During a recent business networking event, a colleague told me that the two of us were a dying breed. This comment intrigued me and I asked her why. Remember, that old expression be careful of what you wish because you may receive it? Well, that is exactly what happened.

This colleague was looking for someone to fill a sales position within her organization. First year salary was around $45,000 and that did not include additional incentives or benefits.

I had been approached by two other individuals who were seeking to change positions. Given that I knew both of them and thought them to be professional and understanding of what it takes to be a good sales person, I shared the name of the person and organization seeking a sales person.

Both individuals emailed me back and thanked me for the referral. And both individuals sent me a second mail sharing that they had met with my colleague.
Unfortunately, neither of the individuals sent my colleague a hand written thank you or even an email for the opportunity of the interview.

This demonstration of poor business ethics is what my colleague referred to as us being a dying breed. When we had originally met years ago, I had sent a handwritten note thanking her for the meeting. During the course of time, we would have lunch together. If I paid, I would receive a handwritten thank you note from her and if she paid, I would send a handwritten thank you note.

Would she hire either one of them? Absolutely not! Their inability to acknowledge the opportunity to sell themselves through a simple hand written note of appreciation showed her how they would potentially treat her existing clients and prospective ones. Since she strongly believed in relationship selling, these two both failed her Litmus Test.

In business, the goal is to build authentic relationships. Some now refer to this as relationship selling. Consistently demonstrating high business ethics will help to build that relationship and more importantly sustain that relationship. Conversely, demonstrating poor ethics will have just the opposite affect.

What bothered me the most, is that I truly believe that both of these individuals were professionals. However, I was wrong because both of them had failed Business Ethics 101 – send a handwritten note and if nothing else send an email.

If you want to increase sales or get that coveted job, please make sure that your behaviors reflect exceptional business ethics which are truly just a reflection of your own personal ethics and beliefs.

Where are you going? The M.A.P. for Success, a FREE email course may help you begin to chart a course of business, professional or personal success. Visit this site.

Do you know what it takes to develop loyal customers? Our FREE customer loyalty self assessment may just help you to answer that question. Follow this link to sign up for your free assessment.

Article Source

Tags: work, ethics, article, policy, training

“Having what is called a high work ethic is a good thing. Yet, sometimes, due to the workplace and life, these ethics and supporting personal core values face continued challenges. For example, have you had any of these thoughts:

1. Why should I work my buns off because John comes in late, leaves early?
2. Hey, it is 4:59pm, I need to get off the phone with this customer?
3. Did you hear about Mary’s encounter with HR?

Work ethics take a beating every day because not everyone has the same standards or personal core values. Yet, you are expected to deliver the same exceptional performance regardless of the environment.

To help you stay the course, consider these three capacities: Goals, Attitudes, and Self Leadership Skills.

Goals help to close the gap between where you are now and where you wish to go. When you utilize a proven goal setting process that includes having written goals, you truly do not care about John coming in late because John is not part of your goal.

Our work ethics are really attitudes toward performance. These habits of thoughts actually drive our behaviors. If you have a great attitude of always delivering outstanding customer service, you will stay on the phone even if it is 5:15 to help that customer.

Finally, strong interpersonal skills or what I call self leadership skills keep us focused. We make good decisions about whether we engage in gossiping about another employee’s behavior. Our communication skills are consistent with our work ethics and core personal values. Self leadership skills are truly about leading ourselves first before we can lead others.

Keeping strong work ethics is a challenge. By using goals, attitudes and self leadership skills should make that challenge just a little easier.

Simply speaking, leaders are readers. If you enjoyed this article, you may find this free online email course M.A.P. for Success of interest Source
Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith, The Business Coach Source to explore everything from how my solutions double results to articles and resources including the Simply Speaking series.

Article Source

Tags: work, workplace, policy, ethics, personal

“‘Sustainability’ is the watch word in the current business climate and companies are increasingly being held to higher environmental standards. Often, the high visibility of procurement and purchasing practices puts them under particular scrutiny. But improving your company’s environmental buying practices may be simpler than you think. The following tips can save you money in the supply chain and boost your environmental profile:

1. Do your research- Find out to what extent your company already uses environmental purchasing practices. Any current systems can potentially be upgraded. Using 15% recycled paper? Why not upgrade to 30%? Buying fair-trade coffee? Why not try organic or bird friendly fair-trade options?

2. Screen your Suppliers- By requesting environmental information you are asking suppliers to become more accountable, and then the information you gather can be put into a balance scorecard to measure their performance, creating an incentive for them to improve.

3. Collaborate- By involving suppliers early and often in product, process, and strategic decisions that impact them, it is possible to reduce the potential negative fall-out from any changes. Add suppliers to planning teams to implement design for environment initiatives and, within your own company, seek to collaborate at multiple levels, involving the technical personnel who plan and manage day-to-day operations.

4. Buy Big- Just because you are a smaller company does not mean you can’t afford to go Green. Purchasing collectives allow small business to get the benefits of buying in bulk and economies of scale.

5. Buy Green- Purchase raw materials that contain fewer toxic ingredients, are recyclable, or utilize recycled materials. Increased use of recycled products supports the use of waste as a resource. Research suggests that 12 jobs can be created for every 1,000 tonnes of waste paper recycled. Visit this site.

6. Reduce and Reuse- Even better than purchasing recycled materials– reduce waste to begin with. A simple example is that instead of sourcing sustainable paper, you reduce your need for it by making scrap paper available and utilizing electronic documents.

7. Go Local- Sustainable procurement can mean more than just recycled materials. Purchasing from a locally owned company not only saves carbon when products are delivered, but also keeps money in the local economy and builds stronger communities.

8. Be Clear- Set clear, achievable goals and outlines for your green procurement strategy. Laying out guidelines in advance will make for smoother performance assessments and periodic reviews.

9. Go Slow- Take it one step at a time. Put your procurement plan through an initial testing phase to pinpoint and solve potential problems. Assume that it will take time for programs to take hold and to spread throughout all aspects of the company.

10. Communicate the benefits. Sharing the positive environmental impacts of purchasing policies with suppliers and procurement managers can help environmentally conscious programs maintain momentum and ensure that your organization benefits from your greener procurement policies.

Richard Hatton is Managing Director of Adjust PS, a UK company specializing in procurement consulting to professional buyers and suppliers. Adjust PS works with organizations to promote Green Procurement and co-presents seminars to educate companies how to adopt Green initiatives and save money in the process. Adjust PS’ services are based upon constant discussion with a range of industries, governmental organisations, and small businesses combined with a continuous audit of the appropriateness and readiness of the latest technology offerings. Visit Adjust PS here.

Article Source

Tags: ethical, decisions, policy, work, procurement

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

Sexual Harassment: Civil Rights Act of 1964

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

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

Toyota North America Inc and Denny’s Inc.

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

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

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

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

(visit the site)

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

Apple Computers

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

Wind River Systems

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

MSN and AOL

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

Conclusion

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

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

Article Source

Tags: corporate, compliance,ethics, policy, financial

Most businesses have a mission statement, centered round qualities and values they swear to uphold. How many manage to observe the protocol is questionable, however. Do business ethics matter? Is it sensible to hold on to values when you can have an upper hand in business by casually ignoring them? Contrary to popular assumptions about corporate setups, many businesses today are coming around to stressing on the importance of ethical practices at work. The reasons are obvious. Take for instance the rising charges of fraud against employees by employers. Management cannot expect employees to be champions of ethics but not practice them as a firm.

There is immense value in adhering to business ethics in every undertaking. Being true to the values you preach alone can leave a lasting impression on the minds of your customers.

Fulfilling your duties: Honor every commitment to the best of your abilities. At the same time, be upfront with your customers, if something is not going according to plan – not doing so will not only show you as being less competent, but worse, it will also give you an image of not being trustworthy. If you cannot meet the obligations for some reason, make the requisite amends. But as far as possible, make it your second nature to meet commitments on time.

Concealing information: It isn’t uncommon to hear people say “read the fine print” especially when it comes to business dealings! Many a time brochures and catalogues, in an attempt to sell their products, land up misleading their customers. Remember, they are not likely to return, if faced with rude shocks like that!

Transparency: Financial discrepancies top the list of fraudulent cases in business. Maintain proper accounts and have a proper policy on the disclosure of financial statements.

