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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tags: ethical, issues, articles, business, decision

The Equal Employment Opportunity commission (EEOC) defines Sexual Harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when submission to such conduct is made, whether explicitly or implicitly, a term or condition of an individual’s employment, submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions, or when the conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

Sexual harassment can include a wide variety of behavior and occurs on various levels, ranging from:

- occasional comments, jokes, touching or gestures

- behavior that persists even after being issued a light, informal
warning or an isolated behavior that is more severe,

- repeated or persistent offensive behavior even after being issued
formal discipline, aggressive touching, or any behavior that is clearly intended to cause offense, even if isolated.

There are two type of harassment under the legal definition:

1/ Quid-Pro-Quo Harassment

This is the when the employer makes sex a prerequisite to getting something in the workplace. For example: ” sleep with me and you’ll get the job.” That’s illegal. This type of sexual harassment is the “casting couch” cliché. Quid-pro-quo can also include negatives. For example, “sleep with me or you’re fired” is also illegal.

Obviously, the woman who is fired because she wouldn’t sleep with the
boss can sue.

Take for example a situation where the boss asks one of his assistants to sleep with him in exchange for a promotion. She does it and gets the promotion. Under the law, she has a claim, because her agreeing to his sexual demands was a condition of the promotion. She also has a
claim if she refused and didn’t get the promotion.

However the conduct must be “offensive”. If two employees have a good time exchanging sexual jokes, it would not be sexual harassment. If one employee kept telling another employee sexual jokes that the second employee found offensive, it would be sexual harassment. If two employees dated and engaged in consensual sex, this would not be sexual harassment. If one of the two then wanted to terminate the relationship, and the other used the unequal relative terms and
conditions of employment of the work place to further the relationship, this would be sexual harassment.

Jokes, pictures, touching, leering, unwanted requests for a date have all been found by courts to be sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can be between people of the same sex. Sexual harassment can be awoman harassing a man.

Anyone who is offended by a sexually harassing environment may theoretically sue. However, that employee’s offense must be reasonable. An extremely sensitive person might not be able to
maintain a claim, because her feelings of having been offended were not reasonable.

The reasonableness is evaluated by a standard that is the same as a person in the victim’s circumstances. For example, what a reasonable woman might think is a hostile environment is not necessarily the same as what a man might think is a hostile environment. If it’s a woman
who was harassed, it’s the woman’s point of view that counts.

Victims of sexual harassment can recover for their lost wages, future lost wages, emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorneys fees.

2/ Hostile Workplace Environment

Hostile environment sexual harassment is a situation in which the employer, supervisor, or co-worker or customer does or says things that make the victim feel uncomfortable because of his or her sex.

Hostile environment sexual harassment does not need to include a demand for an exchange of sex for a job benefit. It is the creation of an “uncomfortable environment”.

If a fellow worker is the one doing the discrimination and harassment, you should follow the company policy and report the conduct to your supervisor and Human Resources. Report it in writing to have proof of the date you reported it, and be sure to be specific about the exact
nature of the discrimination or harassment. Saying things like Joe is bothering me or harassing me is not sufficient. Also, saying that Joe called me the “N” word once is insufficient. Don’t retaliate back, or you can be fired.

Anyone who is offended by a discriminatory or sexually harassing hostile environment may theoretically sue. However, that employee’s offense must be reasonable. An extremely sensitive person might not be able to maintain a claim, if his or her feelings, that have been
offended, were not reasonable.

Again, victims of discrimination or sexual harassment can recover fortheir lost wages, future lost wages, emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorneys fees.

There are steps that employers are advised to take to protect themselves from employee sexual harassment cases. They should:

· ensure that sexual harassment policies and procedures are in compliance with current state and federal laws.

· Circulate their sexual harassment policy, reinforcing commitment to eliminating and preventing harassment in the workplace.

· Obtain written acknowledgments from employees regarding their receipt of policies.

· Provide sexual harassment training for managers.

· Update sexual harassment investigation pro-cedures for compliance with state and federal law.

· Train human resource’s staff regarding appropriate techniques.

· Conduct an audit of personnel files involving past sexual harassment and discrimination complaints

· Update hiring policies and procedures

It is necessary for all employers to have a detailed policy statement, to protect both themselves, and their employees.

William Meikle is a Scottish tech author, with 20 years experience in IT management. He is available for all freelance writing work. Visitt him and read more free advice at this site.

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Tags: ethical, issues, list, moral, value

“The prominence of drug testing in the workplace is expanding throughout the country as more and more companies employ drug tests to take a this critical step to ensure the safety and sanctity of the workplace. Optimally, keeping the workplace clear of drug users would ensure greater safety for the employees as a whole and increase the overall productivity of the company, and cheap, easy and accessible drug tests would make that happen. In spite of all this optimism, it is to be noted that drug testing in the workplace was never accepted by most communities as such in the beginning.

It is true that drug use by the employees would lead to on-the-job accidents, absenteeism and employee theft and that recurrent drug testing in the workplace could potentially discourage the use of drugs altogether. The major gripe of the employees was that it was not just the regular drug users and addicts that were being targeted. Drug testing proved a threat to the employment of people who used recreational drugs occasionally. There were fears of knee jerk dismissals of employees that were highly productive and efficient for the simple reason that they indulged themselves in a rave so long back that they could not even remember. Drug testing was promoted as to being focused on counseling and rehabilitating the employees that were detected, but people perceived it as a threat to their employment prospects.

Drug testing in the workplace was also being widely characterized as a blatant violation of the privacy of an individual. Today, these points of protests are dying a slow death as more and more people realize the importance of weeding out drug abusers from the workplace. Drug testing in the workplace in some form is approved in most states of the US, but the practice is not properly regulated in most cases. The people who are subjected to drug testing in the workplace do not necessarily give their consent, nor is it considered essential. The fact that a so called official could walk in and order you to urinate in a vial without a specified reason compounds the argument that this whole practice is a violation of personal privacy.

Although drug testing the employees was considered impractical just a few months ago due to its high costs, a new wave of practical and cheap drug tests flooding the market has caused a phenomenon of sorts. It is not just current employees who are subjected to drug testing in the workplace; prospective employees and job applicants are also put through a drug test before they start off on the job.

Today the hundreds of laws that exist that govern the drug testing in the workplace, most only aid in furthering the confusion on what is acceptable and what is not. To add to the woes, most of these laws do not help through the way they are stated to convince the employees who are on the receiving end of these laws. Still, the practice continually evolves in its execution to encompass more and more employees bringing the dream of a drug free workplace true – one employee at a time.

This Article is written by Lena Butler, the author of TestCountry Health Information Resources, a longer version of this article is located at The Ethics of Drug Testing in the Workplace and resources from other home health and wellness testing articles are used such as TestCountry Drug Testing Kits.

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Tags: legal, ethics, professional, issues, modern

“Like a high-gloss diamond ring on the hand of a glamorous fashion model, the offices of a legitimate stock brokerage will sparkle. When you visit one you will not feel like you are going up against a card shark in a gambling casino. You will quickly conclude that these are not the premises of a scam artist’s carnival midway joy ride.

They will showcase a good balance of offerings. Many of these will be with Fortune 500 companies and a good cross-section of well-known, prestigious firms listed on the various stock exchanges. And no quick-buck con men to instantly push these either.

They are usually located at easy-to-find addresses on well-known streets, and are housed in well-lighted, nicely-appointed offices. Very subtly you will get the idea that, while money can’t buy happiness, it sure makes misery a lot easier to deal with.

Extensive biographies of their brokers and other operational and management personnel are most often readily available. Some you will meet, with no hint or talk of up the ante, beat the street, sweeten the pot, a sweetheart deal, or it’s a cash cow.

And, their list of references and testimonials from satisfied customers is usually extensive. No chest thumping, self-congratulatory back slapping of themselves as being the “”best in the financial guru business.”"

In checking out their research facilities you will also find an attempt at thoroughness, a striving to provide fact-digging excellence to support their stock and bond selection recommendations.

In sharp contrast. . .

Much like the face on the bar room floor, a boiler room–or bucket shop–will almost always be located on a back street, in a dingy office. It will have many small desks shoved together, or in tiny cubicles, featuring sales personnel–scam artists– working phone banks, reading from scripts in their conversations. They do not provide wide-spread offerings. And, no research facilities open to the public at this version of a Norman Bates motel either. No extensive bios and no variety of testimonials. Their surroundings are much like the settings in a legal thriller movie.

Do not expect to deal with someone inspired by Mother Teresa. Rather, the boiler room boys will glad-handingly pass themselves off to you as the most gifted authorities on the American free enterprise system since the Rockefeller clan’s bankers. Their specialty, along with their operational goals, is quite different from the legitimate stock brokerage. Learning these differences is essential to your financial well being. Failure to do so could be the equivalent of diving into a lake encased in a cement life jacket. The con men’s “”specialties”" includes:

> Classic Pump and Dump operations.
Just another well-known shell game.

