If you’ve ever asked one of your leaders “What were you thinking?” you may not have said it, but you may have thought “They sure seem to be stuck somewhere,” and “stupid’ sounded just about right at the time.

What is the source of bad decisions? How can you, as the head of an organization, minimize the poor decisions made by those in leadership? Can you dare imagine your entire organization making sound decisions? What would that be worth to your peace of mind and your bottom line?

Making decisions is the process of weighing various options then deciding on a course of action with the desired impact. Sometimes that means deciding between the better of two evils; other times there is only a thin line between a good decision and a bad one, yet there are times when the answer seems obvious. What is the intangible element that tips the scales one way or another? It is the value system of the one making the decision. If the person has a solid system of values, the course is often clear and steady. If the value system is based on the climate or the expediency of the moment, the decision will lack substance. While it is true you cannot “re-parent” people, you can establish a standard that serves as an immovable foundation made evident through your behavior as the leader.

Here are a few strategies to help you find that place of peace, profit, and time!

1. Evaluate and define your values. Can you clearly articulate those non-negotiable values upon which you firmly stand? If not, take the time to clearly define your values.

2. Prioritize your values. Priority simply means doing the priority thing first. What takes precedence in your value system?

3. Identify the behaviors and decision you exhibit that countermand those values. Are you sending mixed signals by how you make decisions? Can a person identify your values by the decisions you make?

As always, we need to look within ourselves before we identify change that needs to occur in others. Mahatma Gandhi said it so well, “We must become the change we want to see.”

The Art Of Distinction – 10 Questions That Will Help You Separate From The Crowd.
By Dr. Robb Thompson

What separates you from others?
What causes you to stand out from the crowd?

In his latest book, Robb Thompson breaks down the simple keys to becoming a person of distinction. You are rewarded for your differences not your similarities. Choose to rise above status quo and learn the art of distinction. In this dynamic book you will learn: The 10 vital questions that will cause you to separate from the crowd 3 steps to get ahead in your career and relationships what it takes to build a winning “life-team”, how to overcome the giant named “failure”, and so much more.

Don’t put of another minute learning the true Art of Distinction.

Robb Thompson Coaching was created with you in mind!

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

1. Imbalance

2. Broken focus

3. Unfulfilled relationships

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

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

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Tags: leadership, ethics, training, business, code

With leadership comes a great responsibility to uphold a standard of integrity regardless of the cost. All too often we see leaders compromise their lifelong forged ethics just to gain the ever fleeting reward of “momentarily getting ahead.” This lack of ethical leadership has greatly shaped the values of our society. Albert Einstein said, “Try not to become a man of success; but rather try to become a man of values.” John Maxwell coined the well-known phrase, “leadership is influence,” and no one would disagree with that statement. But ethical leadership goes much deeper. Ethical leaders don’t just influence others; they influence others to do what is right.

As leaders we have a great responsibility to not only do what is right but also influence others to do the same. Temporarily, it may not be easy and most often it doesn’t appear to be advantageous, but you must weigh every decision according to the long-term consequences of that decision. Ask yourself: What will it cost me in the long run if I compromise my integrity? What are the negative consequences that come from cutting corners or from cheating my customers? What reputation will I create if I make this decision?

Below I have outlined the three most critical steps to achieve ethical leadership. By following these simple steps, you’ll not only establish credibility among your clients, but you’ll also outlast your competition. Credibility and longevity are what separate those who “just get by” from those who achieve great success.

1. Hold yourself to a higher standard than is required. Every failure in life can be traced back to a compromise of character. You must raise your standards and set the example for those who work for you. Don’t allow yourself to compromise your integrity, but be resilient to always do what is right.

2. Keep your word. It doesn’t matter what you promise. All that matters is that you do what’s been promised. A leader is defined by the quality of his action, not the rambling of his words; therefore make it the rule to always under promise and over perform.

3. Tell the truth and be honest with others. A simple definition of honesty is: behavior in words and actions that aims to convey the truth. Conversely, dishonesty is a way of speaking or acting that causes people to be misled or deluded. Always consider the interest of others and not just your own. I say it like this: I would rather you hate me for telling you the truth than for you to like me for telling you a lie.

Robb Thompson Coaching was created with you in mind!

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

1. Imbalance

2. Broken focus

3. Unfulfilled relationships

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

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

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Tags: ethical, ethics, leadership, article, training

Abraham Mazlow defined self-actualization as, “a bringing together of what I do and what I really value.”

If you want to create more value in the world and become more valuable in the marketplace, then you’ll want to define, embody and live your core values.

No matter how old (or young) you are, you have values that are important to you. You may not be able to articulate what they are right now, but you have them nonetheless.

In fact, our lives are a result of the choices we’ve made or neglected to make around these values. Everything we do and everything we choose NOT to do is based-or at least should be based-upon our hierarchy of values.

The problem is, few of us have a good handle on what these values are. As a result, we may very well find ourselves with possessions, jobs and relationships that are unfulfilling and sometimes even painful.

I’ve spent most of the last 30 years studying, researching and experimenting with success strategies. I know many things that work and many that don’t. I’ve been flying high, and I’ve also fallen out of the sky more than once.

What I’ve found is when we’re clear on what we want, clear on our core values-on who we are and what we stand for-there’s no stopping us.

The decisions we make become easier, our work becomes more interesting. We have more energy and it takes a lot more to discourage us. Our successes are sweeter and our defeats easier to bear. We arrive at our accomplishments with a clear conscience and with more pride and satisfaction.