Code of conduct: Make patience and dignity your key personality traits. Respecting everyone you deal with, including those you do not like too much, is reflective of the business ethics that your firm practices. Manage tricky situations with diplomacy.

Supporting a cause: Get involved with a social cause like a community project, or make contributions towards charity. Doing so will not only elevate the status of your business to that of a responsible and respected organization but also give you a greater sense of satisfaction.

Honesty: Adhering to the age old adage “honesty is the best policy” is sure to take you places. Do not evade taxes; and be fair in your dealings. While this has been reiterated time and again, many organizations still manage to be tripped up by dishonest actions.

Open mindedness: A broad minded approach towards growth oriented strategies, new ideas and continuous improvement is essential to the well being of any business environment. Take criticism in your stride without holding petty grudges, acknowledge hard work and have well defined policies for dealing with employees, vendors and customers.

Business ethics make up the moral foundation of your firm. Exercising high standards conveys a strong message about the quality of your firm and the people behind it.

Hi, I’m Akhil Shahani, a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed. If you like to work smart, check out here It’s full of articles and resources to help you start and grow your business successfully. Please visit us & download our special “Freebie of The Month” here

Article Source

Tags: business, ethics, training, code, policy

There was this company that was called Ecoenergizer, that started up shortly after the Texas Attorney General shut down Bioperformance (Bioper. in my option was one of the better products on the market at that time that worked really well) because the Attorney General claimed that the product was nothing but moth balls. This in my opinion is BS because I used it in my truck for 15,000 miles and got good gas mileage with that fuel Saver product. It worked well with gasoline and better with diesel fuel. The reason I mention BP is most of the people that were in BP moved over to Eco as founders. This should have been a red light right there about the company itself.

Eco claimed to have a product that worked first time every time, and maybe they did but they wound up with a product that didn’t work at all. It was a fuel saver additive that was to work with gasoline or diesel fuels giving you great fuel savings. For me it did nothing at all to save fuel or saving money

Some how this company named GZ got hold of personal information from Ecoenergizer and GZ started taking double draws for auto shipments from the distributors checking account, myself being one of these people. After calling Eco and complaining, we were told that GZ had glitches in their software and the problem was being fixed and the extra draw of funds would be returned. I was told by the phone operator the company GZ is short for Green Zap, I called GZ and they verified that was correct that I should fax them my information and they would correct the problem and give me a quick refund. If you call today you will not even get a human to answer any of their phones.

After Ecoenergizer was forced to close its doors, GZ continued robbing my account for 2 months forcing me to close my account at the bank. I was one of the lucky ones as several of my friends 3 to be exact got their accounts robbed from January to May. But the real kicker is they just didn’t take one draw a month but two or three draws a month. Each draw was around 65.00 dollars for a total of $ 195.00 a month to a company that is out of business.

GZ also has another company called GM and it alternates these draws using first the one name and then takes another draw out using the second name. Oh by the way I mentioned earlier that I was smart enough to close my checking account and open another one so they could not make any more withdraws from it. Well that worked for about 2 months and some how these crooks got my new account numbers and withdrew 65.00 out of that account on the 15th of May. On the back of the forged check the name was Mazumah-EcoPay.
They are using GZ, GM and now Mazumah to steal money from checking accounts. If you are one of these people being robbed you need to go to your bank and file fraud charges so these people will be brought to justice. I checked out the information and believe they are located in California, so you need to contact the Attorney General and better business bureau and file a complaint.

If you are interested in saving fuel you can find some good fuel saver additives on the market. They really do work, some work better on saving fuel more the others. They treat gasoline and some treat diesel fuel. They not only fuel savers but can clean you engine, lube the upper end, and reduce emissions. One of the better fuel saver products that I have had the best success with is the All IN 1 product found in this site or here. So do not hesitate in putting this fuel saver in you gasoline it will not damage you vehicle.

Discover a New Easy to use Product with Proven Results to Save You Money, that comes with a Guarantee and does what it claims to do. Check this site for more information.

Article Source

Tags: ethics, company, policy, work, issues

“In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people… they no longer can lead solely based on positional power.”

Ken Blanchard

Who is accountable in Washington? As the Foley scandal spiraled out of control, government leaders took cover. Former Representative Mark Foley escaped congressional punishment by resigning in the middle of the scandal. House Speaker Dennis Hastert proclaims that he did not do anything wrong; however, Hastert publicly stated he accepts full responsibility. Many in Congress worried about the political fallout. Internal polling had shown that House Republicans could suffer massive loses if Hastert doesn’t resign. The results were much worse.

On election day, voters led a massive revolt against the incumbents. This created one of the largest congressional shift since 1994. Exit polls showed that voters were more concerned about ethics than any other subject. Four Republicans resigned from the House this year due to ethical issues. Currently, American politicians suffer credibility problems. An USA Today/Gallup Poll of 1,009 adults found that only 15 percent of the people gave U.S. senators high or very high marks for honesty and ethical standards. The U.S. representatives didn’t do any better at 14 percent.

As each party tries to either take advantage of a “hot button” issue or perform damage control, followers grow increasingly cynical about government leadership. Both party expects each congressperson to follow the party line. Sometimes this blind obedience leads to going against one’s principles. Obviously, this is done with transactional relationships with peers. On the other hand, ethics guru Cuilla maintains that coercion is not true leadership. She argues that ethics is at the heart of good leadership.

If one evaluates these statements, the question becomes, how can any good leader blindly follow any group or party? What is the price of surrendering one’s core values? A true leader stands up for his principles even though it may be forced to go against his social network. Therefore, politicians need to foster more value-based leadership.

References:

Ciulla, J.B. (1998). Ethics: The Heart of Leadership. Westport, CT: Praeger.

FoxNews.com (2006). Hastert sys he did nothing wrong in foley page scandal. Received on October 13, 2006, from this site.

Koch, W. (December 12, 2006). Poll: Washington scandals eating away public trust. USA Today.

Margasak, L. (October 8, 2006). One thing’s for sure in Foley investigation. Associated Press.

© 2006 by Daryl D. Green

Daryl D. Green, who is an international strategist, has over 17 years of managing government contracts. He is considered one of the savviest strategists of his generation. With more than 100 articles published globally, Mr. Green has been noted and quoted by USA Today and Associated Press.

Want more insight on the public sector? Get a copy of More than a Conqueror: Achieving Personal Fulfillment in Government Service here. For more information, please visit this site

Article Source

Tags: ethics, political, policy, public, politics

I was recently on a forum reading some questions posted by students. One student asked how do you clean a watermark? I was amazed at the question, but again this is an open and honest forum, even if the actual question is how to copy some thing that someone obviously does not want copied.

My answer, try asking the creator for a copy. You would be surprised as to the answers you can get, many times the answer is positive & does lead to a mutually beneficial result. You won’t know until you ask. It is amazing how many people go on line trying to cut corners and copy other peoples documents or graphic images. the time spent trying to copy other documents can be spent creating your own documents that may come out even better with more of your ideas & images. they are more personal and can reflect your ideas and in many cases your belief.

If you have an issue, try learning few programs that can help you create your own ideas or images. If you are successful in copying someone else’s idea now, what will you do for your second project, why not be a creator & not just a second class copier who thrives on other peoples imagination, ideas and belief. Thanks to the Internet and all available applications, there is massive amount of ideas to copy and many ways to create them yourself, all it takes is to want to become the creator of the ideas and not just a copies.

Shahin Samaei is President of an Online Printing business dedicated to their customers success and environment.

Article Source

Tags: ethics, policy, business, work, person

Ethics in business has become big news over the past several years. We read about the escapades of the executives at Enron, WorldCom and other major companies and shake our heads in astonishment thinking, “”How could that happen.”"We marvel at the unethical behavior of these leaders while at the same time never considering our own behavior.

The truth is that business leaders, regardless of the size of the company, are faced with ethical pressures everyday. The scale or impact of the ethical decision may not measure up to the likes of an Enron, but nevertheless, they do exist. How a business leader handles minor ethical issues is a precursor to how larger decision will be made as the business grows.

Many of the ethical issues we may face are not clearly black or white. In fact, two people faced with the same issue could quite possible make contrary decisions, while believing they each have made the best ethical decision. Why? Because ethical decisions are based upon one’s moral character. When it comes to moral behavior, we each march to the sound of different drummers and as such will make different decisions on similar issues.

