Gossip seems inevitable when a group of individuals get together whether it is over the water cooler or at lunch. The desire to be better than someone or to emphasize someone else’s fault appears to be intrinsic to many individuals. Yet that very gossip is potentially destroying your business and is a very real obstacle to creating a culture of high performance.

To stop gossip begins first by acknowledging the belief that gossip is not a bad thing. When people have a belief that people gossip and that they, management, have no control over gossip must be addressed. Even though many people believe that gossiping is not really harmful, bottom line it is a virus that can immobilize the best organizations.

Much has been written about the impact of words. Words can hurt some contend. Others believe that words are simply that just words with little to no impact. The issue about gossip is much more about focus than the extent of how much or how little the words can hurt someone.

When a company allows gossip, they (management and leadership) are providing an excuse for non-performance and this results in poor productivity. Gossiping is usually on company time and takes time away from truly productive activities.

Not being focused on individual productivity is one of the negative behaviors surrounding work ethics. Employees with high work ethics generally do not engage in gossiping because they do not have time. Their focus is getting their job done by being productive.

Research suggests that at any moment within the work day, 75% of the company’s employees are not engaged on the job. Between gossiping and not to mention paying video games or surfing the Internet, is it a wonder about poor productivity?

When people live their core values as well as the company’s core values, they are demonstrating a professional reputation including high work ethics. To create a culture of high performance begins with the company’s values statement that cascades down from the top to the bottom. Gossiping should not be tolerated at any level and that is not only a management decision, but a personal one as well.

Are you where you want to be? To find out where you are, then M.A.P. for Success, a FREE email course may help you begin to chart a course for business, professional or personal success. Click here for the answer.

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Tags: ethics, business, corporate, professional, training

I would like to tell you a short story about a conversation that I had with a man I met in the lobby of a hotel. We were both attending a food exposition and had some time to kill before our taxis came to take us to the exhibition hall.

The conversation started when the Dutch gentleman asked if the seat at my table was taken. I told him that it was vacant and he quietly sat opposite me. I asked him if he was staying at the hotel for the food fare. He answered that he was. He asked me what my line of business was and I told him that I operated a large catering firm. I asked him the same question. He told me that he had a chain of high street butchers shops in Holand.

Interested, I asked him how many workers he had in his business. He answered that there were around one hundred and fifty people working for the him. I continued by asking him if business was good to which he replied, “it is now”. “I made some changes and now we are all very happy”, he continued.

Puzzled by the reply I asked him what me meant when he said “we” to which he replied, “”the workers and myself”. I must still have looked puzzled because he added “let me explain”.

He continued, “one day I met an old man who looked to be very wise. After talking to him about this and that I told him that I was not happy with my business because I was not making much money and I had to fight to get customers through the doors of my shops despite much advertising in local papers. I tried everything. All types of advertising campaigns, schemes, incentives, you name it I did it. I was very quickly getting very mentally drained. The man asked me just one question. He asked me if my workers were happy working for me. I knew that they were not. I paid minimum wage and gave very few holidays and sick leave. In fact my workers always looked gloomy and sad. But I didn’t care. I told the man that they were not happy. He said “do you realize that your workers are your most vital asset. Nothing can move in this world unless people make it move. Besides, if your workers are happy they will sing your praises to everybody they know and bring them to your shop”.

“Suddenly I saw the error of my ways”, continued the Dutchman. “I realized that I had turned so many potential ambassadors into slaves. I realized that not only could they advertise for me but so could all the people who got a recommendation from them. In addition I also realized that my produce was not always the best quality. I had been trying to reduce losses by selling meat that was about to go off. I decided there and them to stop all my advertising accounts and to re think the pay structure and social conditions for all my workers. In addition I decided to sell only the finest and freshest produce at good prices.”

“When I told my workers about what I had decided they were so emotional that many of them burst into tears. So did I. I asked their forgiveness and told them that we were opening a new page. The next day there was a real buzz in the shop. Everybody was smiling. Customers smiled at me and told me that I was a good man. I felt better than I had for many years. I had no need to worry about the produce either because none of it stayed in the shops long enough to go off, it just seemed to fly out of the doors. From then on I have never looked back. I have added many new products to my range and the customers love them. In fact I am here to buy more new equipment so that the worker’s job will be easier.”

“What a wonderful story” I said. “And it all came from a few words with that wise old man, wonderful, wonderful,” I said

Just then the taxis arrived. I never saw the Dutch man again but his words will remain with me forever. Ethics does pay.

Hi, I’m Andy Routledge, writer, photographer, coach and culinary expert. I would like to invite you to look at one of my many web pages here and see how you can get your own web pages up and running absolutely free and with no previous knowledge of web page building necessary. Your page will be ready in minutes, it’s so easy my kids do it. Don’t miss this opportunity. Write about whatever you want and use it for whatever purpose you like. See also this site.

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Tags: ethics, business, corporate, professional, training

I think I finally figured out the secret to success. It came to me as an epiphany one night as I was driving home from work. Frankly, it was so simple and obvious, I can’t believe it took me years to figure it out. It came to me as I was thinking about some of the key people I’ve met over the years in the Information Technology field, and I found their attributes were essentially no different than other successful businessmen I’ve met. I guess we should begin by asking ourselves what we consider to be a “”success.”" To me, this is not just making a comfortable living. Instead, I’m talking about those people who dominate an industry or company, primarily through their personalities. I do not wish to portray this concept of success in a cynical light, but rather as a realistic perspective of the captains of industry.

In order to become a success in any industry or business, I have discovered it is not necessary to produce a good work product, nor do you have to be conscientious about your craft. No, it’s much simpler than that; you just have to be an ass****. And I say this with the utmost sincerity. All of the “”movers and shakers”" I have met over the years, particularly in the I.T. industry, fall into this category and you would be hard pressed to find anyone that doesn’t possess these simple attributes as described herein.

First, you have to find a cause for you to pitch. It really doesn’t matter what it is, just something you are comfortable with, and something that appeals to the masses, particularly if it relates to a human weakness such as greed, violence or sex. Or it might be that you have invented a new mousetrap. In this event, you need to portray it as “”state of the art.”" Either way, you want to go well beyond simply peddling your offering, you want it to dominate market share.

Next, you have to cultivate a certain physical image, something that distinguishes you, usually by not conforming to current standards. This could be something as simple as a new hair style, facial hair, clothes, hats, jewelry, etc. The more outlandish, the better as you will inevitably be falsely mistaken for a genius and it becomes your unique logo which people remember. For example, I remember one guy who loved to wear a cape. You may not remember exactly what he said, but you remembered him because of that stupid cape.

Next, you have to master the art of communications as well as miscommunications. Very important: you do not have to be right in your message, just entertaining. This means you can be loud, obnoxious, even insulting in order to get noticed. And the more verbose your vocabulary is, the better, as people will misunderstand what you say yet regard you as a genius. This means you always try to speak above your audience, and most definitely not at their level. By doing so, you are endeavoring to dominate your audience through intimidation. You must also be a master politician as you have to be acutely aware of the hot buttons needed to motivate or coerce people to do what you want them to do.

This fixation on physical image and communications obviously means you realize the importance of facade as opposed to substance. It also means you understand the need to keep moving along before somebody understands what you are truly about. This requires you to be able to move politically faster than your opponents and undermine them as required. I am reminded of one CEO in the I.T. field who during the work week would make the life of everybody in the office miserable, but always made it a point to attend his church each week to be absolved of any wrong doing.

All of this highlights two points: first, morality and ethics have nothing whatsoever to do with becoming a success, and second; you must be self-centered with a huge ego. You see workers more as servants as opposed to employees. It also means your word is not your bond. In fact, honesty and integrity have absolutely nothing do with becoming a success. To illustrate, I remember when Hitler wrote that preposterous Munich Agreement for Neville Chamberlain promising he would never invade the Sudetenland: what a classic!

To be a success your behavior is perhaps best characterized as “”pompous”" and you enjoy a highly visible profile. I am reminded of a customer of ours in the Midwest who was developing new information systems for the business. Whereas most of the project teams quietly went about their business and delivered quality systems on-time and within budget, there was one Project Manager who never delivered anything of substance on time or within budget. But because of the nature of the projects he was working on, whereby he was applauded for his skills for putting out fires, he enjoyed much higher visibility than everyone else and was promoted more rapidly than others. In other words, he capitalized on “”the squeaky wheel gets the oil”" phenomenon. As an aside, we advised our client that their chief firefighter was also their chief arsonist (which never quite set well with management or the subject in question).

