“Operating like outlaws in the old west gold rush days, has been the order of the day for most residential mortgage loan originators the last several years as everybody now finally sees, and can no longer avoid acknowledging. An epidemic of greed and fraud prevailed nationwide for several years, with our industry got flooded by unethical and unbelievably poorly educated, trained and supervised personnel who were the industry’s front-line, exploiting the public – a virtually frenzied wild-west gold-rush mentality.

Those heady days of this last cycle have at last ended. From an industry high of over 500 thousand employed, which grew since the last correction in 1998; recently we have lost only 100,000 people so far. 200+ thousand of the half million people, rushed into our business during that period, incorrectly thinking they were going to be in a “sales industry.” When both you and I know, the customers believed they were speaking with a professional mortgage expert who would look out for their best interest and treat them with the utmost good faith, and not compromise their rights or interests in favor of another’s, including a right or interest of the loan officer/mortgage broker.

But instead borrowers more often were talking with a ‘used car sales Big Commissioned closer type’ individual – that fact of life cannot be seriously denied at this point, by any industry observer. There’s a major conflict as between big commissions/greed on the one hand, and ethical behavior on the other, an issue I have written about several times in the past. Because, for example, certain foul-hearty loan products ‘could’ be originated doesn’t mean they ‘should’ be.

I think everybody who survives this correction crisis, and particularly the various industry discussion boards, need to STOP enabling substandard, mediocre, and ethically challenged originators, they need to be given the boot so they don’t infect the business for everybody else this next go around, wherever they are found. You know what I mean, those with weak values, little integrity, and poor or on-existent ethical standards – the ones where the commission check and how much money the make, is their focus. On these boards we all can see a post that says “”which wholesalers are easy to get approved with, or which ones don’t pull broker’s credit or how about ‘what subprime lenders are left that do high LTV’s with 580 FICO stated wage earners?’ or lenders who don’t do appraisal reviews? or who disregards co borrower’s scores? Or who doesowest score for stated income on foreclosure bailout? There are literally thousands of examples I have seen, and if you frequent these boards so have you.

They basically say ‘what is the path of least resistance so I can make a big score (commission) and what can I do to ensure I do the least amount of work possible ….’ And, not just those questions, but all the ones that reveal they don’t belong in the biz. I see questions like those on all the boards I read. ENABLERS then jump up and say “”Hey I can help!”" and then direct those brain-dead clowns to the answer … and the cycle continues … we all need to stop Enabling those that do not belong in our industry! People that ask these sort of questions are the ones that stuff loans into wholesalers, which then move upstream, become part of securitizations, which then become downgraded, and at a final point hurt all of us! People’s retirement funds, and many money fund investments buy MBS’s (many recently loaded up with crap loans).

These people are easy to spot and it’s up to YOU to protect the industry from them. Just look what they did to us this last cycle! I’ve written about this before, you ARE your brother’s keeper in this industry! They’ve been a major contributing factor in tanking 150+ lenders, closing down countless brokerages, and putting homeowners in situations where their families must face possibly living in a tent!

I think another terrible example, are some in the industry training sector as well. Especially the podium pitch-man types, who mostly work to pump up your ego – you know the ones that say they will ‘reveal the secrets of how to predictably, reliably, and repeatedly get $10,000, $20,000, and even $25,000 checks on every mortgage – month in and month out, while only working part-time!’ Or how about this one ‘Discover How You Can Quickly And Easily Make An ADDITIONAL $100,000/Yr. Even in this Down Market – GUARANTEED!’ Or even those that promote (RESPA violation) paying kickbacks to friends, for referrals etc. When recommending that other originators access these types, or you even speaking positively about them, tends to help contaminate the industry with more problematical originators dealing with the public. If you’re one of them and you say “the wholesalers did it with their reckless programs!”

In small measure you are right, many of them were indeed tempting – but the bottom line there, is that the guidelines didn’t read “”ignore USC 1001 and section IX of the 1003 ….”" Fraud is fraud and bad loans are bad loans … if you ever put income on an application that was not your borrower´s (solely) and/or if you wrote an option arm for someone who was on salary or fixed income then indeed YOU were the problem and I hope you change your ways and join with me and be an ethical partner in our industry. Let me say it a bit bluntly. More than 100,000 front-line originators made a killing (income wise) the last 7+ years. Now because of their ethical short-comings, most are gone or are on their way out. Without strong moral values and high ethical standards you cannot last in this industry for four decades like I have.

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

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Tags: ethics, management, strategic, planning, thinking

“A few days ago I was speaking to a man in prison who was in a most serious situation. He was being accused of something which he said he did not do. Now, many prisoners try to convince people that they are innocent, but this scenario was different and unusual.

Over the years I have always found it to be a most privileged situation to be in – to be allowed into the innermost corners of certain individuals lives. They have to have a degree of trust in you to let you in there in the first place.

I made it very clear when I challenged this man to tell me the truth. I was not involved in the incident in any way whatsoever, but he was telling me a lie there and then, then the next time he came to tell me something no matter how genuine it might be, I would always have that niggling thought that it was all just one big smokescreen and lie.