> Reverse of the Pump and Dump, known as the Short and Distort. Here the scam artists spread rumors in order to drive the prices of thinly traded stocks down. rather than in the generally accepted direction, up. Then, they buy back the results of their “”short sales”" at a discount and profit. Most often considerably.

> The selling of fictitious foreign exchange investments. Yes, that’s right, stuff grabbed purely out of thin air. The scam artists know how intriguing it is to seduce with language like “”foreign exchange,”" and how many suckers exist out there who will “”sail”" for this exotic-sounding type investment.

> The selling of risky, small cap IPO’s (Initial Public Offerings). Now, not all IPOs are necessarily poor investments. Some–a very few–are actually millionaire makers. But, the odds against are enormous. The only good, proven millionaire-making potential here is for the scam artists who peddle them. The odds do truly smile on the con men in this investment category.

> The selling of “”house stocks,”" shares in shaky companies–usually tiny firms–that are of OTC Bulletin Board or Pink Sheets quality at best.. These are usually blocks of stock that the scam artists have purchased at a sharp discount. Exceptions? Yes, like IPOs. A select few will flower, flourish, and produce bountiful profits. But, the big majority will reward–only–the con man advocate.

> Maybe the worst of all the practices of these people is the holding back on execution of sell orders. And, sometimes outright failure to execute. (They will go to great lengths to avoid the creation of downward pressure on the prices of stocks they are trying to unload.)

Selection can be of equal challenge–in determining reality as opposed to the plot of a legal thriller book. Your failure at being able to distinguish between the two–differentiate between the legitimate and illegitimate operations–could be costly to you. If you were to, somehow, stumble into dealings with the boiler room boys by mistake, you would be like the lumberjack 100 feet up a tree suddenly coming upon a bee hive. Naturally, you can stomp, cajole, complain. You can threaten them with a law suit.. Of course, you can always try taking a bone away from a pit bull, too. You’d probably get equally as far.

The Con Man’s Blog, and first two chapters of Jack Payne’s legal thriller book, Six Hours Past Thursday, are now available online. Both readable for free. You are invited to visit this blog.

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Tags legal, ethics, professional, issues, modern

What has happened to our society over the last few decades? Have we improved our level of understanding of the fundamental principles of life? Have we advanced in technologies that improve the quality of life? Have we increased the expected lifespan of the human race?

Have all the new technologies resulted in the promised leisure time? Look at your own lifetime and ask yourself, “”How far have we really come?”" And I have one additional question: “”Do we know where we are going?”" No ship captain worth his salt would consider leaving port without clearly understanding his destination and charting a course to get him and his cargo there safely and efficiently.

Yet we have seen countless news stories of plans gone wrong when it comes to things like protecting the ecology and the environment. Many large corporations have gone bankrupt, leaving both employees and investors holding the bag while CEO’s and staff members have made personal fortunes. Aid in the form of foodstuffs, clothing and building materials, sent by kind hearted and well meaning people, have been hoarded by gang lords or political leaders for their personal gain, often while their own people starve or die from exposure. Many are now reluctant to contribute to relief efforts because they doubt that the truly needy will benefit.

On a smaller scale, we see whistle blower stories of corruption in local businesses and in local government, where individuals have diverted public funds for personal use, and where confidential information has been sold to competitors or even political enemies. Newspapers and television news programs are likely to show us only those stories that align with their own agendas, and have become very unreliable when it comes to real reporting. Clearly, something has gone wrong, and it is not in isolated areas. Like a disease it has spread throughout society in all parts of the globe.

One survey indicated that only about 14% of respondents place confidence in schoolteachers, 5% in newspaper reporters and journalists, and 3% in corporate CEO’s and political leaders. Why? I believe that the answer is the lack of personal ethics. In my mind there is no line separating personal ethics, business ethics, so called situational ethics, spiritual ethics or any other kind of ethics. One is an ethical, though imperfect, person, or not. We don’t put on a suit of business ethics before we leave for work, and change into our personal ethics attire at 5pm. Just as I have long believed that it is wise to have only one vocabulary, one that you can comfortably use everywhere without fear of embarrassment, I believe that we must also have only one set of ethics.

We live with the same ethical standards every waking moment. Simply stated, ethics is a statement of right and wrong. If a thing is wrong here, it will be wrong there. If it is wrong now, it will be wrong next week or next year. These are rights and wrongs based on principles. Now, a decision whether to buy a car or a truck based on current needs, is not a decision based on ethics. And though we may not need a truck today, next year we may decide that we do. No change in ethics, but a change in conditions. What would be ethical in either case would be to arrange payment and live up to that arrangement, register the vehicle properly, obtain insurance, pay the taxes on personal property, drive carefully, avoid driving while intoxicated, obey traffic laws intended for the protection of everyone, etc. Tons of ethical considerations surround the use of a vehicle.

As John C, Maxwell says in his book “”There’s No Such Thing as Business Ethics”", there is only ONE RULE for making decisions, the Golden Rule. Is it right or is it wrong? Within that framework, we may sometimes have to decide what is right for the greatest number of people involved, but we must do so while carefully considering the effect on ALL of the people. Such decisions will not always be easy. And at times we may be forced to do what is best for someone else, not simply what is best for us.

At times, what is best for another might be inconvenient or even costly for us, but a strong sense of ethics will compel us to make that choice and to live with it. And in the end we become better for it. I recall bidding on a small remodeling job many years ago in the home of an elderly woman. I got the job and didn’t discover until midway through that I had grossly underestimated the time and cost of materials. I completed the work and billed the lady according to our agreement, though I lost money on the job. The result was that I learned to estimate more carefully, and the woman recommended me to all her friends and neighbors, so that I was kept busy that whole season.

Ethical behavior ALWAYS pays off, one way or another. The scales will always balance.

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Customers are what business is all about. Yet they are too often taken for granted by those who provide services and goods. How the consumer views the marketer is critical to successfully promoting their products.

Yet many marketers try to deceive or hide the truth from the very customers that they depend on. Some marketers look on their potential customers as sheep that are too stupid to see when they are being misled. Got news for you people are not sheep and are a lot more intelligent than they are given credit. The only difference between the seller and the buyer is that one has something to sell and the other seeks purchase certain goods or services.

Both the marketer and the consumer are human beings with varied views and beliefs. No one in this world wants to be deceived, conned, or mistreated. Then why would someone who is in business for themselves want to tarnish their name and reputation by misleading customers because someday down the road the consumer will become aware of this and discontinue using said merchant. Sometimes the authorities of the merchant’s location may find such practices harmful and bring legal proceedings against them.

Businesses that want to be long standing and successful should be ethical in their dealings with the public. Just because someone appears to be getting outstanding results from doing things less than ethical does not give the good business person some green light to do the same. Following in the footsteps of those that are less than honest may seem glamorous to some but the final outcome may be not too favorable to those who choose such a path.

Anything in life worth doing takes commitment and dedicated work. A good merchant seeks to provide the best services and goods to those they serve. A good merchant is always concerned about their customer needs by offering great customer service when a problem arises. The merchant should seek to provide complete and honest details about the services they provide and the goods that they sell.

When sales and service procedures change for those you service be as detailed as possible about changes and how it will affect the consumer. The more open and forthright you are with your customer the fewer problems and misunderstandings there should be. You will never satisfy everyone no matter how upfront and honest you maybe that are just something that happens from time to time. Treating those you serve with kindness and respect will help smooth the way when some misunderstanding does arise. Be quick to respond to problems your customers may present to you seeking to find solutions to remedy their problem. Their problem may seem silly to you but to the one who has the problem it is serious matter that demands your full attention.

The bottom line is the more you are able to make your customers happy the end result is that your life should be more successful and that makes you happy. The merchant’s main goal is to provide the best benefits to the potential consumer and convert them into life long customers of your products and services. How your customers and potential customers perceive your character and ethics has a direct bearing on how you will succeed or fail in your business pursuits.

William R Brandenburg. Visit him here

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Tags: ethical, value, moral, issues, ethics

“Here is blatant hypocrisy, deception and carnal corruption. Have business ethics every been so raw and rancid as in this true scenario?

Having seen such a beautiful picture of a young pure powerful Church of Jesus Christ, suddenly the pendulum swings, and this is something we see often in The Bible. It is something we experience in everyday life too. Have you ever noticed that? Everything appears to be going so well and quite suddenly surprise confronts us.

The scene changes, in Acts Chapter 5, in the New Testament, where we read of another aspect of church life which is just as real.