Successful people are certainly not afraid of stepping on toes and making enemies as they already know how to combat them. Show me someone who is successful without making any enemies and I’ll show you a fraud. If they’re not pissing someone off, they’re not doing their job. In fact, they’ve discovered employees generally work better when they’re pissed off. This sense of ruthlessness may make his confidants squirm a bit, but not to the point of creating a mutiny.

To offset their unscrupulous tactics, successful people will support high profile causes, such as charity, which is designed more to improve the person’s image as opposed to helping a worthy cause (besides, it’s a handy tax write-off). Another earmark of the successful person is his/her infatuation with toys. They have to have the most expensive car, the largest boat, or their house has to be wired with the latest technological gizmos. All of this is aimed at projecting a certain “”winning”" image to impress others. It’s one thing not to be apologetic for your success, quite another to flaunt it like P.T. Barnum.

Now for the big question: Do you have the strength and temerety to be a success? Just remember, you have to look at yourself in the mirror every day. Frankly, most of us do not have the intestinal fortitude for it, and quite often our moral convictions prohibit us from acting accordingly.

Please understand, I do not present this thesis to be insulting, cynical or even humorous, but to consider the subject very objectively. We certainly do not like to believe these attributes for success are valid, but are they? The idea of someone working their way from the mailroom to the boardroom in this day and age is simply a ludicrous fantasy. It requires taking some rather unscrupulous tactics in order to succeed.

But interestingly, the masses are enamored with successful people, even in the face of some of their practices. For example, on one hand we are appalled by executives who are generously rewarded with hefty bonuses even if the company is floundering, but on the other hand we envy their success.

There is only one drawback to being a success, it is very lonely as you have no true friends to confide in. In fact, you are closer to your attorneys and accountants than you are to your friends and neighbors. Nonetheless, you trust nobody but yourself. But if you have supreme confidence in yourself this may be a small price to pay.

I guess the point of all of this is that there is nothing fair in business, a message I often convey to young people entering the work force. If you want something, you are going to have to earn it, which will inevitably require you to compromise your principles.

A lot of people confuse the quirky mannerisms described herein as “”entrepreneurial”" or mistake them as signs of brilliance. In reality, it is nothing more than a charade. To paraphrase an old expression, “”You don’t have to be a brain to be a success, just an ass****.”"

Tim Bryce is a writer and management consultant located in Palm Harbor, Florida. You can find his work on the Internet, click here

Copyright © 2007 Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

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Tags: personal, ethics, code, professional, social

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tags: legal, ethics, professional, issues, modern

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

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

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

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

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

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

In sharp contrast. . .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tags legal, ethics, professional, issues, modern

“When visiting China, whether it’s for business, pleasure or for both, you will want to take the time to brush up on Chinese etiquette before you go. If you’re going to China for business, here are a few important facts about handing your business cards out to prospective clients and business associates.

• When handing someone your business card, make sure you’re handing it to them with both hands and be careful to face the writing toward the person you’re giving it to. Follow with “I’m pleased to meet you.”

• When receiving a business card do not place it in your pocket or purse immediately, this is considered very rude.

• If you know a couple months ahead of time you’re going to China, it’s a good idea to get your business cards printed in English on one side and Cantonese or Mandarin on the other.

• If seated at a conference table, place your business card in front of you on the table. This shows respect to all who are there.

• Use simplified Chinese characters for China and not classical characters from Hong Kong and Taiwan, there is a difference. Remember too that China is the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan is the Republic of China.

• Business gifts are always reciprocated, not to do so is bad etiquette.

When you take the time to learn a little something about the people of the country your visiting it will save you much embarrassment and keep you from offending someone. This is especially important when doing business with people from different countries. If your traveling for pleasure, you need to know how not to make those from different cultures uncomfortable, even when you think your doing something generous like giving a gift. Below are a few helpful tips about giving gifts to the Chinese.

• Chinese people are required to refuse a gift two or three times so be persistent but gentle. Also be sensitive to genuine refusals.

• Never ever give cash.

• Don’t be too cheap when choosing your gift. You will be seen as an “iron rooster,” i.e. getting a good gift from you is like getting a feather out of an iron rooster.

• If possible, give gifts in pairs since Chinese philosophy believes in balance.

• It’s proper to give gifts for celebrations, thanks for assistance given and even to soften up for future favors.

• Never give a gift for no reason, or “just because.” It’s considered offensive and in bad taste. A witness should be present also whenever giving gifts.

• When receiving a gift from the Chinese, do not open them unless they insist that you do so.

Shirley Tan is the owner of My Business Gifts (see here), known for their unique and superior quality business gifts at bargain prices was started in 2006 to offer high quality gifts for businesses and corporations at affordable prices.

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Tags: business, ethics, workplace, code, professional

“The purpose of business is to generate maximum returns for its owners and shareholders. So therefore should the business pursue all activities that enhance profitability and increase the value of the business for the owners and / or shareholders?

I also believe that a business should behave ethically in achieving the above purpose. It is not right just to operate within the letter of the law. Businesses should also try and serve their local community and help its employees lead better lives. They should examine every decision they make based on profitability, long term business value and social responsibility.

By having real policies in place that take care of your employees and the local community it might be argued that long term this will enhance your business brand and over time lead to higher profitability.

By constantly training members of staff and wherever possible promoting from within the organisation will lead to employees that feel empowered to work harder and make better decisions. Having regards to the true well being of your employees will lead to a healthier and therefore happier workforce.

By reducing waste and promoting recycling at every opportunity, overheads will be reduced and in the longer term lead to better shareholder value. It is staggering how much resources including energy are wasted by larger companies. Having a regular energy audit and investing long term to reduce demand can only serve to make the business more efficient.

Many businesses try to serve their community by supporting local charities and sponsoring local people to better their lives. There are many ways to do this including education, sports and the environment. In the short term there will be very few perceivable benefits in terms of profitability but these actions will serve to enhance the business brand and increase profitability over the longer term.

Greed is no longer good and focusing purely on profits is unacceptable to your existing and potential customers. By embracing business ethics and social responsibility the business can benefit from increased goodwill.

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

Business Franchises and UK Business Directory Business Franchise Opportunity

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Tags: business, ethics, articles, personal, professional

Corruption in big business is a matter we are hearing about in a seriously increasing manner. Why do so many people think they can get off with it and get away with it? They obviously do not know that Almighty God says, Behold your sins will find you out. It is not just just that your sins will be found out. It is much more serious than that. You will be found out!

Thieves can be forgiven – even those who have stolen from God. Aren’t you glad?

Some people may not be aware that they can rob God. How is that done? There were those who actually asked God, “”How do we rob You?”" – and back came the answer, “”In tithes and offerings”".

Because God’s people were not giving a tenth of their income, plus offering offerings they brought the whole nation under a curse.

Giving a tenth of your income was the law at that particular time.

We are no longer under the law. We are free from the law when it comes to being right in the eyes of God, but surely that freedom does not mean we give less. We are now free to give more.

When Zacchaeus met Jesus Christ he realised he was a rogue. As a customs officer he had lined his own pocket. He had been a totally corrupt character, robbing God and robbing God’s people.

The transformation in Zacchaeus’ life is astonishing. Knowing he had been a cheat and a swindler, he had to put things right and make restitution. He told Jesus that he was going to give back to the people from whom he had stolen, four times what he had sinfully taken.

God says stealing is wrong.

Funds are misappropriated in various commercial and business undertakings – the United Nations ‘Oil for Food’ programme in Iraq being presently under scrutiny. Even charities occasionally discover people with their fingers in the till, and overseas aid money is mysteriously siphoned off.

There is little ‘love your neighbour’ when man behaves in such an abominable manner.

Corruption occurs because man is corrupt, and Jesus Christ comes to correct that consequence of The Fall.

We witnessed hasty undignified mass burials being broadcast on our news bulletins following the tsunami. Why were they necessary? To prevent the spread of disease.

The spiritual parallel is equally essential. When a man comes to faith in Jesus Christ he is a new creation. The old man should be buried. It is inappropriate, even offensive, to leave an unburied body lying around.

