Hardly a day goes by that the newspapers, magazines, TV talk shows, and workplace water cooler conversation does not include some mention of Bruno, Bernie and Blago – notorious folks who have been accused of actions that are either immoral or unethical, but folks who maintain that “I have done nothing illegal.” There seems to be no end to the line of folks who wait their turn to point their accusatory finger at Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, New York’s former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and the infamous financier Bernie Madoff.

Each of these three individuals has concocted a “story” that allows them to rationalize and justify their immoral or unethical behavior – a story each uses to absolve themselves of blame or guilt so that they can create their own so-called truth and not own their inappropriate behavior. Thus, their “I did nothing illegal” story or some flavor of it is simply a ploy to evade self-responsibility.

However, there’s something more here in the groundswell of the masses who are so quick to judge others. What is not being “outed” among this list of folks who aggressively assert their “legal non-guilt” in order to mask their unethical behavior is that this list does not include another individual, and that is “Everyman” – you and me.

From the boardroom on the 52nd floor to the mailroom in the basement and on every floor in between, there is a “me” – someone who has not taken the moral high ground, someone whose moral compass does not point north, someone who has driven off the high road – someone who has their own “story” to justify their unethical, illegal or immoral behavior.

When we point our accusatory finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back to “me”.

When I read the daily listing of well-known perpetrators who are behaving immorally and unethically, my gut is to include “everyman” – those among us who are not well-known, famous or infamous, but who are behaving badly nevertheless.

For example, folks who steal supplies from the office, pens and towels from hotels, cheat on their income taxes, call in sick when they aren’t, spend company time surfing the Internet, refuse to pay vendors with trumped-up “excuses”, bilk clients out of more fees than they deserve, “borrow” intellectual property, keep two sets of books at home. Each of these has their “story” (“I have done nothing illegal”) which they tell to rationalize and justify their inappropriate behavior, behavior that is no more or no less egregious than the “big-shots” who appear in daily newscasts.

If one person steals 50 billion dollars while a number of non-notorious individuals find ways, for example, to steal small amounts which, over time, whose collective thefts add up to substantial amounts of money, they are no less culpable. Their low road, or moral compass is no less “off” than the “named” personalities. It’s not the “amount”. It’s the behavior.

And those who say this is an “apples-oranges” comparison need to question their own thought-process, i.e, their own “story” about why they need to think that way, separating themselves from those who are behaving badly.

The point here is that these “big fish” were at one time “small fish.” When did the inappropriate behaviors they exhibited on the way up begin and how did the degree of inappropriateness increase? Taking their first drink, the alcoholic never dreams of becoming an alcoholic. Eating a first dish of ice cream, the slim never dreamed of becoming obese. Making an initial furtive glance, the innocent never envisioned having an affair. But they all have their “stories” that rationalize a next drink, a next dish of ice cream and a next glance…and more. The way one stolen pen, or dollar, or idea or kiss leads to major acts that are immoral or unethical, perhaps not “illegal”.

So, for the Bernies, the Brunos and Blagos, and for Everyman – you and me – what are our stories, and how did we come to create them in order to justify our immoral and unethical behavior?

So, while we point the accusatory finger at these others, at the same time it’s important that we muster the courage and strength to explore “me” – at whom we are pointing the other three fingers. What about me?

Integrity is not a cloak we put on and take off when convenient. On – only when I accuse others; off – when I need to cut myself a little “integrity slack” in order to justify why I lie, cheat or steal. Integrity is like being pregnant. Either one is or one isn’t. There’s no such thing a being “a little bit pregnant”, or “a bit less in integrity.”

Many of us are quick to judge and criticize others who act without integrity, without ethics, without morality. But many of us are just as prone to separate from our core values when it’s convenient. The question is: “Why?” What does acting out of integrity get me and what is the truth, the real truth about “my story” (my hypocrisy) I use to rationalize or justify my unethical or immoral behavior? Why am I so quick to point the accusatory finger at the Brunos, Blagos and Bernies but turn a blind eye to my own unethical behavior?

No single snowflake ever wants to be responsible for the avalanche. Many of us are those snowflakes that contribute to the avalanche of blue- and white-collar crimes and misdemeanors we are facing in this country. It’s not just the Brunos, Blagos and Bernies who lack inner moral compasses and choose the load road. As Pogo, said, “We have met the enemy and he is us” – i.e., you and me.

Perhaps while standing on line waiting to accuse, we might take a moment and reflect on our own ethics and morality in how we are dealing with others.

So, some questions for self-reflection are:

Do you have a “story” you use to absolve you from guilt, shame or blame when you act out of integrity? How does your story make you feel?

How do you feel when others who have acted immorally or unethically but not “illegally” state their rationalization or justification?

Who or what usually takes you out of integrity?

Does it ever bother you when you are out of integrity? How do you deal with the “bother?”

Do you use the same definition to define integrity, ethics or morality for yourself and for others? If not, why not?

How do you respond when others’ unethical acts affect you?

What was your experience around unethical or immoral behavior as you were growing up? How did these experiences make you feel?

Can you envision a life where you never act immorally, unethically or out of integrity? What would that be like?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter Vajda, Ph.D, C.P.C. is a founding partner of SpiritHeart, an Atlanta-based company that supports conscious living through coaching and counseling. With a practice based on the dynamic intersection of mind, body, emotion and spirit, Peter’s ‘whole person’ coaching approach supports deep and sustainable change and transformation.

Peter facilitates and guides leaders and managers, individuals in their personal and work life, partners and couples, groups and teams to move to new levels of self-awareness, enhancing their ability to show up authentically and with a heightened sense of well be-ing, inner harmony and interpersonal effectiveness as they live their lives at work, at home, at play and in relationship.

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Tags: ethics, moral, behaviour, theory, issues

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

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

There are two parts to the business ethical question:

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

Following Orders

This part is simple. You must understand your loyalties:

Be loyal to yourself.

Next, be loyal to the company

And finally, be loyal to your supervisor.

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

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

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

If you are not sure, ask.

Keep asking until you get an answer.

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

Making Ethical Decisions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

His head was embalmed and is kept by the University.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So on to the reality of everyday life:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tags: ethical, decision, moral, issues, work

Recent Scandals In the wake of the Blagojevich scandal, others come to mind. The foibles of Former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, former Florida Congr ssman Mark Foley and retiring Idaho Senator Larry Craig, to name a few. In the corporate area, Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi scheme, caps off years of scandalous reports about Enron, Tyco International, and World Com. The moral faults of corporate leade s con inue to cost investors billions. Is there a modern day standard bearer to guide the common man?

Ancient Warrior Code
According to Shannon French, author, The Code of the Warrior: Exploring Warrior Values Past and Present, the essential element of a warrior’s code is to set definite limits on what warriors can and can not do. In this sense, warriors value honor, integrity, justice and a sense of what is right and wrong. To the ancient warrior, the discernment between right and wrong is like night and day. Clear, obvious, unquestionable. To them, there are no gray areas, no “that depends on what your definition of ‘is’ is “(Bill Clinton). To the warrior, if something is not right, he will not do it.

Ancient Warriors versus Corporate Warriors
In ancient times, one looked to the warrior for guidance to the light; to serve as defenders of moral integrity. Today, though, the warrior, or rather corporate warrior is perceived as mere profiteers. Neocons, using natural disasters, social unrest, changes in regimes and wars- have been used ‘as a natural ally’ of corporate interests. Naomi Klein, in her book, the Shock Doctrine, indicates that heads of,companies, representatives of municipalities stood in the rubble of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and thanked God for the solution to the problem of housing in New Orleans. Similarly, PW Singer, in his book, Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry writes that private corporations working for profit have the ability to sway the course of national and international conflict.

Warriors of Light
Paulo Coelho, in his book, Manual of the Warrior of Light made this observation: “Sometimes the warrior feels as if he were living two lives at once. In one o” them he is obliged to do all the things he does not want to do and fight for ideas in which he does not believe…Then all that is needed is a little daring, and his two lives become one.” p 181. Ancient warriors carried out actions that brought them closer to their higher ideal. Some political and corporate warriors, on the other hand have tended to capitalize on the weak. How might we attain warrior of light status?

Friends and Allies
First, we need to de-bunk the myth that warriors are ‘lone wolves.’ Throughout pop western culture, American icons: John Wayne, Rambo, Clint Eastwood, have presented the ideal warriors. These warriors exercise independence of mind, thought and action. Often, they are presented as friendless. A warrior of light, however, appears to revel in the company of friends, followers and allies. Twyan Towery, in his book The Wisdom of Wolves, argues that the ‘strength of the wolf is the pack, and the strength of the pack is the wolf.’ Coelho quotes John Donne and continues in his own words. “No man is an island. He can not fight alone; whatever his plan, he depends on other people. .. p 103.

When selecting alternative courses of action, the warrior, relies upon the wisdom of his closest friends. Prior to committing a whimsical act, how many have been spared public humiliation because a colleague quickly intervened?

Angels
Second, warriors of light recognize that they are fallible and need divine help. Theologians say there roughly 300 references to angels in the Bible. Coelho presents warriors of light as men who steadfastly rely upon angels, God and Jesus Christ.

“A warrior knows that an angel and a devil are both competing for his sword”hand. The devil says: ‘You will weaken. You will not know exactly when. You are afraid. ‘ the angel says: ‘You will weaken. You will not know exactly when. You are afraid.’ The warrior is surprised. Both angel and devil have said the same thing. Then the devil goes on: ‘Let me help you.’ And the angel says: ‘I will help you.’ At that moment, the warrior understands the difference. The words may be the same, but these two allies are completely different. And he chooses the angel’s hand.” p 123. How does the warrior of light know that the purpose for which he is fighting is just and pure? According to Coelho, ‘The warrior of light meditates. He sits in a quiet place in his tent and surrenders himself to the divine light…. A warrior of light knows that in the silence of his heart he will hear an order that will guide him.” p 55.