We read of a husband and wife – Ananias and Sapphira. They sold a piece of property. Let’s say, just to get the feel of what was happening, that they got £200,000 for it. They talked it over, and deciding to bring £150,000 and present it to the leadership in The Church, but giving the impression they were offering the entire amount.

Have you ever been tempted to allow people to think you are giving and donating more than you really are? It may present a good impression for a brief moment, but you are kidding no-one.

One of the leaders, Peter, challenges Ananias when he comes with what might be regarded as a substantial offering, “”Why are you lying to the Holy Spirit? Why?

“”You were free to handle the money, weren’t you? Why have you behaved in this way? Whatever made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men – but to God.”"

Ananias dropped down dead. A great reverential fear came upon all who heard what had happened.
Sometimes it can be good to get a real fright. Sometimes it is good to be filled with a healthy fear.

Might this article make you give serious thought to your giving and donating – or perhaps to some other area in your business life?

About three hours later, his wife came into the Jerusalem Fellowship, not knowing what had happened. Peter asks Sapphira some questions. “”Tell me, is this the price you got for the property you sold? Was it £150,000?”" “”YES, that’s right. That’s what we got.”"

Is Peter giving her the opportunity to confess her sins, repent, sort things out and put right what was very wrong? There is no sense of Repentance or Confession, and she too dies.

If there was one thing, God was not going to permit in the Church at this time it was hypocrisy. If this had gone unchecked, it could have wrecked and ruined that young Church.

Hypocrisy wrecks The Church of Jesus Christ quickly, and where money is involved hypocrisy and deception can become dangerous.

Many years ago when I was travelling through Germany on a train a very wise man told me, as we discussed spiritual matters and money – “”Never touch the gold or the glory.”"

If God gives you money give away the surplus. If God uses you in any way, pass all the praise and glory on to Him – never bathe in any of it yourself. What precious advice.

I had been ministering at four Conferences and Preaching Engagements, and each group had given me travelling expenses and gifts of money – and to me, as a youngish preacher and teacher, all this had become a very real question and conundrum. I am so glad it did not become a problem. This wise man provided me with a wise answer, and I am glad I had the guts to put it into practice.

Their sin was that they wanted to be thought of as being as generous as Barnabas, who had given in a generous substantial manner, without paying the cost. There is a COST in PENTECOST.

Jesus Christ was so tender with adulteresses, but blasted hypocrites.

The signs and wonders continued in that young church, but the crowds of people joining evaporated and disappeared. People still came to faith in Jesus Christ, but it was a slightly different situation now.

There are ethical and moral principles here from which every business man could learn. These lessons could rescue a man from years of heartache and pain.

Sandy Shaw

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.

He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at this site entitled “”Word from Scotland”" on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.

His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.

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Tags: individual, ethics, code, issues, business

“If you’ve watched The Sopranos you know one of the most sacred honors that bind this family organization together is trust. To become a member of this family you must prove yourself, and if accepted, cement this relationship through a blood covenant.

Afterwards your new family becomes your number one priority. Twenty-four hours a day. Everyday. And once you’re in—there is only one human way out.

Your new family becomes the highest priority in your life. They become more important than your own family. You do everything the family leaders want you to do without question. Every action hinges on loyalty and trust.

How would this family handle a breach of trust? They have many solutions depending on the severity of the crime. And punishment is usually harsher than a slap on the wrist.

Yet in today’s I, Me and My society people casually commit multiple breaches of trust. Relationships, partnerships and contracts are violated without an ounce of regard to the other party or to the consequences. Which creates overflow in the courthouses.

As honest business people I know we’re in agreement when I say you don’t want to become a victim of unscrupulous practices, jealous partners or the ever-common business parasite who bleeds your creative juices without compensation. This can happen to the best of us, and unfortunately, the perpetrator normally gets away without penalty. You can vent all you want at the Better Business Bureau, but they don’t have a lot of teeth.

So how can you protect yourself from these kinds of business deal breakers?

Put everything in writing. This is your proof. Avoid oral agreements, as they can backfire on you. You don’t want to be dragged into court saying, “”But your honor, she promised me she would do…”"

(Here’s my disclaimer: I’m not an attorney and this isn’t legal advice. Consult your attorney about legal documents and forms.)

Let’s take a look at how you can protect yourself:

1) A proposal basically shows the potential client what you will do for her. It can include ideas, strategies, your fees and if approved—what the next step will be for both parties.

2) A work-for-hire credits you, the hiring party, as the author of a published work. If you hire a ghostwriter to write your book, a work-for-hire credits you as the author. Other variables may credit the actual author as the co-author or as the inspiration for your work.

3) A deal point memo is a pre-cursor to the actual contract. It summarizes everything in the contract and must be signed by both parties. This makes the contract crystal clear for both parties and saves the expense of lawyers’ fees in case one party backs out at the contract signing.

4) A copyright automatically protects all your written works, expression of an idea or information regardless if you display the © symbol or not. A similar (P) inside a circle means Phonorecord and protects audio recordings. It’s a great idea to file copyrights for revenue-producing products.

Many people ask what they should do if they see their published work pirated into different languages. Here’s my take: you may lose lots of revenues, but you may also reach markets you never would have in record speed. I suggest you have signposts in your work that always point back to your phone number, your address and especially your website.

5) A contract is a legally binding agreement or promises between two parties. It basically details both parties’ responsibilities, the compensation and what happens when one party backs out of the deal. You should include non-compete clauses, rights, waivers, warranties, arbitration and attorney fees. These are usually drawn up, or at least proofread by an attorney.

6) A signed audio/video release gives you certain rights to produce, publish and promote your recorded materials without compensating the participants. This is ideal if you give seminars and teleseminars, which you want to package into CD or DVD albums. You may bar individual participants from attending your event who won’t sign this release.

7) A trademark ™ distinguishes its products or services from those of other entities. It adds a great deal of credibility and tells the world you stand by your products. It’s typically made up of a name, slogan, phrase, logo, design or image. If your trademark is not actively used or promoted for a period of time, you may lose it due to abandonment.

In an ideal world, all we would need is to shake hands to complete a deal. If that’s impossible due to long distance, your word will do. But this isn’t an ideal world. Get together with your attorney to protect yourself from all breaches of trust.

Tommy Yan helps business owners and entrepreneurs make more money through direct response marketing. He publishes Tommy’s Tease weekly e-zine to inspire people to succeed in business and personal growth. Get your free subscription today here.

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Tags: ethical, issues, training, business, corporate

“As soon as the schools return this serious matter of bullying quickly returns to take up our attention. It is like a virulent virus in these present days.

It is epidemic in proportion in some places, and not only epidemic, but also demonic. A spirit of bullying can infect a school or business. O yes, this is not limited and restricted to young people. Adults can be adept at bullying. How many bosses are regarded as bullies and that ought not to be. Know that it can be dealt with and stopped. More than one method may be needed to produce the desired result.

Twice during his lifetime and ministry, Jesus Christ cleansed The Temple in Jerusalem of all unscrupulous trading.

He stopped the opportunistic bartering, and within the week God closed down the Temple, opening up a better way.

This greatly upset the religious authorities, and they began to put pressure on Jesus.

They started bullying Jesus.

Bullying can arise when people get away from God. They forget that God sees their every action and hears each word.

Rebels are slippery cunning characters and they will do anything to avoid being discovered. When rebels resort to bullying it is serious and sore. Have you found that where you work? Most large establishments have someone who for some peculiar reason likes to through his or her weight around. Yes, it can be a woman too. Women are not exempt from such activities.

Satan is a bully. He will go for those who are weak. He always does. He looks for those who know they are vulnerable and he attacks suddenly and surprisingly. His shock tactics can throw a person if he does not know is happening.

Might this be why we are currently hearing so much about bullying? As people move further away from the Word of God, something or someone else takes over.

Before Jesus began preaching and teaching, God raised up John, who exercised a brief, but powerful, ministry beside the Jordan River. All kinds of needy people came to him and he dealt with various problems and issues. Crowds clamoured to hear John speak and preach, but John was not an open air entertainer.

He was a man of God, and when people wanted to do something about the way they had been living John took them into the waters of the Jordan and baptised them. It was like a bath for those who were morally and spiritually dirty. God was getting people to clean up their act.

Some Roman soldiers, who realised they were behaving badly, asked John, “”What should we do?”"

John replied, “”Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely.”"

In other words, “”Don’t bully.”"

Having a bully around at school, or work, or in the home, is horrendous. A bully is a horrid person.

These soldiers knew what they were like and so did God’s man, John.

People who are aware that they are bullies do not like themselves, and they do not like what they are doing. Something or someone else takes over!

It can be sorted out. Most do not want to continue living that nasty way, and there is no need to.

There is an effective cure.

Sandy Shaw

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.

He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at this site, entitled “”Word from Scotland”" on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.