God teaches us that when we are baptised in water the old man is buried and we are then able to rise to live a new life.

New Testament believers regarded baptism as important and urgent, submitting themselves to God at the hands of men, as soon as they came to believe. That prison officer, and those in his home, who came to believe, did not even wait for dawn to break.

All God asks for is obedience. The condition is obedience in small things and great things, for the small things are as great as the great things. God usually presents the small matters before those matters which we might regard as great.

The man who is faithful in small matters is more likely to be found faithful in great matters. Those who are not reliable in little things are likely to be unreliable in big issues.

The size of the work or project is irrelevant. What matters is obedience, and when you obey you no longer evaluate what is trivial or important.

We are not good judges of what is small or big.

Jesus was baptised by John to fulfil all righteousness and He says, “”Follow me”". It is unwise to overlook what Jesus says.

Don’t dismiss some decisions as being unimportant. These might be key moments in God’s plan for you.

Sandy Shaw

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

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

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

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Tags: personal, ethics, code, professional, social

“After reading one too many articles about the need to eliminate cumbersome processes in the industry I found myself thinking about the roots of bureaucracy.

Processes are made to guide the execution of action, and invariably include approval checkpoints to ensure those actions were executed. While processes must be simplified and eventually automated, checkpoints are the real productivity killers.

On lack of trust and inefficiencies

Some are offended by what they consider a lack of trust, others are distressed by foiled acquisition of equipment that could make their work more efficient. I have been on both camps, but I eventually got over both feelings. The reason? Show me a person with some common sense and I will show you four other people who cannot tell what they need from what they want.

At the root of bureaucracy one will often find the need to control the usage of common resources, whether it is the approval for the construction of a wall or for the acquisition of a new network router. In a never ending loop, people in the “”I need the resource to do my job”" camp find ways around the processes and the bureaucracy responds with more control points. Bureaucracy thrives on the intersection of limited resources with resourceful people.

Executives and keyboard purchases

Remove all the control points, and you soon my have a tragedy of the commons on your hands.

Of course, the extreme case of a senior executive approving a US$200 purchase should be avoided. On the other hand, US$200 may be the cost of that matching set of keyboard, mouse, and speakers that look great with the replacement workstation you received last week.

Personal responsibility to the rescue

In the tragedy of the commons, the only known solution is to eliminate or reduce the “”commons”" in favor of personal ownership, whatever that resource may be. Karl Marx would not be proud.

Scott Adams once suggested, in the serious portion of his excellent “”The Dilbert Principle”", that companies actually gave money to employees for the purchase of office items instead of the traditional supply bins spread through the building. It would be up to employees to individually purchase the supplies they needed or keep the money. The actual amount is unimportant – the bean counters have all the numbers they need to calculate that amount – but the company would no longer need to burden administrative staff with those tasks.

The real question is, could one try and stretch that approach to personal laptops or desktop computers? In many geographies, the cost of these machines can rival the monthly salary of their users. What happens when you hand out the money for equipment that should last 3 years and the person leaves the company before that period is over? Impound whatever they bought or demand a refund?

Solve that riddle and the end of bureaucracy may be at hand.

Denilson Nastacio is a software engineer in a large corporation. Through years of experience observing the interactions between his colleagues, managers, and executives, he observed several repeating patterns drawn from science, religion, and politics.

He maintains a blog, called the RTP Scrolls, where he writes about the cyclic influence between individuals and organizations help explain how and why each side reacts to the actions of the other side.

Recent observations and recent communications with business colleagues confirm that there are far too many violations of good business manners each and every day. Manners are essential to build relationships in today’s business world. People, who present themselves very favorably, will maximize their business potential. I must tell you that I remain very passionate about manners in business and believe very strongly in the results that follow the use of good manners.

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach continues to stress the importance of manners and to seeking advice on that issue and others. And I am pleased to confirm to you that I continue to follow my own advice by seeking outside advice and counsel when needed. In my own efforts for continuous improvement in manners, I recently did some research that resulted in me finding a great resource – a quiz to establish your Business Etiquette Quotient. The quiz was developed by Lydia Ramsey, a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of Manners That Sell-Adding the Polish that Builds Profits. She has been quoted or featured in the New York Times, Investors’ Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple, and Woman’s Day. For more information about her programs, products and services, visit her Website

Here is Lydia Ramsey’s Quiz, answers and score interpretation.

1. When shaking hands in business, a man should wait for a woman to extend her hand before offering his.

2. When introducing business people, say the name of the most important or senior person first.

3. When talking on the phone, your tone of voice counts more than your words.

4. The first place to go when you arrive at a business/social function is the bar.

5. Women may remain seated to shake hands in business.

6. Business casual means dressing down one notch from business professional.

7. You should always use a subject header when sending an e-mail message.

8. The guest decides when to start talking business during the meal.

9. If the information on your business card is incorrect, draw a line through it and write the correct information on the card.

10. If you can’t remember someone’s name, don’t attempt an introduction.

11. Handwritten notes are out of place in the business world.

12. Name badges are worn on the right shoulder.

13. A woman’s handbag, if small, may be placed on the boardroom table.

14. Small talk is not appropriate in a business environment.

15. In today’s relaxed business environment, it is not necessary to ask your clients’ permission before using their first names.

Answers

1. False. It is no longer necessary for a man to wait for a woman to extend her hand. In business, everybody shakes hands regardless of gender or age.

2. True. Always say the name of the most important person first or the name of the person you wish to honor. Follow that with “”I’d like to introduce…”" or “”I’d like to introduce you to…”".

3. True. Studies show that 70% of your message is conveyed by your tone of voice and 30% by your actual words. It’s not what you say but the way you say it that counts.

4. False. No matter how hard your day was, resist the urge to go straight to the bar. After all, these business/social functions are more about business than eating and drinking.

5. False. A woman who remains seated to shake hands in business appears to lack confidence. She sends a message that she is not as important as the people who are standing.

6. True. Business casual did not start out as an excuse to wear your favorite old clothes to the office. It is still business, and you should always look professional.

7. True. Why would anyone want to open an e- mail message with “”no subject”"? You always want to give the recipient a reason to read your message.

8. False. The host is the one who decides when to end the small talk and get down to business. As a rule, the business discussion begins after everyone has ordered so the conversation will not be interrupted.

9. False. Have new cards printed as soon as possible. Handing out outdated business cards sends a poor message.

10. False. Always make the introduction. Everyone notices when you try to avoid it and will suspect that you can’t remember the other person’s name anyway. The best thing to do in this situation is to confess your loss of memory, beg forgiveness, and ask for the person’s name.

11. False. Handwritten notes are very impressive. They give the idea that you went to extra effort, whether this is true or not.

12. True. The right side is the correct side. Since you shake hands with your right hand, the eye naturally travels to the right shoulder.

13. False. The only objects that belong on the boardroom table are those that are necessary for the meeting.

14. False. Small talk is the basis for building and maintaining relationships in business.

15. False. While most people prefer to be called by their first name, use titles and last names until you are told otherwise.

What’s Your Score?

Give yourself one point for each correct answer. If your score is 13 points or higher, you are speeding up the ladder of success. (If you earned between 9 and 12 points, you’ll most likely make it to the top. If you scored 8 or below, chances are that you can climb the ladder, but you won’t make it all the way to the top.

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “”Glenn’s Guiding Lines – Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”" and has published more than 325 articles on business.

To find out more about the benefits & rewards of effectively working with a strategic thinking business coach, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his web site here

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Tags: workplace, ethics, business, training, professional

“I called a guy I’ve known for about three years.

Along with his wife, he’s been to multiple parties at my house, and we’ve been very genial.

He’s a professional actor, which for me was a road only partially traveled, so I take some delight in hearing about his career, how he addresses its challenges, such as rejection, and the inevitable ups and downs.

And I suppose I’ve always told myself, “I can do what he does, any time I want.”
And some day, I may do that.
In the meantime, there are very few nexuses between his field and mine, though I perform by giving speeches and seminars, and I do a considerable number of appearances on TV.

Finally, the day came when I needed some advice from him pertaining to where I might take my media career.
I phoned him and he didn’t seem particularly busy.
What surprised me was how easily he dismissed the subject of my inquiry, and turned the tables.
He said, without a trace of regret or reluctance, “I can’t help you, but if there’s anything you can do for me, don’t hesitate to call!”