By living our values, we experience fulfillment. We know we’re in the process of achieving what’s important to us, and we do it in a way that makes us feel good about ourselves. Our self-esteem goes up and our attitude improves with it. We are truly successful in every sense of the word.

When I work with individuals and organizations, I find the biggest problem or roadblock to success is their lack of clarity and focus. They’re often busy doing the wrong things. They want me to help them climb a ladder that’s often leaning against the wrong wall. What they really need is a clear sense of vision and a foundation of core values that can support that vision. The rest is pretty easy.

Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find a fun, easy or exciting way to sort through the many values one might hold near and dear and to find the five on which we want to build our life upon. It takes hard work. It takes thinking. It requires being open to our inner voice.

But the payoff is substantial. It may be the most important thing you ever do. It will dramatically and permanently impact the rest of your life. Big investment-big return. Small investment-small return.

Start by asking yourself a few questions. Do some journaling about what comes up. What are my most important values? Why are they important? What am I willing to fight for? What do I stand for?

People who have it together are people who are clear on their values-they know what they stand for. They’re not perfect, but they are congruent. They know, and others know, what’s important to them.

Are you willing to invest some time in your most important asset? Is your life worth your best effort? Do you want to be efficient and effective with your time? Do you want your family to experience the best of you? Do you want to live an exceptional life?

If you can say yes to these questions, then begin today to discover your values. Your future depends on it. For discovering and living Your Core Values, and putting more purpose and passion in life, click here

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Tags: value, ethics, ethical, training, moral

Not a day goes by that you don’t see one industry authority or another remarking on the ugly state the residential real estate mortgage lending industry is in. We see the reason(s) for this are the exotic loans, fraud, reckless underwriting, thinly capitalized lenders, wholesale funding sources consolidating or simply closing their doors, Congressional hearings being scheduled … it truly is a mess … and like the old saying goes, industry wide everybody has an opinion on WHY? Here’s mine:

Today’s LO’s & AE’s are commission salesmen at heart and that is the core problem. Back when I was a young broker, we were institutionally trained to help the public and do the right thing for them. Today, an originator is focused on making the almighty commission check. It puts their interests above that of the client. Most people don’t understand that commissions are actually a new payroll structure for LO’s and AE’s that first came into being nine years ago. Before that, these mortgage professionals were paid salary with small bonuses for achieving their production goals. Some industries focus on “closing sales,” but our business should focus on fixing the lives of customers; as a by product, we earn a living wage and maybe sometimes a handsome one – the pay is a by-product of the activity. After the subprime industry nearly collapsed in the Fall of 1998 and there were thousand of people unemployed, those weaken but still standing organizations (frightened to offer bigger salaries yet eager to pick up some good people, began this “commission” concept); once property values soared and rates plunged for several years following, those commissioned people had the surprising opportunity to earn big dollars – it was ‘easy money’ for many. This new business paradigm (commissions) went full force and has been at the core of the subsequently developing problems.

Once the hearings and etc. have all been completed, the Loan Officer & Broker force decreases significantly, and the lending consolidation and failures slow and all the blame’s been handed out – it will be time for industry leaders to determine how to fix this mess so it doesn’t happen again.

The remedy is to get back to what worked for decades before – remove the big gagging commissions from the ranks of the LO’s and AE’s. Paying the origination side of this business big commissions cannot help but attract the wrong type of individuals, and corrupt even the most honorable people. The commission approach tends to suggest that the origination force is, or should be, a SALES function, which is absolutely incorrect. The job description of AE’s and LO’s are actually a customer service type of position, not a sales/closer type of job for as far back as I can remember prior to the beginning of this last industry cycle. With this adjustment, the money saved by the owner operators will help to suitably capitalize their diluted ranks again.

The payroll structure I talk about here, is what my first employer did for the 45+ years before I started with them, and the way I did it in my own company for the next four decades. Since I was there as an employer for a long while, and have seen the effect, both before and after, this change to commissions, I have a perspective different than many.

As more owner operators revert back to this business model, there are any number of significant positive improvements which flow from it. The biggest one, is a more confident healthier attitude of the employer. And, since they already know getting a mortgage is the largest single financial transaction most Americans make in their entire life, they come to realize leaving such an important life changing event up to a “salesmen” LO who, just last week was selling used cars, etc. has been a momentous mistake. Actually showing up to a commercial office to work, will produce a better appearance/image both for their employees and the industry as a whole; no more mortgage ‘professionals’ working at home in their Jammies with the Bunny feet. One thing of course, is that since a ‘salary’ will be offered to new hires, employers are more sensible about who they hire/invest in, and the degree and intensity to which they’ll train them; consequently personnel quality becomes far superior and more productive then previously. This also results in no more ‘work at home loan officers’ because now they’re W-2ed employees who will work in the employer’s premise where their activities can be properly supervised and monitored. Formerly, being at home, they surely violated The GLB Act daily in many ways as well.

This change back to pre 1998 thinking will tend to create true mortgage professionals, like the public deserves, not some ‘closer’ looking for a STATED Eager Earner 100% Option Arm with a 4 point YSP with every applicant.

Article by Peter Samuel Cugno, Chairman & CEO of Secret! University, the educational division of Americas Money Center, Inc. with 40 years experience in the subprime industry niche. For more information, click here

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The business world has been shocked and rocked by major corporate scandals involving unethical behavior. The real “poster” companies of ethics violations include: Enron, Tyco International, WorldCom, Global Crossing and Adelphia. The risks and costs associated with these examples of unethical behavior are astronomical in dollars, but also extremely high in other non-quantified costs and risks. Your strategic thinking business coach developed a list of these other significant risks and costs from unethical behavior and that list includes:

#1: increased risk of doing business and the possibility of bankruptcy and severely damaged company brand and image.