His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.

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Tags: ethical, issues, contemporary, business, companies

“Bartering was the mode of trading a long time ago. People would trade their livestock or other goods for other commodities that they need. Today, some people still use the barter method to conduct some sales or business transactions.

In the internet, we still see some barter action although not as much as buying and selling. In fact, several web sites are dedicated solely to the buy and sell or trading business. This is turning out to be a lucrative industry because some person’s junk is another person’s treasure. Some of the old or used items we may have lying around in the house may fetch a good price at the buy and sell sites. This does not necessarily mean that only old or used items are sold in these kinds of websites. Some people also sell services and other unused items for the convenience of buyers. Services cover a broad range of work which can be done using telecommunication or just at the local area. You will be surprised with the variety and type of items and services available at the traders’ sites.

Other forms of trading may also include swapping of items. These items may be entirely different from each other or similar. The quality and quantity of the items will de the determining factor of the swap. Some people also add cash to the swap or exchange to meet the requirements of some swappers. This still depends entirely on each party just how much they will add or demand from each other. Just like in real life, selling and buying sometimes need a personal aspect especially when there is trust involved. A person will trust a well-known store for the quality and data accuracy of the item being sold. If the store has a dubious reputation or an unknown reputation, we will hesitate to do business with it, in spite of the lesser price. Most people opt for the more trustworthy or better known store than other lesser known stores.

Online, we tend to check out the sellers who are recommended by other buyers and other companies than the ones who are not recommended. Recommendations help sellers gain the trust of the buyers. Most sellers also hold true to their trustworthiness because satisfied buyers are more likely to recommend them to others and to do repeat business with them. Some websites encourage interaction among sellers and buyers to minimize disappointment in the sales or transactions. It is probable that the more you get to know the buyer or seller you will the gist of his personality and know if he should be trusted or not. It is also a good thing to review the buyer’s profile and the product being sold so that you may be aware of all the little things which may not be included in the description.

Some sellers only post the major details refraining from adding too much information. To be able to chat or IM the sellers for more info or photos of the item in question would be very advantageous.

For Swapping Online, please visit Online Swapping website.

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Tags: business, ethics, issues, reasearch, corporate

“We think in generalities but we live in details, I wonder how that phrase of word applied. It has been a long time I been seeing myself as an observers in most of the things that interest me, no doubt and with no exemption the business it self. And to put bias out the play and to genuinely consider my self as an observers, one must set aside him self out from the system. Likewise the capacity of one being to separate body and soul and to take distance proximities, that is not to close or neither too far.

In my view there are requirements that business leaders are with them, in their unconscious level, which is, perceive directly or indirectly in such manner.

Seeing business perspective not too close neither too far, as well of being in the right place at the right time. As I earlier spoken, that we think in generalities but we live in details and between stimulus and response, we chooses our responses. It is a shared commonality that every leader’s are equipped with, to navigate blind in the midst of adversities.

Where is the Phantom?

Is he’s hiding somewhere or;
Or yet, to be born or to be reborn

Sometimes we seen our self’s as superior with the absence of comparison and when it comes to the acid test of leadership, one must look back to see who are his followers. We could directly or indirectly tell in close proximities, by which is which from leader to followers. The phantom may be there but no one can tell. May be its premature to unmask the business phantom as so to speak maybe his not yet been born.

Bernard Borgonos is currently working on the website design concept for online store which cater end users consumer products, ranging from Cars, Camera, Gadget, Cell Phone, Cars-Auto, Electronics and other products, His website is currently in beta stage released

Money one of the most sought after things in the entire known universe. Money is nothing more than a tool that is needed to survive in this planet. Without it you do not eat in most cases, you do not have a roof over your head, and other essentials that are needed to survive require someone’s money either your own or those who provide for you.

We work to earn or gain money so that we are able to purchase those things we deem needed. If you desire and expensive car or a piece of junk they both require money to purchase and to operate. To provide for your family, religious organization, government, and charities you must supply them with a source of money for their existence and well being.

Yet you hear people claim that money means nothing to them but that it is a means to an end. The end is something that they desire or need so they are not being true to themselves about how they value money. The more you have the more you may purchase or the more that you can contribute to what you find value in.

The poor are just dependent on money as those who have much. If there is no one to provide for the poor their very existence is in jeopardy. No person can survive without food and if no one provides a way for the poor to be fed they cease to exist. With out money to provide for bandages and medicine those who need such things will suffer greatly.

There is nothing in the world wrong with desiring to have nice and elegant things or to go on exotic trips. If you earn or make money by providing goods and services honestly and ethically you are actually assisting others by your spending and purchases. The more you are able to spread around helps numerous people obtain those things they need and desire.

If you belong to a religious organization as many people across this world, that organization likes it when you have more to give them to use in their activities. The charities across the world like those who give to their causes so the more you can give the more their causes can be met. Governments love to tax those who have much so they can sponsor their payrolls and provide the services they fund.

The love or obsession of money can and does lead to a multitude of evils that plague the world such doing harm to others by fraud, stealing, and murder to name a few things that can and do happen when people let the lust for money control their thinking. Money is not evil it is just a tool but the lust for it has cause many to stray from the road of honesty and values of human existence.

To not participate in today’s economies and let other people take care of you when you have the means to support yourself does a disservice to those who provide for your needs and the world as a whole. Those who are in poverty through no means of their own need and deserve the assistance of those who have the means. Just as those who horde all that they have and give no assistance when able appear to give no value to the world or themselves.

Money is a great tool that used wisely adds to the value of human life and those who use it wrongly take away from the true values of this world which is human beings. So making money and using it wisely is a very good thing for the whole world.

Remember these few things that take lots of funds to operate, hospitals, medical research, providing food to the needy, police forces, fire departments, schools, and the roads you travel upon. So get out there and devise ways to make more so that you can do your share in aiding in these and other establishments plus providing the best for yourself and those you love.

William R Brandenburg
Visit him at his Website

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Tags: ethical, issues, contemporary, business, companies

Is it possible for a business to be concerned about anything apart from making money? The idea does not seem to have any sense. We associate the word “”business”" with profits, losses, money, success, and failure. It is true that a sustainable businesses must make more of a profit than a loss – unless it has an exterior source of funding. However, there is a subtle difference between this and the idea that a business must make a maximum profit, and focus on this at all costs.

Maximum profit at all costs

Without doubt there are businesses – perhaps the majority – that would fit under this category. However, there are also a number of businesses that have alternative goals. Increasingly, there are businesses that see the importance of maximising benefits in addition to their goal of maximising profits.

Corporate social responsibility

Many businesses now highlight the fact that they are “”caring”" businesses, with other focusses than profit-making. This is seen when large corporations donate a percentage of money to charities, or run their own aid scheme. Some may question whether this is truly altering a business’ goals or whether the business is reacting to increase its attraction to potential or existing customers.

A clever ploy or real

So is there a way to tell if a business is truly motivated by doing good, or whether they are conning their clients into believing they are? It should be possible with sufficient research and analysis of the business in question, to identify where the goal of the business came into being. However, the opaqueness of many corporations may make this next to impossible. Regardless, the question must be asked whether the motive is important in this case, if the outcome is benefitting society.

A special case: charities and non-profit organisations

Although these would be seen by many as the prime example of a business not about making money, there is a caveat. Some non-profits are so focussed on gaining funds from grant-giving organisations or donations, that the difference between them and profit-focussed business is blurred.

Conclusion

Businesses may or may not be motivated by anything more than making a profit. However, in recent times, businesses have been focussing on increasing their corporate social responsibility, and at least in effect not operating as entities with the sole goal of profit-making. The result has a been an increase in funds directed to social causes. Customer demand is likely to be at least part of the reason for this development, and so for this trend to continue and increase, customers should shop where they see businesses operating in an ethical manner.
Ben Coleman is the CEO and owner of Real Free Websites. He has been designing websites and working on website technologies since 1999. Real Free Websites was created to fill a niche: to offer free or low-cost customized websites and top quality hosting combined with an ethical approach.

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Tags: ethical, work, issues, behaviour, practice

It seems that whenever internet marketing is discussed, business ethics and moral issues form background issues. Starting an online business is well within the price range of every person who has a modem and a computer. The fact that its is so cheap to get in, many people have lowered the standard of the entire industry.

The goal is sometimes to make customer paralysed until expiry of the guarantee period. During this period the customer has the power if they bought through a trusty payment processor.

The ethics come into play from the minute the idea pops in the brain of its creator until the business closes down and the last share holder has been paid his or her share. There is no single place for integrity and ethics in a business just as there is no place for playing around in a business.

When a customer contacts you and wishes to demand an unnecessary activity from your business or employees, and they cannot be reasoned with. There is room to terminate contact with that customer and bar them from any further interaction with your organisation. This is also part of ethics towards yourself and your staff, because the customer may not always be right.