I have taught this in various classes in school from five year olds upwards. If you tell me a lie today then how will I know to-morrow that you are telling me the truth, when it might very well be the truth?

There are those who think that Chaplains and Pastors will believe whatever is said to them, because they are nice men. We are not called to be nice.

At times, Jesus Christ reacted and responded to particular groups of religious people and it could never be said that He was being nice! He spoke strong challenging tough realistic words on various occasions.

Speaking the truth is vitally important, if we wish to maintain good relationships and keep valued friends.

That is why God has said, “”You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour”".

Being a reliable witness in a court of law is essential, and a witness sticks to the facts and seeks to be accurate regarding what actually happened.

God intends that truth permeates and saturates every part of our lives.

I repeat this because it crucially important and has to be put into practical operation no matter where we are, and no matter what our age. If someone comes up and tells me something, which I later discover to be a pack of lies, then the next time that individual speaks to me, I am wondering if he is telling me the truth, or is this just another tale, and in business such trust, reliability and loyalty is essential.

Almighty God detests lying lips, but He delights in men who are truthful, and some discover that to be true when it is just too late.

That old saying, “”sticks and stones may break my bones; but words can never hurt me”" is just not true.

Words can hurt, inflicting deep painful wounds from which some people take years to recover. It is possible to be healed and recover much more quickly.

Telling the truth involves treating people fairly and graciously. Judgmental half truths and even slight exaggerations can be cruel.

The tongue can ruin reputations, speak lies when under severe pressure, boast to satisfy a man’s ego, talk when silence would be golden, and when reporting matters inaccurately can cause havoc.

God says the tongue can be like a spark setting on fire a great forest.

Lies can cause the guilty to go free or the innocent to suffer.

Lies not only pervert justice but they destroy the integrity of the character speaking maliciously.

Jesus Christ clearly teaches that one day we will be answerable for every careless word we might have uttered.

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 here 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.

Sandy Shaw

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Tags: business, ethics, management, reasearch, corporate

“Being a businessman for a number of years I’ve come across many situations where its easy to bend the truth a little. Even in certain sales courses I took early on in my career, they would teach us, not to lie, but to not talk about some things that may kill the transaction, deal, or contract. This is called being dishonest. The unfortunate realization here is that its easy for people in the business world to pick up these bad habits and make what I call ’short term money.’ This is the type of business income that only comes around once, no repeat…and no referrals.

Dishonest business people generally don’t last in the world of business, and if they do, they struggle. They struggle to put deals together and that is because dishonesty creates many unwanted headaches. Its common for them to get used to doing business a certain way, the unethical way, and they continue to repeat the same mistakes.

The rewards you get from being honest in your business practice are immense. Fellow associates will respect you way more. Clients will refer your service or product, oftentimes not because of the product, but because of you! Your credibility will soar. So, if you want to fly like an eagle and soar with the birds?

Tell me the truth. Only imminent success will follow. Try this, imagine yourself being honest, its not very tough. Actually, once you get used to it, its easy. Go figure. Lets all grow……together.

Sam Hachem is a local Edmonton, Alberta businessman and recognized Real Estate expert. Business ethics play a big part in him maintaining a strong business practice.

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Tags: business, ethics, honest, maintain, management

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

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

D – Disposable

I – Insignificant

R – Removable

T – Trivial

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To Your Success,
Susan Carroll

——–

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

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

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Tags: ethical, management, power, financial, resource

In the realm of ethical decision-making, familiarity breeds a kind of ethical stability. In other words, as long as the people, cultural setting, values and issues are relatively known to those involved, then the kinds of ethical decisions those people are required to make will be sufficiently familiar for them to do so in relatively manageable ways. Being ethical will be neither too challenging nor too difficult for them to understand. Thus, ethical familiarity breeds ethical stability.

Newness and change, however, can breed a kind of ethical instability. When new people enter the setting bringing a very different culture and a somewhat different set of values, and having different customs and practices, then it is likely that new problems will arise among and between both groups. The meeting and interchange between and among the principles and processes familiar to these groups is where the difficulties arise. To use a different vocabulary, this is a conflict between their principles and processes.

Ethical Principles are the values and preferences of a group as imagined, articulated and understood. They expect that all the ordinary activities of life revolve around them. They actually see and perceive the reality of the world from the perspective of those values and preferences. For example, a group will articulate just how much and what kinds of assertive behaviors are allowed (e.g., organized sports) and which ones are outlawed (e.g., gladiatorial combat & dueling to the death).

Ethical Processes are the ways in which ethical decisions are made. This includes how the ethical principles and issues are perceived, how they are analyzed, how the principles are applied and how competing principles are seen in relationship to each other. For example the ancient Oath of Hippocrates “”not to administer a poison nor to recommend such a course”" seems clear, and yet, in modern medical practice “”chemo-therapy”" is precisely that, the administration of poison, but in a controlled and prudent manner for the good health of the patient. Indeed, the Hippocratic Oath has changed with time. Clearly competent health care professionals had to actively engage a moral dilemma, analyze the facts, and with great information and imagination, devise and risk a new course of action. Hence, big changes can come about, but ideally of course, only with careful, responsible, competent and reasonable engagement by all concerned.