#2: decreased productivity.

#3: increased misconduct and conflict internally.

#4: decreased performance levels of employees.

#5: increased employee turnover and more challenging employee recruitment.

#6: decreased productivity.

#7: increased absenteeism and “presenteeism.”.

#8: decreased probability of reporting misconduct and unethical behavior of others.

#9: increased dysfunctional behaviors such as not paying attention to details, scapegoating, withholding information, under delivering & over promising, not giving credit to others, lowering goals, misrepresenting results, etc.

#10: decreased value of the company.

If you want to learn more about the high risk and costs of unethical behavior and would like to discuss what you and your business can do to avoid and/or minimize those risks through a solid commitment to ethics in your business, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at this site.

“Ten Most Significant Risks and Costs of Unethical Behavior in Business By: J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renaissance Group ™

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Tags: ethical, behaviour, business, corporate, training

“I was recently reading an article about a Nancy Woodhull, the late USA Today editor. Besides at one time being one of the most powerful women in publishing, she was noted for the way she facilitated the success of other women. When she was the helm of one of the country’s largest papers, she remarked it was her duty to “do something to help another women every day”.

That phrase resonated with me at a deep level. I was struck by how much I also believed it, but also by its sheer simplicity. Since hearing it, I thought about the myriad ways we already help each other and the many ways that I could be doing more. The clients I work with often find that some form of conscious effort to help others often makes them feel better. Essentially, when giving, they are also receiving. The process of actively reaching out to other women gives them a new perspective and a feeling of being part of a community much larger than just the worlds of their office and home.

Putting this mantra into practice, I once invited a new colleague to lunch to help her feel more welcome to the organization. While we both enjoyed our time together; the tables turned. I found out so much more about our competitors and how they viewed our company – a topic of interest to the marketing team at the time. In the end I realized in my effort to “help another woman” I was the one who had actually been helped. So, what can you do today to help another woman?

Top Tips for Helping Another Woman

1. If you work in a male-dominated company, inquire how they actively recruit more women. Mentioning that diversity is one of the key tenets of business awards like “Investors in People” is a good incentive for otherwise intractable employers.

2. Mentor a new female employee to show them how you have managed. Just reminding them with your presence that women DO belong is often great encouragement. Mentoring a new recruit is also a great ego boost to remind you of how much you have accomplished.

3. If you have a choice, patronize women-owned businesses. More women are leaving full-time employment to start up their own businesses each year, so the choice is easier than before. If you unsure who owns the business, ask! If it is a partnership, find out how many of the partners are women. This works from law firms to nanny agencies.

4. Donate time or money to charitable causes that support women. Women’s organizations are among the most under-funded of charities, receiving far less in donations than causes related to children, specific diseases, animals and special interest groups.

Dr. Suzanne Doyle-Morris of Doyle Morris Coaching helps companies retain and develop their valuable, well-trained female talent. We specialize in working with professional women in the male-dominated fields of finance, law, I.T, manufacturing, engineering and the sciences to help female executives grow into more senior roles and improve their performance within their organisations.

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Employers face a dilemma, each year, on which holidays to give off to their employees. Many employers do not give Martin Luther King Jr. birthday as a holiday. They do not want to be seen as racist or close minded, but employers are concerned about making enough revenue in order to pay for their overhead. For many employers its occurrence just two weeks after the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, when many businesses are closed for part of or sometimes all of the week, is troublesome. However, employers have a lot of options in solving this dilemma without cutting into their revenue. Recognizing the role that Martin Luther King, Jr. played in promoting peace, social justice and racial and class equality is the primary purpose of the holiday which can be celebrated by the employees in ways other than giving a paid holiday.

On January 17, 2000, for the first time, Martin Luther King Day was officially observed in all 50 U.S. states. On November 2, 1983, President Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor King. Opposition to the bill was led by Senator Jesse Helms, who questioned whether King was important enough to receive such an honor. He was also critical of King’s opposition to the Vietnam War and accused King of having Communist connections. On January 16, 2006 Greenville County, South Carolina was the last county in the U.S. to officially adopt Martin Luther King Day as a paid holiday. Many individuals do not celebrate the birthday of Dr. King, because as Jesse Helms opined, he was not important enough in United States History. However, Americans lose sight of the importance of the Holiday and fail to cherish their civil rights. The celebration of Martin Luther King’s birthday must be substantive as well as symbolic. It must be more than a day of celebration. The holiday should be a day of reflection, a day of teaching non-violent philosophy and strategy, a day of getting involved in non-violent action for social and economic progress and racial and ethnic equality. It is a day that is marked by demonstrations for peace, social justice and racial and class equality, as well as a national day of volunteer community service. In Utah, Martin Luther King Day is also known as Human Rights Day; similarly, in Arizona and New Hampshire, Martin Luther King Day is also known as Civil Rights Day.

Overall, in 2006, 31% of employers were giving employees the day off, with 35% of large employers over 1,000 giving time off and 29% of smaller employers giving time off. The observance is most popular amongst nonprofit organizations and least popular among factories and manufacturers, because most factories have been shut down for one week at the end of the year. Additionally, some schools and places of higher education are closed for classes; others remain open but may hold seminars or celebrations of Dr. King’s message.

How can employers celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday to give it meaning to their employees, other than another paid holiday?

1. Provide a lunch for your employees and have a seminar regarding elimination of bias and highlight Dr. King’s teachings. Read his speech “I have a Dream” he delivered during the March on Washington.