Open Heart
One would readily suspect that warriors, those who must exact judgment on a daily basis, are driven by hatred and unfettered greed. Instead, according to Coelho, “The warrior of light always keeps his heart free of any feelings of hatred. .. He accepts that his opponents are there to test his valor, his persistence, his ability t” make decisions. They force him to fight for his dreams. It is the experience of battle that strengthens the warrior of light.” p. 87 As keepers of the light, warriors are born with a spark of light. As each day passes, warriors evolve. Their spark flickers into a small and then larger flame through prayer, meditation and connection to the One. We turn to Coelho again for clarification, “Accumulating love brings luck, accumulating hatred brings calamity. Anyone who fails to recognize problems leaves the door open for tragedies to rush in.” p 53.

Conclusion
When the warrior reaches temporary defeat, he is comforted by this, “The warrior of light unwittingly takes a false step and plunges into the abyss. Ghosts frighten him and solitude torments him. His aim had been to fight the Good Fight, and he never imagined that this would happen to him, but it did. Shrouded in darkness, he makes contact with his master. ‘Master, I have fallen into the abyss,’ he says. ‘T”e waters are deep and dark.’ ‘Remember one thing, ‘ “eplies his master. ‘You do not drown simply by plunging in to the water, you only drown if you stay beneath the surface.’ And the warrior uses all his strength to escape from his predicament.” p 129. So too, there is hope for the likes of political and corporate warriors, Blagojevich and Madoff. Get up and aim to respect the true code of the warrior; value honor, integrity, justice and a sense of what is right and wrong.

Dr. Mead, PhD, MBA, MA is a consultant specializing in human behavior, school and social psychology.

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Tags: moral, ethics, business, philosophy, values

In life, all things connect at every level, and money, honesty and value, the main trinity of this connection in the normal, modern work world is no exception. So, in this article I would like to examine this triumvirate or trinity of concepts in depth and as an integrated whole. Indeed, when this article is done, these concepts will be linked as a solid triangular matrix that works objectively rationally through reality in appearance and actuality and unifies in your mind subjectively as a fully rational and workable concept.

In existence, reality connects in an orderly, understandable way, because in nature, structure does monitor function: from the food we eat, to the way our bodies work, to the air we breathe: reality connects through structures, then the functions of those structures. Indeed, everything starts from basic building blocks and then works upward from there. Even when fully realized, change and evolution is a part of the building blocks that make up everything. Everything is a cycle of thought and action. In fact, time is that way objectively. For the ancestor of every action is a thought, to paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson. If there is no thought behind an action, there can be no success or even fulfillment of reality, even if the result is failure. For consciousness and consciousness only creates conscious results, no matter what.

Connect consciousness to value, and no matter what if there is consistent productive thought behind that consciousness, there is ultimately genuine conscious success as a result. Success is the only value that counts. Anything else is failure. Failure is just a “stepping stone”, but never permanent if efforts are kept consistent and unfailing. Consistency is the key, sure a “never quit attitude” helps, but being able to vary your approach no matter what obstacles may come up is a must in every genuine way. Never quitting and doing the same thing every time without variance is disaster, insanity and frustration. Success is as success adapts.

Honesty and value anchor the triangle of modern survival and adaptation is the ultimate survival technique for success. Indeed, I put money at the top of the triangle of money, honesty and value, to say that money arises from the base of the concept of honesty and values, and without those things money, gold, or whatever commodity is worthless paper, metal or whatever. And anyone who disconnects this triangle from the essential reality of life cannot live in reality but in a dream world of fantasy where mysticism reigns supreme. Survival in reality and objective thinking creates genuine strength. Succumbing to subjective fantasies and mysticism creates genuine weakness. Indeed, weakness is failure and strength is success. No other concept matters as a whole, no other parts matter if you do not take anything else away from this article. For this article seeks rational, integrated action takers and genuine honest people. The rest are not my concern, and I am not writing for them in this article. Need I say that this article is for “cold blooded”, “black hat” winners? No, I won’t. But, I am saying that this article is for productive people who produce more for reality than they take from reality, but get ever better results in every way.

If there was middle ground and no success and failure to the fullest concept, then we would have a “black and white” fantasy world with no gray areas and no choices. Indeed, we live in reality, where all hues and realities are possible in every genuine way and sense and lazy evasion or facing the whole thing head on are the only two choices. Why and how may be the questions, but the answers only come to those who work on answering the questions for themselves, those with courage and those who face reality unflinchingly. Logic is nothing to be flinched at, but faced and understood. Not feared or played with, but worked with and figured out. For logic is a value that creates benefit, including money and currency that has value when used correctly as a concept. For to handle reality well, is logical thinking and action. Handling reality well is the ultimate value in every way. If it was not, then the ultimate fantasy of escape, like “street drugs” would be the way out, which is definitely not the case in any way. For real life is a sober, happy discipline requiring full, unflinching focus on reality where successful actions make it all enjoyable in every genuine way. For genuine value is a real high and the other “high” that comes from external chemicals or “tricks” never works. Value, at the base of the triangle holds the whole triangle up, for no matter what the rationalization, you can have nothing without value, ever. That is the reality of the situation.

My name is Joshua Clayton, I am a freelance writer based in Inglewood, California. I also write under a few pen-names and aliases, but Joshua Clayton is my real name, and I write by that for the most part now. I am a philosophical writer and objective thinker and honest action taker.

I also work at a senior center in Gardena, California as my day job, among other things, but primarily I am a writer. As a kid I did construction work with my Dad which taught me many things like plumbing, hard labor and electrical systems, and I took notes for my Dad’s home poker games at my Uncle Johnnie Gilmore’s house, so I have a lot of life experience, sure. But I went to Cal State Dominguez Hills College, UCLA, and El Camino Junior College and learned a lot, but never got around to getting a degree, just lots of money spent, good grades and some credits. So, here I am currently freelance writing and working at a senior center for a living.

But enough details of my life, what I do is not what I am. So here is what I enjoy, I enjoy reading, listening to music (everything from Beetoven, Strauss and Bach to The Meters, ELO and The Band and Dylan/Garcia and The Grateful Dead also, when they were the Grateful Dead. Well, as you can tell by SOME of the music I listen to, I am a very eclectic person. I am also a deep science fiction fan and as said before, a lover of books. If I were to go into everything it would take thousands of words and I only have about three hundred words here, of which I have used 290 of already. Well, I end here. Thanks. Joshua Clayton.

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Tags: ethics, work, moral, behaviour, conduct

Do you know your organization’s mission statement? Can you recite it word for word? Most would answer no to this question. But can you even summarize the general idea behind the mission statement? If the answer to this question is no, then what is the point of having a mission statement?

A mission statement is a call to order within the corporate proving ground. It is a statement that initiates action, formulates direction, and maintains key core values for all within the organization to follow. This serves as a template and defines the action and purpose of the corporate structure. At the corporate inception, key personnel toil and labor to focus in on a single unifying statement that will inspire and guide all workers at all levels consistently. Because it is challenging to summarize within one statement, it usually ends up being several statements with bullet points and unending commas throughout. Customarily the mission statement is posted throughout the building and emphasized in new employee orientations. Why is it so important to have a mission statement if no one within the organization can tell you what it is or what it means? Since most agree that the mission statement is a “must have” for all organizations, shouldn’t every employee be able to at least know the basic gist behind their organization’s mission statement? Is it just ink on paper or is there more to it?

Increasingly, mission statements have been viewed as a strong management tool that motivates employees and keeps them focused on the purpose of the organization. In a recent research effort by William Brown, he investigated employee attitudes toward the mission at a service organization. Specifically, this study examined how employee attitudes toward the mission were related to employee satisfaction and to what extent these attitudes toward the mission accounted for expressed intentions to stay with the organization. He found that employees expressing positive attitudes towards the mission of the organization also had attitudes relating to employee satisfaction and intentions to remain with the organization. He points out that it is important for management to be clear about the mission and not only talk about it to employees but also live and breathe it themselves and be an example to everyone.

So, we all agree that mission statements are important as the foundation of an organization. But how many of you can recite a mission statement for any organization you have ever worked for? Bob Lewis, President of an IT company, recently wrote an article about the perfect mission statement. He promotes that it needs to be five words or less. If you are like me, that sounds impossible. Most have adopted the view that mission statements need to be detailed descriptions of a company’s purpose which is hard to summarize in five words or less! However, Lewis considers a company’s mission to also be their brand. “When a business builds a brand, it’s establishing the expectations it wants customers to have when doing business with it.” Employees and customers alike get lost in lengthy, dull mission statements ultimately leading to no retention of what exactly the point or purpose is. Think of how effective it would be to post up a sign all over your building saying “Lower costs, better technology” (assuming that fits what your company is trying to accomplish). Think about the purpose of a mission statement. Is it to summarize every possible goal you have for your business in one page or less? Or is it something you would like for every employee and customer to remember and think of when your business name is mentioned? If it is in fact something you want everyone to remember, Lewis’ idea of five words or less may not be a bad place to start. We have all heard that our short term memory has a capacity of seven words plus or minus two. And more modern estimates are even lower stating a capacity of four to five words maximum. Therefore, as employees and customers enter your organization, having a short phrase summarizing your mission as a company seems like it would be more effective than a whole page of bullet points and big words stating your purpose.

As we learned from William Brown’s research earlier, if your employees know and understand your mission, it could lead to increased job satisfaction and retention. In fact, National Business Research Institute (NBRI) was recently asked to conduct employee satisfaction surveys for a U.S. company that provides solutions for the telecommunications industry to assess job satisfaction and retention among other issues. NBRI deployed 13,700 surveys and received 12,600 completed surveys yielding a 92% response rate. The results reached a 99.999% confidence interval with a 1% sampling error giving the business confidence that the results of the survey were valid and representative of the employee population. Using benchmarking data, a Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Threats (SWOT) analysis was conducted. This enables management to get an immediate grasp of the overall results of the study. Items with benchmarking scores between the 75th and 100th percentiles are regarded as “Strengths”. “Opportunities for Improvement” are items with benchmarking scores between the 50th and 74th percentiles. Items with benchmarking scores between the 25th and 49th percentile are “Weaknesses” and those items between the 1st and 24th percentiles are classified as “Threats”. In this study, the industry’s average is represented by the 50th percentile because the benchmarking database is very large including over 250,000 individual opinions per survey question.