As a business owner you must set the bar on ethical behavior. Make integrity a core value, be honest with your customers and employees, always follow the rules, never compromise your principles, and remember that the right thing is not always the opposite of the wrong thing. Do these things and your customers will respect you and your employees will remain loyal, essential ingredients to a successful business.

To Your Success -

Rick Stephens is a recognized business advisor and consultant. He specializes in working with small to mid-sized business owners to strengthen their business processes and ultimately grow their business. Rick has been accredited by the Institute for Independent Business, an International accrediting body for senior executives.

Rick holds an MBA from the LeTourneau University located in Longview, Texas.

Rick Stephens is the Principle Advisor of the Consulting firm RG Stephens & Associates located in Plano, Texas. Rick offers business owners the opportunity to meet confidentially to discuss any business issue they may be experiencing. His initial meeting is always free and without obligation.

Article source

Tags: ethics, policy, business, work, person

All businesses are grey. A loaded statement but one which befits today’s business milieu. The debate is on the shades of the color and not the color itself. Wealth creation precedes wealth distribution, an unalterable sequence. There is a growing realization that former belongs to the exclusive domain of business and the latter to a shared domain. Businesses demand autonomy from others to create wealth and others demand accountability from businesses for the wealth created. Both, autonomy and accountability are worthless in isolation. Accountable autonomy is the panacea. Current business landscape is unprecedented. It is a world where the ends and not the means are brought in to question leading to business ethics boiling down to a personal and not an organizational call, taken everyday by millions, closer to the ground to succeed and more importantly survive.

All the stakeholders-management, employees, board, investors and society are asserting their influence simultaneously. A historical perspective on corporate governance suggests different approaches- (organization+stakeholder)-control approach and capital-market control approach dominating at different times and in different geographies. Both approaches have come alive globally and are trying to pip each other.

India Inc. has moved away from regulation toward latitude since early 1990′s and with the markets coming into their own, the governance style seems to be headed the capital-market control way.

Board of Directors, the venerable interface has to ensure accountable autonomy by fostering its own culture which includes promoting constructive dissatisfaction, actively monitoring the firm’s risk policies and practices, not contingent on having considerable expertise in the areas concerned and avoiding soft conflicts.

Enron and other scandals happened at the best of times and at the worst of times. The aftermath ensured till then increasingly becoming adventurous management’s retreat, activism in boards, dispelled smugness of investors and an acknowledgment of fast becoming oblivious society’s rights and responsibilities. Business initiatives with social spin-offs and not the other way around initiatives are welcome as the need is of responsible corporates and not of over-hyped corporate social responsibility.

A culture, undoubtedly percolating from the top echelons fostering openness and adherence to laws is required.

It has to be appreciated by everyone involved but its adoption has to be voluntary and customizable. The organizations should disseminate the information like practices, policies and risk appetite needed to take a fair call and not accord the right to itself of other stakeholders primarily markets to judge the firm. A culture of transparency starts where regulation ends in achieving accountable autonomy. Every stakeholder must understand that she has a role to play and has certain rights and responsibilities. Separations of powers are difficult to achieve but are crucial for the organization to do the right business and for others to ensure that the former does it the right way as the eternal bottom-line is- the business has and will always be managed by executives, investors have and will always be the ultimate decision making authority on investing and society has and will always be affected by the businesses.

Introduction

The world operates like a simple pendulum. Its microcosm, the business world is no exception. One extreme is autonomy and the other is accountability. It is hard to strike a balance between the two. Both are benign in their own space but too much of a good thing is also detrimental. Business environment has and will keep on testing both extremes. When one extreme is about to be reached, then its dire consequences are realized and businesses move back from the brink. The force which pulls them back from the disaster is so potent that it adds tremendous momentum till the other extreme is tested. This process is eternal and gives businesses a grey shade, blurring the line between right and wrong. After the corporate scandals that rocked the world in 2001-02, the pendulum has swung in the favor of accountability. This shift has happened at a time when the businesses around the world are about to peak. Hitherto unexplored markets are being forayed by organizations worldwide. Issues of business ethics, right and wrong, and corporate governance are hot debating points across the business landscape. All parties- management, board, employees, shareholders, regulators and community are asserting their presence. All of them have to collectively make a decisive move as both regulation and latitude are looking equally enticing and as doing the right things is mulling on the imperative of doing things the right way. The world is waiting!

Business Ethics- Individual’s or Organization’s

Dis-connect between an employee and the ground realities widen as she moves up the ladder. Today, businesses are very target driven. At each level, targets are set and are interlinked. The performance of one’s superior is determined by one’s own performance and this process goes on till the very top echelons. Till such time one meets or surpasses the targets no questions are asked on the way of achieving those and disconnect mentioned earlier plays a huge role. It is only when the shortfall occurs, explanations are demanded and then also words like ethics are given a short shrift. In nutshell, only the end and not the means is what matters. In such an environment, where targets are means to not only success but more importantly survival, ethics boil down to a personal call. These calls have to be taken everyday by millions of people in real time with targets and survival at top of the mind.

The line between right and wrong gets blurred. Can one put a number on the price, less than which a gift is considered a culture token and above which it is considered a bribe? Doubt whether any corporate dossier conceptualized at the very top on ethics can address this issue on the ground.

Approaches to Corporate Governance

Over the years, two very distinct approaches to corporate governance have emerged. One is the mix of organization-control perspective and stakeholder-control perspective and other is based on capital market control.

The former approach sacrifices short-term focus at the altar of long-term sustainability. It is based on 1 person 1 vote dictum. The agreed upon goal for the management is to achieve stability and perpetuity of business. Board has representation of employees and society. Major chunk of equity comes from financial and non financial companies, which are ready to wait for longer periods for their investments to fructify. Firms are not too keen on going public thereby not lending themselves to the whims and fancies of markets. Employee welfare, obligation to local community, size and market share make up the essence of this approach. Myopic Market model by Marris is the fundamental pillar of this approach. According to this model, heeding the markets too much has a detrimental effect on the organization.

Excesses in this approach are created by managerial capitalism as executives are given a free hand in managing the show. At times, a host of objectives other than wealth creation are followed.

As the firm expands, it requires additional capital. If this capital is not forthcoming from stable sources like banks then the company has no other choice but to go public. This gives rise to capital market-control system. It is based on 1 share 1 vote dictum. The more the equity held by an investor, the more the firm is at her mercy. Investors are interested in the ends- dividends and capital gains. Hence, companies have to jostle for the mind space of these players. This brings in the short-termism of this approach. This perspective is based on Principal Agent model. Line is crossed in this approach when investor capitalism sets in. All other obligations of the firm are relegated to keeping the share price up and there is intense pressure on executives to perform consistently in the short-run leading at times to violation of norms.

Both the approaches are similar to the extent that they both give minority shareholders a short shrift. They have been taken for granted and most of their rights have remained on paper.

Lost Ground

Recently the stakeholder inclusive approach has lost considerable ground to shareholder savvy approach. The reason is capital becoming mobile. The global investors like private equity funds and pension funds are deluged with choices. But they lack one crucial element which the local investors have which is the closeness to the business which in turn lends stability to the equity provided. This means the firms have to attract these global investors by way of the globally acceptable parameters, toplines and bottomlines or their manifestation- the share price.

Catching up in the offing

What goes round comes back. Human capital is already the most valuable resource of organizations especially the ones operating in the technology sectors. With the focus shifting from attracting capital to retaining talent, the stakeholder inclusive approach with a sharp focus on employees might make up the ground lost in the last two decades or so to the capital-market control approach.

India Inc.’s Governance Evolution

Corporate entities in India stand out in terms of complexities in the ownership structure. The direct ownership of promoters is quite substantial and if that is not enough, the promoters indirectly have tremendous equity in and control of the firm through the rogue holding companies. It was believed that with the capital market reforms initiated in 1991, the dominance of promoters in the firms will pare. But unfortunately the last decade of the 20th century was marred by scams. The corporate entities went in for private placements making use of the relaxed regulations. These developments made the public spooky. In the last few years SEBI has put its foot down to crack down on the perpetrators and raised the disclosure standards leading to a renewed interest in the markets. The corporates are going global, a sign of their enhanced credibility.

Giants like TCS and Infosys have set global benchmarks in reporting standards and have implemented CSR in the fabric of their organizations.