How do you deal with a customer who feels that the product was misrepresented? You ask them if they are happy with the product and make yourself or company available to support them until they are happy. FAQ’s and auto-responders are there to deal with frequent queries but ideally you should try to limit them down by improving the product or the delivery of that product so that the query becomes a irrelevant.

I have seen websites with FAQ’s that were pages long and they were actually proud of it. Who has the time to wade through all that mess and read some question that might not be related to them? If you disagree try and get assistance from that website and see how you feel when they direct you to their FAQ’s. Would you buy their next product?

The best marketing presentations cover all those questions that a customer might have before they buy. This is part of ethical behaviour in any type of venture. Unethical companies make up the majority of the failed start-ups between 1 and 5 year period.

To search more information on currently available on the latests marketing techniques and online business opportunities, please click here Article written by Thoriso Mashego.

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Tags: ethical, work, issues, behaviour, practice

Organisations are finding that not only internal stakeholders, but increasingly external stakeholders are having more of an input into organisational strategy, goals and objectives. Each stakeholder can have differing requirements that they expect the organisation to meet depending on exactly how they interface with the organisation. Have you determined your organisation’s key stakeholders and their individual and collective requirements?

First you need to determine who your stakeholders are! Stakeholders can include suppliers, customers, consumers, shareholders, workers, management, those living in the vicinity of the business location – neighbours, businesses, schools, hospitals, governmental and legislative bodies, certification organisations and non-governmental bodies. The requirements can include, but are not limited to, product safety, product and service consistency and compliance with specifications, health and safety, worker welfare, social accountability, and the organisations actual, or potential impact on the local or global environment, impact on biodiversity and protection of ecosystems, and if applicable animal health and welfare.

The organisation must determine these myriad requirements and develop an integrated strategy that not only addresses organisational performance and cost effectiveness, but also encompasses the needs of its varied stakeholders. However at times these stakeholders may have opposing requirements and the management team will have to determine how they address this issue and this is the role of business ethics. Another output of determining stakeholder requirements is the development of both brand protection and risk management strategies and defining those risks that are acceptable, those risks that need to be managed, risks that must be mitigated and possibly transferred to a supplier or alternative organisation and those risks that are unacceptable and must be eliminated.

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Tags: ethics, issues, legal, cases, business

A new organizational paradigm is needed in order to avoid the all too common lapses in legal and ethical behavior which is seen in organizations in the world today. Ethics can no longer be seen by management of organizations as a side-line activity that is only meant to meet legal and regulatory guidelines, while leaders focus on the more important issues of profitability and the bottom line. Rather, ethics must be seen as a core function of every leader in every organization. To avoid pitfalls of ethical lapses which effect not only the individual, but also the team, the company, shareholders, customers, and the general public, ethics cannot be seen as less important or less urgent than any other managerial and/or leadership function.

In the past, the organization itself may not have been viewed as having direct responsibility for the ethical or unethical behavior of individual members of the organization. Unethical actions of members of the organization were seen as the sole responsibility of the individual. The individual alone could be held accountable for lapses in ethical behavior and the organization itself may not have been seen has having any further responsibility in the matter (Seeger, 2001, p. 3). However, as organizations have become more complex and interconnected, individual responsibility has proven more difficult to ascertain (p. 4). This is true whether we are discussing the responsibility of the successful launch of a new product or not reporting ethical violations. In most any organization today it would be nearly impossible to assign any one individual responsibility for the successful launch of a new product, so it is equally difficult to lay sole accountability for only one individual within an organization who may not report fraud. Was it the researcher who first thought of the idea, or the team who developed the product or the marketing manager or the sales team who is accountable for the success of the new product; or is a combination of all of them? In just the same manner, is it the person who does not report fraud to blame, or his manager who pushes for improved results with less emphasis on reporting procedures, or the legal department for not teaching the proper procedures to make reports, or the Human Resource department for not clearly explaining the rules; or is it an organizational shortcoming where all contribute to the lapses in ethical behavior?

In too many organizations “”ethical issues are often positioned in opposition to the more important questions of organization profitability”" (p. 4). However, in the new paradigm, shareholders cannot be seen as the only, or the most important stakeholder. Rather, all stakeholders must be seen as equally important for the organization to avoid a narrow economic focus which may lead to lapses in ethical behavior which in the end, lead to severe economic and legal consequences for the organization and its stakeholders (p. 4).

New managers and leaders must focus time and energy not only on making the organization profitable, but they must learn to help individuals in the organization recognize situations which may cause ethical dilemmas and ways in which to apply ethical behavior in a way that satisfies all stakeholders. Teaching individuals how to apply ethics when it comes to moral controversies must become a key focus of leaders in the new paradigm (p. 7). “”Applied ethics focuses on norms and guidelines of professional practice, methodologies for promoting ethical decision-making, various codes of conducts and how these function to promote discussion, informal decisions, and resolve practical ethical problems (p. 7). This focus must become a new major responsibility of every manager and leader within the new organization.

Texas Instruments is an example of a company that embodies this new organizational paradigm of management. The National Academy of Engineering cites example of how Texas Instruments’ leadership is focusing on ethical behavior on its on line ethics center (www.onlinethics.org). The company has created a website for employees to visit which lists hundreds of articles which have been published in corporate magazine TINews.

Examples like Texas Instruments show how a new paradigm is developing in organizations regarding the managerial focus on ethical behavior. Such focus will have beneficial effects on all stakeholders and a long term benefit to the bottom line by improving stakeholder relations and avoiding costly lapses in ethical behaviors which are damaging to the organization and its stakeholders.

References:

Seeger, M., (n.d.). Ethics and communication in organizational contexts: Moving from the fringe to the center. Retrieved July 6, 2007 from a website

On line Ethics Center (visit the website). Retrieved July 10, 2007

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: ethical, work, issues, behaviour, practice

A review of case studies of ethical problems various organizations have encountered show that many common ethical problems that organizations find themselves facing arise from individuals protecting their own financial benefit and/or the short-term economic goals of their organizations and not protecting other key stakeholders of the business or organization. Organizations can avoid serious consequences by considering the consequences of their actions to six key stakeholders, including; business partners, customers, employees, opinion formers, community and authorities (Trevino and Nelson, 2005, p. 196). By analyzing decisions using these six groups as a guide; “one can begin to identify how a variety of calamities might affect a company’s reputation and the value of its brand, and how much those calamities might cost” (p. 196).

By reviewing how companies have both effectively and ineffectively responded to severe ethical dilemmas, leaders of organizations can identify 8 steps for preventing ethical dilemmas in their own organizations.

1. Top down responsibility for ethical behavior must exist within an organization. The head of the organization must take responsibility to manage the ethical behavior of the organization. This responsibility cannot be delegated. Furthermore, this responsibility cannot be downplayed to a lesser role than other key leadership responsibilities, such as, short term profits. Top leadership must set the ethical tone of the organization. They must communicate their vision regarding ethical behavior to employees often and with as much emphasis and clarity as they do with other organization goals. The leader cannot leave the ethical tone of the organization to chance or to others within the organization.

2. Organizations must design a code of ethics for the organization. This code should be developed with input from a broad section of individuals within the organization. It should be distributed to every member of the organization and referred to often in training and other types of communication to employees so that it is not just a manual that sits in a file but is seen as a valid document for answering questions regarding what is accepted and not accepted as appropriate behavior within the organization.

3. Policies must be established and reinforced in the organization regarding how to report ethical abuses. Employees must understand how to report problems and know that they can do so without fear of retribution. Care must be taken that this is not just a theoretical exercise but that examples of real reporting be given and employees are rewarded for reporting ethical dilemmas.

4. Ethical responsibility must be taught to members of the organization. This must be done in various settings including on boarding of new employees, ongoing workshops, business meetings, round-table discussions with leaders, newsletters, websites, etc… Training should include case studies where employees must examine and discuss ethical dilemmas that they realistically might face and possible actions they should take. These case studies should include real cases that have occurred or theoretical cases that may occur in the organization so individuals can understand the proper way to handle real life issues. Employees must clearly understand what they have a shared individual ethical responsibility to each of the stakeholders along with the responsibility of the organization.

5. Practices must be incorporated to ensure that discussions regarding ethics are included in the decision making process. For example, a “devil’s advocate” should challenge decisions in order to explore whether unforeseen stakeholders may be jeopardized as a result of the decision; or decisions should be reviewed by an ethics committee or department to evaluate whether other stakeholders may be at risk. The practice of questioning decisions and openly exploring their consequences must be encouraged and rewarded.