Now, think about your employees. How many do you think would say they know your company’s mission statement? Unfortunately for this particular company, only 21% said they knew the mission statement. Because this score was between 1st and 24th percentiles, it was in the Threat category. Thirty-five out of sixty survey questions landed in the Weakness category (58% of the items). Among these items were “I plan to be working here five years from now” (41%), “Top management has a vision for the future” (35%), “I know top management’s vision for the future” (31%), “I know the Values Statement” (29%) and ” I know the Vision Statement” (28%). Given these results, management can clearly see that their employees do not feel connected to the organization as a whole and as a result, retention and job satisfaction may be an issue. Further, the majority of their employees do not think that top management has a vision for the future. It appears that employees are not seeing the big picture and more importantly, they are not seeing management walk the talk. These results can speak volumes to management and aid in resolving the underlying issues before they become a huge problem.

It is important for employees at all levels of an organization to know and understand the purpose of the organization, its mission. Employees that know their greater purpose within an organization and how they fit into the big picture are more likely to be satisfied with their job and stick with it. Now I bet you are wondering if your mission is clear to all of your employees. Could that be why your retention rate is falling? Are your employees satisfied? A great way to find out if they do know the mission as well as their level of job satisfaction and other key issues facing organizations today is through employee satisfaction surveys. The results of the survey will give you detailed, unbiased, and reliable information that can aid in making key decisions regarding the success of your organization. Among numerous other factors, this information will clearly tell you whether your mission statement is just ink on paper and whether your employees are satisfied and planning on staying with the organization. Once you have this information, you can assess what is going on in your organization and be proactive regarding changes that need to be made.

Jamye Henry, is an Research Associate at the National Business Research Institute which creates, deploys, and analyzes superior customer surveys and employee surveys.

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Tags: leadership, ethic, value, moral, business

In the past few years a lot of folks have complained about so-called credit counselors who don’t get them out of debt and charge them a lot of money. They pay a fee to get counseling and receive nothing in return.

Well, it turns out one reason these companies increased exponentially is because they were given tax-exempt status for claiming to be credit counselors.

The IRS commissioner is focusing on dishonest credit or debt counselors, 41 debt counselors have lost their tax-exempt status of the 61 they recently audited. These organizations exist mainly to prey on debt heavy individuals by charging them excessive fees for little or no service.

Everson, the IRS commissioner, said that these 41 agencies collected 40% of a billion dollar industry, most offering little or no debt service. The 61 agencies audited by the IRS represent half of the revenue generated by the credit counseling industry. An additional 740 agencies will be notified shortly.

Groups who want to make a quick profit would cold call people in debt, read a script and convince them to pay high fees. A red flag when you are contacted is:

1. Does it sound like a script is being read from a book.

2. Are fees high? That is, are initial fees more than $50, and monthly fees more than $25.

3. Are they offering a quick debt management plan over the phone?

Getting into debt is easy, getting out of debt is difficult, but the best person to get a debt heavy person out of debt is that person.

Read savings and debt articles for free here. The book, Let’s Get Financial Savvy! has over 45 charts and tables to gracefully guide you out of debt.

Sign up and get a free ecourse at the website.

Lois Center-Shabazz is the founder of the personal finance website, and the author of the award-winning book, Let’s Get Financial Savvy! here.

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Tags: ethical, form, research, business, moral

“The ideals which have always shown before me and filled me with the joy of living are goodness beauty and truth. To make a goal of comfort or happiness had never appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle.” – Albert Einstein

Some people routinely behave in unethical, immoral and untrustworthy behaviors and hardly ever experience one scintilla of guilt. How is this so?

There’s a growing body of evidence that says such folks “disengage” from their core values, detour from their moral compass and, more than that, consciously “forget” information that would otherwise limit their inappropriate behavior.

It’s quite evident many folks behave dishonestly and then rationalize their dishonest behavior in a way that let’s them off the “honesty” hook.

No longer are the criminals the only rule-breakers in our society. The “dishonest” live and work in virtually every system and organization – finance, politics, healthcare, education – even in our homes; our culture has become inundated by the “dishonest” and “untrustworthy”.

The interesting notion, however, is that these blue- and while-collar folks use the same excuses as criminals use for their crimes of dishonesty.

Psychologists tell us that “moral disengagement” and “moral self-regulation” lead to dishonesty. The deal is there are two modes of reacting when – either by commission or omission – one commits a dishonest act: (1) one can link their act to their moral goals and values or (2) one can uncouple their dishonesty from their moral goals and values. We seem to be experiencing more and more of the latter.

When one behaves dishonestly and unethically, one experiences both a mental and physical reaction. Mentally, one experiences “cognitive dissonance” – a knowing that there is a “disconnect” between one’s act and one’s value system, and there is a “felt-somatic” sense in the body that is experienced as discomfort.

So, what to do?

The curious question is how do folks respond to their dissonance and discomfort? How do they come to grips with their distress? There are those who “do the right thing” and move into alignment with their core values and moral code. And there are those who go through a “rationalization and judgmental” process, i.e., “moral disengagement”, in order to clear their conscience in order to view their action as “morally permissible.”

In addition, there are those who disengage morally in order to benefit from another’s dishonest or unethical behavior (e.g., buying clothes from a company that looks the other way, ignores human rights and uses child labor).

Questioning myself

To what extent do I use “moral disengagement” as a strategy to excuse my or another’s unethical actions as “permissible?” And, why? And, to what extent do I use moral disengagement to actually perpetuate unethical and dishonest behavior – mine and others’?

The vast number of “hypocrites” who have surfaced or been “outed” (and those who haven’t­ yet) in recent days, weeks, months and years in the arenas of, for example, politics, sports, finance and religion are a prime example of the duplicity that moral disengagement perpetuates.

The hypocrisy is couched in the belief that ” I engage in more ethical behavior than others.” Or, “I am less unfair than others.” Or “I have a right to be more suspicious of others’ actions than they do of mine.” Or, “others are more greedy and driven by money than I am.” Or, “I am more honest and trustworthy than others.”

Guilt, shame and self-regulation

The underlying ego-need underlying moral disengagement is to absolve one’s self of guilt, blame or shame for their dishonest deeds, of the disconnect exiting between their values and their actions. When one decides to act dishonestly, their tendency to morally disengage is higher than when they consider another’s unethical behavior. Simply, “I’m ethical and you’re not” – given the same dishonest behavior.

The truth is that everyone, repeat, everyone, can self-censure. Everyone has the ability to consciously view their actions, and self-regulate, i.e., act morally or not. Everyone has the choice to engage in good behavior or bad behavior and judge their actions.

The choice

The ethical and moral bottom line is whether one chooses to activate their self-regulatory process – to consciously consider their values and standards, their moral code, their conduct in the moment.

There are those who choose to not engage their self-regulatory process, to morally disengage. The choice to morally disengage depends to a great extent on the strength of an individual’s core values and their motivations.

Workplace culture and other environments

“It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen” – Aristotle

A third factor that affects the degree to which an individual may morally disengage and rationalize dishonesty is the environment and culture in which one finds oneself – work environment, home environment, play environment.

As you reflect on your workplace environment, your home environment, and your recreational environment, what is the culture around dishonesty, cheating, lying, or behaving unethically? What are the tacit, subtle, silent or unwritten rules that reflect immorality, illegality, dishonesty and unethical behavior? Is moral disengagement a “business-as-usual” strategy? Is there a growing sense of pervasive dishonesty?

Given the permissive nature of our culture, the strong force of peer pressure and the almost obsessive need for folks to “fit in” or “stand out” and to be regarded as “somebody” – even those with a strong internal core value system – can often succumb to an unethically permissive environment. Where opportunities, pressure or “silent consent” drive others to lie, cheat and steal, many will – even the “strong-willed.”

The antidote to moral disengagement

Folks choose to be ethical or unethical, trustworthy or untrustworthy. There are a number of efforts one can take to support honesty, ethical behavior and trustworthy behavior. Here are a few:

Conducting formal, on-going conversations about ethics and moral behavior. Such experiences can help to put a stop to some folks’ moral disengagement.

Asking individuals, (yes, even at home) to read, discuss and sign a “moral code of behavior” or honor code. Such actions can help raise people’s awareness which can stem the tide of unethical behavior.

Publicly fostering an open agreement by all to live the espoused values of the organization (or family, or team) and having open conversations with others when they do not.

Reviewing processes and procedures that invite dishonesty and moving to enact ways to prevent inappropriate behavior from occurring.

Publicize behaviors and practices that have detrimental organizational and human effects

Increase the transparency of the discussions that give birth to organizational policies and practices. The more discourse, the less folks may engage in moral disengagement.

Initiating consequences. There must be consequences for bad behavior. Period!

Self-responsibility – it’s all about “me”

In the final analysis, I am responsible for my actions. “The devil made me do it” and “Everybody does it” excuses do not apply – ever. There is a direct coupling between action, goal and motivation (i.e, core values). I and I alone am responsible for that alignment or misalignment – for moral engagement or moral disengagement. Whether I choose to adhere to my internal moral rules or not, that’s my choice.

The sad corollary of moral disengagement is that, like a drug, the need to morally disengage can spiral down into a hellish vortex leading to a life (at work, at home and at play) of obsessive lying, cheating, stealing and dishonesty.

“The needs of society determine its ethics.” Maya Aneglou

Living for the moment, driven by greed, caught up in competition and consumerism and living in a workplace and social environment that says, “It’s OK to be a criminal”, moral disengagement has become the “behavior-du-jour”. When we uncouple our behavior from our internal moral code, and detour from our moral compass with an “ends justifies the means” or “everybody does it” mindset, we are putting our individual futures at risk. The Universal Law of Attraction – The Universal Law of the Circle – says what we give out we get back.

Is “moral disengagement” the underlying life principle of the legacy you want to leave?