I was a little put off by that, but I scratched it up to “show business.” He could be one of those people you meet that are superficially friendly, providing you can help him, but if you can’t, the conversation’s over.

Then I got a call from a long-lost business associate from the rural Midwest, a salt-of-the-earth type and someone I remember as a good guy. After catching-up, I mentioned that his seminar sponsorship might come in handy one of these days when I get back to his neck of the woods, but he just demurred.

In nearly the next sentence, he told me he has some great new financial products to offer and I should discuss them with him.
I got off the phone and simply shook my head.
Whatever happened to the idea of reciprocity? One hand washes the other, right?
I’ve always been of the mind to believe, “If you want to get value, give value, in return,” especially in business.

This is a proven idea in friendship, i.e. Want a friend? Be a friend.
But this ethic of reciprocity could be changing.
If so, it’s very disappointing, and I believe, foolish, because Win-Lose relationships don’t last very long, no matter where we’re located, or what business we’re in.

You don’t have to keep an official score of favors received and returned, but it seems a lot more sensible than acting as if professional advancement is a one-way street.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a top trainer, conference and convention speaker, and sales, service, and negotiation consultant. A frequent expert commentator on radio and TV, he is also the best-selling author of 12 books, more than a thousand articles. and several popular audio and video training programs. His seminars are sponsored internationally and he is a top-rated faculty member at more than 40 universities, including UC Berkeley and UCLA. Gary brings over two decades of sales, management and consulting experience to the table, with some of the best academic credentials in the speaking and training industry. A Ph.D. from the Annenberg School For Communication at USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a J.D. degree from Loyola Law School, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies and successful family owned and operated firms.

Visit his website, and he can be seen here.

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Tags: personal, professional, ethics, code, social

It is astonishing to hear of so much fraud and deception going on in so many areas of life. People in business are being found out and some in leading and highly responsible positions are ending up in prison.

Such high profile cases hit the news headlines and so many in the circle of family and friends must be embarrassed, hurt and so terribly disappointed.

With so many Business Courses being offered it is difficult to understand why some people think they can get off with it. Is there a compulsory Ethics class on these Courses? Are there lectures on basic morals? Why are people not being taught how to behave in business?

I regularly read the adverts in “The Economist” and other reputable Journals and wonder just what the content of these Courses is.

It is not just that an individual’s wrong doing and sins are found out – it is more than that – they are found out.

If the foundation is dodgey and questionable and shakey then no matter what you may attempt to build it will crash sooner or later. Many find that out to be true when it is too late and whatever they have been up to reaches the public domain.

There is such a great need for what is called prophetic ministry, which means men hear from God and speak out what God would have them say.

Jesus Christ taught that the prophet is a key to what God is doing, because what God is doing He reveals to the prophets.

Sometimes that ‘word’ will be for sharing immediately, whilst at other times prophetic people may remain quiet for weeks or months.

In all that is going on around us many are looking for a clear distinct sound, which gives guidance and direction in a time of alarming confusion.

The prophet is regarded as the voice or the trumpet of God, rallying the despondent from despair or discouragement.

Of course, there can be false prophets. That is where discernment has to be exercised.

A bank teller can feel a false ‘fiver’ or false Dollar note without having to look at it. “”Excuse me sir, but there is something wrong here!”" He has been so trained – and the counterfeiter does not present a coin kidding on it is a £5 note. He makes it as like the real thing as he possibly can.

A prophet penetrates and pierces and can even shock the whole religious world. Jesus Christ certainly did that when He spoke and taught on various occasions.

“Excuse me, but there is something wrong here” – and the ordinary people recognised that a great prophet had appeared upon the scene.

Prophecy has been accurately described as that ability granted by the Holy Spirit to a believer in Jesus Christ to speak forth words which proceed from God, and which do not come from the believer’s own wisdom, understanding or education.

When a prophet speaks you have a choice – change – or kill the prophet!

Now, is it not time that such a Course was mandatory in every Business School?

Sandy Shaw

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

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

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

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Tags: business, ethics, mandatory, professional, corporate

Along with his wife, he’s been to multiple parties at my house, and we’ve been very genial.

He’s a professional actor, which for me was a road only partially traveled, so I take some delight in hearing about his career, how he addresses its challenges, such as rejection, and the inevitable ups and downs.

And I suppose I’ve always told myself, “I can do what he does, any time I want.”
And some day, I may do that.
In the meantime, there are very few nexuses between his field and mine, though I perform by giving speeches and seminars, and I do a considerable number of appearances on TV.

Finally, the day came when I needed some advice from him pertaining to where I might take my media career.
I phoned him and he didn’t seem particularly busy.
What surprised me was how easily he dismissed the subject of my inquiry, and turned the tables.
He said, without a trace of regret or reluctance, “I can’t help you, but if there’s anything you can do for me, don’t hesitate to call!”

I was a little put off by that, but I scratched it up to “show business.” He could be one of those people you meet that are superficially friendly, providing you can help him, but if you can’t, the conversation’s over.

Then I got a call from a long-lost business associate from the rural Midwest, a salt-of-the-earth type and someone I remember as a good guy. After catching-up, I mentioned that his seminar sponsorship might come in handy one of these days when I get back to his neck of the woods, but he just demurred.

In nearly the next sentence, he told me he has some great new financial products to offer and I should discuss them with him.
I got off the phone and simply shook my head.
Whatever happened to the idea of reciprocity? One hand washes the other, right?
I’ve always been of the mind to believe, “If you want to get value, give value, in return,” especially in business.

This is a proven idea in friendship, i.e. Want a friend? Be a friend.
But this ethic of reciprocity could be changing.
If so, it’s very disappointing, and I believe, foolish, because Win-Lose relationships don’t last very long, no matter where we’re located, or what business we’re in.

You don’t have to keep an official score of favors received and returned, but it seems a lot more sensible than acting as if professional advancement is a one-way street.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a top trainer, conference and convention speaker, and sales, service, and negotiation consultant. A frequent expert commentator on radio and TV, he is also the best-selling author of 12 books, more than a thousand articles. and several popular audio and video training programs. His seminars are sponsored internationally and he is a top-rated faculty member at more than 40 universities, including UC Berkeley and UCLA. Gary brings over two decades of sales, management and consulting experience to the table, with some of the best academic credentials in the speaking and training industry. A Ph.D. from the Annenberg School For Communication at USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a J.D. degree from Loyola Law School, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies and successful family owned and operated firms.

Visit his website, and he can be seen here.

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Tags: personal, professional, ethics, code, social

You all know I’m pretty much posting about my skin care products to get men/women more familiar with them and how they can change your skin. However, today I’d like to talk about ethics or professional respect.

I had an unfortunate encounter with another consultant that I found really disturbing which made me wonder how often this kind of thing happens. In my situation, I was communicating with a potential recruit, answering her questions, sending her information and product samples, etc. Before I knew it, another consultant (from the same company) reached out to this person offering all sorts of free stuff if she’d sign up with her!

What I found annoying was that I had already put time, effort and expense (catalogs, opportunity brochure, samples, postage, etc.) to introduce the Series Opportunity to this person now someone else comes along offering her the world to get her sign up under instead of me? I don’t know about anyone else reading this but I think that’s just wrong. Not to mention unprofessional and disrespectful. I could not imagine doing that to another consultant. In the end, it worked out OK – she signed up with me & is one of the best consultants on my team.

Later, I’ve heard similar stories from other people, some of which made me cringe, and I never realized how much this is happening out there. Why can’t we all just get along? How is it OK in someone’s mind to go ahead and butt in on a fellow consultant’s potential recruit? Why can’t a consultant do their own work, get their own leads and work their own business? If anyone out there can shed some light on this, I’d really appreciate it. If you have a horror story you’d like to share, tell us about it. What can be done to stop people from doing this? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Click here to read more about this topic

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Tags: ethics, business, corporate, training, professional

Ethics in business is a behavior in which a business is attached to its daily connections with the world. Business ethics at workplace not only applies to the interaction of the business to the world but also to one-on-one dealing with every single customer.

Different businesses have different code of ethics, although for every business it is imperative and necessary to have good ethics in business. Business ethics will examine the ethical principles and moral or ethical problems which will arise from time to time in a business environment.

Business ethics are of both discipline, normative and a descriptive discipline. Normative discipline is for corporate practice and for career specialization and descriptive approaches are taken for academia. One of the aims of business ethics in workplace is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company.