6. Accountability for ethical behavior must be taken seriously by all levels of the organization. Unethical behavior should be punished and not allowed to continue. Ethical behavior must be rewarded. Performance management systems should include ethical behavior as well as other key aspects of job performance. Those higher in an organization should be punished equally as those lower in the organization. In fact, it could be justified to punish those higher in the organization more severely than those at entry level positions because they should know better and because of the example it sets for others in the organization.

7. Organizations should act swiftly to protect stakeholders when dilemmas occur. Contingency plans should be made for dealing with a crisis in order to act quickly to protect stakeholders in times of emergencies.

8. Members of the organization must know that their primary responsibility is to defend and maintain the high reputation of the organization at all times. Leaders should encourage standards of behavior to be set higher than what the law requires. What is lawful should be considered a minimum standard; however, standards should be set higher than this minimum in order to enhance and protect the reputation of the organization. Conduct below that standard should not be accepted and raising the bar higher should be rewarded and recognized by senior leaders.

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, training, questions, issues, business

We see and read about what appears to be obvious lapses of ethical behavior almost on a daily basis and ask “how is that possible”? It appears obvious to anyone learning about these stories for the first time that there was a breech of what is appropriate behavior and we wonder how so many people could be so unethical. We also believe that we certainly would act differently if we were in the same situation.

One reason why otherwise normal individuals may be caught in unethical behavior is because of a social learning process that occurs in all teams and groups. Members of teams and groups learn acceptable and expected behavior by other members and leaders of the team. Over time, a culture evolves that either encourages or discourages certain behavior. Members are even pressured either consciously or subconsciously to conform to what is accepted by the larger group. If the social group in which an individual belongs does not punish negative behavior, or even reinforces inappropriate behavior through the use of direct or indirect rewards, many people who may not behalf inappropriately in normal circumstances, may cross the line and behalf inappropriately in other circumstances.

The Tailhook Association is an association of naval aviators whose annual convention became the center of a sexual scandal because of the 90 sexual harassment charges that resulted from their 1991 convention. In all, 140 aviators were charged. While these men were not participating in such behavior outside of the convention, while at the convention, they felt their behavior was appropriate and undeserving of punishment. These types of incidents had long been known to those in the Navy and those familiar with the organization. The group never had been disciplined for treating women inappropriately.

In fact, most everyone in the military accepted the behavior as appropriate for this type of group and convention. Over the years, a culture had developed within the group that permitted sexually inappropriate behavior to occur. While no one in command would have explicitly rewarded the activity, no one would reprimand anyone for it either. Because it was permitted, the convention became a safe haven for behavior that would have been considered inappropriate in other circumstances. Members “learned” through the lack of punishment and through the tacit acceptance of the behavior that the behavior was accepted and even expected at a Tailhook Convention. It was a place where they could “let their hair down” and have fun, even though they may not have acted the same elsewhere. (Trevino and Nelson, 2005, p. 169).

The public was outraged as to how the men could act the way they did and how the Navy could have allowed such behavior to continue. While the activities seemed obviously inappropriate and unethical to anyone learning about the story for the first time, very few of the men were ever seriously held accountable for the incident. How could the group have developed a culture of such inappropriate behavior? Because, the individuals in the group had received reinforcement through many years of the organization that such behavior was accepted and even expected at Tailhook Conventions. The military did nothing to stop it, which actually encouraged the behavior more. After 1991, they slowly began to change, but still took no drastic action to discipline those involved. This lack of discipline likely reinforced the viewpoint of those involved that the behavior was acceptable and should not be punished.

The implications for other organizations and managers are clear. Rewarding unethical behavior will reinforce the behavior within the organization. Furthermore, even looking the other way and allowing the behavior to continue is a form of reward because it sends the message that the behavior is acceptable. Over time, the behavior can be ingrained in the culture and individuals, who otherwise would otherwise not do so, may begin to feel pressure to conform. Managers must not allow unethical behavior to continue without taking action to correct it. This should include taking actions against those who participate. If the Navy had taken action to punish those involved in sexual harassment at the convention, a clear message would have been sent that the behavior would no longer be accepted, and improvements in behavior may have begun to occur. The same in true in all organizations; managers that may look the other way, while inappropriate behavior occurs in their teams, are inviting unethical behavior to become part of the learned organizational behavior of their teams. Unless, they act to prevent and correct unethical behavior, individuals will continue and new members will be taught and encouraged to begin unethical behavior.

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, training, questions, issues, business

“For the most part, female and male clients are different and they should be managed differently. They act different, talk different, and often expect different results from working with their freelance graphic designers. This isn’t to say that one is better than another – they are equal, but different.

Should you assume that when you work with a male client that you have to be analytical and conventional, and with female clients you have to get in touch with “your feelings”?

Of course not. People are individuals. While there are guidelines in how to deal with females versus males, that’s all they are: guidelines.

Below are some guidelines I’ve come up with from years of working with clients – direct observation from working with over one hundred male and female clients each. Again, one client isn’t better than another one, and there are MANY exceptions to the rule, but this is what I’ve learned and use as guidelines:

I’ve tried to be as politically correct and yet fair and honest about both sexes. Feel free to post your comments, but please don’t call the “PC Police” – these are observations, not facts. I know there are exceptions to the rule, that’s why I’ve called these “guidelines”.

Female Clients:

I use the word “feel” more

Emotionally driven

Want to enjoy the process

Need you to pay attention to them

Task oriented

Change their minds a little more

I give comfort, reassurance

Have to feel good about the project and working with you

Male Clients:

I use the word “think” more

Logically driven

Want to get good results

Need you to hit deadlines

Results oriented

Change their minds a little less

I give facts, figures

Have to feel good about the results

What I’ve found in my 10 years working as a designer is that men and women for the most part are different, but everyone should be treated as an individual. Going in with a game plan like, “”This potential client is a woman, so I’ll need to do XYZ…”" is a huge mistake that can cost you the client as well as respect.

Just knowing there are differences between the two, and having them in the back of your mind when talking to potential clients is enough for any graphic or web designer. Bottom line: understand there are differences – treat everyone as an individual.

Are you a starving graphic artist? Are you having trouble finding clients? Do you wish you knew what to say to clients and how to say it so you sound more polished and professional?

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Tags: ethical, dillemas, issues, training, legal

“There are all kinds of companies out there that claim to have the best-trained individuals on the planet, like those individuals with their Masters Degree, or those with business ethics 101. So why do so many textbook business ethics fail? It’s really quite simple. A company’s business ethics are only as good as the ethics of individuals running the company.

Ethics are a part of each of our lives, good or bad. And when it comes to business ethics, the same thing applies, because some businesses have great ethics while others have poor. If you aren’t sure where your ethical radar might fall, here is something you should remember. On average a customer that is not happy will tell 20 people about their experience and those 20 people will tell 40 more and those 40 more will tell 80 more and so it goes; obviously not good for business. Vendors, and employees also complain about unethical practices and treatments and their complaints have the same compounding effect. Perhaps those numbers will make you realize the importance of business ethics.

Its smart business sense to have your business plan in place and part of that business platform is its vision of itself now and into the future, as well as its role within the community. Business ethics are part of that plan including the company’s strategy for growth, stability, and profits.

Ethics involves many things in our personal lives today and tomorrow. When it comes to business, the same thing applies relating to the company. In fact, these days there is a lot of talk about environmental footprints and your business ethics will play a role in what your company does to reduce its impact on the environment.

Ethics involve what’s going on outside the company walls, like the environmental footprints, and the way you handle your obligations in the community, with your customers, and even with your vendors. Your company ethics also apply internally to how you treat your employees and contractors.

Many times business owners are worried that having textbook business ethics will cause their business to fail because of reduced profits, when actually the opposite is true. Your profits will increase because you have a business that is fair to work for, ran smoothly, with effective management, and happy staff, combine that with happy customers and you have the formula for a healthy business with healthy profits.

Remember you are the boss and it’s you that sets the tone for your managers, which in turn filter it down to the employees. Ethics are either important to your company or not but it starts with you.

Business ethics are about the quality of your customer service, the quality of your staff’s working environment, it’s about your involvement in the community, and a host of other things. Good ethics attract customers, and customers are good for your bottom line.

So consider this – what is it you are looking for out of your business? Remember your personal ethics must be there, otherwise the textbook business ethics will fail.

Eugene L Ilten owns and operates this site.

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Tags: business, ethics, international, policies, issues

In order to fully understand ethics and how they relate to business, one must first define its key components. Ethics can be broken down into three categories: social, organizational, and individual. Corporations are bound by social ethics which challenge them to hold accountable for their own actions its company officers, management, and stakeholders, who aspire to gain financially from traditional and unconventional economic activities. Organizational ethics involve a shared sense of pride and responsibility for employees, managers and corporations. They are part of an overall business philosophy that is shared throughout the company. Individual ethics involve our conceptions of right and wrong which stem from many different sources. Religious beliefs can often play a significant role in the ethical path many choose to follow.