So, some questions for self-reflection are:

Is getting ahead more important than how you get there?
Is cheating OK if no one gets hurt?
Is unethical behavior OK because others are doing it?
Do the ends justify the means?
Are you aware of the ethical standards in your workplace? Are there ongoing discussions about ethics and standards? If not, why not?
Do you use euphemistic language to sanitize or condone moral disengagement?
Do you ever use moral disengagement in your personal life to justify unethical or dishonest behavior? If so, why?
Do you ever encourage others to act without (their considering their own) moral restraint?
Do you purchase products from companies you know to be in violation of human rights or other ethical standards?
On a scale of 1-10, how trustworthy would you say you are. What would others say? How do you know?
Can you envision a life where moral disengagement is never an option?

—ABOUT THE AUTHOR—

Peter Vajda, Ph.D, C.P.C. is a founding partner of SpiritHeart, an Atlanta-based company that supports conscious living through coaching and counseling. With a practice based on the dynamic intersection of mind, body, emotion and spirit, Peter’s ‘whole person’ coaching approach supports deep and sustainable change and transformation.

Peter facilitates and guides leaders and managers, individuals in their personal and work life, partners and couples, groups and teams to move to new levels of self-awareness, enhancing their ability to show up authentically and with a heightened sense of well be-ing, inner harmony and interpersonal effectiveness as they live their lives at work, at home, at play and in relationship.

Peter is a professional speaker and published author. For more information: click here

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Tags: ethical, questions, moral, behaviour, business

Every time you open the newspaper you find reports about controversies on business ethics of large corporate houses and even government organizations. Today, ethics seems less important than making profit, which is the ultimate goal all over the world. In this scenario a question raises its head with timidity: ‘is it not possible to make profit ethically?’ A question we all need to answer for ourselves.

Ethics and profit – complementary or opposites

In certain countries ethics comes on a poor second when it comes to doing business successfully. “Successfully” here means generating large amounts of surplus. For this purpose the business houses need to expand their territory, coverage and products to capture large chunks of the market.

Creating a base for such activities can be done in two ways:

(1) go the hard way – advertise, consolidate, build brand and image in the national and international market segment you prefer. This involves money, effort and tremendous perseverance
(2) go the easy way – bribe your way through government and other corridors which would help you create a niche market almost overnight. Often the amount of money and efforts spent on bribes is less than

Which would be the best way, in your opinion? You would say, ‘the ethical way’, of course. But you would be amazed at how many would still go the other way. Why? Because, the keyword today is “results” and here “results” means profit. Corporate houses feel that their stakeholders would appreciate the fact that they generate wealth for them – by whichever means.

While it is true that the public does like a hike in the profits, the ‘by whichever means’ acceptability is debatable. If you go down to the grassroots, ethics is still an important threshold in the values of the common human being.

The general public still values basic business ethics more than profit, though globally the consumerism movement makes it seem otherwise. Ethics to most is synonymous with trust and truth without which no real value addition can be expected or enjoyed.

Placida Acheru is an accredited Personal and Business Coach working with individuals and Start up Businesses to achieve maximum performance. She holds a Master’s degree in Guidance and Counselling,worked twelve years in public administration where became Senior Assistant Register of a college. She decided to take her career forward by pursuing her passion for business and becoming a coach;to further complement her knowledge and skills she added to her portfolio the following certifications: – Performance Coaching, Neuro- linguistic Programming, Mentoring, Emotional Intelligence and Train the trainer. Her goal is to be committed to your goal.

Click here to read more about this topic or visit this site

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Tags: business, ethics, moral, value, define

There has never been a more critical time in our history to be concerned about the trust stakeholders place in institutions. As has been stated by Tim Hartford, “Trust enables people to do business with one another. Doing business is what creates wealth.”

Yet, each day, we hear more stories of trusted executives who betray stakeholder trust. Despite the best intentions of some organizational leaders, public exposure and scrutiny of corporate greed and fraud are so prevalent that stakeholder skepticism is commonplace. In fact, the potential for perceived breaches of trust also presents a risk to corporate leaders. So, what is to be done? What can executives do to right the ship – to exude values that establish, maintain, and maximize stakeholder trust?

In a recent qualitative study of three U.S. institutions, including a Fortune 500 corporation, a government entity, and a nonprofit organization, the author found that there are seven critical elements of a comprehensive trust repair agenda. The first, and most important finding is that when trust has been violated, stakeholders are motivated to understand why the violation occurred.

Findings show that stakeholders first want to understand the circumstances surrounding the violation. Managers and executives should provide an open account of key features of the transgression. Explanations which are authentic, reasoned, open and relevant to the transgression in question enhance fairness judgments, and can increase trustworthiness perceptions. Our findings have been supported by scholars (see Barclay 2008; Greenberg, 1993), and practitioners.

The provision of information is one of the most important elements of a trust repair agenda. However, transparency in information is insufficient. A comprehensive trust repair agenda requires more… organizational leaders should provide as much information as possible without causing harm to their organization.

Practitioners are recommended to ensure their post-transgression communication plan includes: a) a forthright and complete explanation of the organizational failure, including who and what is responsible; b) a comprehensive, reasoned plan going forward, including safeguards against repeating the transgression; and c) honesty and transparency. Practitioners should be mindful that their integrity and competence is being measured by stakeholders at all times.

Organizational executives without the respect of their stakeholders, particularly due to lack of integrity, will have a difficult time restoring trust. Managers are advised to have many reparative conversations during a time of crisis, while providing real evidence of promised change.

About the author:

Rachel Y. Daniel is the CEO of Synergy Marketing Strategy & Research, Inc. Synergy has been designing strategies that build trusted brands for over seven years. Working with Fortune 500 companies, government entities, universities, and mid-sized businesses, Synergy utilizes sound marketing strategy, rigorous marketing research, and excellent customer and stakeholder relationships. For your marketing and branding needs, please visit this site or this site

Rachel completes her doctorate at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management in May 2010.

Her research interests include brand and organizational trust, and the impact of justice and fairness perceptions on trust.

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Tags: ethics, trust, conduct, behaviour, moral

“Ethics is a body of principles or standards of human conduct that govern the behavior of individuals and groups” (Bottorff, n.d., p.1). “While ethical behavior is based on a set of values and principles, ethical behavior goes beyond mere belief; it also encompasses actions of individuals, groups and organizations (p. 2). Ethics encompasses “the principles, norms, and standards of conduct governing an individual or group” (Trevino and Nelson, 2003, p. 13). Ethics can be considered a set of standards that an individual or organization uses to guide actions of the individual or group. Corporate social responsibility “is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society”

A socially conscious organization recognizes its responsibilities on several different levels, including; economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities (Trevino and Nelson, 2003, p. 31). Therefore, ethical behavior can be seen as one aspect of a socially responsible company. A company cannot be socially responsible if it only looks after its economic and legal responsibilities. There are times when a company must do more than what is required by the letter of the law and consider what is ethical. This is especially true for multi-national organizations that operate in countries with varying legal responsibilities. The company must be driven by ethical standards above and beyond bare minimum legal requirements.

Just as ethical behavior is a part of a socially responsible organization; it is difficult to imagine a company that is striving to be ethical, not to become socially responsible. As a company examines its ethical actions, they will be driven to make decisions that become more socially responsible. This is especially true as the company strives to provide ethical treatment to all stakeholders beyond shareholders. If employees and community are considered in the decision making process as stakeholders, then decisions will be made in ways to reduce negative and enhance positive outcomes for each group. Hence, the company’s actions become more and more socially responsible.

Ethical behavior then is one component of a social responsible organization. If the organization or leader strives for social responsibility, they will be driven to act more and more ethically toward all stakeholders. Likewise, an ethical leader or organization will become more socially responsible as they consider making decisions through an ethical lens.

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

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

Visit our web to learn how we can you with your leadership and communication development needs.

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Tags: moral, ethics, business, philosophy, values

Ethics are difficult to hold onto; they may appear situational in nature, changing based on our perspective; a hierarchy seems to exist, where some may be compromised in order to adhere to those that we place greater value on; and they are tested most when we’re faced with a dilemma or the perpetual “rock and hard place”.

Ethics are grounded in our values, and most of us are influenced by both personal and organizational values. Individually, we may hold values such as family, loyalty, honesty, fairness, and compassion. Organizationally, values such as customer service, innovation and accountability are common. These values shape an individual’s character and create organizational cultures.

When it comes to ethics, most of us have a strong moral compass, adopting values and principles that may be described as noble, and are appreciated and strived for by others. For example, wouldn’t you want to work for an organization that espouses these values?

1. Respect: We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. We do not tolerate abusive or disrespectful treatment. Ruthlessness, callousness and arrogance don’t belong here.
2. Integrity: We work with customers and prospects openly, honestly and sincerely. When we say we will do something, we will do it; when we say we cannot or will not do something, then we won’t do it.
3. Communication: We have an obligation to communicate. Here, we take the time to talk with one another…and to listen. We believe that information is meant to move and that information moves people.
4. Excellence: We are satisfied with nothing less than the very best in everything we do. We will continue to raise the bar for everyone. The great fun here will be for all of us to discover just how good we can really be.

If you answered “yes”, you’re not alone. These values would appeal to many – unfortunately, these are the values of the now infamous Enron Corporation, an organization whose values were corrupted by its leaders for personal gain.

When it comes to ethical cultures, it’s not enough to have a strong set of values; being ethical requires us to translate our values into action through the choices we make. In many cases, this is easier said than done. In those situations, we should ask ourselves:

1. What will people think of me when they find out? Will they be proud?
2. How would I feel if my actions were reported on the front page of the newspaper?
3. Will the people affected by my decision consider it to be fair?
4. What would happen if everyone did this?

Some may argue that ethical decision-making doesn’t concern them; surely ethics are only truly relevant at the executive table? However ethical cultures are built by a pattern of behaviours, a pattern that we all contribute to. Anyone who’s a parent can surely recall a time when they told their child not to hit, lie or steal. However, our children, just like our coworkers, are watching to see if we’re walking the talk. How many of us have “borrowed” organizational resources by taking a roll of tape home to wrap presents with at Christmas time or used the photocopier or printer at work for personal uses? How many of us know of others who have done these things, but we haven’t spoken up?