The code of business ethics is necessary to define acceptable behaviors, to promote high standard of practice, to provide a scale for members to use self evaluation, to establish a structure for professional behavior and responsibilities, as a medium for occupational identity and occupational maturity. A wide range of business practices and procedures are covered by the code of business ethics. Those who violate the business code ethics are subjected to disciplinary action which also includes termination of the employment.

Business code ethics are in compliance with laws, rules and regulations and the employees should respect the code of business ethics. Most of the companies have formulated internal policies with respect to the ethical conduct of the employees and these policies can be simple catchphrases in a wide and highly generalized language. Sometimes these policies can be more detailed to contain specific requirements and these are also meant to identify the company’s or business expectations of the employees and to provide guidance to handle more common ethical problems that may arise in the course of doing a business.

Samreen Soomro is an SEO expert and a search engine marketing strategist based in Karachi, Pakistan. She provides SEO Services and Internet Marketing Consultancy for companies looking to maximize their return on investment by having their websites optimized. She can also manage all aspects of PPC campaigns.

Samreen holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science and is currently pursuing an MBA degree with concentrations in Management Information Systems and Marketing.

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Tag: introduction, ethics, business, professional, training

Recently we believed the tax advantage to having all our credit card debt moved to an equity account would be simple and painfree. We set the plan in motion made an appointment, signed papers, tried calling to verify the loan payment and loan agreement during the 3 day cool off period. No one answered the phone at the branch and there were no clear answers from the coroporate office. We soon received our first scheduled payment invoice. The bank had set up the plan to be paid off in five years. We signed a contract for a 30 year loan, and not a 5 year loan. So they could change it to 25, but not 30, and we would still have to make a high payment. Which bank, you might ask? After seeing the news that 7 to 8 thousand homes are foreclosed every day, I believe it could be any bank.

I am receiving an interest free transfer check for our credit card for the same amount, so I plan to pay the bank off instead of being bothered with the ethics of a bank that quotes great rates for new clients, but much higher for existing clients. There are proactive steps we can take when a bank is unethical. The court system is not always the best place, but it can be valuable for those who cannot negotiate with a bank.

I tell insurance sales people all the time that if they are not ethical with me, someone else might be even more unethical to their family. They are the one who stands in the way of ethics and kind treatment. Each one of us makes a difference where we stand and how we allow others to treat us, as well as how we treat others.

(c) 2008 Charlotte Fairchild

Author Bio: Born in Bethesda Naval Hospital, Charlotte Fairchild traveled as a Navy child, Fertile Prayers is her first published book. Kudzu Kwestions (search) will help find her several blogs.

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Tags: treat, professional, treatment, relief, business

Life is too short for all the hostility that lies beneath the surface of our society caused by misunderstandings, disagreements and lies. Is talk so cheap that words have lost their value? What can you do to guarantee that what you say professionally and personally holds value, motivates understanding and achieves effectiveness?

Assumptions let mistakes accumulate while dishonesty continues to multiply. When you hear contradictions, do you go beyond the surface and find the missing pieces? How many times do issues surface later, when you realize that you didn’t understand what the person was asking for or explaining to you?

The ability to see through the spin associated with what you hear takes familiarity or research to substantiate the information. Your decisions are only as good as the facts and data you base them on. How reliable is the person you’re taking with?

When in doubt, ask yourself these two questions.

Does it make sense?

Does this feel right?

If the answer to either question is no, the direction you’re going in needs clarification. When you hear excuses or contradictions, the story is changing – beware. You can prevent deception by being actively conscious. Check out the specifics and when you find inconsistencies deal directly with that individual. You verify who’s trustworthy or not.

Always clarify so you know for sure.

Patience and common sense represents qualities that enable you to listen to all sides without jumping to conclusions. The more you understand why people do the things they do, there’s less stress to contend with. When you acknowledge and accept the reality of the situation, that honest interpretation adds value to your evaluation.

Understanding requires a higher level of interpretation than simply knowing.

We’re all totally distinctive, yet exceptional. There’s a part of you inside of everyone. Finding out what you have in common with someone instead of what you don’t like, adds positive energy. If you’re only looking for the person’s weakness, your insecurities are out weighting your potential.

When words resonate attitudes with derogatory or condescending that approach is critical and defensive, not advantageous. But when words are complimentary and enlightening, the energy of the conversation is encouraging and optimistic.

Transparency holds the truth-value of your logic and actions combined.

Doing the right thing for the right reasons strengthens your sensibilities. When you’re not falling backwards-correcting mistakes, the value of your time increases. Your decisions are comprehensive and you’re providing solutions not excuses, moving forward being more productive.

Eliminate the nonsense of lies, that will always come back to haunt you. This incredible consciousness grows stronger with your desire for the truth.

Ethics share all these positive qualities when done consistently. Your business becomes less chaotic when you accept responsibility for your actions and accountability for the outcome. Credibility comes with understanding your associates and inspiring better standards. When you walk the talk and show by example, these illustrate the added value of your effectiveness.

Susan Elaine Wheeler is the Creative Coordinator and owner of Creative Perspective Solutions based in Los Angeles, CA. Specialties include creating the most unique ways to showcase your talents and achievements while accelerating your value in the marketplace, maximizing your sales effectiveness and vision.

Susan loves exploring and most recently started defining the extremes between mediocrity and excellence in our society. What makes one person care more or try harder than another and why is there so much deception and spin? What needs to change in America so we’re accelerating excellence and the human experience is real and enjoyable? Susan discovered 8 extremes that either holds you back or will open your mind to a more positive approach.

(c) 2008 Creative Perspective Solutions
visit the website

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Tags: professional, ethics, code, conduct, work

Picture back to when you were in elementary school. It is a warm summer day, everyone is outside playing on the playground. Some children are playing on the swings, some on the monkey bars, while others decide they want to play kickball. After choosing captains, they start to pick who is going to be on their winning team. The captains quickly pick their friends, which goes by quick and then there are the few geeks or nerds left to pick from. Being not so popular growing up, I was one of the last few kids to be picked. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to play kickball but I wasn’t an outgoing person in my childhood.

But how does personal, organizational, and cultural values come into play with my position as a manager and recruiter for a banking call center? How can past experiences help or hinder future events?

Personal Values

As the years went by I started to open up and began making friends in high school. I tried to be with the “”in crowd”" at the same time trying to be nice to the other not so popular students. Often times I felt a “”gut”" feeling about doing the right thing, other times I went with the popular decision; right or wrong. But as I was growing up, I started to realize that the right decision was always the best for me. It helped me become ethical not only in my personal life, but also in my professional life. It started to define my personal values and has guided me through tough decisions, popular or not, for which I haven’t regretted.

Personal values are something I believe is learned. It goes back to the continual debate over nature versus nurture. I believe my values came from both. I grew up in a two-parent home with an older sibling. Both of my parents worked for a living and I learned most of my values from them. They brought me up to be respectful, hard working, and honest and most of all treat everyone the way you want to be treated. I learned not to take money for granted because we didn’t have much. I wore hand-me-down clothing from friends and relatives. It taught me that money isn’t what makes you happy but you need to like yourself for who you are and not what you own.
Now as a hiring manager for Compass Bank, I look for similar values in the potential employees. I ask them questions about their childhood, past experiences that changed their values and what are they looking for in their career. I also like to share my values of who I am and how I advanced my career. Finally I ask them what are some of the values they are looking for in an organization?

Organizational Values

Every organization, big or small has a set of organizational values. Some of these values are in line with our own values and clearly defined, other are vague.

In the paper Finding Talent: A Study of Contacts and Careers (Hines, 2003) shows four different methods used on hiring employees from entry-level to executive positions. Each of the individuals interviewed stated they don’t follow their organizational values when interviewing and hiring employees. For entry-level positions, 80% use job postings in the newspaper or the Internet, career fairs and employee referrals. For middle to upper management, more then 50% say the hire based on word of mouth and not so much of past experience. And even others stated they try to hire previous employees they worked with before at other corporations. Are these personal values of these individuals? Does the organization stand behind these types of values? Or does cultural values come into play?

