“Throughout history, man has always struggled with the issue of right and wrong and ethics and justice. According to the dictionary, ethics is defined as “the study of the general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to be made by the individual in his relationship with others”. In simple terms, ethics provides the evaluation mechanisms and theories, based on which a particular action is adjudged as right or wrong, or as good deed or bad deed. It tries to answer the questions “”why is this good?”" if something is judged as good or right and “”why is this bad?”" if something is judged as bad or wrong.

Knowing about ethics does not mean that one will always end up doing the morally correct thing. However, it makes you more capable of explaining your actions — like although you knew that this was wrong, you were forced to do it owing to the circumstances.

The moral absolutism approach presumes the existence of eternal moral values and principles that are applicable at all times and at all places and circumstances. It considers that the moral quality of the action or behavior lies on the quality of the act itself (which means that something which is right is always right and something which is wrong is always wrong) irrespective of the circumstances that cause the act or the consequences that result from the act.

The ethical relativism approach presumes that moral values and principles are not right or wrong, but can vary with different circumstances — moral views can vary depending on how different cultures or individuals perceive a particular action or behavior. It is a very flexible approach and considers that the moral quality of the action or behavior is based on the circumstances that cause the act or the consequences that result from the act rather than the actual act itself. For instance, an action is adjudged as right if it proves to be highly beneficial to a large number of people.

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Tags: ethics, business, moral, theory, corporate

“Does it come as a big surprise that a convicted felon—indeed, a white collar criminal—would have developed some thoughts about the topic of ethics? Probably not. Since my conviction I have had plenty of time to ponder the idea of ethics, and I’ve conducted some research on my own about the subject. In doing so, I’ve received tons of advice. I must say, I wish I’d had this information at the beginning of my career.

In 1999 I began serving a 21 month federal prison sentence for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The crime involved four real estate investors submitting fraudulent documentation in order to get approved for residential home loans. I was their loan officer. After the first few transactions, I knew in my heart that some of the documents I accepted were fakes. Over a nine month period I gradually started participating in the profits.

I have been told by some people that my crime was “fraud lite.” Some have said that I was unlucky; wrong place at the wrong time. Well, there is no such thing as fraud lite, and luck has nothing do with making the right decisions. I committed a crime. I am not proud of it and I’m certainly no hero for talking about it now.

However, there is an ethics lesson to be learned in all of this.

Dictionary.com defines ethics as “a set of principles of right conduct.”

My understanding of being ethical was that you base your decision to do or not to do something on the feeling you get in your stomach. If that’s the case, how do you teach “stomach feeling” to someone?

Perhaps this is what led me astray.

In a business’ Code of Ethics, you can’t possibly account for every situation. For every principle of correct conduct; for every “right” way to act in one situation, there is another, different situation that follows, that may require yet a different “right” way to act.

I was traveling in my car with my boys, four and seven years old. In the rear-view mirror I saw the older one punch the younger one on the arm. The young one howled, “aaahhhhhhhhooooooowwwww-auh!” I said, “Hey! Don’t punch your brother.” Immediately, the older one slapped his little brother in the arm. I said, “Don’t slap your brother either.” This was followed by a poke, which I followed with, “don’t poke.” A tickle – “Don’t tickle.” Then just a touch. Finally, I said, “keep your hands to yourself. Period!” The instigator was reduced to leveling a taunting glare at his younger sibling.

This could have gone on for hours. I finally gave them the ol’, “Don’t make me come back there!” (Which of course makes no sense since, I was driving.)

Doesn’t this example prove that there are simply too many variable situations in the real world? Yes, but through my experiences, I have learned that ethics isn’t about situations. It is about people and their behavior.

Ethics doesn’t stand for “what to do.” It stands for “how to behave.” Finally understanding this made ethics less confusing for me.

For employers and leaders, it is imperative that you have a set of principles of right conduct. But to simply disseminate this information in printed format will not be enough. Ethics are best conveyed by example. Additionally, violations of ethical standards must be dealt with and not overlooked, or the unethical behavior will become business as usual.

If you are a member of an organization that adopts a code of ethics, read the printed words and follow the examples of the leadership. Pay attention to the feelings in your stomach. They may not tell you exactly what to do, but it may serve as a red flag. Remember, justifying questionable behavior is nothing more than being dishonest with yourself.

Lead your ethics model by example. Follow your ethics model with honesty.

Take my experiences and words for what they’re worth, coming from a convicted felon. Strive to be honest, diligent, and consistent. Society, your company, your family, and your children need you to stay out of prison.

Jerome Mayne is President and founder of Fraudcon, Inc., a fraud deterrent company. He is the author of the book titled, Life Saving Lessons – the diary of a white collar criminal. As a national keynote speaker and consultant, he has presented to and entertained dozens of trade associations and Fortune 500 companies to keep their people out of prison.

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Tags: ethics, business, moral, theory, corporate

I believe that all of us can be honest if we really want to. It is not something that comes naturally to us, because we are selfish creatures, we are apt to only think about ourselves and what we can get out of the situation. Well if all of us take that attitude we are in a pitiful shape. I am a business owner and i have purposed in my business that i will have integrity and honesty in my dealing with my customers. I will work to the end to make sure that what i say, that i will do, and what i sell i will stand behind. I will not sell a product that i can’t get behind 100% and know that the quality is good for me and for my customers. So many times we think that we need to sell anything in order to make a dollar, well that is not true for me.

I will not sell certain things, simply because i need to make a dollar. It is important to me to be able to tell my customers that i use what i sell, that i cook with and will give what i sell to my family as gifts so that they know that what i am doing is of importance to me. I believe that integrity is short sited for so many people today, and we just go along with what someone else is doing. Well that just not good enough for me. When i stand before God i want him to say “WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT” . All of us have the opportunity to be honest and to have integrity, but will we? I am just one person who has decided to live a life that shows my ethics and to live what i say i believe, and to do what i say i will do, what about you. You can decide today to treat others as you want to be treated, or to talk to others as you would want to be talked to, or live your life doing unto others as you would want them to do onto you. Now what would happen if all of us as of this day decided to have integrity in our dealing with us, not just in our business life, but in our everyday life as well.