Unlike the examples above, ethics also play a big role in decision-making and the choices we make reflect our level of integrity, or adherence to our values. While it’s true that managers have an important role to play in creating ethical cultures, so does everyone else. Just like our children, we’re all watching the actions of our coworkers and leaders, learning what is tolerated and what isn’t, and not addressing questionable behaviour is the same as sanctioning it. The Ethics Resource Center1 suggests that the three most important actions that contribute to ethical cultures is:

1. Setting a good example
2. Keeping promises and commitments
3. Supporting others in adhering to ethics standards

This may mean excusing oneself from interviewing a friend; speaking up if you see someone being treated unfairly or benefiting unduly from a business decision; or making decisions that may be unpopular and even career-limiting, but making them anyway because it’s the right thing to do.

In terms of building an ethical culture, congruity between our values and our actions is key, and we all have a role to play.

1Source; “Critical Elements of an Organizational Ethical Culture,” Ethics Resource Center.

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Tags: ethical, cultures, moral, behaviour, conduct

Workplace bullying is more prevalent in today’s workplace than at any time in the past. It is essentially a violation of the individual, and akin to rape in its effects. Both exhibit an abuse of power over an individual(s), resulting in trauma and even psychiatric injury. Both genders may experience it, and as many males as females have been targeted.

A very powerful metaphor comes to mind that is helpful in crystalising your thinking on what workplace bullying does. The powerful and disturbing concept of ‘rape’ comes to mind, with all the horrendous emotions associated with that kind of personal violation. Rape is essentially about the ‘abuse of power’ and only secondarily about intrusive sexual attack. What is done to the victim is nothing less than barefaced rape! This takes two distinct but related forms; there is ‘date rape’ where the target meets with his/her attackers, only to be subjected to strangling emotional abuse by people with a vested interest in destroying the target. Demands are made to violate conscience in which the victim is told that unless s/he did so, the consequences would be terrible. These people see themselves as possessing “the power of life or death” over colleagues. So the rape goes on, time after insufferable time.

Allied to this is the idea of ‘gang rape’ to which some victims are subjected, with key players ‘doing the job,’ and the onlookers enjoying and supporting what they were witnessing. This is excruciatingly painful, especially because these were colleagues with whom the target works, people who are trusted. After such a savage experience, it is difficult, if not impossible, to trust people again. ‘Gang rape,’ as one would imagine, contains the multiplying effect of rape by a single person, and when one finishes and gains his moments of pleasure, others are lining up to gain personal gratification as they continue the psychological torture.

Then there are the bystanders who see what is going on, but do nothing to stop it, or offer any protection from these attackers – no one. They could intervene, were it not for fear of what they might to do them also if they got on their wrong side, and backed someone whom they wanted rid of. It is still true that “turkeys don’t vote for Christmas!”

Hazlett Lynch, Ph.D., is an academic who has researched this phenomenon and is pleased to offer the fruits of his research to a wider reading public. He would draw your attention to his website for further information on workplace bullying http://www.bullying.FirstQualityEbook.com This substantial downloadable ebook is instantly accessible, written in a popular style, and combines an academic base with personal experience. Six free bonuses are included to supplement the report. Please visit this site and give yourself the best chance to recover from the effects of this life-threatening behaviour.

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Tags: ethical, moral, behaviour, conduct, code

In the past ten years, the soul, or lack thereof, of Corporate America has been revealed in many ways. Unethical and even illegal practices have been revealed by questionable accounting practices, poor investing advice, and undeserved bonuses being handed out in good ole boys fashion. But perhaps, there is no more vivid picture of Corporate America’s soul than the plethora of television ads that celebrate situational ethics and outright deceit to champion their products. With such constant indoctrination into unethical behavior, is there any wonder that we find ourselves in economic upheaval? Are we surprised to find entrepreneurs and executives bilking our companies and customers for large fees and exorbitant favors while at the same time shirking their fiduciary responsibility to work in favor of the shareholders and stakeholders?

Here is just a small portion of the companies from Corporate America whose ads teach our citizens and children that lying and or using unethical behavior to get what you want is okay:

A Popular Home Improvement Company

The scene opens with a female employee of a rival home furnishings store standing around waiting for customers to come in the empty showroom. Suddenly, she decides to go on an early break and tells her co-worker she will be right back. As she exits the store, she sheds her employee vest and runs across the street to Lowe’s where she buys a lamp for less than what she can buy at her own store. When she arrives back to her place of work, she goes to her car to stash her purchase. At the same time, her co-worker sees the box in her car and asks what she bought at Lowe’s. She lies and says she purchased some kind of hardware.

A Popular Sub Sandwich Firm

Like the ad mentioned above, an employee of a sandwich shop orders a sub from one of the most popular sub companies and has it delivered to his shop while he is still on duty. He meets the delivery boy at the door. In order to quell the suspicions of his co-workers, he berates the driver at the top of his lungs for delivering the sandwich to the wrong location. Subsequently, he slips the driver a five spot and asks him to set the sub down at the back door.

A Hip New Buffalo Wing Company

In one ad, customers are enjoying their favorite hot wings while watching March Madness basketball games. One customer says I wish we could continue this all night and motions to the bartender to do something about it. The bartender says no problem, opens up a hit control panel behind the bar and signals a cameraman to interfere with the end of the game. Using a very bright flash bulb, the cameraman shoots a photo of a man breaking away for the winning basketball who is blinded by the light. The player trips and falls and the game is sent into overtime.

A Burger Chain Trying to be Hip

This company takes the cake. This champion of the six dollar burger has used every ploy in the book including sex appeal and irresponsible behavior to seduce people into their stores. In the newest ad they celebrate a surgeon who before entering the OR to cut open his next patient chooses to steady himself with a shot of hard liquor. Well not really…it’s a bourbon burger. Even so, the ad is completely irresponsible in that it seems to say that sipping from a shot glass is a good way to prepare for a day at work.

These are just four examples of the many television ads that promote unethical and illegal behavior in order to satisfy one’s needs. They are a revealing picture of the soul of Corporate America. These ads teach the general public including our children that lying and cheating is acceptable behavior in order to get what you want. When our children grow up to be leaders, they adopt this same mentality, after all business is business, and take it into the office and boardroom. In the end, it seems people do get the leaders they deserve. If we want upstanding citizens running our companies and handling our finances, we need to stop using ads that teach otherwise and use positive ads that celebrate honesty and integrity in all aspects of life including business.

Eric Coggins has an MBA in Global Management and has lived and worked abroad in Cambodia. Beyond that, he has had extensive interaction with members of many different ethnic backgrounds including African-American, Latin American, Japanese, Korean, Cambodian, Australian and European. His mission is to promote the best possible life for all everywhere in the world and to help them reach their God-given potential.

Are you living up to your God-given potential? If not, Eric has written an ebook called The Best You: Foundational Principles for an Effective Life. If you want to develop your God-given capacity, you can find out more about the ebook at this site or visit his website

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Tags: ethical, unethical, conduct, behaviour, moral

A strange title and linking of terms in an article providing information on workplace bullying! But it’s not as strange as you might at first imagine. Abortion is the deliberate destruction of another human life for purely personal reasons; so also is workplace bullying. It is traumatic, guilt-laden, shameful and destructive.

This metaphor may be used to explain what happens when someone is bullied at work. Abortion is usually what is done to those in organisations who become surplus to requirements because the management no longer views them as useful or convenient for them. Through all kinds of machinations, the target’s ‘fetal’ existence within the organisation becomes an embarrassment to the firm, an embarrassment that it does not wish to talk about, except in hushed tones; targets are in danger of infecting the whole, and causing disease in the entire body. Therefore they have to be aborted, and disposed of quietly.

The means of aborting an unwanted employee is immaterial – but it is essentially emotionally and psychologically violent, and sometimes physically violent, and always results in the unceremonial removal of the victim from the organisation at any cost and by any means.

Indeed, the establishment will use colleagues within the firm, in Stalin’s unforgettable but often quite accurate phrase, as “useful idiots,” to do their bidding. Whether they perceived this or not is an open question; indeed, whether they possessed the discernment that one would expect, one cannot say. But the fact is, they were used to doing what management had planned, and executed their devilish plans.

It is quite enlightening and interesting that within a relatively short time of an essential workplace ‘abortion’ having taken place, more senior players are likely to be promoted to even more senior positions. The establishment always rewards its most faithful servants! Senior management will look after the best interests of those who serve it well.

Understanding workplace bullying in this way very often opens up a means of thinking and analysis that is productive of good results and outcomes. This does not imply that everything at work will return to normal, but it does suggest that other doors will open to you for future service.

Hazlett Lynch, Ph.D., is an academic who has researched this phenomenon and is pleased to offer the fruits of his research to a wider reading public. He would draw your attention to his website for further information on workplace bullying. This substantial downloadable ebook is instantly accessible, written in a popular style, and combines an academic base with personal experience. Six free bonuses are included to supplement the report. Please visit this site and give yourself the best chance to recover from the effects of this life-threatening behaviour.

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Tags: ethical, moral, behaviour, conduct, code

In the pursuit of profits, business ethics often get lost or forgotten – or simply ignored altogether. But in the grand scheme of things, ethical business practices are vital to the success of any business, no matter how large or how small that business may be. This includes your business.

Business ethics are not written in stone. There is no set guide to go by. Instead, business ethics simply means conducting your business in a way that is both honest and moral, whatever that means in your particular industry. There was a time when ethics played little or no role in business practices. Today, however, consumers, employees, and businesses that serve other businesses are extremely informed, and business ethics are more important than ever.

While there is no written guideline for business ethics, there are specific areas that are covered. These include general business ethics, professional ethics, and even ethics of economical systems. For example, insider trading has a strong, negative impact on the economy, and therefore, it is not an ethical business practice. It also is not a legal business practice. Insider trading would be considered a breach of ethics concerning economical systems.

Not all breaches of ethics are illegal, however. Some are just frowned upon, while ignoring some business ethic principles can literally ruin your reputation and put you out of business, even though it won’t send you to prison. Let’s take a look at some of the more important business ethics that you should be aware of:

Ethics that concern consumers. – This would include things such as developing quality products, charging a fair amount for the product, backing the product with a guarantee and honoring that guarantee, and making sure that your customers – consumers – are completely satisfied in their business transactions with you. It also entails providing safe products for consumers, and advertising those products in an ethical – truthful – manner.

