuilt practices that carried many companies through the first year.”"

With ill-defined goals and a lack of experience in producing proper communicative materials for investors, the public and also as an internal informational resource, what was once a quick fix could quickly become your corporate liability – communicative cost then becomes an immovable object that spawns further issues, all because of neglect in the quality and availability of written material at the onset.

3. “”Ignored risks: Effective internal control is predicated on risk… the controls themselves — exist expressly for the purpose of minimizing the risk of financial reporting errors… In year one, risk assessment was treated as an afterthought — if addressed at all.”"

The primary reason for risk assessment is to address all threats – even those that are not monetized and neatly fit into the “”bottom line.”" By ignoring the communications threats inherent in improper implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, your firm risks undermining its entire transparency strategy.

In addition to the audits themselves, it’s easy to see how search-engine optimized articles (whose carefully targeted and inexpensive words are a fraction of the cost of mainstream media) can become a key asset regarding both Sarbanes-Oxley Act implementation as well as increasing your firm’s visibility and standing in all respects including act compliance.

Open-door access in implementation and a series of informative, well-written online articles can make an easy transition for you to achieve compliancy goals in regards to Sarbanes-Oxley Act implementation, as well as enhance public awareness of your firm and its dedication to legitimate practices.

In summary, articles that put your business on the top of Internet searches will become capable of making new inroads to the public mind, establish your firm as a transparent and responsible public entity (for Sarbanes-Oxley implementation or otherwise) and lastly, reduce your promotional budget cost by harnessing the power of the Internet and its increasingly dominant role as a public information provider.

Matthew Harley is a freelance copywriter and SEO writing expert. You can view his website

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I was reading through a magazine and read an interesting article on how the SBA organization praises how it is out to help smaller businesses and entrepreneurs finance their start ups. They talked about what they say they do and what they really do. Also at the end they ask the question about do they still matter? Like do they still matter to the small business men and women who need help or are they just out for themselves.

Well let me give you the rundown of some of the points they touched on in the article. First off if you remember the post I wrote about the SBA on micro loans and the later one on free help with your business plans. Mostly that is what the SBA does according to the article. They hire retired professionals who volunteer their time and services to entrepreneurs starting out in the business world and offer loans that are guaranteed up to a certain percentage. Now where everything gets fuzzy is how they are suppose to be a substitute for new or start up businesses who can not receive traditional financing from a bank (Due to credit or lack of experience), but they got rid of the LowDoc loan that most start up businesses applied for and were approved. Main reason for the termination of the loan is because they say they were losing too much money with the program (Not profiting maybe?). The lowdoc loan was pretty much a fast application (Low Documents) to get money to fund your business, which was backed by the SBA up to a certain percent to make the bank feel safer with the transaction. Once they terminated the loan package they replaced it with the SBA Express loan, which was suppose to be the new alternative to financing small businesses.

Only thing wrong with that picture is that the requirements for the loan were stricter and really worked for companies that could demonstrate cash flow, but lacked in collateral department (Not for riskier borrowers). In order to show proof they expect two years of business operation and if your business is a start-up…how can you demonstrate cash flow and most likely it is your first year in business…maybe even your first month! The article stated that after research how most of the Express loans were going out to businesses that should already have sufficient cash flow. I know I experienced similar problems when I applied for a loan while I was still in college and had no real credit, plus no longstanding business. Everywhere I turned they pointed me in the direction of the SBA offices for financing…so I went and was declined, Mostly because my lack of a sustainable business (Plus no credit, but that is what they are suppose to be there for!) that demonstrated a path to success. I was less than a few months in at the time.

So what is your out take on this situation? Is the SBA really there to help or the publicity of helping out and making our government look good in the process?

I am the creator and author of How to start a clothing line from scratch. An entrepreneur weblog for fashion industry professionals who want to start and run a successful clothing line here.

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

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

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

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

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

References:

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

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

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

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

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Tags: ethics, decision, financial, importance

“Are you coach-able ? before we go on, give that question some thought. As a youth growing up a lot of us might have been a member of some sort of team sport. Within that sport there was rules in place to guide us in the proper manner of play. At times acting as a individual we may have had our own idea on how something was done regardless of the rules.

This kind of behavior was unacceptable, and are coach was there to reminds us of the right way to do things. Well in order to be a active team player you had to be coach-able, you had to follow your coaches instructions. Because the coach was a leader, and based his decisions on the rules of the game. Then the team perform their various duties to the letter.

The team made up of many individuals were all coach-able, and their coach-able attitudes assured the teams success. Have you ever been a member of some sort of home-based business, and it seem as through there was no real leader, no true path to follow. I, believe we all may have found ourselves in that kind of boat before. It’s a boat with out a rudder, no true direction, and no captain to guide your journey. So you would find yourself drifting aimlessly, and eventually running a ground without a clue why. So if you want to find success you must have a coach to guide you in making important decisions that will keep your business afloat.

A coach, or mentor is a priceless asset to any teams success. I, have some insight into this, and wish to share it with you. Stop your drifting, and start succeeding at your integrity based business endeavors, be coach-able. I, want to introduce you to a coach. It requires that you spend one of your most valuable assets, and that is your time. No other cost is involved other than your courage, your ability to listen, and most of all be coach-able.

Now I, must admit that is a higher price than most of us are willing to pay. Your desire to succeed should be stronger than your pride becoming embarrassed, or shamed of your pass failures. We don’t just want any run of the mill type coach, we want a winner who has won, and is winning everyday, right now. A coach that can prevent your failure, one who knows what lies ahead, and will be there to help you navigate around these hidden dangers ready to sink your hopes, and desires. So ask yourself are you coach-able, and are you ready to succeed.

If so go ahead, and visit me here to get started.

Join our team, we all have failed, and that was due to lack of direction. Let your business journey be a profitable one, and be a part of a winning team. To your success, I, welcome you. Kindly Yours, Kim S Elleman

I, live in Hawaii, on the beautiful island of Oahu. I enjoy skin-diving, and keeping fit. I love making smoothies, and over the years have gotten pretty good at it.

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Tags: ethical, management, power, financial, resource

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