The Reality of Ethical Evolution and Revolution: The process of applying principles can be anything from simple and easy to most complex and difficult. Circumstances and situations demand a nuanced appreciation for many ethical issues. That is why civilizations have developed classes or professions of judges of all sorts (e.g., the judiciary, boards of review, and umpires in athletic contests) who spend their time studying, practicing, reviewing, assessing, weighing and deciding within the contexts of real-life issues. It is from just such considerations as these that principles and processes are sometimes found to meet their limits because of changes in circumstances, situations, knowledge and popular moral insight and acceptance. Some ethical principles and processes formerly considered ethical become unethical (e.g., those allowing for slavery and polygamy, and vigilante law enforcement and dueling, respectively). Some principles and processes formerly considered unethical become ethical (e.g., charging interest on loans, and economic capitalism and chemo-therapy, respectively). And to make things even more complicated, there often develops a rationale for exceptions to the ordinary ethical norm.

For the various ethics systems of principles and processes to be healthy, meaningful and manageable, both principles and processes must be in constant states of development, evolution and revolution. Thus, we must avoid taking refuge in a few preferred principles in order to avoid healthy growth or genuinely new issues. We must also beware of becoming so shallow and unhealthy as to have simplistic or silly principles. Likewise, we must reform and revise ethical processes (even some ancient ones) some of whose effectiveness have diminished and even become destructive (e.g., tribal prejudices, cultural hatreds and superstitious beliefs) in the various 21st Century, cosmopolitan, multicultural ethical frames of reference. (Yes, there are numerous healthy ethical systems in the world.) And, we must avoid having ethical processes which are far too complicated for ordinary society members to grasp, understand and find effective in ordinary daily life. All ethics is personal. The ultimate ethical question is how both the collective society and society’s individual members are helped by the ethical principles and ethical processes we embrace and use.

Healthy ethical dynamics between and among ethical principles and ethical processes are crucial to making good sense a way of life.

For more information and for the opportunity to arrange for a seminar on personal Ethics relative to membership in organizations, groups, businesses, etc., go to this site and click on the Organization Ethics web page. Author & presenter: Nathan Mamo.

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Tags: code, ethics, business, management, training

Two small business owners or possibly businessmen walked up to another newspaper vending machine. One deposited the proper coins and opens the door to take his paid for newspaper. Then he asks his companion if he would like one as well? A second newspaper is removed without payment. The companion then jokes about receiving 2 newspapers for the price of one.

I personally witnessed this scenario. What I did was to take the necessary coins from my own pocketbook and deposit them into the machine. I opened the door and then closed the door without taking a newspaper. The two small business owners or executives now stared at me in disbelief.

As I approached the restaurant door, one of the businessmen opened the door, but he could not look me in the eyes. He knew he did wrong, but he thought that no one else would see. And he probably else thought that everyone else does it so why not?

Business ethics is all about character. And character is all about doing the right thing when no one else is looking.

I call this self leadership because if you cannot lead yourself well by demonstrating character when no one else is looking how can you lead others?

One of the most consistent complaints that I hear from small business owners is about the lack of work ethics such as employees who do not give an hour of work for an hour of pay. Yet, how many of their executives, supervisors and managers are doing the same thing?

Possibly, these two small business owners thought that rank had its privileges or that they had already paid their fair share? Earning a certain position does merit some additional benefits, but rank does not give permission to steal, to be disrespectful, to be unethical.

Given that our actions are open to everyone to see and hear, we in the business world must be consistently executing the right actions through our work ethics demonstrated by our self leadership skills. For failure to do so, will only cause us harm sometime down the road or the path to the restaurant door when we fail to notice who is observing our business ethics.

How is the leadership character in your organization? Get this free self leadership checklist.

Do you need some additional business coaching training services Then visit the business coaching training gym.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith coaches small businesses to large organizations and high school students to entrepreneurs to double performance by closing the gap between today’s outcomes and tomorrow’s goals. Please feel free to visit this site and explore how she can help you from the free articles to the improvement tips.

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Tags: business, ethics, honest, maintain, management

Are you ethical in your business dealings? Are you ethical in your personal dealings? There are many people that would say that your business ethics and your personal ethics have absolutely nothing to do with each other, but truthfully they have everything to do with each other because there is no such thing as business ethics. You are either ethical in life or your not!

I look at the state of business in America today and I believe that the lack of ethics and character are a large part of the downturn in our economy over the past years. Some may say that there have always been scandals in business and government and I would agree with that but at no other time in history has it ever been as excepted as it is today. In today’s society people think it’s just business as usual if they have to lie and cheat to get ahead. As terrible as that sounds it is true! Where do people get the idea that being unethical is ok? In large part I think they see the scandals of former presidents, CEO’s, right down to the people on their children’s school boards making unethical decisions and doing unethical things. This problem will only continue to get worse until we, the American citizens stand up and say no more! We need to begin teaching Americas youth that there is right and there is wrong. To many people are to busy worrying about doing what it takes to get ahead whatever the cost , to realize the example we are setting for the next generation.