2. A Floating Civil Rights Holiday. Celebrate the diversity of your workforce by granting a day off for a Civil Rights leader that an individual employee’s race or ethnic group honours. There are ten annual Federal holidays in the United States: New Years Day, Martin Luther King’s Birthday, President’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. Of these, Martin Luther King’s Birthday and Columbus Day celebrate not only the accomplishment of the individual but recognize that person’s race. There are large celebrations in the African-American and Italian communities on each of these respective holidays. In some locales, holidays are granted to recognize local leaders, such as Caesar Chavez day for the Latino community.

3. Community Service Activity. Have your employees participate in a community service activity. This could be from helping out at a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration, to collecting food or other items to help a particular community service project. Employees could be given time during their work day on Martin Luther King’s Holiday to engage in the activity.

4. Sponsor an event. Let your employees know that you recognize the accomplishments of Dr. King and you will observe the day by supporting a local event.

5. Allow employees a few hours off to attend morning events on Martin Luther King’s Birthday holiday.

6. Have a moment of silence and distribute Dr. King’s speech I have a dream.

7. Speak up for an injustice in your community.

8 Pass on the legacy. Have your employees give a talk to children about him. It only takes a moment to recognize his contributions.

For an employer to be socially conscious does not have to be costly It requires an employer to open its mind and be inclusive for all.

By Elizabeth A. Moreno, Esq. a Los Angeles employment attorney and mediatior, who guides employers through treacherous rivers of employment compliance and litigation that threaten to sink their business.

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Tags: ethical, business, training, social, responsibility

To build a successful organization, leaders need to understand the importance of group dynamics and team chemistry. In other words, members in organizations need to respect each other and get along. Yukl, the author of Leadership in Organizations, maintains that a high-exchange relationship contains high mutual influence. Clearly, good chemistry is vital in achieving any level of organizational excellence. Leaders need to build relationships with followers in a constructive manner.

King, author of The Moral Manager, explained that some academic scholars suggest that religious principles and values have a significant influence on value formation, development, and performance in an organization. While some philosophers such as Nielson argue the connection between God and morality as an ethic compass, other scholars, such as Lisa Sowle Cahill and Douglas Groothuis, suggest that ethic principles originate from religious and spiritual foundations.

In 21st century organizations, ethics become the glue to organizational cohesiveness and becomes a defining moment for good leadership. Ethics relates to the code of moral principles that governs the behavior of a person/group to what is right. Followers will not respect a leader low in integrity. Effective leaders understand how their behavior impacts group dynamics. A leader can’t trick them with promotions or bribe them with money and an unethical leader brings demise and shame of his organization. In the long run, character does count in an effective organization. Therefore, it can be shown that effective leaders understand group dynamics and promote good organizational chemistry with their integrity and good ethical conduct.

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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Success in business comes as a result of getting the right things done, in the right way, by the right people, all the time. If our business structure supports this kind of effort, then we will be the proud owner of a business that very quickly achieves outstanding and lasting results.

All good business relationships are based in trust. The higher the trust levels are within a business, and between the business and its customers and partners, the more rapidly the results will be achieved.

When people trust us, business deals are done very quickly and often on the basis of a handshake. High trust and high ethical standards produce high performance. Trust is one of the highest valued attributes and qualities of good leadership.

The organizational architecture of the value-based business shapes the creation of meaning and purpose, in the first instance, and informs all actions.

Clarity about our Mission, Vision and Values and living by these elements creates trust in our business. It does this because our espoused belief system gives us a benchmark against which all of our behavior can be measured. Strategy and leadership are then grounded in and informed by always doing that which is right.

A clearly articulated Mission, Vision, Values, and a list of the expected behaviors that flow from these elements, form the basis of our employment contract with all of the people involved in our business.

By consistently carrying out our small business plan in light of these elements, we build exponential value into our business.

These elements inform all the activities of our business, from policy development, planning, leadership skill development, information and communication flow, through to our systems and processes that ensure compliance with standards, measures and benchmarks.

Being clear in the first instance about the meaning and purpose of the business delivers excellence as a natural outcome of putting the right principles in play.

In the value-based business, standards and compliance are never seen as an imposition. They simply represent that which the business is already and naturally pursuing. This approach leads in turn to even higher levels of performance and excellence.

The high trust, value-based business is integrated and aligned by these critically important foundational elements.

The four keys to getting this right are:

* Know what you are in business for
* Align your thinking to this value base
* Integrate and align all activities
* Create a never-ending cycle of reinforcement.

We Must Know What We Are in Business For

Our Mission embodies and spells out for everyone the reason we exist as a business. To this end, we must think it through at a very deep level and align all our business activities with the sense of meaning that we have created for our business.

It naturally follows that all the people we deal with, at whatever level, are watching and testing us against this stated meaning. We must be “”centered”" in this meaning and hold ourselves accountable to a high standard of personal behavior, responsibility and accountability. We must examine ourselves daily to ensure that we are adhering faithfully to the Mission and Vision that we have articulated.

To have an ethical business, we must be straight forward in all of our dealings with others, within our business, within our industry and within our community. When we make a mistake, we must admit it, learn from it and move on. To build trust, we must trust ourselves and trust the people around us.

All of Our Thinking Must Be Aligned to Our Value Base

All effective decision making is bounded by the belief system we have established for ourselves in our business by way of Mission and Vision.

Our list of Values creates a code of expected behavior that we hold ourselves and each other accountable to on a daily basis.

When we do this, we create clarity, coherence and consistency. The result is a high-trust culture, where everyone is on the same page.

All of Our Activities Are Aligned and Integrated

The power of having the foundational elements right in our business means that we can consistently align all of our business activities with our value base.