With capital markets becoming dominant as the time passes and as organizations increasingly care to heed the market and keep the investors happy, it is safe to assume that the Indian corporate entities are veering away from organization-control to market-control approach toward corporate governance.

Right Directors mean Right Business

Board of directors is the highest internal governance mechanism in the organization. The board is the interface between external environment and management. The composition of the board reflects this. It has to straddle between providing necessary freedom to the management for wealth creation and protecting the interests of those who help create and of those who share this wealth. Just like an organization has a culture, it is critical for the board given the role it plays to have its own way of getting a handle on issues. No regulation can substitute for this. The non-executive members should meet separately to thrash out issues among themselves to promote ‘constructive dissatisfaction’. As far as the skills of the board members are concerned, they do not need to have finance or risk expertise to play an effective governance role. The task for the board is rather to understand and approve both the risk appetite of the company at any particular stage in its evolution and the processes for monitoring risk.

If the management proposes changing these radically-for example, by switching the portfolio of assets from low to high risk, or by engaging in off-balance-sheet financial transactions that inherently alter the volatility of the business and its exposure to uncertainties-the board should be quite willing to exercise a veto. Also, the management should be sensitive to the tricky context the board operates in and must grasp that directors’ independence can be compromised by ‘soft conflicts’ such as significant charitable contributions to a favorite institution or the employment of board members’ children.

Enron coterie Debacle – The positive fallout

There is a silver lining even in the darkest cloud that burst over the corporate world post-millennium. In the run up to the uncovering of some of the biggest frauds almost all in America, ironically a country which has always consecrated regulations, the markets were increasingly being viewed as infallible. Whatever information emanated from the organizations to the markets was taken as the last word. There was a reason behind this. The rules were set by the market and organizations were just playing by them leading to smugness all around. The disasters were eye openers for the gullible investors. Markets were vulnerable after all. Stricter rules followed. The corporate boards world over became more agile. The managements retreated. To a certain extent a long-term inclusive focus was restored in the firms having benign effects for every stakeholder.

The Undesirable side effect

Innovation is the mantra for success. But for corporates it has become a survival factor. The frauds have happened at the worst time. The organizations need to be more creative. Risk appetite should be high to capture the unexplored high potential markets. This calls for ingenuity on the executives’ part. But the atmosphere has become very restrictive. Regulations like SOX go overboard.

Boards would much rather have a conservative rather than an adventurous management. This does not bode well for the society as a whole as cagey entrepreneurs will not be able to fulfill their outstanding objective-wealth creation.

Business Initiatives with social spin-offs and not vice versa

Prima facie, ITC’s e-choupal venture seems an effort in the direction of social responsibility. But intrinsically the effort makes eminent economic sense.

It is not a subsidy but an effort which is mutually beneficial. Corporate social responsibility enthusiasts might label such efforts as social initiatives. But the bottom-line is that such efforts generate returns, which guarantees shareholder support. Till such time the business gains precede societal benefits and the society appreciates this reality, the long-run sustenance of these initiatives is guaranteed. Responsible corporates and not corporate social responsibility is the order of the day.

Crucial Culture

Culture is the way people behave when they are not being watched. It is very organization specific and very unlike regulation which is procrustean. The magnitude of damage that can be caused by an individual to the stakeholders of the firm increases as he/she moves up the corporate ladder. The power to influence attitudes also increases on the way up. Hence self evidently the top brass of the firm has a big hand in shaping the culture of the firm. If the honcho crosses the line, it sends out an implicit signal to the people lower down to knowingly or unknowingly to act in a similar manner as the stakes are not that high as they are for the men at the top. The trickling down of an open culture might take time but one can be rest assured that the only way in which it is going to impact the firm is positively. But where organizations go wrong is where they expect the same things from culture as the regulators do from regulation. It is never going to be a one size fits all story. This is where the earlier talked about concept of ethics being very individual specific and not organization one comes into picture. Do not impose culture. Let people understand and appreciate it and find their own way of incorporating it into their work life.

The information imperative

A fair judgment is based on fair information. Often, the best appraisal is done by those who are at a certain distance from the subject matter and at the same time affected by it. Organizations err when they try to preemptively guess others’ reactions. This leads to distortion of information. Doing business is the primary task of business; it is not in the best position to evaluate it from different angles. Hence, organizations should pass on information about its policies, practices and risk appetite. Let the other stakeholders primarily the markets assign an appropriate risk premium and cost of capital. Part of this information dissemination has been achieved by regulation manifested in balance sheet et al. The other part has become more crucial as the businesses have grown complex and can only be achieved with the will of the management and the board. A culture of transparency goes a long way in achieving the latter. Of course transparency has its limits.

But voluntary initiatives like Triple Bottom Line reporting which not only cover the financial but also the social and environmental impacts of the company signal a start. All kinds of companies from the ones with most to hide like chemical to the fairly innocuous ones with the least to hide have adopted this practice. Why? It does make social and environmental sense, but more importantly, thanks to competition in and integration of the world economy, it makes eminent business sense.

Conclusion

Wealth has to be created before it can be distributed. The responsibility to create wealth is of business. And responsibilities and rights must go together. Hence, the society cannot disarm business of its rights which are essential for creating value. The spookiness comes in when business accords certain rights to itself by itself. The importance of wealth creation and difficulty in achieving it blurs the fine line.

As we have seen there is no silver bullet for settling issues like business ethics and corporate governance. Separations of powers just like between executive, judiciary and legislature is imperative. No one stakeholder is an apex authority. Everyone has a role to play.

Regulation defines these roles to a certain extent. But it can only do so much. A culture epitomized by the top management and communication of the right information do much more than regulation. At the end of the day we are all human. We think differently and have different takes on different issues. Till such time this fact is appreciated and co-opted by every stakeholder and a healthy debate continues on the rightness of business, we are certain that businesses will keep on doing what they are good at and others will keep making sure that businesses do it the good way.

Sudeep Sanwal

Article Source

Tags: business, ethic, code, articles, policy

In the post-Enron world of the early-21st century, integrity, and its cousin ethics, are words that get plenty of air time and even more lip-service. They’re tossed around carelessly, but the deeper, more difficult, dialogue on what integrity is and why it matters is critically absent.

Your own definition of integrity may involve nuances different from the CEO across town. But, ultimately, the quality of integrity is based on strong values. It is the most-cited response to survey questions of what employees want in a boss. This top-ranking transcends generations and cultures. Universally, people want to work for someone they can trust.

Steelcase, the office equipment manufacturer, regularly conducts surveys of the worldwide office environment. In 1991, being honest, upright and ethical were very important to 87% of Canadians, and 72% of Japanese respondents. Jim Kouzes and Larry Posner, in Leadership is a Relationship, cite honesty as the most important supervisory trait in every study they have done since 1981. Over the years no fewer than eighty-seven percent of respondents listed honesty as number one.

Trustworthy

Integrity is the corollary to commander’s intent – the direction we receive from the boss. It is the trait that sends the message, “You can trust me to guide you in the right direction, and to watch out for you.”
The reciprocal of trust is leadership in its most basic form. A leader says, “Here is what I want you to do, and I trust you to do it.” The follower says, “I will do it because I trust you to do the right thing.”

My formative leadership experiences were in the Marines. Those unfamiliar with the military will cite the captive employee aspect that mandates compliance by a subordinate. And yes, unfortunately there are examples of people in leadership positions in the military–and in the civilian sector–who rely on the power of their position to get the job done. Ultimately, the assigned task does get done, but usually, less effectively than in a situation in which the leader relies on positional power.
The more-enlightened leader uses influence to accomplish the objective and acts with integrity. It is only the weak military leader who resorts to, “I am ordering you to do this.” Such comments are more often seen on television than in real life. The captive employee knows the rules and will comply with them. He respects the position occupied by the weak leader, but not the leader.

Consistent

People with integrity deliver on the commitments they make and accept. They do this by knowing not only their own capability and workload, but also, that of their team. They don’t over-commit. They are able to say no and explain why. When they do say yes, they get the job done. If they later find that they cannot get it done, they quickly get help and notify the appropriate people.

Non-negotiables

Too frequently, people look at the world in black and white. And that black and white is based on their values, skills, ability and experience. An activity or decision being evaluated is labeled either right or wrong–depending on the perspective of the one doing the evaluating. But, the reality is that leaders need to be comfortable with a wide gray area that allows individual action and flexibility for the subordinate.