Are you willing to cheat on your golf score? If you go to the grocery store and the cashier gives you change for a $20 bill when you only gave her a $10 bill do you correct her? The sad thing is that most people are willing to cheat on a golf score and would not correct the cashier. With that being said if people are willing to cheat on their golf score than why would they not be willing to cheat on their taxes or not follow through with a business deal? People don’t think of not correcting the cashier as stealing but it really is! If someone is willing to steal from the grocery store where they shop, than what would stop them from stealing from your companies expense account? There in lies the problem. Now you have to understand I don’t come to you with this all figured out nor am I up on a high horse looking down on anybody but I do believe we all need to work a lot harder on making honest and ethical decisions in our lives and having a zero tolerance policy for those we associate with . We need some true leader to stand up and say no more. It starts as just a few people and then it becomes infectious and will continue to spread. What we are striving for is to restore ourselves as men and women, to rewind to a time when you could seal a deal with a handshake and your good word after all, a mans word is his worth (this applies to women too). It is up to you and me to demand of those we deal with on a daily basis to have high moral standards and a strong code of ethics!

What steps will you take to ensure your future in business and in life? I know for me it is a daily battle to do as I say to be on time to tell the complete truth and point out unethical things to those who are doing them and help rectify the situation. Let us stand together as one united nation and demand that our government, businesses and families stand on a foundation of strong principles and values. Only we can make the difference! Here’s to a brighter future and a stronger nation, god bless!

To Your Success

Chad DeMay

Better Health & Spreading Wealth, earn 3-5k or more while enjoying life

Visit this website

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Tags: business, ethics, honest, maintain, management

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tags: ethical, management, power, financial, resource

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

Anticipation

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

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

Crisis Response Begins With an Admission

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

How To Be Seen As Responsive

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

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

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

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

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

Managing and Maintaining Character

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

Author Bio

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

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

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

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

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Tags: ethical, management, power, financial, resource

Ethics have always been an important aspect of every business activity, although the term has meant different things at different times in different lands to different people. Nonetheless, as ethical concerns are an inseparable element of business, advertising can not ignore them. Sadly, the advertising industry has rarely cared to look beyond immediate marketing objectives. The argument in the industry is that it is the government’s job to judge what is right and what is wrong. Shirking its own responsibility for regulation, the industry has belittled business values and agencies have harmed their balance sheets.

For any business, customer is very important, and businessman attempt to communicate to all their target customers using means of communication like advertising and sales promotion. Advertising is a very powerful and most commonly used tool.

Benefits of advertising

• Communication

The organization has to attract the customer and create a market for its products. For this purpose, advertising is the most powerful and widely used tool for communicating message regarding products/services to a large target audience.

• To raise the standard of living

In our developing economy, adverting with its micro and macro level influences, exerts vast and varied influences that have played key role in raising the standards of physical and material well being of the Indian society.

• To make market competitive

In India, one finds many innovations being introduced which has changed the market structure from seller’s market, and thus the result is more competitive market conditions.

• Product differentiation

It is a fact that advertising brings about products variety through real and psychological product differentiation.

Critical evaluation of advertising

Though many benefits are achieved through advertisements, the ad message is becoming more and more exaggerated. To achieve competitive advantage, advertising magnifies unimportant differences, resorts to clever, tricky product promises, and claims more and more unbelievable benefits. The customer finds many advertisements as false, deceptive, or misleading. Consumers are uncertain regarding whether or not the performance of a product purchased will in fact meet their needs. If they find that the product lacks in quality, advantage, durability etc., as advertised they might not buy it again, and develop an aversion to every other product of that company.

Unethical advertising

Advertisement is considered unethical in the following situations;

• When it has degraded or underestimated the substitute or rival’s product.

• When it gives false or misleading information on the value of the product.

• When it fails to give useful information on the possible reaction or side effects of the product. And

• When it is immoral.

Ways of misleading the consumers

• Many a time, traders entice the customers into their stores by advertising goods at a very low price, but they stock only a handful of such sale items in the store. When the advertised goods are sold out, consumers are steered towards the higher-priced stock or lower quality goods.

Retailers must ensure that reasonable supply of products is available during the sales, and retailers should not purposely avoid it. Retailers should make it clear in the advertisement that how many items on sale are available or when the sale ends.

• Sale offer should be for a limited period. Advertisement should declare that sale offer is for a limited time period. The period of the offer should be made clear in the advertisement only when the advertised goods are available for a limited period or stocks are limited.

• Traders often offer insignificant price reduction. To illustrate, a trader may advertise that the price of product is reduced to Rs.99.95, when the normal selling price is Rs.100.. The trader must include the normal selling price and discounted price in his offer .The trader sale offer is misleading if the trader claims the product is below cost , when the price is not below cost after discounts, rebates and other allowances it is misleading if the trader simply shows a fictitious higher price as normal selling price in the advertisement.