A few years ago i allowed my circumstances to dictate whether or not i would be honest in a situation, this is the story: we went into a grocery store and the cashier forgot to ring a large item, and i didn’t tell her that she had forgotten to ring the item, so i paid her what she said i owed her and i left the store, my husband said we didn’t pay for that piece of meat and you knew that the cashier didn’t charge us, so we should go back and pay for it now, i said absolutely not it was her mistake not mine. Well not the end of the story, we argued about this for sometime and it really caused a great deal of confusion in our marriage.

The thing that came out of this was, we agreed that from that moment on we would not allow our needs to dictated our integrity, you see we had just gotten married and our money was very tight and i tried to rationalize that maybe that was a blessing from God, well of course you know that God will not give us a stolen blessing. So we agreed that if someone gave us to much we would tell them and give back the overage, or if they owed us we would tell them and get back what was owed us, and i can truly say that from that time forward we have tried to live our lives using that philosophy. We have chosen to have integrity and honesty in our lives on a daily basis.

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Tags: ethics, practicing, business, person, theory

Business ethics is an interesting branch of business theory, primarily because of the fact that they are inherently interesting in a market economy. People tend to be extremely distrustful of corporations in market economies and the bigger they are, the worse that problem of trust usually gets. Business ethics therefore are politically charged in many different circumstances and that in turn serves to make them interesting. Aside from this academic interest however, business ethics are also important for a company and its success. Here are some ways in which this is true.

Public Image

It is impossible to discuss business ethics as a branch of academia without taking a look at the relationship between business ethics and public image. Each corporation has a particular public image, which represents the way in which the public views the corporation. Wal-Mart, for example, has a terrible public image. Toyota, on the other hand, has a very positive one. These public images are the result of a number of different things, but they are primarily the result of the way in which a corporation acts with respect to the different things around it.

A corporation’s environmental policy, the way they treat their employees and the way they treat the communities they exist in are all part of their overall behavior and this in turn is the principle factor in determining their public image. As proof of this, you will notice that even though Wal-Mart makes products that have a decent quality and an extremely low price, they still have a negative public image.

Since public image is largely a result of company behavior, business ethics play a large role in determining public image since they determine behavior. And public image is important to success in most cases, which is one of the reasons as to why business ethics are important to a company’s overall success.

Investment

Another reason that business ethics are important is the relationship they have to investment. When a person or an entity is considering investment in a particular stock, there are a number of things they take into account. Aside from the quantitative factors surrounding a company’s profit margin a future prospects, consideration is also given to a particular company from the point of view of the qualitative aspects such as their public image and the products that they happen to sell. All of these things are taken into account before the final investment is made.

Therefore, a company that would like to encourage extra investment is a company that has a strong sense of business ethics. Part of business ethics is responsibility to the investor and for that reason companies with strong reputations in the field of ethical business behavior are also companies that tend to attract more investment from people that are new into the market. Investment is most definitely important to success.

Partnerships

In the business world, joint ventures happen all the time. They happen all the time because they are ultimately of great importance to the bottom lines of businesses. A business can be made or broken on just one joint venture and part of the reason that joint ventures are successful is that they combine the forces of two extremely powerful companies on occasion.

If you want your company to do well in joint ventures, then you need to have good partners. The only way to get good partners is to have a good reputation both in terms of a track record and in terms of your business overall. And of course, the best way to get a good reputation is to ensure that your company has a strong tradition of business ethics behavior.

Canada Financial news site offering information related to the Canadian Financial industry. Find advice on how to start a business in Canada.

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Tags: business, ethics, personal, article, theory

Often in communication either written or verbal we see people using phrases such as; “Well to Be Quite Honest With You” and they will use such sentences in the middle of a very long conversation, but when they do it totally raises red flags and here is why;

You see when someone is discussion people, events or concepts in a conversation, electronic email or while giving a speech you expect that person to be honest with you, because you are being honest and attentive with them. But if they say something like; “Truthfully Now” or “To Tell You The Truth” then you have to wonder if they have been fibbing all along up until that point?

If they have uttered compliments, then perhaps they were not sincere. If they are recommending a product then maybe that is horse crap too? If they were talking about another behind their back, maybe they are lying and vindictive? Maybe the story they told, they simply made up?

And when they say “TRUTHFULLY” don’t they consider or think people might assume that the rest of their conversation is BS, because NOW they say TRUTHFULLY? So, what was the rest of all their conversation about? Have they been lying? If the answer is NO, why would they use “Truthfully” it raises red flags like someone with a “chickenshet” handshake.

I would expect that people who correspond with me remain truthful with me at all times and in all their endeavors. You see I believe that dishonesty is not a very favorable human trait, although some say deception is the reason that human brains are so large. Gosh I wish that is not the case, however it just might be?

Maybe a law career might be good for them if they seem to be able to slip in and out of the honest reality so easily? After all if you are less than ethical in your conversations, you might make a decent lawyer? I hope you might consider this in your online correspondence and conversations in 2007.

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

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Tags: ethics, moral, behaviour, theory, issues

Egoists would view our actions in any situation as being solely based on our own self interests. If exhibiting good ethics were the means to that end, then they are supported and encouraged. Egoists do not allow for motivations other than the self promotion of the individual or organization.

In the corporate world the general belief seems to be that the interests of the corporation take precedence over the application of ethical standards. Some believe that ethics are hostile to corporate self interests and those organizations that follow courses of action based on their own self interests will treat ethics as optional: Following those ethics that will benefit the organization the most, disregarding those that will not further their interests. There is even a commonly stated belief that business leaders encourage their subordinates to do “whatever it takes” regardless of ethical considerations.

Utilitarian theorists believe that our actions should be based on the minimization of harm and maximization. This would imply that we should only promote our self interest if the net effect of our actions will do more good than harm. If the ultimate goal is to provide the most benefit to the individual or organization, and following a standard of good ethical conduct will accomplish that goal, then that is the course of action that should be taken. If on the other hand the situation called for setting aside conducts of good ethics then that would be the choice to make.

Kantian theorists would argue that respect for the individual is of the highest priority and that any conduct should be in a manner that will maintain the dignity and respect that all individuals deserve. This would seem to preclude the area of self interest and turn our attention outwards, to those around us.