Cultural Values

Cultural values are a part of what makes up the world. The United States is called the “”melting pot”" since it became independent from the British in the 1700′s. Many individuals came to America looking for a new beginning at the same time they brought their cultures or traditions with them. As we become more of a multi-cultural society some of the traditions that were predominate during the early periods of American history are not so clear today. In early years, Italians only married other Italians, Germans only married other Germans, so on and so forth. Now, cultural or traditions are not a factor.

I view cultural values as a great way to understand someone’s values. It brings into light some of their personal values and the potential employees up bringing. I was raised in two different parts of the country. I was born in Western Pennsylvania and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. Both parts of the country have different cultural values. In Pennsylvania, cultural values were placed on tradition. My grandfather on my dad’s side of the family was a skilled craftsman. He was very handy in his trade for which he used to provide for his family. He built his own homes. He worked very hard everyday in manual labor. On the other hand, being raised in Florida, the cultural values were different in the respect of not keeping traditions. They wanted to be different and on the leading edge of new things. These were not the same values I was use to being exposed to in Pennsylvania.

As an adult, I enjoy learning about different cultures and the values they place on individuals. It gives me an insight to what type of person they were in the past and hopefully what type of employee they will be in the future. But is cultural values a good tool to use when hiring?
Based on reading of The Role of Literacy in Individuals and Nations (Berryman, 1994), some cultures view experience and education in different ways. Emphasis on continuing education or continual heritage depends on your cultural. It could also depend on whom you know in the company that could help you get hired or promoted. For example, in the former USSR, only gifted students were given the opportunity to continue their education passed the eighth grade. Those whom didn’t display exceptional intelligence either went into the military academy or continued a trade or skill needed in the economy. This is opposite of our own culture and the opportunities provided to everyone.

Ethical Dilemmas

As I stated in the beginning of the paper, I still have a difficult time trying to hire candidates for open positions at Compass Bank. We try to hold regular job fairs each month with the Maricopa Department of Economic Security. During these job fairs, I have the opportunity to speak to individuals from all walks of life. Most of them are middle to late age workers who lost their job because they couldn’t keep up with changing technology. I spend about fifteen minutes with these individuals to see if their personal values and past work experience will be a fit for our organization. It is a very difficult ethical dilemma trying to look past maybe the way they are dressed or how many jobs they had in the past. But my personal values help guide me in those decisions. I usually will get a gut feeling that someone isn’t telling me the truth or they won’t fit into our organizational culture. It is hard to see these individuals sitting in front of me knowing they need a job to support their families. It tugs on my emotions but knowing I had the opportunity to let them know not to give up and share the same experiences I had when I was out of work helps them to continue their pursuit to work.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our personal, organizational and cultural values play a big part in our everyday lives. By trying to align your personal values with your organization values and not so much the cultural values, it provides a road map to help guide you with ethical decisions. Until someone writes a book that is 100% accurate on hiring the right person for the job, we will have to depend on our values.

References

Sue E. Berryman The World Bank, Washington DC (1994, September) The Role of Literacy in the Wealth of Individuals and Nations. Retrieved February 13, 2006 from website

Hines, Michael J.W., (2003 May) Finding Talent: A Study of Contacts and Careers.

Retrieved February 13, 2006 from website

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

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Tags: personal, ethics, code, professional, social

With the advent of the Internet, everything from personal relationships to business has become ‘global’ for all intents and purposes. Today, you can talk to people across the world just as easily as if you were talking to your next door neighbor. Businesses can exchange documents of all sorts with the push of a button – without having to wait days, and often weeks, for those documents to be delivered by hand. We are global, and this has had a profound effect in the area of business ethics.

What we must realize is that what may be deemed ethical in our own country is not necessarily deemed as ethical in another country. This often makes conducting global business quite hard. At one time, because we did not have the Internet, it was more of a question of not accidentally disrespecting on another’s customs and traditions. However, today, there is much more at stake. You must also not trample all over another businesses – or countries – ethical code, while you remain true to your own businesses or country’s ethical code.

The first step is to understand business traditions and customs in the country that the business you are dealing with resides in. Hopefully, they will do the same for you, making an effort to learn about your business traditions and customs. Next, you need a way to clearly communicate. In this area of the global marketplace, hiring the services of a talented translator is essential. You need to clearly know what they are saying, and they need to know what you are saying as well. Don’t rely on your one semester of a foreign language from high school to get you through this.
Global business also has a profound effect on your employees. For example, if you do business with a foreign country that only keeps regular business hours – in their time zone – one or more of your employees will need to be available for telephone calls and such, when it is convenient for the foreign company. Are you expecting your employees to be in the office to field those calls or to conduct those teleconferences at midnight, and expecting them to clock in bright an early the following morning? That is not very ethical.

Another area that has become a growing concern when it comes to global business and ethics is reporting income from foreign countries. If your company makes a sale to a company in Canada, for example, that sale will not be reported to the IRS in the United States by the company that you made the sale to or Canada’s government. It is not, by anyone’s standards, ethical not to report that income to the IRS yourself.

In many countries, bribing officials is a part of doing business. However, this does not make the practice ethical, and experts advise business owners to instruct all of their employees that such practices will not be tolerated when conducting global business – or even when conducting business in your own country.

Global business is seemingly easy with the use of the Internet, but in the grand scheme of things, when you start looking at what is and is not acceptable or expected in foreign country, in terms of ethical business practices, one must use a great deal of caution.

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

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

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

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Tags: business, ethics, workplace, code, professional

How many of us remember our failures more than our successes? My own divorce, the time I didn’t get a research grant, the last job that I was fired from (come to think of it, there were some other messy situations that I still recall), the I time I rear-ended someone on a slippery freeway. The list goes on and on. You could say that I have had a full life.

Those of us in technology are fond of the line from the Apollo 13 book and movie: “failure is not an option.” Back then, it was something to revel in, a bunch of NASA nerds working around the clock to figure out a strategy that would save the three astronauts’ lives and get them back to Earth safely. It was a good story then, and still is.

But I wanted to talk to you today about a somewhat different point of view, that failure is an option, and in fact, those of us that fail frequently are better for it. The trick is to think of each failure as a learning and growth opportunity, especially how you can learn to triumph over your own business adversities. Easy to say now, especially as these failures are illuminated in the dim light of my faded memories, but still. This isn’t a new concept. For example, Jeff Atwood in his blog, Coding Horror, says, “Fail early and often.” And Mitchell Ashley in his blog says: “If you aren’t seeing some failures along the way, it’s a pretty good idea you’re not stretching, challenging and really going for it. You’re probably believing in your own assumptions and plans too much Other people have called this concept rapid prototyping: put something together quickly, barely working, to show your customers or clients. Then, based on this feedback, you go back and make small changes, get more feedback and sharpen your ideas. And really, when you go back to our childhood, this is how we all learned a new skill, whether it is in playing sports, mastering the piano, or whatever.

We took small steps, saw what worked and what didn’t, and learned from our mistakes. The hard part is to figure out the right feedback loop so that you aren’t micro-managing everyone. This isn’t good either: you have to give people the responsibility to make their own mistakes, so that they can really learn from them. I got to witness this first hand this past weekend. I was attending a professional speaker-training workshop, and got to see first-hand how really good speakers can still fail and how they can tune their craft. It was like drinking from a firehose, but extremely worthwhile as I try to move into that orbit. Part of the notion of frequent failure has to do with corporate culture, and the acceptance by management of a certain level of risk. After all, who wants a bunch of employees that don’t produce? The other thing to figure out the right amount of freedom to try out new ideas and experiment, and to make these adjustments without a particular timetable or schedule of “deliverables.” This is the philosophy of many innovative companies. For example, last week I met Keith Sawyer, a professor here at Wash U. His Group Genius book talks about the culture at WL Gore (the makers of GoreTex and other products less famous). Employees have ten percent of their time that isn’t allocated for particular billable projects. They are free to experiment and fail, as long as the other 90% is actually producing results. This is how they come up with some of their most profitable products, and failure at Gore is tolerated within this guideline.