• Advertisement must clearly indicate the total price of goods or services. All price comparison must be truthful and must not intentionally or unintentionally mislead the consumers. Under the Fair Trade Practices Act, retailers have an obligation to ensure that they do not mislead or make false representations to customers with respect to price of the goods. The consumers who shop around and compare the prices of various products are less likely to be deceived by misleading claims consumers should also be aware of what is a reasonable price of goods and not take any advertised discounts at face value.

• While many sales are legitimate or genuine, the consumers should not get attracted to such sales offers i.e., “”Hurry…very few days remain for sale”. The consumers should be aware of what to expect when retailers place items on sale and how to avoid being misled by discount advertisements. A marketer should take care to ensure that when goods or services are advertised to be available at a discount or as being on sale, it is a genuine discount or sale.

Remedies to overcome deceptive advertisements

• Cease-and- Desist Orders

The cease-and-desist orders, which prohibit the respondent from engaging any more in deceptive practice, are actually the only formal procedure established by the Federal Trade Commission Act for enforcing the prohibition of ‘ deceptive acts and practices.”

• Restitution

Restitution means the consumer is compensated for any damage caused to him by the product that had advertised claims not adequately substantiated. Restitution is rarely considered because of its severity.

• Affirmative Disclosures

If an advertisement has provided insufficient information to the consumers, an affirmative disclosure might be issued Affirmative disclosure require ‘clear and conspicuous disclosure’ of omitted information. Often the involved information relates to the deficiency or limitations of the product or service possibly relating to matters of health or safety.

• Corrective Advertising

Corrective Advertising requires the advertisers to verify past deception by making suitable amendment in any of its future commercial.

Self Regulation in Advertising

It is our responsibility to regulate our operations. And we must do it ourselves. Self regulation is not a quick-fix solution; it will be completely ineffective with out commitment from and the integrity of one and all. Self Regulation may require the following;

• The development of a self-regulatory code of conduct covering all forms of media that is sensitive to ethics, legalities, decency and truthfulness in advertising.

• Provision for monitoring and accountability, including a policy allowing for the removal of ads that violate the code.

• Greater participation of advertising professionals in the regulatory process.

• The inclusion of non-industry players in the process

• Consumer awareness of the self regulation system.

• Simplification of the complaint process against ads.

• Transparency throughout the entire system.

These reforms will achieve three goals. They will make the industry accountable for its actions. They will make regulators and critics think twice before attacking the industry and finally they will lead the public to trust ads, advertisers and agencies.

Conclusion

Reputable companies and advertising agencies avoid telling lies. They realize the cost of being caught. A dent in trust can prove to be much costlier than the failure of an ad campaign or for that matter, even a brand. The challenge before advertisers and agencies is to ensure that ads reflect our values. We must endeavor to see that “advertising” does not remain a dirty word.

Dr.Gomathi Viswanathan

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Tags: marketing, advertising, company, management, ethics

1. Being Organized

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

- Client Projects

- Confidentiality Agreements

- Invoicing

- Newsletters

- Articles

- Website Updates

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

2. Being Able

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

3. Are you good at your job?

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

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

- Answering their questions without hesitation.

- Staying focused on your work.

- Completing tasks before the due date.

- Making sure the work is done right.

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

Looking forward to sharing many successes with you!

Trina Lamarche

Efficient VA

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

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

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Tags: ethical, management, power, financial, resource

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More information on Harassment and Sexual Harassment can be found here

Bill Barger

Barger Specialties LLC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Copyright Linda E. Meckler 2007

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

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

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

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

Check out my new 4 E books Titled:

How To Appeal Medical Bills

Appeal and Collections Letters for Medical Providers

Boost Your Self Esteem and Blossom

Computers Cause Pain on my website

Check out my website

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Tempted? THINK AT LEAST TWICE! Retaliation can come in a lot of different shapes, and sizes, so let’s tune our discussion to Retaliation in the world of Discrimination Law.

Yes Discrimination:

· Age Discrimination

· Disabilities Discrimination

· Harassment

· Sexual Harassment

When an employee comes to management to talk about discrimination, particular care must be taken to listen intently, and respectfully to the views of the presenter. To do other than that can lead to an ever-worsening Human Resources Nightmare.

The very last thing you want to do is: retaliate.

Yes, I did want to scream that word out, but sometimes small, subtle pronouncements can catch your eye and seize your brain cells more effectively than shouting. Sure it’s tempting; nobody likes to discuss the negative subject of discrimination. But DON’T THINK IT, DON”"T PLAN IT, AND DON”"T DO IT!!!! In short: DON’T RETALIATE!!

Simply put retaliation damages you in several ways. For the sake of this discussion, lets assume that the worker does indeed have a valid case of one of the forms of discrimination listed above. If you retaliate against that worker, in just about any form, after they have initiated a discussion of discrimination, you will likely do the following:

· You vastly improve the employee’s case

· You lengthen the window of opportunity as relates to EEOC submittal

· You make the employee’s case easier to win, and more expensive to settle.