Many believe though, that it is still possible to have self interest in a given situation, if their actions follow in accordance with accepted ethical standards and allow those around them to freely make the choices they are presented with.

Overall it appears that the ethical theories as presented, both support, and refute, the principle that “self interest and good ethics generally coincide”. Support coincides with their stated theories: Egoist – if it serves the self interest of the individual/organization. Utilitarian – if it creates the most good and the least harm. Kantian – if the dignity and respect of the individual is maintained and/or the individual willfully accepts it. But, the theories are also refuted, in that they may be adapted, or, in many cases, ignored depending on the particular needs, wants, and situations that organizations face.

As opposed to following a strict set of guidelines that must be applied in all cases, it appears that conflict, and its resolution, will ultimately be determined by the goals and basis of philosophy of the organization, and applied on a case by case, situational, basis.

James Stephenson is an IT and Business Consultant with over 25 year of experience.

His firm specializes in helping small to medium sized businesses use their information technology and business resources effectively.

He can be reached through his websites and blogs

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Tags: theory, ethical, ethics, ego, define

Commission was coined. The employers are saving their companies by not following practices like discrimination that will inflict a big damage to the company in several ways.

Following are some of the practices that any employer can adopt in order to prevent any sort of discrimination:

- Creating formal policies comes first. The formal policy of hiring or firing any person along with the job descriptions and other factors that would help a person’ promotion are all to be listed. The written documents will ensure that there is equality in handling the issues related to employment hassles.

- There needs to be reviews by panel for the firing, and hiring of any candidate. When a panel decides to either hire or fire a person, or even promote an individual, the chances of complaints gets reduced drastically. The joint decision will certainly ease the pressure off a single manager who will have to choose the individual that needs to be promoted.

- The employee and manager training is the next one. It is a must that all the managers, and the employees must be trained properly to understand and keep away from any sort of discrimination, and other employment issues. This sure will keep an eye off ignorance, and the firm will run safe. This will improve the knowledge of a person, as to when he can actually file a case against anyone who is harassing him on any grounds.

- All the documents related to the advertisements are to be reviewed properly. It is essential for the employers to make their interviews and hiring practices are totally fair and there is no reason for anyone to complain. When all the points favor the company, and they are running the firm in a fair way, it will be safe to work in that company.

- It is important to create a proper description about the job. It is very important that a job is defined properly, so that, it helps the employers choose a particular candidate who will do the job in the best possible manner. This is another step that will surely curb any sort of discrimination at work, and also keep the fellow employees in the competition.

All the firms that really are looking forward to abolish discrimination in every possible form must make sure that they follow these practices so that they will make sure that their employees are happy and keep all sorts of misunderstandings at bay!

Abhishek is a Career Counselor and he has got some great Career Planning Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 71 Pages Ebook, “Career Planning Made Easy!” from his website. Only limited Free Copies available.

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Tags: ethical, theory, guide,

Look around. Today, more than ever before, it has become fashionable to cheat. One could say, and come away without too much criticism, that everyone expects it. The funny thing is the person who expects it, or observes it, or knows someone who does it, never seems to admit doing it themselves. Ironically, they actually believe they are not infected. As noted, this is a national pastime.

Why is this? Why do husbands cheat on their wives and wives cheat on their husbands? Does not the vow to love, honor, cherish, and “”obey”", (some leave out the “”obey”" part now), mean anything. Well, it appears the times indeed are changing.

In America at least, spousal cheating, encouraged by theater, movies, partytime, and yes, peer pressure, is at epidemic proportions. Does anyone feel guilty? Absolutely, just before it is time to maybe do it again. Kids today, as a result, have groups of parents i.e. first there is the real father and mother, then there is 1st father and 1st mother, and 2nd father and 2nd mother, and so on and so forth, not to mention step brothers and step sisters galore. When we talk about extended families today, we are certainly not talking of the family of 50 years ago that included aunts, uncles, and cousins right down to twice removed. Now, there is no way to keep up.

Then there is the work environment. Parents who cheat at home, cheat on the job. They lie and steal to get ahead. Oh, it is not the felonious type of stealing, although that is always possible, it is the subtle kind — stealing someone’s ideas, words, concepts, suggestions, as well as time from the company on the phone, at lunch, leaving early on weekends, calling in sick when one is not sick, and taking paper, pens, pencils, paperclips and anything not to heavy to carry. If one is in construction, they take bricks, boards, mortar and tools. Cheating on the job has taken on national epidemic proportions. Wal-Mart with their 360-degree cameras strung from the ceilings from every store watch the employees as much as they watch the shoppers.

And what about the churches and among clerics, the courts and legal profession, our schools and among the educators, the health field and medical professionals, government at all levels and among the legislators? What do we find? Cheating permeates every level of our society.

And what about the kids? Where do they fit into this?

Over 70% of them admit to cheating before they graduate from high school. By the time they finish college, 80% are willing to admit they have done it in some way.

When college business students are asked what is the most corrupt field to go into, over 90% suggest it is business. Yet, they willingly choose it as their field of specialization because that is “”where the money is.”"

What about the tiny tots? At what age does a child learn to cheat? Studies now show that 3 out of 4 know how to do it by the time they are 5. And where do they learn it? Why, the parents, of course.

So the old adage, “”do as I say, not as I do”", really does have a beginning and a significance because it seems most have done it and really do fear their offspring or their charges will do it too. Why? Simply, because it is wrong. We all know it. We all feel it, and we all do not want our youngsters or our charges to do it. We really do want them to be better than us. The internal gut wrenching feelings get us every time. And if we don’t feel anything? Well then we are psychopaths, socially detached from society and any responsibility for good.

In today’s world the word “”ethical”" has taken on a new meaning of “”squeaky clean”" and “”please look at me or my organization for we are ethical practitioners.”" Do the new awareness responses mean much when you really know the facts? Lawrence Kholberg’s theory of ethical development may be hard pressed to determine why as human beings we seem to be stuck in moving forward. It seems the further we go in greater prosperity and technology development the be-hinder we get in moral development. Is it an illusion?