What prompts a company to act ethically in business? What prevents businesses from generating as much profit as possible, regardless of the ethical ramifications of their actions? The general public, as well as company stakeholders, have come to expect that corporations will conduct business ethically and with the highest regard for social accountability. When companies fall short of these expectations, the end result often involves punishment and harmful publicity. Companies which conduct business in an unethical manner run the risk of harming not only its stakeholders, but also the general public. Companies that act ethically impart a sense of trust and responsibility in both local and national communities; this type of trust can often promote strong business alliances.

Ethics problems occur in many forms for many different reasons during the course of business. Unfortunately, companies often unwittingly employ people whose moral values are less than that of a responsible corporate citizen. These employees often put their own greed and selfishness ahead of the welfare and safety of others, simply for their own financial gain.

Alan Barnes, IAPDA Certified Debt Arbitrator and President | CEO Debt Regret, Inc.
Visit the site

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Tags: business, ethics, issues, research, corporate

I firmly believe that if you’re told that a meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:00am, then you should arrive at least 10 minutes early so as to be in your seat and ready for a timely start.

I am tired of arriving on time for a meeting and, along with the other attendees, must sit and wait for those one or two stragglers who don’t have any respect for us and then just wander in without even an, “I’m sorry”, or a “Thank you for waiting”. The meeting facilitator feels the need to draw out the start of the program so the late comers don’t miss anything. WHY?

These late comers have not given any thought to the feelings of others. They are disrespectful of the rest of the group and only care about themselves. These people are attention getters. They look for attention in any way, shape or form. Arriving late puts the spotlight on them and this makes them feel “special’. Special? Not in my book. These latecomers have no sense of time, no respect for others, no organizations skills, and they don’t even care how their tardiness affects others. They are downright RUDE!

Some simple planning would ensure a timely arrival. But, no, that would involve organization, thinking ahead and thinking of others. That wouldn’t get them the undeserved attention and they wouldn’t get the satisfaction that they had enough control and power to hold up a meeting and flout the feelings of others.

People who are consistently late are attention getters. The meeting room is filled with annoyed people who had the decency to arrive on time… some having gone through great lengths to ensure their on-time arrival…and for what? To wait for these rude, “It’s all about me” types who merely want to make their grand entrance in front of a captive audience. Waiting for latecomers only enables these tardy attendees to believe that it is okay to be late and make everyone wait for them. It tells them that they don’t have to think of others, they don’t have to learn to manage their time better, they don’t have to be considerate, and they don’t have to go out of their way.
And how does it make me feel?

Angry, of course!!! I set my alarm, get up early, shower, do my hair & makeup, make my coffee, and have my breakfast. The night before I make sure I have gas in my truck. I leave the house early enough to fight any traffic I might run into and in case I’ve not been to this particular venue before I leave some time for “getting lost”, and parking. I thought, planned and organized.

Oh, and then there are the times when you and your spouse are attending the same event. Your partner is a bit sluggish and you urge them along so you won’t be one of “those” people! “Hurry, hurry, get moving”. Then, BOOM…. You arrive on time and end up having to wait! So, on top of having to deal with the rude and disrespectful latecomer, now you have to listen to the whining of your spouse complaining that you made him/her rush for no reason.

Why are people late?

For some, it’s an expression of power. They make you wait because they think they can and when a meeting is held up because of the latecomer, their behavior is validated.

Many people are “drama queens”. They allow the littlest thing get out of hand…in their own heads. A broken nail turns into major surgery! These diversions to the schedule keeps the drama queen distracted and they lose track of time…therefore late for the meeting you’ve gotten to on time.
Another reason why people are late is their inability to live in reality. Some people believe that they can drive across town in 20 minutes. Never once do they think about traffic, lights, parking and other variables. These individuals cut time too close and they don’t leave time for the unexpected. They lack time management and organizational skills.

Whatever the reason….I still believe that being late is rude and disrespectful. No matter what personality type you are… being late shouldn’t be tolerated when it affects others. I also believe that meetings shouldn’t be held up until the drama queen shows up. Their inappropriate behavior should not be rewarded.

If you can’t be early… at least be on time. It’s not much to ask, it’s common courtesy and respect.

Eydie Stumpf,
Virtual Assistant,
President and Owner,
Eydie’s Office

Eydie is a small business owner in Southern California. She is an active member of the Corona Chamber of Commerce and recent recipient of their Rookie of the Quarter Award. Eydie’s clients range from non-profit organizations to business coaches, and authors.

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Tags: individual, ethics, code, issues, business

Do you believe that child labor is wrong? Do you believe that children should be in school as compared to a shop making clothes that people wear? If you answered yes, to both of these, you are not alone. There are many educational institutions nationwide within our country whom have a “Sweat free Policy” with their curriculum materials as well as certain apparel. These particular institutions have adapted a “Code of Conduct for the Manufacturer of Apparel”. The apparel industry has been exposed to rampant worker abuse. A man by the name of Andrew Ross reported back in 1997 the following, “The textile and apparel industries are a showcase of horrors for the labor abuses sanctioned by the global free trade economy, where child labor, wage slavery, and employer cruelty are legion.” ~ NO SWEAT: Fashion, free trade, and the rights of garment workers, Andrew Ross, editor, 1997.

The following is some examples of apparel made in sweatshops: Sports uniforms (This includes gym uniforms); school uniforms; shoes, athletic shoes or sneakers; sweatshirts, caps, and other imprinted clothing with school’s logos; academic regalia; lab coats and staff uniforms.

What is a sweatshop? A sweatshop is a workplace which consists of systematic violations of one or more of the fundamental workers’ rights have been violated according to international law and site-of-production laws and regulations. The rights include:

Workers receiving a fair wage and benefits; Children not being subjected to working conditions that could harm them physically, psychologically, or intellectual development; Freedom from excessive work hours and forced labor, freedom from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and protection of workplace health and safety hazards.

A code of conduct is utilized to hold companies accountable. Most companies of today have adapted their own “Code Of Conduct”, unfortunately, company codes are often inadequate to protect the workers.

The following is a list of CEO’s and their compensation for year 1998, do keep in mind all of these CEO’s are employed by companies whom do indeed utilize sweat shops.

Millard Drexler, GAP $660 million

Michael Eisner, Disney $177 million

Floyd Hall, Kmart $ 23 million

Phil Knight, Nike $ 3 million

Paul Charron, Liz Clairborne $7 million

David Glass $ 40 million

The following are samples of starvation wages around the world.

Guatemala 37 cents an hour

El Salvador 60 cents an hour

Nicaragua 23 cents an hour

Honduras 43 cents an hour

Haiti 30 cents an hour

Mexico 50 cents an hour

China 28 cents an hour

Indonesia 20 cents an hour

Burma 4 cents an hour

Bangladesh 13-20 cents an hour

These wages are called “starvation wages”. I use to be one of those people that constantly stated that our economy can not be compared to other countries, I was innocently stating this believing that what US Companies were paying workers within these countries were fair wages within their economies, but after viewing the evidence of what the company CEO’s are making and knowing that in countries such as El Salvador as well as others, these families are not making enough to even raise their families, I have definitely sustained a change of heart.

I do feel our own economy needs a serious face lift, but why can we not be humane about it? I feel that consumers have more power than they even know. I feel that consumers should hold corporations accountable to respect the rights of workers, but not only as workers, but as human beings and they need to be paid a “living” wage, not a “starvation” wage.

I do not feel we should boycott these corporations, for why should we? We enjoy their products, the reality here is that we enjoy purchasing these items, besides, boycotting these corporations would only hurt jobs in developing countries. I support jobs for developing countries, but I feel that consumers should want the people of those countries to have jobs with dignity and fair wages. I believe the CEO’s of these huge corporations could spare some money to ensure the people whom are indeed aiding in their wealth can work with dignity and support their families, and if the CEO’s refuse? The consumers should demand fair wages. What if these children were our own children? Our own families? This places a different perspective on things for every child performing these tasks is someone’s son/daughter or someone’s mother/father. This truly places a realistic perspective on this most often ignored epidemic.

For those of you whom are truly passionate about this issue, I have included some links that will educate you on this topic as well as direct you to organizations whom are striving to end “starvation wages”.

Please visit this site

Also this site

My Biology teacher way back in my secondary years said that the world is like a jungle and that our system is like a food web where everybody’s connected to each other. Her explanation is catchy and from that day on, I understood how the discussion of biology, specifically that of food chain works.

I take food chain thoughts on a different perspective though. Now that everybody’s working to get paid and survive in this competitive business world, I realized that to be a part of that food web or food chain, you have to be a major contributor as well– I scratch your back and you scratch mine. Fair and simple right?