Business ethics – concerning business-to-business transactions – Obviously, you should conduct business with other business owners in an ethical manner. Failing to pay vendors is not ethical. Ruining the reputation of a vendor, without just cause, is not ethical. Asking another business to do something illegal is not ethical. Getting creative with the accounting is not ethical. Bribery, kickbacks, and other types of transactions such as this, of course, are not ethical, and are illegal in most cases.

Employee ethics – Just as you expect your employees to hold up to a certain set of standards, your employees expect you to hold up to a certain set of standards as well. Most people will remember the Enron scandal for years, and many business schools will hold the Enron scandal up as an example in their business ethics classes for the rest of time. Other ethical concerns that relate to employees include discrimination, sexual harassment, union busting, privacy issues, and even work place surveillance, such as reading the email of employees, or listening in on their personal phone calls.

If you are a business owner, and you have never taken a course in business ethics, you should really consider doing so. Such classes are offered at most local colleges, and are even available online. Know what is and what is not acceptable in the business world, and you will be better able to help your business grow and succeed, with your reputation intact.

This and other topics that deal with corporate communications, business to customer relationships, and sales training through Collective Vision are just some of the topics discuss.

And now I would like to offer you one of my book chapters absolutely free. You can get instant access at this web

From Jed A. Reay – The Communicator/Connector and Visionary Master Sales Trainer.

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Tags: ethics, moral, behaviour, theory, issues

- business ethics, abbreviated as BE and
- staff morale, abbreviated as SM.
Business Ethics.

There is a difference between morale and ethics and the best way to show this, is to add: “staff” and “business”. Business ethics is in general more specific and focused on good-practices in business; like that of a company’s practices in market behavior, in sales practices (intimidating clients) or accounting practices, etc. Business ethics is about scoping your business in an ethical way. All these (BE) are related to the employee representing a company and how it acts in name of this company. So are you going to permit your sales employees to sell cigarettes to children (under sixteen) and things like that? Where are the limits in achieving performance? Where do you draw the (business) line?

Staff Morale.

Staff morale is a different topic. It is more about how people (management, employees) work together in the organization. BE guide employees in the external market in contact with clients, SM should guide internal employees in activities, contact and communications. For instance; lying (from management to employee) is something that lowers staff morale. If a manager is not sincere he cannot expect the employee to be loyal and cooperative, etc. That is on the individual (manager-to-employee) level. On an organizational level, the culture of the organization influences staff morale; … a lack of trust in the organization, the morale will be affected.

Than in times like these with possible reorganizations, staff morale will be influenced too. Again sincerity defines who employees respond to lay-offs. If there is a credible approach that supports the reorganization than people will agree, and resistance can be handled. But if there is no rationality behind the lay-off the morale diminishes. Employees feel they are a target.

Business Ethics and Staff Morale.

Yet both affect each other. A company that is involved in bad business practices will influence the morale of the internal staff (a company that sells guns will attract employees who favor the use of guns…)

“Employees feel united and motivated when their company engages with its community and becomes involved with a cause.”

An example:
We recognize that our staff’s morale and enthusiasm is fundamental to reaching our goal of becoming one of the top … in the world. We are therefore committed to … a high standard.

Should a company use “staff morale” as a corporate value?
I wouldn’t recommend it, as it is very vague what it all means. It’s better focusing on a specific (corporate) value.

In the news:
- “By promoting business ethics, we hope to increase awareness not only among students, but also in the community.” (insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=34786)
- Editor: There is a growing movement on the Internet that is trying to hold one Internet service provider accountable for its business ethics (mercedsunstar.com/perspectives/story/767312.html)

… And let’s not forget the Failure of business ethics in Finance over the past years… Maybe as a corporate value statement they (both BE and SM) are not needed, but business ethics as well as staff morale will gain in importance over the next years. The whole climate change topics is also about business ethics (our culture) in relation to mother nature…

Copyright © 2009 Hans Bool

For more information on similar and a wide range of different topics have a look at the writer’s block note

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Tags: ethics, business, moral, work, market

I had been working for a major national known corporation (SCM) since turning 21. After becoming their #1 office equipment salesman in the nation, the “Big Corporation” didn’t want to pay me all of the commissions that I’d earned. My immediate supervisor was sympathetic. I was pissed! “The Man” as you would call it today, had screwed me out of some of my bonuses and commissions before. Only now, I was 24 years old, knew my worth, and I quit… Then, I took the “Rip-off Devils” to court and collected my rightful earnings.

That very afternoon, with a wad of cash in my bank account, I was looking in the newspaper. I saw a job listing for a “Public Speaker.”

“WOW,” I said to my first wife. “That’s my new job!” The president of ADCO (American Discount Catalogue Operations, Inc) interviewed me in his near the Top Floor, Executive office located in the prestigious Portland, OR Georgia Pacific Building the following morning. Don told me that he didn’t want to even take my application because the speaker position was as good as filled. He and his Vice President had been interviewing for two weeks and had narrowed the candidates down to five men.

“The decision will be made tomorrow night, after all five speakers make their formal presentations before our board of directors – at our showroom warehouse,” Don Selley said. “You would never have time to learn about our products, our new marketing strategy, and to prepare your presentation by tomorrow night. I’m very sorry…”

“Just let me try, Mr. Selley,” I asked. He sent me across town to see the showroom to meet Frank, his VP.

Well, after working all night, pouring through their catalogue, and preparing my speech, I practiced and polished it the next day. Then, I blew the other finalists away that night, keeping my big ego intact. I not only had the “Public Speaker” job. The others finalist for the “Primo-job” were given an opportunity to become “Sales Marketing Associates,” which would cost their own customers $375.00. We were all going to “Get rich” selling invitees into this new membership-only discount operation.

Remember, this was in the 1970s. Computers didn’t exist. Those personally invited as guests were given the opportunity to buy a basic membership for $25.00 or become a Sales Marketing Associate for only $375.00. Sales Associates would save even more and earn a percentage of all monies spent by their basic members. Was this good or what?

Every night for two months, I’d take the stage, do my song and dance from the podium – with three large screens of multimedia slide presentations flashing behind me – and then come down afterwards to “Close” the guests for the sales associates who couldn’t. Most became sales associates. Almost everyone else bought a basic membership that very night, were issued their personalized plastic membership card, and left with a catalogue after looking over the countless samples in our showroom. The grocery items were not displayed. Very soon, the superstore would be open.

I signed up everybody that I knew. Not only did I sign my own name – to buy the three best slide projectors and large background screens – I had my own key to open the showroom/meeting room, and I had been invited to invest my commissions into stock which would be worth a fortune.

Then, one evening I unlocked the showroom door to find the entire place empty. The samples had been returned to their rightful owners, and Don, Frank, and their “Bodyguard” – who they had boasted could remove lug nuts without a wrench – were gone. I still owed Moore’s audio Video for the projectors and screens. So much for that “Great job with a local start-up company.”

I ran into “Dashing Don” – as I have dubbed him – a couple of years later at a Beaverton, OR nightclub. He was still the same blond haired, blue eyed, southern gentleman that I remembered. Not all of the Earth-Devils have visible horns…

When I approached him, Don was delighted to see me. “I’ve been looking for you all over,” he said with his beautiful smile. “I’m really sorry that the ADCO thing didn’t work out but I’ve a much better thing for you now! As he continued to put forth his best charm, I could only watch in amazement. “I’ll lease you a new Cadillac tomorrow if you’ll only join me in this new ice machine business,” he promised. “I’ll make you rich! How about it?”

“Goodbye, Don,” I said.

Let’s leap forward to 1996. Phone cards were new. They were also the money making opportunity rage! I’d held off on buying into TelAmerica early up, when first approached. Yet, several of the real estate professionals whom I respected were now earning over $20,000 each month selling phone cards.

I leased another office above my own real estate company. I’d do it right! Converting the whole space to a large meeting room, I was ready to do business. My own agents, former real estate clients, and customers were invited to my second business. Quickly, I recovered my up-front investment. Now, I was ready to really roll.

I got up early to see if my third grade daughter’s beautiful artwork that she’d submitted was in the Easter Sunday Edition of Vancouver, Washington’s major newspaper, “The Columbian.” It wasn’t. Rather, I was greeted by the article on the front page that charged TelAmerica phone cards sales of being an illegal pyramid operation! Was it? I don’t believe so. Yet, I was out of that business as were all of the honest people that I’d brought into it. TelAmerica never recovered. If a “Rip-off” occurred, it was the believing public that was ripped-off by the power of the press and the tightly controlled news media.

I doubt that anyone reading this on-line, ezine article would argue that we continue to be fed false news by the mainstream press. I don’t take a newspaper or watch network news. Instead, I get my news via the Internet. If I have some latent need to be deceived, I am perfectly capable of deceiving myself.

Today, with the invisibility provided via the Internet and easy access to victims, those who “Take advantage of trusting souls” are more difficult to spot when they go out to spend YOUR money.

Yes, the big national corporations continue to “Cheat” their own sales professionals while small-time Earth-Devils have found the anonymity of the Internet a huge advantage.

The News media still lies, and often bills bad things as being good while labeling good businesses as being dubious and/or bad. Yet, God Himself has assured me that His cyber-space, deliverance vessel ‘A Rainbow Reminder’, which He has appointed me to launch, cannot be touted as some get rich quick scheme that can injure anybody financially. Like Noah’s ark, admission to the vessel is no charge.

I’m certain, if there were newspapers in Noah’s time, he was called an old boozer who was over-consumed by animal interests. Lot, who with his daughters escaped Sodom, would have been labeled as a selfish nephew of another nut, Abraham. Yes, and he was likely decried as “Unsodomacan” for his withholding of the two angels from the self gratifying mobsters that wanted to “Know” them.

Jesus Himself was accused of being a charlatan and demon possessed by the righteous religious in His earthly mission time.

Big corporations cheat, scam methods change but “Rip-off Devils” don’t. Media often wrongly reports. And “God’s Chosen” can rightly discern the ignoble earthly vessels from those made by their creator for more noble purposes.