When I coach leaders, one of the first exercises I ask them to work through is their “non-negotiables” list. This gets to one of the classic leadership conversations: Do you want those following you to follow a specified path to achieve the desired result, or do you want the desired result?

Integrity is about tangible actions for an intangible concept and is the foundational element of leadership. People do not want to follow a leader they cannot trust. If they are forced to follow that leader, they will do the bare minimum needed to get by.

Integrity dictates the same behavior, whether in public or in private. Consistency, delivering on commitments, and maintaining standards are all facets of integrity.

A bit of advice Marines often hear before going on liberty in port applies to integrity and ethical decision-making: would you want your mother to know what you are doing? For you the question may be, would you want this to be on the front page of USA Today?

(c) 2006 FireStarter Speaking and Consulting

Wally Adamchik is President of FireStarter Speaking and Consulting. His new book is NO YELLING: The Nine Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership You MUST Know TO WIN In Business. Visit him online at here.

Article Source

Tags:leadership, ethics, business, accountability, policy

We – modern America that is – have become so damn impolite. We don’t give people the simple courtesy of a reply when contacted by email or phone. The idea of acknowledging someone with a smile while passing on the street is at best an anachronism; at times it’s even considered an affront. And being greeted when entering a store is less commonplace all the time. What are we becoming (or have already become)? Furthermore, these simple common courtesies are disappearing from the very vocabulary and experiences of the young adult and teenage populations among us. (In fact, only an older person could write this piece from direct experience.)

What does any of this have to do with hats or e-commerce, you may ask. Stores are guilty – big time -of contributing to this decline. Businesses/employers run the daily social show in America; they are obliged to set an example and lead with integrity. This is a separate issue from Enron/WorldCom law-breaking type activity (although greed is not unrelated to this deterioration). Being polite and courteous are actions that people should adopt because it’s right to do so. That, in and of itself, is the reason to act as a decent human being. It is parenthetical that it is also good business to behave as such. This is not a confusing distinction, but likely has been confused, to the detriment of polite behavior, by “business consultants” focused on ends and outcomes rather than means and process. We all live together on the same planet for crying out loud. That is all the motivation we need.

How it got this bad is a topic for another essay. I suspect that the artificial and slippery notion that I often hear people espouse, “It’s just business”, thus implying a different behavior in “life” than in business is part of the explanation. In any case, businesses need to take responsibility. Many people aren’t given the courtesy of an answer after applying for, or even interviewing for, a job. We say hello or goodbye to colleagues and customers in the workplace less so all the time. It is not the fault of the younger generation that these basic human social values are being lost. My son, now twenty, has interviewed for numerous jobs in his young life. It is now significantly more likely that he will not be contacted after dropping off or emailing a resume – or even interviewing for a job – than he will be. It pains me to have to explain to him how rude that is. Worse, he is now used to it; doesn’t even get disturbed by it any longer. It is irrelevant that he has proven to be a very good employee, because a prospective employer owes anyone a response after he or she enters into their process for a job.

Those of us – business people or otherwise – who are dismayed by this decline cannot throw the towel in. We must not yield to this rude and impersonal cynicism that is spreading like a cancer on our social landscape. Our actions must be the antidote.

The Village Hat Shop will reply to your emails and greet you when you come into our stores. We will respond if you apply or interview for a job in our organization. Yes, it is good business for us to do these things, but that is not why we will do them. We will do them because we must.

Fred Belinsky is the founder and president of The Village Hat Shop. The 4-store California chain is 27 years old. Village Hat Shop, launched in early 1997, was the first online hat seller. Belinsky also runs Berets Private label brands include

Jaxon Hats for men’s hats, and sur la tete for women hats. More of Belinsky’s articles can be seen at his HAT BLOG: Everything Hats. VillageHatShop also publishes THE COWBOY HAT, an ezine featuring short fiction, essays, and poetry about the American West and the Mexican-American Border.

Article Source

Tags: ethical, analysis legal, law, policy

Many psychologists and many underachievers have often hypothesized that CEOs, Sports Stars, Famous Generals and CEOs are all very similar to criminals. In fact they all often display very psychopathic tendencies that actual criminals do. Of course much of these traits are shared by all humans but a higher percentage and more often by this group above, which includes criminals too. It is for this reason that that the subject came up in an online think tank when a member stated;

“Although it is worth pointing out that it has been shown that many very successful persons and CEOs display psychopathic tendencies (not violent, just single-minded, ruthless in a non-violent way, and having the mindset of ‘the ends justify the means’, displaying an almost complete lack of empathy), which may be what you were alluding to with the genetic adaptation.”

Indeed this is a well-known fact as you point out and the difference in the behavior of a Politician and a Criminal is surprisingly little. Also the difference between a war hero, athlete and criminal is surprisingly little, as well. Of course when corning CEOs on this issue and asking them what they think of this, they have told me; “well you do not know what I had to go thru to get here” and similar comments from politicians and even superstar athletes. Which I having been all those I agree with their perspectives and understand those comments, yet still find fault with the logic.

Yet, being called a criminal because you run a company which provides goods and services to the masses and donating time, energies and monies back to the common good only to be called a criminal is what has prompted me to retire early. If society does not want what the CEOs are capable of delivering well then, the citizens may find them selves all alone with no one doing anything. Ayn Rand Affect. Causing less abundance, higher prices and lower quality of life, as they vote for more free stuff [healthcare, social services] until the system collapses?

Nevertheless if we look at the CEO and their viewpoints and the debris of public chastising they go thru or battle scars endured one has to ask if those who throw such stones constantly at them, need to look in the mirror, as perhaps the real issues lie with them. In their own self induced negative bio-feedback, busy blaming the world for everything that is perceived to be wrong in their lives.

Does it simply make them feel better to call all politicians criminals? Or all CEO narcissists? You see there really is something to be said about putting others down to make yourself feel good and so they do, as they complain about the doers and simply label them as the problem.

In looking at all perspectives of this situation it seems there are strong people and weak people living in mediocrity, which I believe that the “M” word could indeed be the only true evil. Additionally as I look the academia psycho-babble of all this, I say that the best saying of all is do not judge a man until you walk a mile in his shoes. And since I ran a 4-minute mile in College as track star and I know no one else can because I know the level of dedication, hard work and training it entails; I simply ask the peanut gallery to “shut up” that’s all. And thus I will defend anyone attacked on any side including the peanut throwers in all their sound and fury if they find themselves with a broken glass wall in their house. Perhaps a worthy consideration of thought and some coffee shop philosophy for you. Think on this in 2006.

“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.

Article Source

Tags: ethical, analysis legal, law, policy

I guess you have heard it said that honesty is the best policy. Unfortunately, many of the people who say that are dishonest themselves. They only pay lip service to honesty. Consequently, they lie and cheat whenever it is convenient to do so.

The truth is . . . many people are honest only to the point where there is the possibility of being caught and when sanctions are applied without fear or favor. Those same people will be dishonest whenever the chances of being caught is slim or where sanctions are hardly applied due to corruption of the institutions meant to apply the sanctions.

The result?

Explosion of corruption.

Now to the business world. The goal of every business is to maximize profit. The more transactions a business engages in, the more the profit potentials. And the greater the profit margin per transaction, the greater the overall profit of the business. Hence, business managers seek to maximize the returns per transaction in order to maximize the profitability of the business.

Honesty in business, on the other hand, means you lose opportunities to make more from each
transaction because you tell the truth. Here’s a typical example: Suppose you’re an electronics technician. A client brings her electronics to you. The fault? The electronics equipment does not come on when she powers it. You do a routine check and find that the problem is a blown fuse. If you tell her the truth about the problem, she will pay you less because it will take just a few minutes to fix.

Bottom line.

Your earnings for this transaction will be small. Several small transactions like this will mean your earnings for the month will be small. And you have serious bills to pay! Therefore, you may be tempted to get more from this client by magnifying the problem. For example, you may tell the client that the problem is a burnt transformer. She believes you. She trusts your judgment. So she pays for the cost of getting a new transformer. And since installing a new transformer takes a lot of time, she pays much more in service fees or professional fees.

You go home a happy man because you made a nice profit for the day. You fooled her successfully. And she may never know it. The problem is that you won’t stop there. Once you’ve tasted the ease of making huge amounts of money for little work, your greed will take over. You will begin to look for fresh ways to cut corners, outsmart your clients, and make more money.