So really, why I can understand why NASA says that failure is not an option, because after all they were talking about actual lives at stake, what we are usually dealing with in our lives is a bit less critical and threatening. Instead, may I suggest a replacement motto, on the order of “Failure is not an only option, but should always be encouraged.” Now I am not talking about promoting your least productive employees. What I do mean is that you want to give your self the permission to fail, and in doing so foster innovation in your company and make you a more agile business. But unlike the astronauts, by making it easier to fail you can avoid the bigger mistakes, and make smaller steps towards progress. Start thinking about promoting the culture of frequent failure at your shop. It is the first step along the path towards being more innovative and agile. And if you are looking for some inspiration, it is worth renting the Apollo 13 movie if you haven’t seen it in a while. David Strom is a noted speaker, author, podcaster and consultant who has written two books and thousands of magazine articles for dozens of IT publications such as Computerworld, eWeek, Baseline Magazine, Information Week and Information Security magazine. His blog can be found here

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Tags: business, ethics, professional, workplace, corporate

Expertise is of more importance to a successful career, while ethics is of the least significance.” This was the feedback of a study group at a well-known American university. This group recently completed a nationwide survey of university graduate program directors in the field of communications. They were commenting on the importance of the four professional competencies set forth by the National Speakers Association (NSA): Expertise, Eloquence, Enterprise and Ethics.

I was interviewed and asked to comment on some of the findings of the study group. My reaction to the above statement was shock. After all, if “ethical communication” is insignificant, does that mean that we needn’t tell the truth? What would George Washington have to say about that? And where is our country headed?

As an image consultant, I teach a workshop entitled “The Expert Impact,” a term I have trademarked. In essence I tell my clients that I cannot supply expertise, because that is up to them. What I can do is make certain they are immediately perceived as a highly-credible expert in their field. Credibility implies believability. We believe the other person is an expert and that he or she is professional and, therefore, can be trusted. Trust is one of the tenets of branding, and it is one of the most important. Ethical behavior produces trustworthy decisions and actions. The two are intertwined.

My experience indicates that the image of most clients does not keep up with their résumés. I do not teach others how to be credible. If they are truly experts, they already have credibility in terms of performance; they just don’t know how to convey it non verbally. And according to social psychologists, non-verbal communication surpasses verbal communication in terms of credibility.

For the interview by the university’s study group, I was asked to comment upon several other findings from the interviews of professors. For example, the majority of university faculty reported that their curriculum was the most effective in the area of expertise and least effective in the area of enterprise. This seemed a jarring contradiction to me, since the internet and the World Wide Web literally require an enterprising nature. Furthermore, the safe corporate jobs of a lifetime are a thing of the past, and the enterprising spirit of recent generations brought it about. Students who are enterprising, it would seem, surely have an advantage in getting on the fast track to gaining expertise. Perhaps universities need to take a close look at their curriculum.

Furthermore, a college degree does not necessarily bestow expertise upon a graduate. Knowledge, yes; and it sets him/her on the way, but expertise ultimately comes from experience. Four years of university studies should, however, give graduates a great deal of knowledge in various subjects. An enterprising nature puts the student on the fast track to becoming an expert.

One of the problems with new hires is their lack of experience, and most of us don’t want our account to be handled by a greenhorn. So how is a recent grad going to get that first job. My 30 years experience suggests that the answer is to look experienced. Social psychologists have proven that if you look good, it is assumed that you are good. They have also shown that in order to be trusted or believed, you must be consistent with both

Written by Sandy Dumont

Sandy Dumont, THE Image Architect is an image consultant and professional speaker based in Norfolk/Virginia Beach, with 30 years of international and national experience helping individuals and Fortune 500 companies improve their image. She conducts customized Branding for People™ workshops on a regular basis.

For more information, click here

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Tags: business, corporate, ethics, professional, training

Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” To whom do we owe our affection? Do we bless the shareholders without thought of anything more, or do we consider ethical and environmental obligations? Is there a balance that can be struck between the two?

The Wall Street Journal reported Rick Wagoner, General Motor’s chairman and chief executive, announced on Sunday, January 13, 2008 that the company was purchasing an equity stake in Coskata. Coskata, a start-up company in Warrenville, Illinois, plans to make ethanol without the use of corn. G.M. would not disclose how much it paid, nor the amount of stake they took in the company. This is the first time that a car company has gone on record to invest in alternative fuel sources. Was this an act of environmental obligation? “I really don’t see the logic of it,” Christopher Flavin is quoted as saying. Flavin is the president of Worldwatch Institute, a Washington environmental group. He believes that G.M. should concentrate on maximizing the fuel economy of their current line. Lee Schipper, from the University of California, Berkeley, has given a stamp of approval for the project. “Ethanol made from waste materials could result in substantially less carbon per mile.” He goes on to say later in the article, “Why wait for someone else to invest?”

In a similar movement, Wal-Mart recently “helped reduce the package of a popular toy. As a result, they were able to ship the product using 230 fewer containers, saving 356 barrels of oil, and 1300 trees.” Constance E. Bagley writes in his book Managers and the Legal Environment, “Issues of social responsibility arise in the areas of product safety, sweatshops, and underpaid foreign workers, advertising, campaigns, antitrust violations, client conflicts of interest, managed earnings, and Internet companies.” Most companies find a large gray area in the social responsibility angle. In the early 1990′s, for example, Wal-Mart had made claims that products were made in America. In truth however, 12 year- old children were making the product in a Bangladesh sweat shop. Now, Wal-Mart clearly labels their products of origin, and has gone to the “Save Money, Live Better” slogan. They ease the conscience of the consumer with the promise of living better by spending less money. In recent years they [Wal-Mart] have adopted social and environmental standards. In further efforts to clean-up their social policies, Wal-Mart has also begun to support local companies, such as Nectar of Life Coffee Company. Nectar of Life Coffee Company is a 100% organic and Fair Trade certified coffee roaster with roots in Spokane, Washington, and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Wal-Marts pushed to improve their image this decade, and it is paying off. They have increased the amount of organic products (crops produced without harmful pesticides and herbicides) offered nationwide.

Wal-Mart has also begun to build “green” stores to meet their energy needs. You can view more information on how Wal-Mart is attempting to, “provide cost effective merchandise while reducing their environmental footprint” on their web site. With G.M. now on the environmental cleansing bandwagon, you can expect more companies to find ways to compete to provide alternatives to fossil fuel, energy, and other resources. Countries around the world are shifting their focus to filling the need for alternative fuel.

Published in the New York Times on the same day, was an article by James Kanter, Europe is considering banning the imports of certain biofuel crops that lack sustainability. In countries such as Malaysia, and Indonesia mass deforestation is occurring in an effort to plant palm trees for the palm oil export. Palm oil is currently one of many crops that are being produced for use as alternatives to fossil fuel. Although Europe’s current ethanol consumption is only at 1% as of 2005, they are thinking ahead to the impact of using food for fuel. “Farmers growing corn for ethanol could also be affected, because the European rules contain provisions on preserving grasslands, said Mr. Drinkwater.” Matt Drinkwater is biofuels analyst at New Energy Finance in London.

With all the efforts of reducing a global impact are we really making any headway? “A flurry of studies has discredited some of the claims made by biofuel producers that the fuels help reduce greenhouse gasses by reducing fossil fuel and growing carbon-dioxide-consuming plants. Growing the crops and turning them into fuel can result in considerable environmental harm.” (New York Times, January 15, 2008). So turning food into fuel is not a good idea after all.

The shareholders of General Motors may not have all agreed on the financial choice of Mr. Wagoner, but perhaps his announcement will help boost stocks as perceptions of the company’s standards “change.” The goal of improving stocks could be as simple as showing their care about the earth. While steering away from biofuel, Mr. Wagoner and G.M. stepped into the unknown world of ethanol made from waste. G.M.’s equity stake purchase will most likely be viewed as a very intelligent maneuver. There is a growing surge toward consumers demanding companies show their financial, and environmental responsibility. They are touted on commercials from companies such as Subaru that have 0% waste plants. McDonalds that purchased $3 Billion in materials made from recycled products. Ford Motor Company has even created a new “guilt-free” luxury vehicle, made from recycled materials, and “chrome-free” leather. It would seem only logical for companies to hedge their pocketbooks where America is buying. Clearly, America wants good to work.

Hannah Jennings is a student, wife, mother and Co-Owner of Nectar of Life Organic Coffee Company. Nectar of Life is a gourmet coffee roaster specializing in sustainable Fair Trade organic coffee.

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Tags: business, code, ethics, professional, research

Your home office can either give off positive energy to you or negative energy to you, yes this is true. How clean your home office is, how dirty it is, and how cluttered it is will effect the say you feel and how well you do in your home business.