Russ Miles is author of the novel, For Sale By Owners:FSBO. A “Seasoned Real Estate NAR® Broker,” for 5 years Rascal Russ was disabled by Multiple Sclerosis. Now, in 2006, Rascal is “Cured” of “incurable” MS. Rascal Russ now writes books & articles on varied subjects.

Via his personal website, “Rascal’s blog,” & his ezine articles themselves, Rascal Russ maintains contact with those whom he believes the God of this Universe has joined together with him as per Destiny’s Devine Plan for this Planet Earth!

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Tags: ethical, issues, list, moral, healthcare

Not long ago our local city council had banned the council men and women from getting free tickets to events around the city. The thinking was that if they had gotten free-tickets then they would be more favorable to those businesses, nonprofits, or individuals that gave them the tickets. Sure enough, we know that to be human nature and it kind of goes against all the anti-lobbying sentiment going on these days doesn’t it.

Still, there is a huge flipside to this whole argument that maybe our city council is not addressing, and I thought I’d mention it incase this happens in your town too. You see, when civic events happen around town, it’s a good place for the politicians to be, so people can ask them questions, get to know them and voice their concerns. It also helps events attract more people and legitimizes get-togethers.

Why is this important? For many reasons, but the town that sticks together has more people buying locally and it runs smoother. Further, if a city council person has to buy tickets to everything, and mind you in any given city there is an event going on nearly every night, sometimes more than one, and you have to choose; the council person may opt out to save the money.

In our city for instance the city council people are paid next to nothing, it amounts to a volunteer job in fact. In tough economic times it makes sense for a city and the city council to be “all-in” and in it to win it.

Yes, free-stuff and gifts can be abused, and yes, you should ask your councilmen and women to be ethical and fair, but making rules against free-tickets to local city events or preventing your city leaders from attending the maximum number of civic events, only hurts the town as a whole. Think on this.

Lance Winslow – Lance Winslow’s Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance

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Tags: ethics, business, moral, service, work

Ethics and morality used to be used interchangeable in business. I do not believe this can or should be the current practice. Many businesses, including the DSA – Direct Sales Association have defined a Code of Ethics. Those business ethics basically say be forthcoming and not deceptive, don’t use false claims, etc.; pretty cut and dry stuff.

Yet when it comes to morality in business, some would argue that definition to be a bit subjective. But is it? Shouldn’t we all have a general sense of right and wrong? Or is it a matter of what’s right to one independent sales consultant would be highly taboo to another? If it’s not exactly illegal by company policies and procedures, does that mean anything goes in independent sales?

It’s a dog eat dog world. Desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s a cut-throat economy out there. True or False? First let’s take a look at what is meant by “cut-throat sales”.

According to one responder on Yahoo Answers: “If you work in a “cut throat sales” environment, it means that the reps are all either starving, lazy or greedy. They will “cut your throat” by stealing your customers/prospects the minute you turn your back.” The same responder continued, “If you have the stomach for it, you can make great money. If you have morals and ethics, you may get ulcers and stress – I did.”

Headlines of a Nov. 26, 2008 Newspaper read: “The cut-throat Christmas: Stores in price-slash frenzy as battle for shoppers gets desperate.

Most of us would agree that Cut Throat Sales is much more than being keen and aggressive – it’s more about being desperate. But does it work?

Some Direct Sales companies have a policy about territories. It’s my understanding that Mary Kay Cosmetic independent consultants are required to ask potential customers if they already have a Mary Kay consultant. If so, they must back off. Other companies have a clause that reads something like: No Territory Restrictions – There are no exclusive territories granted to anyone.

Take this scenario for example: A Direct Sales company consultant has a display set up in a local business to generate leads. A consultant from the same company also happens to patronize this business; sees the display; and still tries to infiltrate the business and make those customers and employees her own customers. Assuming there are no territory restrictions, is this practice acceptable or no? What if the second consultant is from the same company but is on a different team? Is that free enterprise or is that an immoral business practice? Does your response change at all if both consultants are on the same team?

How do you feel about this second example: A consultant attends a family celebration and gives her direct sales products as a gift. Other guests admire the item; yet the consultant who gave the gift merely responds, “I’m glad you like it.” Then within the confines of this same conversation, another guest, who also happens to be a consultant with the same company, whips out catalogs and starts a sales pitch in the middle of the family celebration, declaring, “oh I sell that too!” Morally wrong or all is fair is business? Does it matter if both of these consultants are on the same team?

Here’s my feeling on both of these situations – take what you like and discard the rest: They’re both wrong, no matter if the consultants are on the same team or not, but it makes it even more immoral if they happen to be on the same team. In the first situation, if the second consultant didn’t think to request a display first, then she should move on to another business. There are plenty of leads to go around without needed to be cut throat about it.

In the second scenario, I’m shocked and disgusted that someone would even under cut the first consultant who quietly gave the item as a gift. The second consultant did nothing but create awkwardness and cause herself to look like a real buffoon. The second consultant will self-destruct with that kind of desperate cut throat sales tactics. It does not work and it’s just plain wrong.

Here’s the rub – anyone who doesn’t see these two above examples as immorality in business probably partakes in those kinds of activities. He or she likely sees cut throat sales as the only way to be successful. My wager is that if there are temporary sales successes in this type of behavior, it’s short lived and the perpetrators will continually need to move on from company to company once bridges are burned and the self-implosion is finalized.

To those folks – I wish you well; you’re going to need it. To those direct sales independent consultants who see something fundamentally wrong with this type of activity, try not to let the choices of others consume you and steal you of your joy. Keep running your business with authenticity and integrity – you’ll soar among eagles!

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Star Director with Scentsy Flameless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business. You can find Laurie here

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Tags: ethics, business, moral, work, person

23 years of loyalty and dedication – and what did I get for it? Fired! Yes, I am down – struggling to start a business, ostracized from a field that I was a leader in for over 20 years and financially on the edge, but do not count me out! Yes, I am trying to pull my life together and move on, but you can’t move on without clearly understanding the past. If reading my story today compels one person to go into their office tomorrow and request that any and all promises of equity, stock, options, or promotion or compensation plans be verified in writing, then I will have accomplished my goal. If your requests are turned down – start making plans to cut the cord and find another career opportunity, for you have just become expendable! I myself shook off the suggestions of good friends, advisors and family members when they questioned my unbridled loyalty with the lack of ink on a page. I shook them off for years, but I am telling you that in the end you will have nothing to show for it. I am sure I am not alone, but I am hopeful this elicits a response of others who have lived through the experience like I have and are glad to find a “kindred spirit” out here.

I ask myself how could this have happened and now in looking back, obviously this was the only way I was ever going to extricate myself from the narcissist that I worked for – who was more interested in finding a scapegoat for the failure of his business than he was in taking his share of the responsibility.

Ken Lay and Bernie Ebbers, move over! Have I got a guy for you. His name is not important – actually nothing about him is. He is a small man, with a small mind but a large ego. I was in business with him for 23 years. And when I no longer served his purpose or his ego and he had found another “handmaiden” to believe that he was an industry visionary and brilliant business man, I was thrown overboard.

Of course, he did not do it alone – he had allies. There were backstabbers in the company that took every opportunity to gain favor with him during those tumultuous last weeks. I thought many of them were my friends. Silly of my to believe the staff that I personally had hired over all those years would stand up for me as I had for them countless times in the past. There were one or two bright spots, those who stood by me and stood up to him and left when they realized his stories made no logical sense.

He hired a firm to help him get rid of me and find a scapegoat for his financial problems. Could I have been so blinded with emotions and loyalty that I actually could not see what was happening until I was being walked out of the building by his hired “hatchet men” in front the employees that I had hired and trained and nurtured? I don’t know if the word is immature or trusting – but in retrospect, I would have to call it emotional blindness. I never wanted to see it, so I closed my eyes.

But what this all comes down to in the end was that I believed in his words. And I found out the hard way that words have no meaning when the Almighty Dollar – or long-term loyalty is involved. For 23 years I was told I would receive part of the business when it was sold – but now that it was sold over a year ago, I am forced to sue for my share. And in order to prove that two years of telling people that I stole millions of dollars from him was his way of shining the spotlight of deceit and fraud away from his own actions, I am suing him. In order to be repaid $100,000 for products purchased on my personal credit cards in order to “help the company” stay afloat, I am suing him.

He smugly thinks he has ruined me. The truth is he could never ruin me. He is the one who is ruined. He has threatened employees, vendors, customers and even friends in order to make himself look like a victim. I am sure to most people, he looks like a buffoon. By and large, I have chosen to remain silent for the past two years. I will now speak for myself and hopefully my words will ring out for the rest of my days. I will speak for myself and hopefully people who had thought to give him the benefit of the doubt will understand that I was not able to see the forest for the trees during that terrible time. I will speak for myself but realize that never again will words be enough for me to believe in empty, verbal promises of the future.

I will actually take no pleasure in watching him squirm. After all, I did trust him and care for him like a brother for almost half of my life. People ask me if we had an intimate relationship. Yes, we co-founded a business and worked together daily for over 23 years. It does not get more intellectually and emotionally intimate than that? You are wondering was there more between us? Yes! I considered his wife, his children, and extended family part of my family. Believe me, betrayal in the boardroom is just as devastating as betrayal in the bedroom!

As my case is making its way through the courts, people always want to know what I am looking to gain from this. Since I have come to the realization a narcissist is incapable of empathy, I am not looking for apologies, but what is rightfully mine. As those who know him would attest, money is all that matters to him. Being forced to give money to me is the only way he will feel any of the pain I have felt. I want what is rightfully mine and for him to pay for the consequences of the lies and the financial consequences his actions have cost me. I want my compensation earned, a severance package for the years I gave the company, my share of the profits from the sale of a company that I built, the loss of earnings I may have realized due to the fact that companies, colleagues, and co-workers I worked with for years will no longer speak to me because of his threats and lies.