By having our proper foundation in place, we create the high-trust, ethical environment, where the expected behaviors are clearly spelled out and understood by everyone involved in the business.

This environment becomes trustworthy because there is a clearly understood business philosophy, mindset, common shared frameworks, and tools and processes that build competency and capability that are used uniformly throughout the business.

Create a Never-Ending Cycle of Reinforcement

These elements must be consistently reinforced at every level of the business and within all business activities. Everyone must know his or her particular role and how to carry it out. This understanding must be reviewed on a regular basis as part of the performance management process.

Alignment, integration and continuous improvement are parts of a never-ending cycle that drives the whole business to even higher levels of performance and speed in achieving its objectives.

Peter McLean is a highly experienced Coach, Senior Manager, Consultant, Business Owner and Company Director. He successfully coaches top Executives in some of Australia’s leading multi-national companies. One such Senior Executive recently won an International Award for Excellence within his particular field. In addition, Peter works extensively in the Public, Private, Commercial and Not-for-Profit sectors, delivering outstanding results for his clients.

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Tags: ethical, training, business, customer, code

The historical ethical school of thought has to do with how we can control our environment and everything in it. In this school of thought we are taught that nature’s bounties are there for us and we must be responsible for the upkeep and use of these resources. Human rights and the right to use these resources or covered, but the mismanagement of those rights and the harm of other human beings is considered unethical. Our government rules our country as do most governments throughout the world under a code of ethics or religious law. The morality of the society dictates the law and how things are considered it right or wrong.

From the beginnings of an autocratic rule, the ethics of even a sovereign ruler would dictate the ethics of the nation or community outside the religious realm. When you mix the religion of the society with the dictates of an absolute ruler, the mixture of the religion and the ethical mentality of that ruler will set the grounds from which that society will be judged. As governments turn into democracies and expand in bureaucratic growth, the ethics will change to meet the diversity of the society. As history, nature, and ethics, evolves so will the interpretations of those ethics evolve.

The historical schools of thoughts will change as technology changes the world. The basis of ethical thought on religious texts and societal norms is changed into an idea of what is right and wrong on the electronic realm of the Internet. As businesses develop electronically and people sell products that they do not even own or produce the direction of ethics will be dictated by the electronic world society more and governed less by the leaders of the countries of the physical world.

Don Rainwater has written many articles on ethics, education, and historical thought. To see his latest books and products visit this site

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Tags: ethics, training, course, ethical, business

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

Benefits of Ethics Training for Employees:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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An educational leader can encourage other leaders within the educational system to model ethical behavior by stating what ethical behavior needs to be modeled and then model the behavior for the leaders so that they may describe the ethical behavior to their subordinates and model it for them. It is a trickle down system that will allow the top educational leader to put forth the ethical decision in a format which all can be understand and modeled. If several ethical decisions are put into place, the organization will resemble one that has a normative culture that will allow an ethical culture to be present. If the principal of the school puts emphasis on ethical decisions and practices, the emphasis should be relayed and promoted within the staff of that educational institution.

For example if the principal wants to make the test taking and the reporting of scores more ethical, he or she would not want to put it in his own goals for certain criteria for state or nationwide assessments. Without the pressure to meet certain goals for these assessments the teachers will automatically not look toward ethical means to make themselves or their class look good. Though this sounds dubious, there are many teachers who will adjust their teaching and their scores to meet the goal criteria that has been set by the state. By teaching the mid-level leaders a technique of not setting a bar or standard for those test scores, the principal can be assured that the ethical decisions of their teachers are not streamlined toward reaching a retrieved or pull through unethical means.

Don Rainwater has written many articles on business and educational ethics. To view more of his thoughts, books, products, or websites please visit this site

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Tags: programs, ethics, ethical, training, course

Defined as “”beliefs about the characteristics, attributes, and behaviours of members of certain groups”", stereotyping is a process that we engage in at one time or other towards a group of people who do not conform to our way of life. We hold their “”weird”" practices and wholly different ideals, for instance, as reasons to justify our ugly and intolerant attitudes.

There are some people who stereotype a person by virtue of his physical attributes, or dress sense. And then proceed to over-generalize the entire community that said person belongs to – which is often negative to say the least.

Regardless, such behaviour – if left unchecked – inevitably becomes prejudice; and subsequently selective discrimination and xenophobia. Not only productivity and work relations in the workplace are adversely affected, but so is the organization’s reputation and credibility. Furthermore, its Competitive Advantage and Market Leadership are harmed as well.

Thus, as a Culturally Intelligent individual, we are able to adapt ourselves to a completely new cultural work environment and ethics quickly and easily. We also become tolerant of people who never, or refuse to adjust themselves accordingly. In other words, Culture Shock is not an issue that we have to cope with; as no effort is spared to facilitate a smooth transition to our new environment.

We do not expect people with prejudicial mindsets to reciprocate our actions. But we are clearly at an advantage as – besides learning each new experience encountered – we embrace it readily. That makes us the more flexible in our future dealings with more varied groups of people, as globalisation is here to stay.

Thus, it is crucial that we check ourselves when we are caught in situations that lead us to stereotype new people we meet – due to first impressions. It is inevitable, but keep in mind that we are in turn “”tarred with the same brush”" by these same people, if not broadly.

Ange Teo is the Founder of e2m expat etiquette mentoring, a Singapore-based Cross-Cultural Communications Solutions Provider.

She has worked with some of the world’s leading multinational companies and Singapore-based small medium enterprises for over 20 years. Thus, Ange Teo has a good understanding on the intricacies of Intercultural work relations. Besides her intense belief in the importance of Cross-Cultural competency – a critical aspect of an organization’s global competitive advantage.