Actions speak louder than words. To be ethical, one must act ethically. One has to lead and show by doing and not accept society’s drifters who proclaim when observing ethical breeches that “”they’re just kids”" or “”everybody does it”" or “”it was only a fling”", or “”I had no choice”". Unless somebody is holding a gun to one’s head, everybody, no matter how small or how old, has a choice. They may not like what the potential outcome may be but they had a choice to do the right thing.

Is it tough? What do you think?

Fred DiUlus is an e-Education pioneer, the CEO of Global Academy Online, Inc.,(see the site), the first president of William Tucker University, author of The Ethics Doc (see the site), Homer’s Hot Tip (see the site), and a frequent public speaker and writer on ethics, entrepreneurship, e-Learning, and acquiring success.

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Tags: ethics, morality, moral, philosophy, theory

Many people worldwide want to transform their finances and business. Many people want to be wealthy. Many people dream of a successful business. What is the true reason for business success?

I received this divine teaching: True success in business and finances is a blessing from Heaven. Why do some people have tremendous success in finances and business? Why do others have little success in finances and business? Why are some people never successful in finances and business? The true reason is the spiritual reason. Like so much else in our present lives, success in finances and business is related to our previous lives.

If you served humanity and Mother Earth exceptionally well in previous lives, Heaven and the Divine will reward you in this lifetime. If you offered good service to humanity and Mother Earth, you will receive a good reward in this life through your finances and business. If you harmed humanity in previous lives, you could have no financial or business success in this life.

About twenty years ago, I saw a billionaire. The Akashic Records showed me that in his next life he would be a beggar. I was very shocked to see such an image and to receive that message. I asked the Akashic Records, “Why? This person is so famous in this life. Why do you show me that he will be a beggar in his next life?” The answer was that this man owned one huge company whose products were very harmful to one’s health. Literally millions of people were harmed by this company. Therefore, he will have to learn a great lesson in his next life.

Then I asked the Akashic Records why this person was so successful and wealthy in this life. They told me that he had served humanity very well over his previous fifty-two lifetimes. He had been very kind. He had been the compassionate leader of a country. He had been a spiritual leader. He had been a wealthy person who was very generous, serving the poor and many others. Because of his previous fifty-two lifetimes of great service to humanity and Mother Earth, he was rewarded in this life through his finances and business.

I was really shocked by this teaching. I was shocked to see these spiritual images. I was deeply appreciative of this knowledge. When I received this information, I also heard one sentence from the Akashic Records, which I already knew: Heaven is most fair.

After I highly developed my spiritual abilities and learned more and more advanced spiritual wisdom from my spiritual fathers, Heaven, and the Divine, I received a very special teaching about finances that I would like to share with you.

In the physical world, human beings use money for exchange. Whether you buy a house, travel, or eat, you need to spend money to exchange for these things and services. When you work for a company, you are paid a salary. Money is the exchange for your work. You need money to support your family. If you run a business, you need money to support your employees and to expand your business. Money has vital physical value in life.

In the spiritual world, is there spiritual money that spiritual beings use for exchange? Yes! What is money in the spiritual world? It is virtue. Good virtue is expressed in dots and flowers of different colors-red, golden, rainbow, and more. This good virtue is recorded on your soul and in your book in the Akashic Records.

The secret I want to reveal is that physical money and spiritual money can exchange. In other words, money in the physical world and virtue in the spiritual world can exchange. Physical money is deposited and stored in a bank. Virtue is deposited and stored in the Akashic Records. If you have good virtue, which is a record of your good services in all of your lifetimes-including love, care, compassion, kindness, generosity, integrity, and service to the poor, the hungry, the sick, your family, and others-this good virtue can be transformed into money in the physical world.

People who are very wealthy in this life are wealthy because they served humanity and Mother Earth very well in past lifetimes. This is the true reason. Not every wealthy person was rich from birth. Quite a few wealthy persons worked very hard to gain wealth. But it is very important knowledge to realize that no matter how hard you work, no matter how good your planning, marketing, and organizing are, no matter how high-quality your products are; you must not forget that Heaven must bless your success. Heaven blesses you if you have good virtue from past lifetimes.

Many people work very hard. Not all of them are financially successful. Many of them face constant challenges, one after another. Some of them may be very successful, but then next year, their business could fail. Business is a complicated issue.

To be successful in business, you must understand that business success is directly related to your past lives and your present life.

Dr. Sha was trained as a Western medical doctor and a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. He is a grandmaster of many ancient disciplines, including tai chi, qi gong, feng shui, and the I Ching. He is the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of Power Healing, Soul Mind Body Medicine, Soul Communication, Soul Wisdom and his new book The Power of the Soul.

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Tags: ethical, theory, business, work, behaviour

Eighteenth century thinker Denis Diderot once noted, “There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it.” The underlying truth of that statement is one reason some people seem to have difficulty operating an ethical home business. Ironically, however, those seeming inconveniences can actually turn out to be advantages. Those who try to short-cut real important business values aren’t doing themselves a favor on either an ethical or a financial plane.

The temptation to skirt ethics comes from our strong desire to generate profits and to experience personal success. Most people who operate their own businesses are very driven by their aspirations and when all that seems to stand in the way of greater profits is an ethical question, they may be tempted to turn a blind eye to what is right.

That willingness to overlook principles might seem like a solid business decision in terms of the bottom line. Even if it is, of course, its reprehensibility and contribution to the worst parts of our society should dejustify the unethical behavior. However, a closer examination of most ethical shortcuts reveals that the “easy but questionable” way usually isn’t the sound business decision in terms of the profit levels, either.

That’s because our home businesses are based on our word and honor. This is especially true of online enterprises, where our perceived credibility is largely determined by our history of clean dealings. Although it may be possible to grab a few quick bucks disingenuously, doing so is likely to have longer-term repercussions on one’s reputation that will cost more in the long run than what is immediately generated.

Additionally, the Internet never forgets! A questionable auto salesman may be able to last awhile, as advertising and blind luck may lead others onto his lot. Those who make buying decisions online, however, are already positioned to do quick research about those with whom they may be dealing. All it takes is a little bit of “Googling” to reveal complaints, allegations and criticisms of unethical players. An ethical compromise in pursuit of fast money will haunt online vendors and service providers indefinitely.