The good news is this . . . sooner or later you will be caught. Then the news will spread like wild fire. Your credibility will be consumed by the flames of your clients’ rage. And so will your source of income.

So, does honesty in business pay?

Yes.

How?

When you’re known to be honest, people are comfortable doing business with you. They know they can trust you. Often they will test you out to be sure the reports they heard about your honesty is true. Then they will begin to trust you big time. They will return to do business with you. And they will tell friends and family. They are proud to recommend you because they know you won’t let them down. They know they can trust you to keep your word.

As the news spreads, your business grows. Honesty in business results in customer satisfaction which results in more business. Yes, your profit margin per customer may be low, but multiply that by the increased volume of business you get due to your honest dealings and you get a huge profit. There’s another advantage of honesty in business . . . you build a long-term business.

Dishonesty destroys your business. Any gains and benefits you get from being dishonest is only temporary. When the truth gets in the open, you will lose everything. Want to build a lasting business?

Make honesty the only policy in your business. Honesty in business is, indeed, the best policy.

For me, it’s honesty or nothing.

Do the same and you will be happy. You will build a real business . . . a profitable long-term business.

About The Author
Samson Itoje is a freelance writer. He is the author of nigerianewsjournal and lagos-nigeria-real-estate-advisor.

Article Source

Tags: honesty, policy, ethics, business, conduct

Certainly age discrimination exists out there in the cold cruel work world and, as a result, 50-something executives and managers might not want to throw out their Grecian Formula just yet. But might there be a, excuse the expression, “silver lining” to slowing economic times when it comes to all those middle-agers suddenly cast out there onto the tightening job market? According to a survey from Challenger, Gray and Christmas, the Chicago-based outplacement firm, there may very well be.

In a comparative look at jobless professionals possessing 10 years or more experience in managing, the firm learned that such job-hunters required only 2.5 months to find a new job in the fourth quarter of last year vs. 3.7 months in the final quarter of 1999, just one year earlier. Since the typical jobless candidate Challenger studied was 46 years old, with 8 years at his or her last position, earning $78,000/year on average, the implications for reverse-ageism are significant.

“Perhaps what we are seeing is that companies, anticipating an ongoing slowdown, are stocking up on the individuals they feel will best lead them through the downturn,” surmised John Challenger, the company’s chief executive. “Employers may be recognizing that this person, with 20-plus years work experience, has been through bad times before and that prior experience will be extremely valuable in navigating the current slump.”

So hard experience, suddenly, “comes of age.” The heck with all those too-hip, geek-faced dot-commers who just a few short months ago appeared to be assuming the mantel of all things bright and business-like. Whiz Kid is now getting passed over in favor of Grayheads and paunched-out “Old Reliables.” Life certainly has its way of concocting intriguing ironies.

If we peer a mite closer however, irony, apparently, it’s not. Common sense, as in “a return to…” seems more like it. As we let our business selves run amok the last few years, partying our brains out amid the most explosive, exciting, outrageous and expansive boom time in the history of any civilization, we installed blinding stars in our eyes aimed toward every front. Whether it was high employment, low-low interest rates, skyrocketing stock yields, or little or no inflation, we ate it up, chewed it up, gulped it down and cried out for more. Never, never-ever, we believed, would this feast ever stop.

Now suddenly out of nowhere, our reality check— the banquet has ended, the feeding frenzy has run out of gas. It’s a slowing economy, falling stock market, even corporate layoffs rearing their ugly old heads again. The “gid” times (as in “giddiness”) are over.

It stands thus to reason that even the most marginally intelligent management teams would recognize that the high times didn’t, in the end, bring us all that far, and that means maturity and coolness become high values as a follow-up, not brash energy and cautions-to-the-winds. Now the old family doctor prescribes maturity, reasoned thinking, decision-making experience and a sprinkling of deep-career seasoning. For those knowledgeable, wise management practitioners who have hung in there with their employers over the years in high times and bad, happy days are here again.

And vindication.

Ken Lizotte CMC is Chief Imaginative Officer (CIO) of emerson consulting group inc. (Concord, MA), which transforms consultants, law firms, executives and companies into “thoughtleaders.” This article is an excerpt from his newest book “Beyond Reason: Questioning Assumptions of Everyday Life”.

Visit this site for more info.

Article Source

Tags: ethical, dimensions, policy, health, leadership, diversity

Don’t get me wrong. Having a Values Statement is a very good thing. It is a starting point to building a respected, ethical company; a company that treats its’ customers, staff, and vendors with respect but it can be much more than that. It can be the basis for selecting new staff when adding to the workforce. It can make the training period easier and less stressful because, if new hires understand the core values, they will understand that those values are the basis for policy. It can make relationships with customers and vendors more cordial and less adversarial. It can even be used as a marketing message if the company actually follows (and can show they follow) their Values Statement – giving foundational depth to the whole Customer Service issue.

Few companies have a written Values Statement and many of those that do have one, never use it so see if your company actually has one. If you do then ask yourself whether it is a living document – one the company and the people within the company adhere to. If you find you don’t have one, start the process of crafting one by asking, “what core values should be the foundation for this company and how should we implement them?”

Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, “Front Lines with Larry Galler” Sign up for his free newsletter at this site.

Article Source

Tags: ethics, code, policy, corporate, company

With severe power shortage problems predicted for the turn of the century, India was faced with finding a solution to this problem either domestically or through foreign investment in the early 90’s. India’s financial standing in the world markets was extremely low and had never been an attractive country for foreign investment. Enron Development Corporation, a part of American Enron, believed they could solve India’s power problem through the construction of the gas-fired power station, the Dabhol Power Company (DPC), in Maharashtra. “The ENRON/Dabhol project represented India’s biggest single foreign direct investment, and was intended to be showcase for India as a bankable country on the global stage.” (Rangan & McCaffrey, 1).

India’s current governing body wants to open their infrastructure sectors (power, telecommunications, air transport and roads) to private sector companies. They believed the development of a strong infrastructure was required for the country to have a prosperous future. However, foreign investors were not sure if India was stable enough for their direct investment. A successful DPC would make India much more attractive for foreign investment, practically opening the door to country wide infrastructure growth. A strong infrastructure would lead to economic development not possible in the current situation. Knowing how important Dabhol is to the economic future of the country, Enron was able to get the government to fast track the plant’s approval. The Indian government consolidated the 17 civil agencies responsible for oversight into one agency, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

The government of India during this time had an economic agenda to pursue. They placed a very high value on the DPC and was doing everything it could to make it a reality. The creation of the FIPB and the speedy approval of the plant made the DPC seem as if it were a perfect fit for the country. However, when a more populist government took control of the country it announced that it was canceling the Dahbol power project. Eventually the new governing party and Enron came to a compromised agreement. By using outside lobbying interests to fast track transaction approval, Enron was able to raise its negotiation power since many outside lobbying interests coincided with theirs.
Patrick Flaherty

ClassNotesOnline, click for A free resource for teacher websites

Article Source

Each individual has two to three values in their business life that are their “sacred cows”. Salespeople who want to “connect” with their prospects and customers need to learn the individuals’ key values.

Among the key values for any businessperson can be two or more of the following:

* money conscious
* people associations
* loyalty to associates and customers
* friendliness
* time sensitive
* reliability
* integrity
* hardworking

The ability to retain business is directly tied to the respect a salesperson shows for each customer’s key values. One businessperson may not know the balance in their personal checkbook, while another customer may be able to tell you the balances in their checkbook and their spouses’ checkbook. An observant customer may comment how highly they value your hard work and determination to complete a project, while another customer may be out-of-town and rarely show interest in your work ethic. Diversity in key values of your individual customers adds spice to your life and helps you become a better person through sharing those values.

An example that I witnessed recently at our office illustrates the importance of knowing your business contacts’ key values. The following incident is completely accurate with only the names being changed.

Two business people (a man and a woman) recently agreed to meet at a nice restaurant to discuss business over a relaxing lunch. Buffy wanted to give Jody information he asked to see before signing a telecommunications agreement. Buffy had a big commission riding on the success of this meeting, so her manager expected Buffy to be prepared and on time for lunch.