For more information about e2m Cultural Intelligence [CQ]-focused Communications Solutions, please visit e2m expat etiquette mentoring. An Interculturalist’s perspective on Life, the Cosmoverse and Everything: the blue marble we live in

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Tags: ethical, company, organisation, training, code

Do you believe in the universal principle of “What goes around comes around?” Some even say “What you give, you get back ten times over.” Well I certainly do and I try to live by that principle everyday. I apply it in both my private and business life.

Once you begin to deal with the public a lot as a Mobile Notary, you will begin to notice that everyone doesn’t live by this same principle. In fact I’ve seen where some people live by the antithesis of it in their business dealings.

In an industry like the one we have chosen to take part in, namely the mortgage industry, there are many people who are downright greedy! After all, hundreds of thousands of dollars cross desks everyday in this industry. In my personal experience, loan officers rank amongst the top of this category. They have the biggest greed glands of all.

I may get some flack on this, but I am only talking about my experiences. I am sure there are loan officers out there somewhere that have scruples and do business in a fair way without hurting others, I just haven’t met any yet.

I recall one instance in particular about a year ago. I was sent to conduct a closing for a Hispanic family that barely spoke English. After going through the HUD1 settlement statement with the borrowers, I noticed that they were being charged an outlandish amount in fees. If I remember correctly the loan was for approximately $300k and the loan officer was set to scalp these poor unsuspecting people for nearly $18k.

I felt bad for them to say the least, because the broker was actually earning more money off the deal than the borrowers were set to get back. I could have bit my lip and let these people get taken advantage of, and I suspect that many Mobile Notaries would have, but, I just couldn’t do it. So I explained to them the best I could using the little Spanish I remembered from high school that they needed to possibly rework the deal with their loan officer. I also remembered to ask them not to use my name when and if they spoke with their loan officer.

These people were not stupid. They suspected that somehow they were being taken advantage of. They told me they felt uneasy with the loan officer anyway and that they planned to get advice from a family member who was fluent in English during the rescission period.

They really thanked me and I could tell it was sincere. I ultimately discovered that the borrowers told their broker that they decided to cancel the loan unless the numbers changed dramatically.

In short, the loan was cancelled. However, I was reassigned to the same borrowers a week later. This time the borrowers were saving an additional $10k. They were so happy that they invited me and my wife to dinner to express their gratitude. We ultimately declined the dinner, but I got my reward from the feeling I got by helping these people.

A word of caution however; helping customers to save money isn’t really our job. We are supposed to simply go in and get the documents signed and initialed where appropriate and get out. Interfering with the process could mean the loss of a valuable customer for you. If you are going to do it, be sure the customer understands what is going on and that they aren’t to use you as the reason for their change of heart.

Kevin Cobb is a fulltime Licensed Maryland Notary and Title Producer. In the last two years he has conducted more than 500 signings. He soon developed his own special way of marketing and increased his income dramatically. Kevin tells all and shares his inside secrets in his books and home study course:

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Tags: ethics, training, business, employee, work

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tags: ethics, training, courses, course, management

Business ethics is a form of applied ethics that examines just rules and principles within a commercial context; the various moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business setting; and any special duties or obligations that apply to persons who are engaged in commerce. Generally speaking, business ethics is a normative discipline, whereby particular ethical standards are advocated and then applied.

It makes specific judgments about what is right or wrong, which is to say, it makes claims about what ought to be done or what ought not to be done. While there are some exceptions, business ethicists are usually less concerned with the foundations of ethics (meta-ethics), or with justifying the most basic ethical principles, and are more concerned with practical problems and applications, and any specific duties that might apply to business relationships.

Business ethics can be examined from various perspectives, including the perspective of the employee, the commercial enterprise, and society as a whole. Very often, situations arise in which there is conflict between one and more of the parties, such that serving the interest of one party is a detriment to the other(s). For example, a particular outcome might be good for the employee, whereas, it would be bad for the company, society, or vice versa. Some ethicists see the principal role of ethics as the harmonization and reconciliation of conflicting interests.

Ethical issues can arise when companies must comply with multiple and sometimes conflicting legal or cultural standards, as in the case of multinational companies that operate in countries with varying practices. The question arises, for example, ought a company obey the laws of its home country, or should it follow the less stringent laws of the developing country in which it does business?

To illustrate, United States law forbids companies from paying bribes either domestically or overseas; however, in other parts of the world, bribery is a customary, “accepted” way of doing business. Similar problems can occur with regard to child labor, employee safety, work hours, wages, discrimination, and environmental protection laws.

Business ethics should be distinguished from the philosophy of business, the branch of philosophy that deals with the philosophical, political, and ethical underpinnings of business and economics. Business ethics operates on the premise, for example, that the ethical operation of a private business is possible — those who dispute that premise, such as libertarian socialists, (who contend that “”business ethics”" is an oxymoron) do so by definition outside of the domain of business ethics proper.

The philosophy of business also deals with questions such as what, if any, are the social responsibilities of a business; business management theory; theories of individualism vs. collectivism; free will among participants in the marketplace; the role of self interest; invisible hand theories; the requirements of social justice; and natural rights, especially property rights, in relation to the business enterprise.

Business ethics is also related to political economy, which is economic analysis from political and historical perspectives. Political economy deals with the distributive consequences of economic actions. It asks who gains and who loses from economic activity, and is the resultant distribution fair or just, which are central ethical issues.

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Tags: value, ethic, business, corporate, training

From Monday the 21st of August 2006, Royal Mail changed the rates for the postage of letters.