When I teach and mentor new online home business owners, I make a point of reminding them not to compromise their ethical standards. Not only is that important on some deeper level, it is also a core component of long-term success. Ethics breaches do nothing to help home-based businesses, but do risk destroying them.

As you grow your home business, remember that the inconveniences of maintaining the highest possible standards also supply you with the building blocks by which you can construct a recognized foundation for honesty and fair dealing. That kind of reputation can be the difference between barely eking out a living and being a home business success story.

Elias Georgi makes it easy to build your home based business and earn a substantial income. Learn how to increase your income in the comfort of you own home with minimal effort by visiting here.

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Tags:ethical, theory, code, business, issue

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, some questions for self-reflection are:

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

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

Who or what usually takes you out of integrity?

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

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

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

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

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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

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

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Tags: ethics, moral, behaviour, theory, issues

2. All it takes is one lie to lose a client’s trust

Good clients are hard to find sometimes. Lying is one of the surest ways to lose them. I’ve gained most of my clients because someone else wasn’t honest in their dealings and couldn’t be trusted.

3. You can sleep peacefully at night

It’s so refreshing to know that you haven’t lead anyone astray (including the IRS), and there is no one coming after you because of something you mislead them on. Even if you have consequences or losses due to telling the truth, peace of mind far outweighs any of that.

4. If you lie in business, you’ll probably lie in other areas

Once you make something a habit or an acceptable practice, it inevitably spills over into other areas of your life. When you lie about completing work for clients, you probably have no problem telling your spouse that you took care of something that you didn’t. Or, if you withhold taxes in your business, you’ll probably do the same in your personal income taxes.

5. It’s a commandment

This is, by far, the most important reason for me. Even if I was able to get away with telling an untruth without anyone finding out, I know that God is watching me and what He says about the situation is much more important than the opinions of man.

Devin Dabney is a computer consultant, author, speaker, and entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of DabneyWorks Computer Consulting. DabneyWorks provides remote and in-person computer assistance, website design and auditing, and business consultation.

For more information, visit this site

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tags: ethics, moral, behaviour, theory, issues

The current state of the available technology at the disposal of designer is the most limiting determinant to what is technically and economically feasible to develop.

Therefore research into metatechnology such as computer science, whereby interdisciplinary spin off provides advances that both directly increase capabilities, and affects other technologies to dramatically improve system performance, is a necessity, the implication being that despite many of the basic principles being relatively static, the technology used is essentially in a state of constant development.

Such developments result in smaller, more efficient, cheaper and more reliable components. Any one of the fore mentioned results of technical change within the computing industry could provide the necessary state of miniaturisation to revolutionise any number of products.

At present our current understanding of physics and the physical limitations of our universe are creating some interesting technical problems which must be overcome if programable technology is to evolve (for example relativity Theory states that nothing, including data, can travel faster than the speed of light, therefore to increase processing power components must be built smaller and closer together.

It is through metatechnology such as molecular nanotechnology that this can be achieved which will allow the construction of quantum computers (computers that exploit quantum theory, for example the theory that an object can occupy many universes at the same time).

As an example, an autonomous robot vacuum cleaner would require a reasonable level of artificial intelligence to perform a complex task such as learning and adapting to the changing environment of a house hold. From a control technology standpoint, artificial intelligence can not imply computer pure binary logic (sensing a threshold has been exceeded and taking some fixed action) but rather a programmed sense – “Fuzzy logic”. This is to say nothing of the physical sensors or the required real time processing ability for such a device.

The existing technology of for example a year ago may not have allowed the creation of a device to detect the condition and choose then relevant solution/action.

Metatechnologies inherently have the ability to form the basis of new products. Digital electronics was the basis for inexpensive and reliable computers.

The manufacturing process is a key part of the product life cycle, as it is a metatechnology that dramatically improves manufacturing.

Digital electronics (being a metatechnology) has a profoundly affected of the life-cycle of products. Computer Aided Manufacturing provides more flexible and responsive production with shorter cycle-times. Computer Aided Logistics Support provides integrated product information between suppliers and the government.

The implication is that advances in the manufacturing process will dramatically improve system performance where by it will be possible to build extremely rapidly and accurately, which in turn will provide a number of significant secondary and tertiary effects, for example, dramatically reducing the manufacturing portion of cycle time (period from first order to delivery of a product); lower costs of production and thus much more available products; Parts are cheaper (and thus a wider array of much better parts are broadly affordable).

In this context it as assumed that shorter life-cycles is not referring to the time taken for production as in the above, but rather is referring to built in obsolescence.

As decided above, metatechnology incarnated into the assembly line has produced the direct capabilities for more flexible and responsive production with shorter cycle-times (construction time) however this is not at the expense of quality. the way in which these systems are developing quality levels supercedes the level which is possible with hand assembly!

In theory, the consumer should not suffer at the hands of the designer, however, this is not what happens in practise, as the situation would result in a paradox (product lasting longer while the time in which they are outmoded is growing shorter), especially, this is a good consequence, as a product that can still be used that may be discarded simply because it is decided that they are obsolete is better from an environmental standpoint that one that must be replaced because it has failed in some way.

Needless to say that entities that are in a position to affect the ecological systems through the irresponsible handling of resources in a reckless fixation on economic growth, should adopt methods of sustainable development so economic processes is compatible with the carrying capacity of the ecology.

However this situation is not compatible with the objectives of capitalism, and has summarily been prevented through a practice known as built in obsolescence, where by in the absence of a failing introduced by imprecise construction techniques and/or materials with short life times have been substituted for those designed into the products. to ensue markets stay in a constant state of growth.

This policy is the work of profiteering gluttons and is implemented by the designers. It could also be argued that this is merely a function of cheap design, however the effect is the same, so it may well be that these are two means to the same ends. As an example it has been technically possible to produce a light bulb that would never fail, however again, this is not compatible with the objectives of capitalism and if this were done the market for replacement lights would dry up over night.