Jody arrived at the restaurant at 11:30 this Tuesday morning because it is common knowledge among townspeople that a wait list for seating starts at 11:40 every weekday. Confident that Buffy would be arriving shortly, the staff seated Jody at a four person table. Sipping iced-tea and reviewing the menu, Jody was beginning to relax.

Ten minutes later, no sign of Buffy. The restaurant began to become anxiously crowded for seating, making Jody uncomfortable by himself at a table for four.

Ten more minutes pass without Buffy’s appearance. By this time, the line of anxious businesspeople is filling the lobby waiting for a table. Jody looks at his watch. He has been patiently waiting twenty precious minutes as a prospect holding a table at a crowded restaurant in the middle of the business day.

“Enough. I can’t hold a four person table while full groups wait,” Jody says. He pays for the tea, including a generous tip, thanks the staff at the restaurant and walks toward his car. As he is driving from the parking lot, he spots Buffy is walking toward the restaurant. Jody decides to stop his car and say “hello” to Buffy to find out if there is ANY legitimate reason Buffy was late. To his surprise, she is nonchalant about being late. In the parking lot, Buffy asks, “Are you still interested in discussing the change in your telecommunications service?” Jody politely replies, “No thank you” and leaves.

Later in the day, Buffy’s manager, Tom (a friendly acquaintance of Jody), calls Jody to apologize for the misunderstanding at lunch and ask how the two companies can still engage in business. Jody genuinely likes Tom and Buffy, so the two engage in friendly conversation.

Jody opens with “Tom, I like you and Buffy. I arrived at the restaurant today on time and secured a table, looking forward to conducting business with a nice person over a needed break from the office. I was embarrassed holding a table when Buffy did not take the same interest in our business by being on time or a few minutes early. Frankly, the lack of her time discipline causes me to wonder how she would handle our service contract with your company.”

Tom responds, “Jody, I agree with what you are saying and I apologize. I have had several discussions with every member of our sales staff in identifying two to three key values of each prospect and customer. Obviously, one of your key values is time. As pleasant and professional as Buffy is, one of her strengths is not time. Buffy and I had a long conversation about this scenario and she would like to have another opportunity to meet with you on time. Can we reschedule?”

“You bet, Tom,” Jody said. Same restaurant, same time, different day. On this occasion, Buffy acquired a new customer, a deeper understanding of key values and a hefty commission.

Make more money faster by easily connecting with hard-to-reach decision makers who can buy your products and services…NOW! Get started free by getting Michael McCann’s new Special Report excerpted from his newest edition of his popular business development book, Connecting with Key Decision Makers (How to Reach Hard-to-Reach Businesspeople Who Can Say “Yes”)…visit this site or His Twitter, Go now!

Michael McCann is a 25-year veteran of developing unique and professional business development programs that create tangible results for individuals and companies. Let him help you instantly…free!

Article Source

Tags: ethics, policy, business, work, person

DUE PROCESS

Africans, especially Nigerians are stereotyped on the internet and offline in foreign countries as corrupt, cheats and thieves.

Whenever I have to introduce myself to foreign contacts, whether online or offline, I must make visible effort to prove my contact wrong, because he or she instantly sees me as a scammer-419, another Nigerian cheat or thief.

This situation must be very disheartening to innocent Nigerians, who must be wondering why government seems unable to correct the awful situation. But should the question; why is our nation bedeviled with the scam scourge and corruption that rubbish us in the eyes of the international community not be asked?

The answer is: Our society is carbohydrate dependent and so poor brained, and government officials are products of this same carb-society. Just as over consumption of carbohydrate predisposes the awful degenerative disease known as diabetes, our country and continent progressively degenerate into poverty, corruption and scam scourge of international dimension.

Yes, that’s true!

The genesis of corruption is poverty. Both Continental and national poverty stem from lack of balanced diets that result stunted brain development.

Nigerian and indeed African diets are 90% carbohydrate and 10% of overcooked soups, with very little or no nutrients required by human brain to develop fully in order to be able to handle due process.

Because of this situation, cheating which begins right from school coupled with lopsided curricular taught by teachers, tutors and lecturers who are ill-equipped both intellectually and materially produce graduates whose main goal in life is consumption by all means, in a comatose economy of abject lack of honest means of livelihood.

The brain is the intelligent part of the body. It controls the rest of the body through the interpretation of sensory impulses that triggers the different functions of life. A brain that is carbohydrate dependent is incapable of due process, both within and without.

The highest function of life is thinking which takes place in the brain by the constant transfer of chemical signals between brain cells, up to one thousand limes a second.

To be able to do its work of coordination and control of life’s functions, the brain’s nutritional needs must be met for it to manufacture correct and adequate quantity of chemicals that it requires, diet must delivered correct and adequate quantity of nutrients into the blood stream and across the blood-brain barrier to provide constant nourishment, replenishment and both hormonal and chemical balances that will support brain’s mental ability for due process.

Just like other cells and organs of the body, the brain’s requirement and availability or non-availability of nutrients forestalls or predisposes stress, impairment or lack of vigour. Which leads to the brain devising shortcuts such as cheating and corruption instead of due process?

This is a heavy price for depending on diets that are devoid of both major and trace minerals, vitamins and protein.

Most Nigerian and indeed black African diets are 90% carbohydrate and 10% of useless overcooked vegetable soups. Fruits are eaten inconsistently, even though both vegetable and fruit’s nutrient contents are almost totally diluted by poor soil, hazardous agricultural practices and food processing methods that leave little or no nutrients for the brain to develop fully and be able to handle due process.

Nigeria, therefore, suffers from poverty occasioned by poverty of the mind due to poor nutrition, which results chronic corruption.

_________________

To ensure sound health and independence in both your youth
and old age, visit this site for FREE information.

Article Source

Tags: bioethics, ethics, survey, code, policy

“Driving Home the Culture of Honesty

By Ron Kaufman Platinum Quality Author

Ron Kaufman

Ron Kaufman

Level: Platinum

Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for superior service partnerships and uplifting customer service. He helps organisations around the world achieve superior … …

Article Word Count: 244 [View Summary] Comments (0).

I accompanied a visiting friend from my apartment in Singapore to a taxi waiting downstairs.

He climbed into the back seat and promptly sat on a wallet left behind by the previous passenger.

My friend looked inside the wallet and found money, credit cards and personal identification. I suggested taking the wallet upstairs right away to call the owner. The taxi driver allowed me to copy down the necessary information…but he wouldn’t let the wallet out of his sight.

He did not speak English well, but he made his message very clear. ‘My duty,’ he gestured to explain. ‘She left wallet in my taxi. I must report to company right away. Then I must return the wallet!’

This culture of honesty and personal responsibility deserves an honorable mention. Every year Singapore taxi drivers return hundreds of books, wallets and packages accidentally left behind by passengers.

The drivers consider it a matter of honor to return the items in person. Taxi companies consider it a commendable action and duly note the deed in a driver’s permanent record.

Bravo for the culture surrounding, and supporting, the taxi drivers of Singapore.

Key Learning Point

——————————————————————————–

When a culture is strong and supported, individual behavior naturally aligns with the intention and commitment of the group.

Action Steps

——————————————————————————–

What can you do to promote a strong culture? What actions should you take, and what traditions should you reinforce, to strengthen your culture and your values?

Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for partnerships and quality customer service. He is author of the bestselling “”UP Your Service!”" and founder of “”UP Your Service College”". Visit http://www.UpYourService.com for more such Customer Service articles, subscribe to his Newsletter, or to buy his bestselling Books, Videos, Audio CDs on Customer Service from his secure Online Store. You can also watch Ron live or listen to him at http://www.RonKaufman.com.

Article source

Tags: ethical, standards, policy, code, policies

Each individual has two to three values in their business life that are their “sacred cows”. Salespeople who want to “connect” with their prospects and customers need to learn the individuals’ key values.

Among the key values for any businessperson can be two or more of the following:

* money conscious
* people associations
* loyalty to associates and customers
* friendliness
* time sensitive
* reliability
* integrity
* hardworking

The ability to retain business is directly tied to the respect a salesperson shows for each customer’s key values. One businessperson may not know the balance in their personal checkbook, while another customer may be able to tell you the balances in their checkbook and their spouses’ checkbook. An observant customer may comment how highly they value your hard work and determination to complete a project, while another customer may be out-of-town and rarely show interest in your work ethic. Diversity in key values of your individual customers adds spice to your life and helps you become a better person through sharing those values.