Previously, the cost of postage depended purely on the weight of the letter. But now it has been decided that the price should depend on the size of the letter as well as the weight of the letter.

This means that a single sheet of paper sent in a small envelope would cost just 30p for first class postage. Whilst the same sheet of paper sent in an A4 envelope would cost 42p.

I’ve always believed that the business should make a profit. And also that businesses should have the right to determine their own pricing. But I really can’t believe that this one has been thought through properly.

Our first concern in the office on the morning of Monday 21st August was trying to understand the new system and making certain that our letters were going out with the correct rate of postage. The new system is undoubtedly more complex and has caused us plenty of confusion.

But what really baffles me is that the new system is so easy to manipulate. Instead of sending out documents in an A4 envelope, they can simply be folded in half and put into a smaller envelope which qualifies for the lower rate of postage. A saving of 12p per letter! You have to make certain that the letter does not exceed a certain thickness but most business post would quite easily meet this criteria.

Even more bizarre, you could put your letter into the same large envelope and then simply fold the envelope in half in order to qualify for the lower rate of Is Royal Mail Another Business That Is Making It Difficult For Customers To Buy From Them
By Derek Williams Platinum Quality Author

From Monday the 21st of August 2006, Royal Mail changed the rates for the postage of letters.

Previously, the cost of postage depended purely on the weight of the letter. But now it has been decided that the price should depend on the size of the letter as well as the weight of the letter.

This means that a single sheet of paper sent in a small envelope would cost just 30p for first class postage. Whilst the same sheet of paper sent in an A4 envelope would cost 42p.

I’ve always believed that the business should make a profit. And also that businesses should have the right to determine their own pricing. But I really can’t believe that this one has been thought through properly.

Our first concern in the office on the morning of Monday 21st August was trying to understand the new system and making certain that our letters were going out with the correct rate of postage. The new system is undoubtedly more complex and has caused us plenty of confusion.

But what really baffles me is that the new system is so easy to manipulate. Instead of sending out documents in an A4 envelope, they can simply be folded in half and put into a smaller envelope which qualifies for the lower rate of postage. A saving of 12p per letter! You have to make certain that the letter does not exceed a certain thickness but most business post would quite easily meet this criteria.

Even more bizarre, you could put your letter into the same large envelope and then simply fold the envelope in half in order to qualify for the lower rate of postage! How nuts is that? And even more bizarre (as if that is possible!) this is exactly the advice being given across the counter at the post office!

When you add to all of this confusion to the cost that must’ve been incurred by notifying every single address within the United Kingdom of the new system (including templates to help users gauge the size of a letter) and the new charge rates, has this really been a successful initiative?

I very rarely criticise a business by name. And I hope that my comments will be taken constructively. But I really do feel that Royal Mail have shot themselves in the foot and have lost a huge amount of consumer confidence. Maybe I will be proved wrong. I hope so.

What do you think?

And I beg you, please take a look at your own systems and make certain that it is easy for customers to buy from you. This is one area in which we cannot afford to make mistakes.

If customers are put off buying from us at the first hurdle we will very rarely get a second opportunity. You may have lost the customer without even knowing that you had them in the first place!

Derek Williams is creator of The WOW! Awards™ an International Professional Speaker and Chief Executive for the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Europe.

For more information about Derek Williams, visit this site

For The WOW! Awards (including access to a FREE customer service newsletter) visit this site

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Tags: value, ethic, business, corporate, training

These are the fundamental steps that lead a business to a path of progress and competitiveness enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of the business. There are 7 steps that are discussed below:

1. Finding the Gaps
It includes the skills and knowledge your company possesses and is a major determinant of your success. In this step you need to identify your strengths, areas needing further study and areas of concern that could seriously affect your ability to stay competitive. Once you are through with this step, you would have access to practicable online information and other references that will help you bridge any knowledge and skill gaps. Filling these gaps will help in making your organization better prepared and to ascertain benefit from valuable information relating to the various management functions.

2. Pre-Planning
Pre-Planning is the process by which the management of an organization foresee its future and develop the necessary measures and operations to achieve the goals of future. It includes development of the purpose, mission, vision, and value statements of the managing teams; communication of these documents and suggestions for improvement, culture survey to create a base against which change can be compared and last but not the least celebrating achievements and learning from mistakes. After Pre-Planning the team needs to formulate strategies and, clearly identify an action plan on which implementation is to be performed. As part of this phase, you will also need to repeat your mission and restate your company’s vision. Although there are many kinds of strategies but in this situation basic strategy should not change much in the short term, whereas sub-strategies can change rapidly in reaction to competitive situations.

3. Financing
Financing plan is developed to increase the business competitiveness through an improved knowledge of the techniques and methods of funding available. Equity and debt are two types of financing available to business. Equity is the money that you put into your business and Debt is what you borrow from others to invest in your business.

4. Involvement of Technology
The businesses are becoming more dependent on technology. By optimizing the use of technology, the business may maintain progress, improve its customer services, and gain a competitive edge over those businesses that are not utilizing their technology. In the modern world the change of information technology has become a vital part in competition with the real world. Now the Question is that why do we use technology in business? The answer is simple that it enhances customer service, can decrease cost, can improve communication, can facilitate research, can increase productivity, efficiency as well as effectiveness in the business.

5. Improvement in Human Resource
Using this resource to its best advantage is a means to maximize the effectiveness of the other entire systems and procedures already in place. The business or an organization having skilled and competitive employees is considered as the most competitive business. Proper human resource management is needed to increase effectiveness in work and to smoothly achieve the goals and accomplish tasks.