The implication is that such polices have a direct differential effect on the standard of living, in as much as the populations coerced into needlessly paying for replacement products which are not required or could be cheap if it wasn’t run by profiteering gluttons.

It could also be argued that this type of profiteering directly influences criminal activities (for example, people making use of a service without paying for them, on the bases of an ethical objection to their treatment by the established order), this type of anti-social behaviours is to expected when the establishment puts its own objective before those of the consumer.

Michael Hart

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Michael Hart – EzineArticles Expert Author

Tags:ethical, theory, theories, business

First, I’m hardly old enough to be in the “crochety” class. And secondly, I’ve been feeling this way for about 30 years.

My complaint? Delivering the goods. Or the lack thereof.

Growing up, one of the things stressed in my family had to do with keeping your word. When you said you would do something, promised to make good on something, you did it. Or made every good effort to do so. Mostly, you delivered the goods. You showed up on time. Made the return phone call. Produced what you’d promised. Kept your word.

Occasionally, circumstances simply worked totally against you and it turned out that what you’d promised wasn’t possible. Still, you did all you could to bring about the pledged result.

And if you didn’t?

FEELING BADLY AND YOUR PERSONAL
INTEGRITY

You felt badly, really badly. Not keeping your word was a very serious thing. Not because others thought so, but because it was the essence of your own personal integrity.

And what is integrity? It means “wholeness,” something complete in itself. And having it and living by it means that you become trusted by others. They can count on you. They know you’ll deliver the goods.

So when you truly were not able to do so, despite every effort you made to keep your word, you were personally wounded. It wasn’t so much that you’d let others down; you’d let yourself down. You felt badly, sometimes for a long while in serious cases. You didn’t just forget it and prate on about your self esteem or how tough things were. You knew you’d screwed up.

DIFFERENT FISH

And today?

Today is a very different kettle of fish, I’m sad to say. Nowadays, delivering the goods all too often deals with written contracts and getting away with only what is written down…if that. It seems to be about cutting corners, avoiding any commitment, personal or otherwise, finding ways to deliver less than what was promised, fooling the other guy. And laughing when you get away with it.

NOT GIVING A DAMN

Does any of this sound familiar? Met too many folks like this lately? Been screwed in some deals? Didn’t get what you paid for? Discovered there had been some surprises in the small print?

CHANGE IS COMING

Probably won’t make you feel a whole lot better, but the times they are ‘achangin. We’re beginning to see the return of that older version of ethics and integrity.

Why?

The internet.

“How come?” you might ask.

Because of both distance and anonymity. What we’re seeing in the way of business on the internet today is an unbelievably tiny increment of what is to come. Eventually, Trillions (yep, with a big “T”) of business will be done this way. Already you’re dealing with people whom you’ve never – and will never – see, with whom you don’t actually speak, in many instances. They may be in other cities, other territories and, often, in other countries. Those who will prosper will be those who deliver the goods, keep their word, make good on their promises. The others will quickly lose their lustre. The internet is quick to let you know when a phony is running around, when quality is poor, when the “deal” isn’t being kept.

Sometimes. Apparently, some good relationships are being created, marriages taking place, perhaps families being raised. Too soon to tell how this may work.

The civilized world is held together with concepts. These are expressed by words and deeds. As one writer, living in a small town in France, said, “Most of life is governed, not by laws written by legislatures, but by invisible rules of order. They are written down nowhere, but respected almost universally.”

If your words and deeds don’t deliver the goods, you will eventually be shunned. No matter the wealth or station in life you attain, you’ll be known by whether you deliver the goods.

Mr. Eric Barnes is President & General Manager of Capital Funds Group Ltd., a Canadian based consulting firm specializing in Putting Companies and Money Together. They also work with non-US companies to take them public rapidly and inexpensively, then getting them funded. Visit our website

“Ethics and Counselling Applications
By Pedro T Gondim
Pedro T Gondim
Pedro T Gondim
Level: Basic PLUS

Pedro Gondim is a writer and publisher for the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. The Institute is Australia’s largest counsellor training provider, offering the internationally … …

Article Word Count: 1067 [View Summary] Comments (0).

Ethics and History

“”Ethics (from Greek – meaning “”custom”") is the branch of axiology, one of the four major branches of philosophy, which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to distinguish that which is right from that which is wrong. The Western tradition of ethics is sometimes called ‘moral philosophy’”". (WIKIPEDIA).

The origins of ethics are related to the introduction of moral behaviour in early societies. The application of concepts such as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, and the definition of these concepts in different environments, induced the need for a formal approach to social behaviour – an attempt to create commonality and organisation in a society. In this context, codes of behavior were created, and different forms of behaviour enforcement adopted.

As societies developed, and increasing importance was placed in structural thinking – such as the advent of sciences – meta-ethics became an eminent topic of discussion. Meta-ethics refers to the investigation of ethical statements, an actual analysis of ethics itself. Names such as Hobbes, Kant and Nietzsche were prominent in this period.

Nowadays, ethics is still a main topic of discussion. As societies evolve, the relationships between individuals become more complex, and so do the etiquettes and codes of conduct. The development of business relationships has raised many ethical dilemmas, and ethical counselling is one of them.

Ethical Counselling

Because counselling is not a regulated profession in many countries (including Australia), the use of ethical standards is a method of guiding the quality of the services provided by counsellors, the quality of training provided to counsellors, and of protecting clients. These standards provide conduct guidelines for professionals and are an effective way support many counsellors lacking experience or knowledge of the industry. It also serves the purpose of structuring the counselling industry, providing common professional descriptions, definitions and service boundaries according to each type of counsellor.

There is a wide range of issues comprising the field of ethical counselling – which are also part of common guidelines for the practice of therapy. According to Daniluk and Haverkamp (1993), “”the main ethical framework referred to in many discussions of therapy is one based on the concepts of autonomy, fidelity, justice, beneficence, non-maleficence and self interest”". In this context, we devise several ‘problem areas’ in ethical counselling:

Law and Counselling

The need for professionalisation has created a common link between ethical behaviour and legal conduct in the therapy fields. Legislation was provided to primarily protect clients from misguidance, and ultimately to provide guidelines for the profession. However, as cited previously, in most countries ethical conduct in counselling is not yet part of the legal framework – which outlines the importance of professional and industry peak associations in providing guidelines and codes of conduct for affiliated professionals.