What does the U.S. Supreme Court say about retaliation? Let me give you this reference case for your consideration. This is one of the latest findings of THE court in the arena of harassment and sexual harassment. The court in its findings allows that the scope of consideration on Retaliation, is indeed wider and broader than the scope of consideration on discrimination law. The court specifically points out the writings of the Congressional writers of Title VII and allows that the difference in the writing enlarges the field of play in retaliation matters.

Of particular interest is the following:

· “”We conclude that the anti-retaliation provision does not confine the actions and harms it forbids to those that are related to employment, or occur at the workplace.

· We also conclude that the provision covers those (and only those) employer actions that would have been materially adverse to a reasonable employee or job applicant.

· In the present context, that means that the employer’s actions must be harmful to the point that they could well dissuade a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination.”"

Reference Case: Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway Co. v. White
Pages 1 and 2 of the Opinion of the Court, June 22, 2006

Retaliation is very serious business. Most of us are familiar with the teachings that impart the thought: “”Treat Others as You Wish to be Treated.”" OK , I rewrote that, to be religiously sensitive shall we say.
But if you caught my drift, then let me suggest an Eleventh Commandment:

#11: Thou Shalt Not Retaliate!

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

More information on Harassment and Sexual Harassment can be found here
Bill Barger
Barger Specialties LLC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Integrity is defined as wholeness, consistency and purity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Management is the process of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and controlling. Pig management is the management which follows the same managerial process and has a comparison with lower management. It is impossible that a Pig can look at the sky. It only looks down and runs with other pigs without aiming.

A Few Indian Management (Industry or Institution) follows Pig Management. The nature of the management only gains the profit not providing quality. They have a comparison with lower industries and Institutions. They don’t like to see the sky and assent for quality management. They are happy about their profit. In case, they are not able to get Profit, they fire on their employees without searching for solution.
If they reach profit, they praise themselves.

The pig management needs the people those who are always praising the management without any reason and recognizes the person one who acts as smart without having any knowledge.

The rules which are created by Pig management are being destroyed by them and their followers. Rules are for others not for them. This is the mantra of Pig management.

Pig won’t provide any benefits to others and can find in the dirty place. Pig management won’t execute benefits but put blame on others.

Pig management gives more works to others and recognizes one who is not in the role.

How to avoid pig management:

The organization is succeeded, only if employees are encouraged to give new ideas and ask “W-H” questions. There should be informal meeting among quality circle to bring forth new concepts when they are free.

If pig is alone, it is so aggressive. Likewise, if management takes decision without allowing other pigs to enter, then they can be more aggressive.

Extolling is the dangerous poison for an organization. Encouragement, appreciation and recognition of the people pave the way to lead in a right path. Eulogizing always others or oneself affects the management. So that wisdom worker (Smart + Hard work) can not be identified.

The management should have round a clock with employees. Based on their contribution towards work, they should be recognized. The management should avoid the people who always praises and their followers.

The management should try to find out who are all cunning in nature and they should be penalized.

The management should encourage adaptive program for Women and Relationship building for all. Once in a month, they could arrange program for their family members.

Before closing my pen, Friends, Just think of yourself and identify your concern whether you follow pig management or not. If it is, it is red signal for your organization to eat poison by yourself. Open your eye and change the methodology of your concern from Pig to Ant management.

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According to Finance professors Dave Yermack of NYU and Crocker Liu of Arizona State, there is a strong inverse correlation between the size of a CEO’s home and the share price performance of their company. By big, the authors were referring to homes over 10,000 square feet or on at least 10 acres. While quoting some anecdotes like the poor performance of Rich-Man complexes owned by the CEOs of Home Depot and Hilton Hotels, the broader data set showed that large home owners lagged the S&P by 25% for the 3 years following their purchase compared to 22% returns for those owning more measly homes under 10,000 square feet.

This is certainly an interesting finding and it’s backed up by relevant statiscally sound data. Although I’m sure it’s not inclusive of all homes of all S&P CEOs, any variability within one population would be expected to exist for the other population wrt sample omission, sample size, error in appraisal value/square footage reporting, etc. Based on the quirky findings from this study, there obviously isn’t an ETF or mutual fund out there to capitalize on this phenomena, but can serve as a red flag for investors moving forward.

What to do with this information? Presumably, purchases of this size say something about the fiscal responsibility, prudence, or or leadership style of these CEOs (think Enron, Tyco, Comcast). Next time you see your favorite company’s CEO on the news for the $12million dollar mansion in the hills, consider whether this is the type of leader you want to invest your money with.

Visit Everydayfinance Blog here

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Periodically, as leaders, we are quick to demand the respect of others yet fail to show respect in return. Respect is not something you demand; otherwise it really isn’t respect, but fear. Respect is something people provide in return of the respect they have received. It is very magnetic.

All people desire to be respected. Regardless of the position one may hold in your organization, treat everyone with the utmost respect and gratitude. Apply the law of the first, which says, “What you do first determines how others will respond.”