But what makes this system really difficult is when there are others among us who are taking advantage over the others. You see, being advantageous in an unwarranted way is different from being advantageous because you’re deserving for such recognition. Again, if we are to imagine that this world is a jungle, how would you feel if you’re being attacked by a sly wild beast because you’re caught off guard while you’re alone? Realize that wild beasts have their unique hunting ways and most of the preys are caught without them noticing it because they’re caught off guard. You’ll be caught when you’re at your weakest moment.

Same holds true in the business or corporate world. If you’re weak and give in to your weakness, you’ll be eaten alive. And unless you want to survive the system, you’ll have to be extremely smart in counterattacking your opponents. So what’s your next step? I’ve got 3:

1. Show off that strong personality

Sly individuals may attack you when you’re vulnerable so why waste a painful experience being taken advantaged at if you can adopt a strong personality?

2. Never be alone

This is a tested fact. If you’re alone, self-doubts plus temptation will trick you. Who’s your opponent? You, yourself and you alone. So when you’re alone, lacks self-conviction, you can easily fall under a personality trap. So take time to socialize, you’ll be thankful.

3. Develop self-reliance

As someone who wants to survive in this business world, self-reliance is your best weapon. Learn how to fare, how to deal with other people. Hold back that vulnerability and improve on your subtle but strong resilience to be knocked down.

So never be afraid to be right, to be a credible person in this world. Others may not be pleased but again, you’ll have a sound sleep if you know exactly what you’re doing and you know your reasons why you’re in your position in the first place.

Mina Togonon is a Journalism graduate, someone who’s most willing to learn, adopt and would love to share her opinions and talents for development. She writes out of passion in her personal blog 24 Hour Paradigm, she teaches out of commitment and she lives in a society where women are garnering status and power…silently but getting stronger everyday.

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Tags: ethical, work, issues, behaviour, practice

Richard Maybury says it best — “Can you name one person in all the thousands of years of human history who rose to the top in politics by being honest?” As one political scandal dies down, don’t be surprised when another pops up.

Maybury also quotes one of the most brilliant and infamous books in history: The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli. Maybury points out that it is oftentimes misquoted, but never seen for what it really is – the truth “about the inherent nature and behavior of government that few are willing to face.”

This is the way it has been throughout the 10,000 years of human history. So why are we shocked every time a leader, a politician or a man of the cloth, lets us down? Fifty years ago, good guys wore white cowboy hats and bad guys wore black cowboy hats. It seemed to be a simpler time with simpler choices. But today, life has gotten more complex and that complexity is reflected in our current leadership. Integrity, honesty and ethics have become a fuzzy line between what you see and what you actually get.

Maybury goes on – “One of my favorite chapters in The Prince is number 15, in which Machiavelli lists the characteristics generally thought to be desirable in a political leader: generosity, compassion, faithfulness, courage, purity, flexibility, religiousness, and others. He explains that the leader must fake these virtues but cannot actually have them, because they would ruin him.”

So the next time you think a particular politician is there to save you, remember, it’s just show business.

Yet, not everyone is so easily corrupted. Just give some people the choice between leadership with perks, and leadership with both perks and power and watch what happens. Some put in these roles thrive, while others become corrupted. But, make no mistake about it, certain professions are made up of the hubristic and corrupt, and there is nothing we can do about it. When people let their lower animalistic nature run wild, there is no more control. As I said before, when one scandal dies down, be prepared for the next. It’s the nature of politics.

But how does this affect leadership in general? At the political level it is one thing, at the corporate level, another. How would you handle a scandalous problem as an executive? Here are three suggestions to help get you back on track and save face.

1) Admit Your Mistakes (as Honestly and as Truthfully as You Can).

Being on the board of directors for K2 Design years ago was thrilling, but it was also a tough lesson in revealing to the public the right information at the right time. Yet at times, being unable to share it right away can leave one with a sense of frustration, especially when the news is groundbreaking and positive. But what happens when the news is negative and shareholders equity is at stake?

Speaking too soon can destroy a company and ruin shareholders trust. So pick your battles, and in most cases, take the blame and resign. Unfortunately, someone has to clean up your mess, and getting out of the way will expedite the process.

On the other hand, telling the whole truth up front and attempting to make things right may be what the doctor ordered to reestablishing your credibility as well as your company’s. Who knows, you might even be forgiven. Turnaround specialists are masters at telling the truth, taking action and getting corporate profitability back on track. Take a page from their handbook and follow it.

Don’t bury the truth. That serves no one but you. Schedule that press conference and come clean…today. Jack Welch, when he was at GE, mastered the delivery of bad news while balancing future potential. Study the masters.

2) Make Real Effort to Change Your Behavior

On the road to regaining trust, try actually changing your behavior. Just look at how many celebrities sign up for rehab. It is so effective that courtroom judges grant leniency when someone admits they have a problem with substance abuse and voluntarily checks themselves in. Changing your dysfunctional activities goes a very long way to regaining trust. Time may reveal duplicity on your part, but consider your immediate actions. They are the ones that show up in the history books.

Want to have an impact? Take a good look as to why you got into hot water in the first place. Are you greedy? Do you feel you’re above everyone around you? Are you duplicitous by nature, assuming that everyone is the same? Is your behavior something that requires you to sneak around? If so, try not to wait until the public discovers your faux pas during the evening news. Get help now. If the press has reason to put you under a microscope, your reaction early on will be the one you are judged by.

And do us all a favor, don’t fake it. Show up and do the work. You’re not fooling anyone but yourself.

One thing that seems to be missing from our society these days is a sense of shame. You may not know this, but there is right and wrong behavior.

And last but not least…

3) Time May Be Your Only Ally

In a relationship, time will make things fester, but in the corporate world where trust has been destroyed and investors’ actions are hinging on the next press conference, time is the only sure-fire strategy that will help put the events behind you.

Former Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton were able to put their pasts behind them because their legacy far outweighed their transgressions. Give it time. Eventually you’ll look like the comeback kid. Who knows, maybe even a certain New York Governor will be able to return to some sort of public office someday.

Unfortunately, time may be all you have. Here are just a few samplings of companies that have successfully and unsuccessfully put the past behind them:

Volkswagen took over 25 years for global consumers to forget that their biggest spokesperson was Adolph Hitler. They made a huge comeback in the 60’s by introducing the VW Beetle to the Hippy Generation.

In Bhopal, India, during the early morning of December 3, 1984, a Union Carbide subsidiary pesticide plant explosion released 40 tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas into the air. The resulting deaths numbered over 3,000, but testimonies later on from doctors who provided medical assistance during the tragedy claim that over 15,000 was the real number.

Today, Union Carbide (now owned by Dow), is attempting to put the past behind them with a feel-good ad campaign. They introduce us to an element missing from the organic chemistry chart: Hu. It stands for the Human element and we are bombarded with eco-friendly scenes of people — the driving force behind everything.

The Union Carbide website explains away their past by placing the blame on every possibility except Union Carbide. Lawyer-speak is inauthentic and stands out like a sore thumb on their site. Some things should never be forgotten. It’s all a little creepy when you remember the past and the events of Bhopal.

Ironically Union Carbide is owned by Dow, the makers of Agent Orange.

Bear Sterns was showing signs of over extension a year ago. Who were they protecting? Not shareholders, who entrusted them with their money that’s for sure.

In these turbulent times learn to be honorable and incorruptible. Then stand by your management style. Make changes to yourself and to your organization not because it affects the bottom line, but because it is the right thing to do.

Your staff will follow you anywhere so long as you have integrity, fairness and a vision. Without your people, you wouldn’t be a leader. One can’t exist without the other. But, avoid Machiavelli’s suggestion that you should fake these qualities – who wants to follow an executive who’s faking it? And believe me, people know.

Thanks again for reading,

Brad Szollose

May I recommend?:

Richard Maybury’s newsletter – The Early Warning Report, check the site

This is a one of a kind newsletter that focuses on geopolitics, history and investment advice. I also recommend his books, especially these 5 in his Uncle Eric series: Whatever Happened To Penny Candy?, The Money Mystery, Whatever Happened To Justice, Ancient Rome: How It Affects You Today, and The Thousand Year War in The Mideast: How It Affects You Today.

For Richard Maybury’s books go to this link

Maybury has the unique distinction of being the ONLY newsletter with a 98% renewal rate. My wife and I enjoy reading it. His books and newsletter will help you understand how the United States got to where it is today financially, politically and morally.

Sign up for Maybury’s work now before you vote in the next election and before your nest egg is gone.

Former Dot Com IPO Boomer Brad Szollose, is an award winning leadership strategist, author and professional speaker who shows executives and entrepreneurs how to operate in the Information Age.

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Tags: ethical, issues, legal, politics, public