The Australian Counselling Association is one industry association in Australia that provides ethical guidelines and a code of conduct for counsellors. The ACA’s Code of Ethics and Code of Practice are part of the Code of Conduct – which can be accessed from their website at www.theaca.net.au/docs/code_conduct.pdf. An excerpt from this Code is:

Counsellors will:

- Offer a non-judgemental professional service, free from discrimination, honouring the individuality of the client.

- Establish the helping relationship in order to maintain the integrity and empowerment of the client without offering advice.

- Be committed to ongoing personal and professional development.

Confidentiality

This area is closely linked with the legal issues in counselling therapy. Confidentiality plays a major role in defining the communication between a counsellor and a client, bearing in mind that trust is one of the backbones of a therapeutic relationship. Albeit confidentiality is a key component of the relationship, it is also one of the leading causes of ethical dilemmas for counsellors. Situations which may put the client – or other individuals – in danger usually require the counsellor to make difficult decisions in regards to breaching confidentiality. In many instances, the actual breach is a legal requirement as it may incur the prevention of a crime against the state, or another person.

Other predominant issues such as consultancy with supervisors or colleagues; definition of the type of confidentiality to be used (absolute or relative) prior to the counselling relationship; and session record-keeping, must be considered by therapists when practicing professional counselling.

Bad Practice

The issues of privacy and power in a counselling session can be prejudicial in terms of unethical practice. The private nature of a counselling session leaves a ‘gap for unsupervised practice’, and therefore it is quite difficult to be assessed. For instance, fairly recent explorations of unethical practice in therapy have shown the emerging problem of sexual abuse of clients. This issue is augmented by the power relationship between client and counsellor, in which the therapist could take advantage of their position of power to practice unethical behaviour.

Training and Professional Recognition (Australian Industry)

As cited before, counselling is not regulated in most countries. In order to standardise the industry, and ensure that counsellors have the necessary skills to professionally practice, training and recognition must be accentuated. In Australia, the ACA plays a role in coordinating industry efforts, providing information to the public and maintaining records of counsellors in practice.

That system protects clients from bad practice, and supports training standards for organisations that provide counsellor training. The Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, as an example, is recognised by the ACA – which means that AIPC and the Diploma of Professional Counselling complies with industry standards defined by this peak organisation in regards to training standards for counsellors.

Safety and Negligence

These concepts are utmost concerns of counsellors in practice. A counsellor-client relationship is a very delicate encounter of an individual seeking help, and a professional providing advice. Primarily, it is the counsellor’s responsibility to provide a safe environment for the counselling session – particularly because physical and psychological safety is a premise for the counselling therapy to succeed. Negligence is closely related to the concepts of breach of confidentiality and safety. Observing principles for duty of care is part of ethical behaviour in counselling.

Complying with ethical guidelines is one of the most important aspects of being a professional counsellor. Creating awareness in both counsellor and clients of the boundaries of the services provided will lead to a better development of the profession, and overall improvement of industry standards. Counsellors are responsible for keeping up-to-date with professional codes of ethics, confidentiality guidelines, and other relevant information.

Pedro Gondim is a writer and publisher for the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. The Institute is Australia’s largest counsellor training provider, offering the internationally renowned Diploma of Professional Counselling.

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Author’s Note: I highly recommend Simon Clarke’s articles.

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Tags: ethics, practice, research, theory, legal

Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations. The sin is limitations. As soon as you once come up to a man’s limitations, it is all over with him.

Emerson

Today most average Americans are reluctant to discuss politics. Some are disgusted with politics in general. Unfortunately, this disgust is not without merit. American politics are rooted in American political culture that promotes that government ought to work in accordance with a higher standard of right and wrong. It believes that the political system ought to operate in accordance with popular sovereignty.

It concept is a value that relates to the belief that the only legitimate basis of political authority is the consent of the govern. However, the American political system stands different. Nelson, author of Why Americans hate Politics and Politicians, acknowledged that politics and politicians are imperfect; Americans are growing weary and taking actions. Antiopolitics constitutional amendments are surfacing in a hope of providing term limits of members of Congress and a proposal to require a balanced budget.

Unfortunately, Americans are now cynical of political figures as it relates to personal values. Postmodern influences have create an atmosphere of untrust of traditional institutions. Kouzer and Posner, authors of Credibility, admit that three-fourths of employees view top executives do pretty much what they want no matter what people think. They argue that the increase in cynicism in the workplace is due the decline of credibility among executives. This cynicism is quickly found in the political arena. As each party tries to either take advantage of this “hot button” issue or do damage control, followers grow increasingly cynical about government leadership.

Nelson, a political guru, argued that American cynicism have evolved for many reasons. The government has been caught in various lies and half-truths, including Vietnam War, Watergate, and Iran-Contra Deal. Some argue that the political office is so time consuming that only people who are willing to become a full-time politician can do it. However, Americans have never really been pro-politics or pro-politicians. With the incoming of new politicians to Congress this year, many individuals wonder if US politicians can regain public trust. Only time will tell.

References:

CNN (2005). Reid: White House owes an explanation. Received on October 31, 2005 from website.

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

Draft, R. (1995). Organization Theory & Design. Congress gets low ratings on ethics, honesty.

Harris, J. (April 12, 2005). In recent scandals, a rethinking of capital’s conventional wisdom. Washington Post.

Heuser, B. (2005). The Ethics of Social Cohesion. Peabody Journal of Education. 80(4), pp.8-15.
Kern, C. (2003). Creating and Sustaining an Ethical Workplace Culture, Pepperdine University.
King, S. (2006). The Moral Manager. Public Integrity. 8(2), pp.113-133.
Lester, W. (2005). Associated Press. Congress gets low ratings on ethics, honesty.

Nelson, M. (1994). Why Americans hate Politics and Politicians. Virginia Quarterly Review. 70(4), p.636, 18p.