I want those who felt there are no consequences about perpetuating the lies for him to be exposed as petty and shallow people. I want them to have to face me during their depositions and later in court. I want them to know what their words and actions personally cost them and how it affected their professional reputations. Will they be able to lie under oath? Doubtful, now that they no longer work for him – but that is not an excuse for their behavior. I wonder where has personal responsibility for speaking and spreading the truth in this culture gone. Most people feel they can hide behind their phone, their computer screen, their own survival needs. This public procedure may be a rude awakening for this group of cowards.

Too often we get caught up on the business of doing business and forget that we must protect ourselves and our family – first and foremost. Take the time to think if you are compromising your ideals, your values, or personal integrity to keep your job. Summon up the courage to ask for what you have been promised. Do not take “the word” of someone who knows how to manipulate you rather than the real commitment that a written document secures. I wish you success and hope the people you work for are honest and ethical! If they are not, find new ones, or take the plunge and finally start your own business. If you are being told you are going to share in the riches of the company in the unidentified future, you are probably smart enough to start your own business being the type of boss that you want to be? Truly, that is the type of company we all deserve to work for?

I am currently starting an online support group for those who have suffered betrayal after a long period of employment. I look forward to hearing from you and deciding how to best reach out to each other.

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Tags: ethical, behaviour, moral, value, personality

If you are a franchisor you will soon find how incredibly dishonest some humans are, as they attempt to hide, conceal or not pay their royalties as agreed. Honest men with integrity are so hard to find in this; gimme world. Indeed the most important part of any franchise system, especially a rocket ship fast moving entrepreneurial type franchise company is to stay up on cash flow, as there is never enough to do all you want to do. And you cannot stop growing once the rocket ship takes off.

Like all franchisors our company was challenged by collecting royalties and getting paid on time, so I decided to implement late payment charges on past due accounts in order to collect what was owed so we would have the cash flow without depleting all of our initial capital. Below is the plan I instituted and the clause I wrote for our franchise agreement, perhaps this might help enlighten you as to the challenges you will face and give your reason to consider your solution to your own issues, whatever they might be in this regard;

7.22 Late Charges On Past Due Amounts

A late charge will be added to any sum Franchisee is to pay to Franchisor under this Agreement that is not received within fifteen (15) calendar days after its due date. The late charge will bear interest at the lower of one and one-half percent (1 1/2%) per month and the maximum rate permitted under applicable law in the Marketing Area, from the date payment was due to the date payment is received by Franchisor.

Franchisor’s acceptance of late charges will not constitute a waiver of the breach created by Franchisee’s non-payment of any amount when due. Notwithstanding the payment of any late charges, Franchisor may exercise any rights or remedies granted by this Franchise Agreement upon Franchisee’s breach or any rights or remedies otherwise granted by law.

Nothing contained in this Franchise Agreement obligates Franchisor to accept any payments after due or to commit to extend credit to or otherwise finance Franchisee’s operation of the Franchise. Franchisee acknowledge that failure to pay all amounts when due will constitute grounds for termination of this Agreement.

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All franchisors, especially when just starting out must never forget that cash is king and that you must make sure to stay up on royalty collection, as many will attempt to use all your proprietary information and try to never pay you a dime. If you allow this, then others will follow suit and then if you wait to get tough you will end up litigating and paying all the money you collect to lawyers. So, pay attention to this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online ThinkTank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

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Many Westerners who come over to oriental societies have to immediate grapple with one reality – the strong culture and presence of gifts-giving and even bribery that takes place in our societies. It can range from the blatant (Indonesia or Vietnam) to the indirect (China or Philippines) to the “legalised and regulated” (Singapore!).

I remembered my first encounter with gifts as a teacher – I got a very expensive book from a parent. It was very, very difficult for me to return that gift without offending the parent so I approached my principal for advice. Public servants in Singapore (of whom teachers are a part of) have very strict instructions regarding gifts (declare value, report to superiors, etc), to avoid any problems or even appearance of bribery. I decided to make that book publicly available to all my colleagues.

Over at the Shanghai Singapore International School, I encountered Korean parents – and I realised that Korean parents took their gift-giving very seriously. It’s something like a mark of respect or even “face” to them to present a gift of nominal value (chocolates, for example) to a teacher they respect. But since I’m no longer a public servant, I could accept them without any problem.

There was one gift I had to return though, and that really destroyed my relationship with the parent (sigh). It was a very beautiful idol of some Indonesian tribe or something, which we suspect to be a totem of some sort. I don’t think it’s very appropriate for a Christian family to have this in the house so I wrote a card explaining my position and returned the gift. That parent never spoke to me again.

I know that God has very serious instructions regarding bribery.

“And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.” Exodus 23:8

“You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.” Deuteronomy 16:19

“A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back, To pervert the ways of justice.” Proverbs 17:23

In other words, bribes are given to blind the eyes and to pervert justice. When money is given for the judge to award you his judgement, that’s a bribe. When money is given for a person to award you the contract, even if other parties obviously gives the better deal, that’s a bribe.

How about gifts? What does the Bible say about gifts (remember that the Hebrew society is an oriental one)?

“Many entreat the favor of the nobility, And every man is a friend to one who gives gifts.” Proverbs 19:6

“A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.” Proverbs 18:16

I think it is very clear here – a gift is an introduction, a means to put ourselves in good standing before a person in an oriental society (I suspect it works in western societies as well!). Herein lies the great power of the oft-acclaimed Chinese guanxi 关系, which literally means “connections” or “relations”. You can get guanxi by being a childhood friend or relative, or by being friends later in life (mostly through gifts – monetary, in kind or by being the leverage for your own personal guanxi elsewhere).

What gifts have I given so far that has given me some of this guanxi? I’ve a friend who has connections with government officials – she likes me, and I’ve been a great help to her in establishing herself in Singapore. I’ve leveraged upon my network to create opportunities for the school to perform in public venues – both sides are happy in the process.

I learnt one thing though – that ultimately, we need to be discerning over what constitutes a bribe and what constitutes a gift (I suspect many of my definitions of “gifts” are considered bribes by most governments of today). I believe that as long as we are sure we are not perverting justice or blinding the eyes of the decision-maker, any gifts we give to make room for us in high places would be regarded by God as wisdom. And what is the value God has placed upon wisdom?

My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; Proverbs 2:1-6

Michael Chan used to be a teacher, before he left to run a managed fund. When his business failed, he returned to teaching, and is currently a Department Head at the Shanghai Singapore International School.

He constantly applies his business acumen to his job, to add value to his employer. His thoughts on K-12 education and on financial education can be found in his blog at here.

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Tags: ethics, religions, belief, moral, behaviour

The first woman to rise to the top in 4 1/2 months in her short lived network marketing career was “rocking and rolling” in a fraudulent manner. When you are caught with your hand in the cookie jar, why wouldn’t the company terminate someone for that?

I’m glad to see that this company has a firm hand when someone scams them. Why do you think that rules are set in place by companies?

This person hurt a lot of people in her “rocking and rolling” months and had so many complaints to headquarters in her short time in moving up. So many complaints of how she was conducting her business and what she was doing to get what she needed out of her downline and upline to move so fast.

I do agree however that the policies and procedures should be reviewed thoroughly prior to checking that box. Nonetheless, this person was fully aware of what she was doing and that it was grounds for termination. What has upset her is she wasn’t smart enough not to get caught and vicious and sly enough not to care. A person who was ignorant enough to think because she made the company so much money that they could never let her go and a person with an ego (and a deluded outlook on law) of one of our US ex president’s, “I am not a crook!”

She continues to promote her name and has such a strong desire to be in the spot light even more. If I were her, I would go underground for a while until this blew over. Not keep it up, because she is “ousted” on this. She owes this company thousands of dolor’s so I’m sure this won’t be the last time we hear about her.

She proclaims honesty and is pretty smooth about her delivery. Watch out for this one!

Companies Beware!

J. Brady
Fighting for the Truth!
A voice for those who have been hurt!

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“Never get in the way of a customer who wants to buy something!”

It’s practical advice, don’t you think? After all, if they’re making it easy for you to profit, why slow them down?

Only a fool would do that, or so it seems.

For instance, in the car leasing business, there are some clients who want to have cloth seats, believing them to be cheaper, and perhaps more comfortable than vinyl or leather.

But on many models, having cloth seats actually makes leases much more expensive, because frighteningly few want to buy a used Cadillac with anything other than leather beneath their derrieres.

So, if the expected resale value is less, then the monthly lease payments go up.

Clearly, if the customer is driven by a need to save money, ordering cloth, is outright foolish, but the customer, particularly one waving cash in your face, is always right, isn’t he?

Does the seller have a duty to set him straight, to try to talk him out of his choice?

If he does, might it be risky? Could he lose the sale, entirely?

What, exactly, is the ethical obligation of a salesman when a customer wants to buy the wrong thing?

If he really wants it, can it ever be “wrong?”

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California.

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Have you ever met someone who puts themselves out as ethical at every turn, always talking about ethics like a Catholic Priest who is screwing little kids behind everyone’s back yet preaching the Holy Bible the rest of the time? These pragmatic ethically challenged individuals are everywhere. Just when you think you have found an ethical person, as you learn more you find that their ethics only go so far. Kind of like a man who talks of family values then screws other woman on the side and beats their wife.

Many people reading this know they are liars, yet try to conceal it, when in fact they are unfit to lead. They wonder why their business associates and friends are not long term, but only because they have never looked in the mirror to see what they really are. Are you a member of the Pragmatic Ethics Society; are you a liar in disguise? I think you are and I am a pretty good judge of character too. But what can we expect from a human? And with this truth how can we maintain the forward progression of the human race with you in it; that is to say all you Pragmatic Ethics Practicers?

They say you can only believe none of what you hear, half of what you read and most of what you see? Do you ever wonder why this is? It is because of people like you. Who sure have ethical value, as long as it suits you; that is to say as long as it is not too inconvenient and people are watching. But if you can gain from cheating, lying or concealing, you are all over it like a fly on feces. Are you afraid that people will find you out, find out your are full of crap and unethical by nature and nurture. Tell me how does that make you feel? Or do you even care anymore? Are you ethically challenged, a pragmatic ethics or can we just simplify all of this and call you a Liar. Think on it.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; WorldThinkTank. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

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Tags: ethical, implication, moral, issues, cases