Showing respect towards others reveals a great deal about your character. It reveals that you are a person of dignity and self-respect, for you cannot give something you do not possess. Being respectful of your employees shows that you place great value on them as a person and therefore, in most cases, you receive their best in return.

If you want to raise team morale, develop positive employees, or produce hard-working people, you must first master the art of respect.

Here are four simple ways you can begin immediately to respect your employees or subordinates…

1. Be sincerely interested in them as a person. Never make people feel as if they are some number or property of the organization. Learn about what they like to do outside of the four walls of the organization. Make them feel as though you care about their lives, not just about numbers and bottom line figures. Sincerely care about how they are doing.

2. Listen to them. One of the greatest ways you can respect someone is to intently listen to what they have to say. Whenever you ask one of your employees how they are doing, take a moment and listen to them. Refuse to speak to your subordinates while briskly walking past, but listen to them as attentively as you would want someone to listen to you.

3. Treat them the way you want to be treated. Apply the golden rule. However you would want to be treated, if you were in their shoes, treat them accordingly. Just a simple smile can go a long way. Life is in the details!

4. Always address them by their name. The greatest word anyone could ever hear is the sound of his own name. Learn each and every name of the people who work for you. Every time you see them, address them by their name. If you do, they will feel respected and greatly valued. When you have people like that working for you, there is no limit to what they can do.

Robb Thompson Coaching was created with you in mind!

Through this dynamic program, you will experience the results you’ve always wanted. With personal coaching, we look to solve the three most common problems you face as a leader:

1. Imbalance

2. Broken focus

3. Unfulfilled relationships

As a result of going through our personal transformation system, you will walk in freedom and peace in every area of your life, you will become crystal clear about what you want and how to get there, and you’ll experience fulfilling and lasting relationships.

Don’t miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime. Allow RTI to assist you in achieving your dreams.

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Tags: ethics, management, business, article, respect

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tags: business, ethics, corporate, management, companies

Bad bosses, poor supervisors, inept managers create negative impact on the bottom line including less production, higher turnover and increased operating costs. These individuals all share one common trait – poor business ethics and values.

An organization is a group of people working together to achieve shared goals. Everyone should have the same high personal ethics and personal values respective to each other, the customers, the vendors and even the community. However, when supervisory or higher employees continually demonstrate negative values and ethics, the organization’s performance suffers from the bottom up.

Unfortunately, many of these same organizations believe the answer for these employee related issues is improved training for their employees and waste thousands of dollars focusing on the symptom instead of the problem. These organizations are living Einstein’s’ definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over again hoping for different results) on a daily basis

Florida State University just released a study (January 2007) of more than 700 people within a variety of industries and at different employment levels revealed some interesting facts:

• Almost two out of five bosses (39%) fail to keep their word
• One in four supervisors (27%) insulted those they supervised to fellow co-workers
• One in five (23%) blamed others for their mistakes
• Almost one in three (31%) used the silent treatment to show displeasure

All of these behaviors demonstrate that these bosses lacked personal values and personal ethics. This lack of ethical behavior may be attributed to top management because upper management has probably modeled the same behaviors. Finally, there is probably no core values adopted by the organization within the strategic plan. Even if there is a values statement, it is much more for show.

With all the national attention on corporate malfeasance to corruption politicians, we, as Americans, should not be surprised by the results of this study. Poor ethical behavior attracts poor ethical behavior and becomes the justifying reason for continued poor ethical behavior.

To stop this negative drain on productivity and the U.S. workforce in general demands that organizations adopt a values statement of non-negotiable behaviors within the strategic plan to be demonstrated to all external and equally important internal customers. Failure to adhere to these values is a reason for termination and termination will happen.

Ethics and values are part of the performance for all individuals. If management fails to treat everyone with respect, then how can management expect loyal employees?

Audit the leadership in your business to determine if you have bad bosses

Determine if a business management plan may help you with your ethics and values.

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Tags: ethics, management, communication, business, development

As a business, your competitors are just that: competitors. However, the way you treat your competitors may affect how your customers and the media perceive your business, your ethics, and your friendliness. For those reasons, and more, it’s important that you carefully consider how you act with your competitors. It is possible to have a good relationship with competing businesses while limiting the impact they will have on your business success. When customers see you treating your competitors fairly, they will have more respect for you.

Congratulate Their Success

When a competing business does something well, you should be prepared to say so. If for example, a competing business has managed to gain greater traction than you, then you should point out that they have done really well, and are a good business, while also pointing out the advantages your business is able to offer that your competitors cannot. This is a good demonstration of the strong beliefs you have for your business, and will certainly leave a positive impression. At the same time look at ways of overtaking your competitor in all areas!

Recommend Business Their Way

If you and your competitors are able to cater for different categories of customers, then why not recommend them when you can’t offer the required service to a certain customer? This will make you look good in both your customers and competitors eyes, and they might also be able to do the same for you in return. In the end, both of you will hopefully end up with more business as a result.