An example that I witnessed recently at our office illustrates the importance of knowing your business contacts’ key values. The following incident is completely accurate with only the names being changed.

Two business people (a man and a woman) recently agreed to meet at a nice restaurant to discuss business over a relaxing lunch. Buffy wanted to give Jody information he asked to see before signing a telecommunications agreement. Buffy had a big commission riding on the success of this meeting, so her manager expected Buffy to be prepared and on time for lunch.

Jody arrived at the restaurant at 11:30 this Tuesday morning because it is common knowledge among townspeople that a wait list for seating starts at 11:40 every weekday. Confident that Buffy would be arriving shortly, the staff seated Jody at a four person table. Sipping iced-tea and reviewing the menu, Jody was beginning to relax.

Ten minutes later, no sign of Buffy. The restaurant began to become anxiously crowded for seating, making Jody uncomfortable by himself at a table for four.

Ten more minutes pass without Buffy’s appearance. By this time, the line of anxious businesspeople is filling the lobby waiting for a table. Jody looks at his watch. He has been patiently waiting twenty precious minutes as a prospect holding a table at a crowded restaurant in the middle of the business day.

“Enough. I can’t hold a four person table while full groups wait,” Jody says. He pays for the tea, including a generous tip, thanks the staff at the restaurant and walks toward his car. As he is driving from the parking lot, he spots Buffy is walking toward the restaurant. Jody decides to stop his car and say “hello” to Buffy to find out if there is ANY legitimate reason Buffy was late. To his surprise, she is nonchalant about being late. In the parking lot, Buffy asks, “Are you still interested in discussing the change in your telecommunications service?” Jody politely replies, “No thank you” and leaves.

Later in the day, Buffy’s manager, Tom (a friendly acquaintance of Jody), calls Jody to apologize for the misunderstanding at lunch and ask how the two companies can still engage in business. Jody genuinely likes Tom and Buffy, so the two engage in friendly conversation.

Jody opens with “Tom, I like you and Buffy. I arrived at the restaurant today on time and secured a table, looking forward to conducting business with a nice person over a needed break from the office. I was embarrassed holding a table when Buffy did not take the same interest in our business by being on time or a few minutes early. Frankly, the lack of her time discipline causes me to wonder how she would handle our service contract with your company.”

Tom responds, “Jody, I agree with what you are saying and I apologize. I have had several discussions with every member of our sales staff in identifying two to three key values of each prospect and customer. Obviously, one of your key values is time. As pleasant and professional as Buffy is, one of her strengths is not time. Buffy and I had a long conversation about this scenario and she would like to have another opportunity to meet with you on time. Can we reschedule?”

“You bet, Tom,” Jody said. Same restaurant, same time, different day. On this occasion, Buffy acquired a new customer, a deeper understanding of key values and a hefty commission.

Make more money faster by easily connecting with hard-to-reach decision makers who can buy your products and services…NOW! Get started free by getting Michael McCann’s new Special Report excerpted from his newest edition of his popular business development book, Connecting with Key Decision Makers (How to Reach Hard-to-Reach Businesspeople Who Can Say “Yes”)…just for asking at Here Go now!

Michael McCann is a 25-year veteran of developing unique and professional business development programs that create tangible results for individuals and companies. Let him help you instantly…free!

Article Source

Tags: ethics, policy, business, work, person

January 3rd 2008 brought us the news that the largest single racial discrimination settlement ever was leveled against Lockheed Martin by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

This case illustrates the absolute necessity to have an experienced EEO Investigator perform the investigation into allegations of racial discrimination. Lockheed Martin failed to perform due diligence into allegations brought forward by an African American employee who complained to management that he had been the target of racial epithets, threatened with bodily harm, racial slurs, and offensive language. These allegations were made based upon three work locations in Florida, Washington State and Hawaii.

These allegations were investigated not by an EEO Officer but a Human Resources Director whose final conclusions contained the verbiage “”boys will be boys.”" If that was the extent of the investigation then this settlement was certainly fair. A trained EEO Investigator would have weighed all of the evidence, taken statements from all concerned, supervisors and colleagues and any other with knowledge of and witness to the allegations. There were many statements printed in the paper by the complainant that were, if proven, racially motivated with the intent to create a hostile working environment. After reading the comment by the HR Director though, I doubt whether there was complete follow-up to these allegations to develop proper evidence and establish probable cause for either side. That is what an EEO Investigator’s charge is; not to act as an employee or management advocate but to develop the evidence that is presented to him/her.

The entire EEO process demands complete ethical boundaries to protect that process. Without development of evidence, the weight of the case brought on by the complainant far outweighed the efforts of a large, well funded corporation who should have allocated funding for an EEO Investigator. If the HR Director found out these comments and other allegations has basis in fact, then disciplined should have occurred immediately for those who perpetrated those actions. Immediate diversity training should have been instituted for the entire department not only for those accused. Diversity and cultural competency training is essential to ensure inclusion in the workplace. Ignoring obvious racial comments and other allegations only creates the situation whereby the employer knew or should have known these things were going on. In this case they did and did nothing.

An HR Director would have some knowledge of EEO but is not normally a specialist in that field. Without a professional EEO investigator, it is like trying to wire a house without an electrician. You just cannot pick up an electrician’s book and figure it out and expect the same results that a professional electrician would have. There is no clap on clap off solution here. With the lackluster investigation, Lockheed Martin will never know the true extent of the facts of the case. Too much time was lost between the incidents (up to 2001) and the settlement (January 2008) that the facts of the case most likely were never developed or reviewed properly. Lockheed Martin most likely lost a true professional who was trying to use the reporting system only to have his allegations ignored. The lost of human capital to businesses is extreme due to EEO allegations proven or not.

So, for all businesses out there, take heed – if serious allegations arise in any area of racial, sexual, disability, national origin, color, religion or any other protected category, use your resources for a qualified professional EEO Investigator. Assigning EEO charges to anyone else will be risky at best and the result can be as Lockheed Martin found out – devastating!

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

Article Source

Tags: ethical, policy, code, corporate, business

Face it. When you only prepare for a certain event once a year, you’ll forget a lot of the details in another 12 months. That’s one reason humans are willing to volunteer for the same tasks year after year: We forget all the headaches from last time.

So a handbook solves many of those issue. Ideally, everyone on the “Big Event” committee contributes to an overall handbook, but even if that’s not the case, do so for publicity and marketing. Here are some of the details it needs to contain:

1) Goals and objectives. What, specifically, does the event do for your small nonprofit and for the community it serves? Add a new page to this section each year, because goals tend to evolve. That will give you an idea of how marketing also needs to change.

2) Timetables and deadlines. With luck, you’ll open the handbook up next year before the first deadline. We tend to forget just how much time these things tend to take. If there are changes with the media, the schedule or other attributes of the event, insert a new sheet each year rather than using white-out or the like. That way you can track your history.

3) Media contacts. Who do you deal with at which media? Get their names spelled right and phone numbers and emails once and you’ll have them. One of the first things you’ll do each year is make sure this list is up to date. Note here any particulars about each media: did they have special needs, were they helpful or not, etc. If there are personnel changes, pull out your deadline sheet and go over it with the new personnel.

4) The actual publicity. Keep copies of the articles you send out, as well as how it appears, and you’ll learn how to improve (at least in the eyes of the medium that has made changes in your work.) You also won’t have to reinvent the wheel, though there are reasons to be creative each year. But by not having to redo the basic work, you’ll have more time to do other stuff better.

5) Results. When you market, track the results. Details on how that works require a book to itself, but if you can put your finger on any particular results, note that in detail in the handbook.

6) Suggestions. After the event, there’s usually a meeting where everybody has input into what happened, what went wrong and how it can be done better next time. Even if you’re not planning on using all of those ideas for next year’s marketing, at least keep track of them. You’ll never know when one of them might be useful.

Make sure there are multiple copies of your PR and marketing handbook around so that it doesn’t get lost. Put it on a computer somewhere (or better yet, in a non-public part of your website) so it easily can be emailed to your successor or to helpers. Be sure you update all copies equally.

Then enjoy how much easier next year’s event will be to publicize.

Gary Dillard has edited daily and weekly newspapers and trade magazines over the past four decades. He currently is working on a book on PR and Marketing for the Small Nonprofit. A related blog can be found at this site

Article Source

Tags: handbook, pr, create, policy, publicity