Yukl, G. (2002). Leadership in Organizations. Delhi, India: Pearson Education, Inc.
© 2006 by Daryl D. Green

Daryl D. Green has published over 100 articles in the field of decision-making (personal and organizational), leadership, and organizational behavior. Mr. Green is also the author of four books, including More than a Conqueror: Achieving Personal Fulfillment in Government Service. Do you want to improve your life? Do you want to make better decisions? If you answer “”yes,”" then go to the ‘master decision-making’ website

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Tags: ethical, theory, public, political, politics

Think for a moment! If you were to do a business, profession or a job that you loved, something that was a passion, you considered worth doing, one that gave you joy; would you ever think early retirement or rush home early from work? ‘Doubtful’ is a certainty, to say the least!

A few years ago, I perchance drifted across a book titled ‘To Sail Beyond the Sunset’ in which Robert Heinlein’s character, Jubal Harshaw, said something that left a lasting impression on me, and ergo, naturally, on the way I look at life. Jubal says “Happiness lies in being privileged to work hard for long hours in doing whatever you think is worth doing. One man may find happiness in supporting a wife and children. And another may find it in robbing banks. Still another may labor mightily for years in pursuing pure research with no discernible results.”

“Note the individual and subjective nature of each case. No two are alike and there is no reason to expect them to be. Each man or woman must find for himself or herself that occupation in which hard work and long hours make him or her happy. Contrariwise, if you are looking for shorter hours and longer vacations and early retirement, you are in the wrong job. Perhaps you need to take up bank robbing. Or geeking in a sideshow. Or even politics.”

So I settled on Public Relations. Not before completing various stints dealing in chemicals, stocks, exporting saddlery (would you believe?), and finally PR. But then, this article is not about me, its about The Non-business Business.

What is it that PR provided that the myriad of other professions could not? What was I looking for, that was also the search of every Jubal?

I began dealing in chemicals because I was a Chemical Engineer and I thought it came naturally to me. So it did, I understood the technicalities of the subject and also liked it, but it was monotonous, repetitive and required little else than the skill of a door-to-door salesman (not that I think that’s an easy job at all though, only that I was not cut out to ringing doorbells!).

Then, with an attempt to bring back the excitement that was lacking in the first business venture, and because of my interest in Finance I looked at the ever changing, dynamic and exciting world of stocks. Enter Stock Broking. The new age, online stock exchanges in India had just started and it required both acumen and understanding to be able to broker deals. Soon the business was grasped and volumes at our counters soared. But equally soon I realized all you needed to do to be a broker of stocks was a good number of contacts, a skill to understand what the market movements meant and to recommend based on your collective understanding, added with a good dose of instinct.

Despite financial success, I had not found the profession I really wanted to pursue. I then turned to my childhood love for horses. I have always loved the animal and am passionate about everything to do with the animal. I migrated to a city which specialized in making saddlery for horses. For three years my routine would be the same. I would carefully select the leather which would be used for the horse riding equipment, have the embellishments for the saddles personally designed, and have my contractors craft wonderful equipments for riding the even more wonderful horses. Sadly, in all my years with the business, the only time I sat on a saddle was when it was placed on a testing horse (a wooden piece on which we used to fit the saddle). My love for horses was too strong for me to continue something that was so near, and yet so far from the magnificent equine.

So, I was hunting for my dream profession yet again. After one brief stint with a dotcom, I settled onto PR, which is actually the subject of this story. I have been here for the last 6 years and to say the least, I can easily continue for a few decades more in the same profession. I stay back late nights, come back early morning, think about the clients business even when I am eating, bathing or (perhaps!) sleeping. I love what I do. It excites me, and I seriously think our organization will make a difference to this world and I already am of the firm belief that we are making a significant difference to our clients (otherwise, they would’nt be there with our organization as clients, right?). We consult our clients on their business, how to make it better and how they can make a difference in the world – to me, that sounds very exciting.

When I analyzed my life keeping Jubal’s statement in mind, I saw through what it was that made a profession completely satisfying. I saw what made one love what one does (or not, as the case may be). And, trust me, I have been through enough professions to know.

In most cases, professions are made by accidents. Almost everyone, other than the lucky few, has suffered (or is suffering!) the ill-advise of friend, uncle or parent. You have a great future as a doctor, engineer, or stockbroker, says a father’s friend, little realizing what your real passion is. Else, someone knows of your passion for archeology, but little realizes that what kind of life a professional archeologist leads. The instances are too many to even attempt to think about.

So what do you do? Always keep your eyes & ears open and absorb every thing that comes your way. Everything has a purpose, and when that one thing that comes your way, it could become the purpose for your life. Stay tuned to all channels and become a sponge. Then there are simple rules that help you find your right profession. And from here on, you only stay in the same profession if the answer to every question is a big YES.

20 year rule: You keep analyzing your profession against yourself and ask if there is a fit and do you see yourself doing this very thing 20 years from now.

12 hour rule: The next step is fairly easy. Ask yourself if you can do that thing you do; stock broking, astrology or saving rhinos in Africa, most days of your life, for 10 to 12 hours each day, with only brief breaks in between.

Pride Rule: Do you feel good about what you do? Does what you do make you feel proud? Do the people who matter to you really feel proud about what you do? Would you feel great telling a complete stranger (or your nearest relative!) what you do? You may run a Laundromat or be walking dogs; the question is the same.

Rule of Passion: Can you feel your skin tingle with excitement when you talk of your job/profession? Can you pass on your excitement to others? Do others come to you for advice on similar jobs?

Rule of Good: This is a simple rule that asks, Do you think that good things happen as a consequence of what you do? Is Good a main product or is it a by-product of your business or job? Just to clear up the air a bit, if Good is the main product it is a positive sign and as a by-product means you must start hunting again.

N. Chandramouli is the CEO of Blue Lotus Communications Consultancy, one of the fastest growing PR agencies in India. Located in Mumbai, the agency has an country wide presence. The knowledge driven agency has many national and international brands in areas of Technology, Finance, Health, Education & Assotiations & not-for-profit forums. Chandramouli is an Engineer-MBA with over 16 years of experience in various professions. He also runs a successful PR blog, visit this blog.

Blue Lotus currently employs about 100 consultants across its offices and projects a growth of Rs. 900 mn by March 2006.

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Tags: public, relations, theory, systems, communications