Sales & Marketing Strategies

When it comes to sales and marketing, it can be tempting to point out the negative aspects of your competitors. And, in some cases, it may be an essential part of closing the sale. However, rather than criticising your competitor, why not mention both positive and negative points of their service? Such as: “Yes, you are correct, Company A is able to offer lower pricing than we can. For customers that are more price sensitive, and that 100% up-time isn’t essential, they can be a great solution. We cater for more IT-dependant organisations and employ 3 times as many engineers per customer. Company A also use an overseas call-centre, which is a great way to keep costs down, and provide a more efficient service, but we prefer to assign each customer a dedicated account manager to provide better service.”

However, on some occasions your competitors may not provide a good service. In this case, you should be as polite and tactful about your competitors as possible. Rather than voicing your own opinions, you should cite sources, such as articles and media coverage that make your point for you. After pointing out any negative issues, you might also wish to explain how your company responds to the same problems. This will show a certain level of objectivity on your part and will demonstrate that your business has strong ethics and is willing to appreciate your competitors’ problems.

Don’t Bite

When a competitor speaks negatively about your business, it can be hard to know what to do. Especially when you want to ensure your business appears to be friendly and considerate of others. Although it’s important to respond to any issues in an articulate way, you should avoid getting involved in any tit-for-tat. This will help your business stand out from the crowd.

Naz Daud is the founder of CityLocal. This Franchise Opportunity is for people who would like to work from home and be their own boss.

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Copyright information: This article is free for reproduction but must be reproduced in its entirety, including live links & this copyright statement must be included.

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Tags: work, business, ethics, ethical, management

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

Benefits of Ethics Training for Employees:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ethics? Translators don’t need to worry about ethics, do they? When most people think of ethics and professionals, they tend to focus on people like accountants, doctors, lawyers, or other high profile jobs. However, everyone that deals with other people in their business has the duty and responsibility to be ethical. Translators are no exception.

It is easy for people to point out unethical behavior in certain professions, but what about translators? It might not be as apparent. However, unethical activities do occur and it’s important to know what some of these are and ways to keep them from being a temptation to you.

Unethical behavior in the translation profession can take many forms. For example, translators are usually on deadlines with clients and it’s important to be truthful to your clients in terms of what you can accomplish in a given timeframe. If you come to terms with a client and agree to finish a job by a certain deadline, it is unethical to decide not to do that job or not finish it on time without informing the client. They usually have deadlines as well, and not respecting those is not only bad for business, but is also unethical.

Another major way that translators can be unethical is by not keeping their clients’ information confidential. Translators are privy to all sorts of information, and some of this information is private and confidential to the client that requested the translation. It is definitely unethical for a translator to disclose this information to anybody.

Another way that translators can be unethical is by purposely overcharging a client when a price has already been quoted. Many translators’ clients are first-time clients and might not know or understand how translators calculate their fees. Translators must not give into the temptation to overcharge a client when they know that the client is a little in the dark. Taking advantage of this ignorance is unethical. Earning a few more dollars off of a client is no way to increase your translation business, and in fact is the perfect way to ruin your translation career.

Ethical issues and situations can appear in any profession, and the translation profession is no exception. Translators should be aware of the ethical issues that can come up so that they know how to avoid them as well. Being ethical is a responsibility that every translator has.

Clint Tustison is a translator interested in helping other translators improve their businesses. Visit his website, this site is filled with information helpful to translators regarding the translation industry, and his free monthly newsletter, Translator Techniques, has tips and techniques for translators.

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Tags: ethics, training, courses, course, management

I would like to tell everyone about a phenomenal person I met recently. Kevin Beshore. Kevin recently became part of a business venture that I am in. Of course, eventually you get to know everyone personally because we work so closely together. I’ve never met anyone so selfless and caring about others.

Kevin Beshore having grown up in South Central Pennsylvania has had a passion for helping people from a very young age. He became a Volunteer Firefighter and EMT in his teenage years becoming one of the first paid EMT’s in his hometown. He went on to become a Police Officer and stayed on the force for 15 years. After which, he worked in the safety divisions of several light industrial and construction companies, implementing his vast knowledge to help prevent injuries in the work place.

Once again, Kevin’s passion for helping others has taken a different turn when he went to work for a drug and alcohol treatment facility. This guy is truly amazing in his ability to just go where there is a need and apply himself to bettering others as well as society in general.

Even though personally Kevin has dealt with adversity all along, he never stopped seeing the bigger picture. Life is not about Kevin Beshore, it is about what he can do for others that brings meaning into his life. It is truly a humbling experience to meet and interact with someone as genuine and caring as this man is.

Kevin Beshore now spends his time cooking, teaching others what he has learned over the years in various ways including coaching via the internet. His outlook is that we can come through any adversity with the help and love of God. What an inspiration he is to everyone he meets.

Kevin Beshore is a man with a vision and I am blessed to know him as well.

Amy McFarland

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Amy McFarland – EzineArticles Expert Author

Tags: work, business, ethics, ethical, management