So creating a successful home business starts with creating a comfortable home office, but not too comfortable that you could go to sleep. For example when I first moved to my new home I bought a new desk to work on. This desk was not really all the best for me, but I continued to use it until I had enough of the frustrated feelings I was getting and decided to take it back to the store and get a more comfortable desk. You see this can be as simple as starting with being comfortable at your desk.

This can also work in the opposite. If you have a chair maybe that is just way too comfortable you may become too lazy to work much. So your chair has to have enough comfort to make you feel good and also not make you want to be lazy and fall a sleep.

Other factors for creating your office for a successful home business are such as eliminating distractions or interruptions. You are going to want to make sure people realize that even though you work from you are still working. So you want to make sure that even family and friends know that during certain times you should not be interrupted unless it is absolute emergency. You may want to not answer you home phone and let calls go to voicemail for particular times you are working on income generating activities.

Dress for success. How many times have you heard about the stories of people who stay at home and work in their underway or pajamas? I just want to say here now, lets get serious. I mean if you want to be professional you are going to need to be professional. What I mean is I know I will feel like the person I am dressed as. If I am dressed all lazy and in my pajamas I could very well feel that way. If I dress in nice cloths and look very sharp, then I will feel sharp too. So how you dress will effect how you feel and how you feel will effect how well you do in your business. So just because you work from home and you have a home office does not mean you can be a slob. Dress for success and you will create a successful home business.

Colin Meunier is a Successful Home Business Coach and Mentor! To learn more on how to start or become more successful in your home business online Visit: WhoIsColinMeunier & colinmeunier.

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Tags: business, ethics, articles, personal, professional

P.T. Barnum, the famous circus entrepreneur supposedly said that “there was a sucker born every minute”. However, I believe P.T. was being somewhat generous in his statement because it appears as if there are several born every second. In any event, it seems as if the idea of quick cash turns many of us into completely irrational beings. It doesn’t seem to matter how much we are told “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”, many of us still fall prey to the quick buck hustlers and scam artists. I’m not trying to preach because I’ve been guilty of chasing the fast buck from time to time myself. Why is it that many of us throw caution to the wind when it comes to these money schemes?

Back in the early 1900′s, a man named Charles Ponzi was working a plan that made him rich, infamous and later landed him in jail. What this enterprising young man was doing was promising fantastic rates of return to ‘investors’ willing to hand over their money to him. He made claims such as being able to double your money in 90 days. The high returns were supposed to come from exchanging international postal reply coupons or some such thing. Before Mr. Ponzi was brought to justice, about 40,000 people had gotten involved in this scam. The main reason these things collapse is because there really is no product or earnings from which to reap profits from. Still, it did prove to be very profitable for individuals who got into it early, but at the expense of people who got involved later in the game. These type of scams have been around forever in various forms, and new variations arise from time to time.

Speaking of doubling your money, just a few short years ago, ‘Doublers’ were all the rage on the Internet. So called advertising entities and other types sprung up promising that you could double your money by investing in advertising, email leads or some other type of generally useless product. The way most of them were setup was that you would join the ‘matrix’ and once you cycle through the matrix, you would receive double your money. Again, getting in early was the key. As more people joined, the matrix in time became so large that the cycling time became extremely long and people stopped investing money and the matrix stalled. Most of the people were left with lots of money sitting in a line that eventually collapsed. That’s the thing about these types of programs; some people do make lots of money, but it’s the few who originate the program and the ones who get in early.

Many of these programs or money games are really hybrids of Ponzi and Pyramid schemes. While many appear legitimate, the thing that sets most of them apart is that there really is no ‘real’ product, but what matters is that your success and ability to make any money is contingent on you recruiting other participants or suckers into the program. Eventually the numbers needed to make this type of program work become unsustainable because it’s based on a multilevel structure where you have to recruit ‘X’ number of people through numerous levels and rely on others to do the same. In order to make the money advertised, you and everyone else would have to have about 6 million people in your network.

Unfortunately, all of these scams have given a legitimate form of business known as Multi Level Marketing, a bad rap that is hard to overcome. Having belonged to a couple of Network Marketing or MLM companies, I can’t recall the number of times I have had prospects say to me, “that’s not a Multi Level Marketing program, is it?,” with a look as if they have just seen Lucifer incarnate. With all the scammers out there, it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference; just remember that legitimate MLM companies offer REAL products and the income you make with them isn’t based solely on recruiting others into the business.

One thing you can say about scammers is that they are very flexible in that they have adapted to the technology of the Internet very well. I must receive 10-20 emails a day telling me that someone in some little place like Timbuktu wants to send me 7 million dollars or so if I just give them my bank account information. Between that and all the lotteries I’m winning, I shouldn’t have to be spending hours each day staring at this computer screen trying to eke out a living. Hmm…

William J. Thomas is actively engaged in Internet Business pursuits. He also contributes articles on life, business and other topics. His current website is..Create Income from Home With Your Own…Cash Generating Website….Visit Bill’s Blog for tips and discussion about Earning Income on the Internet

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Tags: business, code, ethics, professional, research

“These days, it seems any guy who is big in stature is calling himself a bodyguard or Executive Protection Specialist. I receive resumes all the time and sadly the information contained is usually along the lines of: 6″5′, 400 lbs, forty time 4.5 bench press 450 Ibs. There’s usually not much more.

The truth is, any time a client is actually in need of brawn means that someone wasn’t using their brain. And that someone could be you–if you think that this career is about weight-lifting and packing heat.

I recently had the great pleasure of working on a detail to protect former President Bill Clinton on a visit to my state. It was a highlight in my long career serving as an Executive Protection specialist for many reasons–first, Mr. Clinton was a gracious and genuinely nice man to be around, and secondly the Secret Service team was made up of incredibly well-trained, professional and awe-inspiring gentlemen.

Now, let me share something very important with you–the Clinton detail team Leader was maybe 5′8″ and 160 pounds. Not what you might look at and call physically intimidating. No doubt, he’s physically fit and probably above and beyond the average EPS in skills requiring physical confrontation–but here’s the thing:

He will probably never need to utilize those skills.

Why? Because the successful EPS will spend the majority of his/her time and effort anticipating potential problems. He manages to keep the individual to be protected–whether a President or the lead singer in a rock band–out of harms way by preparing for every possible scenario. The time spent on working out at the gym is of no value, if a bodyguard doesn’t understand the importance of these important skills and personal traits:

Ability to avoid and deflect confrontation–if your energy and focus is on a physical confrontation with a stranger, your client will be unprotected from others

Advance work–knowing the location the client is visiting, knowing emergency exits, planning the route

The ability to follow directions to the letter and to communicate clearly and specifically

Detail-oriented: Always planning and thinking ahead

Ability to “blend” with others–thereby drawing less notice to yourself and furthermore less notice to your client

Discretion–meaning, don’t share ANY personal information regarding your client with anyone

Let me address the last point, discretion. Of late, bodyguards to celebrities Kobe Bryant, Anna Nicole-Smith and Lindsay Lohan have chosen to talk to the press about their clients. I hope whatever big payday they’re expecting is worth it, because it is career suicide to discuss your employers’ personal habits. It is a classless and unprofessional thing to do. If your client is doing something illegally and you have a problem with that, then you need to make a decision for yourself as to whether or not you want to work with those circumstances.

In addition to being in poor taste, the bodyguard who shares personal details about an individual is also potentially increasing opportunities for threats to that client. The more information the public has about a clients personal life and tastes–the more of a target that person could potentially become.

It is enough that celebrities are often held hostage in their lives by the general public. They are entitled to some privacy, just like everybody else. As a bodyguard or EPS, you are relied upon to do a specific job and paid extremely well to do this work…and if I’m being truthful here…part of the reason for the high paycheck is the understanding that you will keep your mouth shut. Earning more money from books or news stories by spilling sordid details about your employers private life is greedy, and breaks the trust factor that is so necessary in this line of work. Indiscretion reflects poorly on all of us.

Harlan V. (Hucky) Austin has acquired over 20 years of field experience as a Close Protection Operative/Bodyguard, seven years of which he served as Director of Security Services for Paisley Park Productions. Foremost in his duties at Paisley Park was assuring the safety and welfare of the musical artist Prince, as well as celebrities with whom Prince collaborated or associated with – Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, Morris Day, Sheena Easton, George Clinton and Kim Basinger to name a few. see this site