6. Marketing strategy
Marketing and related activities in a business, small or large, ensure that your business gets information from its customers, develops and markets the services to satisfy their needs and gets feedback on their satisfaction levels. Marketing acts as an interface between the enterprise and its markets. Marketing can be defined as the function that encompasses most activities between the producer of a good or the supplier of a service and the consumers. It is also a set of business development activities which starts with the consumer from whose needs, the business gets its service ideas and to whom it will sell its services.

7. Process of Quality Assurance
The Process of Quality Assurance in a business refers to planned, and step-by-step activities that determines that testing is being carried out correctly, results are accurate, and mistakes are found and corrected to avoid undesirable outcomes. Quality assurance is a constant set of activities that help the business to ensure that the test results provided are as accurate and reliable as possible. Maintaining quality assurance leads to customer retention, and an image as a competitive business in the minds of clients.

Conclusion
Competition in businesses is now found everywhere and in such a competitive world it is difficult for any new business or start-ups to survive and thrive. Implementation of the above steps can definitely help towards effectively competing in any market.

© 2006, Wholesale Pages UK. All rights reserved.

William King is the director of Canada Wholesale, UK Wholesalers and Dropshippers Directory. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

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Tags: ethics, programs, business, corporate, training

Did you now you can beat your competition even when they cheat? In the company that started I have been beating the competition city after city even though my competition lacks integrity and I often catch them cheating.

In my industry we are in the business of cleaning fleet of vehicles and we often found companies breaking environmental laws and charging the companies they did business with extra for environmental compliance and then underbidding us in the process. At first we could not understand how they were charging such little amounts of money and still reclaiming the waste wash water.

So we kept redesigning our environmental control and reclamation systems to become more and more efficient until we could compete on price without cheating. Eventually we noticed that they were cheating and we simply advised the industry that, that was unacceptable and we helped advise committees that set up standards in the industry to see that the industry could police itself and do business without environmentally negatively impacting the ecosystems.

Of course this is only one example of how we have beat the competition even when they have been cheating. We often in business find cheaters who cannot pull their own weight in nearly every industry. This is because they have grown old in stodgy and weak and they cannot compete in the real world so they make rules for a created reality.

Unfortunately, they can only do this so long until the customer tells them where to go and when they do; all you have to do is be in the way of the money and have with that customer wants and they will give you unit of trade called a dollar.

It is easy to beat the competition even when they cheat and you should know that anyone who cheats is inferior, weak and therefore you have the moral high ground and they should boost your strength of character and confidence in your ability to cream them.

Indeed, I love winning and I love beating the cheaters without cheating. It must be so demoralizing for them when they lack the integrity, the perseverance and the dedication to it even stand on the same field with us and cannot make single play without cheating. They must be so envious and jealous; maybe that’s what causes them to cheat so much?

We’ve all heard these rules to live by: Don’t hurt, don’t steal, don’t lie, and the more famous “Do unto others as you would have done to you.” In our personal lives most people try to follow these rules. Ethics are often thought of by many as something that is related to the personal side of life and not to the business side. In some businesses, having ethics may actually be frowned upon. This is usually due to the fact that business is about doing what’s best for the bottom line and not always about doing the right thing.

It is commonly understood that there are ethics and then there are workplace ethics. Often we don’t stop to realize that there is no difference between personal ethics and ethics in the workplace; ethics are the same whether at work or in personal life.

After all, ethics are about making choices that may not always feel good or seem like they benefit you. Ethical choices are the “right” choices to make and are examples of rules to live by.

Practical Impact
Executives typically want the answers to two key questions about ethics in their offices: “How do workplace ethics apply to practical goals of my organization and the work of my employees?” and “Is there reliable data to support these assertions?” The Ethics Resource Center (www.ethics.org), a nonprofit organization, assists leaders to impact their organizations by identifying ethical risks and establishing systems to emphasize higher standards for business conduct.

The Ethics Resource Center annually conducts a National Business Ethics Survey (NBES) – a rigorous telephone survey of 1,500 U.S. employees. The NBES findings are encouraging for organizations that have an emphasis on positive workplace ethics. For example, employees have high expectations for ethics within their organizations. Nine in ten respondents say that they “expect their organizations to do what is right, not just what is profitable.”

This suggests that most employees are not cynical about ethics at work, encouraging news when considering the implementation or development of ethics initiatives as the long term success of any program rely on the active support of employees.

Formal ethics programs and informal ethics practices were shown to affect certain key outcomes. Employees who work in companies with active ethics programs who observe leaders modeling ethical behavior, and also observe the application of values such as honesty, respect and trust applied frequently at work, report more positive experiences that include the following:

· Less pressure on employees to compromise ethics standards
· Less observed misconduct at work
· Greater willingness to report misconduct
· Greater satisfaction with their organization’s response to misconduct they report
· Greater overall satisfaction with their organizations
· Greater likelihood of “feeling valued” by their organizations

Findings of Concern
The NBES uncovered a substantial gap between senior and middle managers and lower-level employees. A consistent finding with management was the perception that their organizations have a positive ethical environment. This conflicts with the perception of lower-level employees however. This suggests that executives may underestimate the importance of specific ethics issues and concerns facing employees.

This disconnect may also position executives to fail to address these issues adequately within their organization’s ethics programs. Therefore it is important for executives to include input from employees at lower levels in the development of ethics programs and to continue to seek out their input and feedback on a regular basis.

In addition to the communications gap between employees and executives, one in three employees believe that their coworkers will perceive them as “snitches” if they report misconduct. This is roughly the same proportion of employees who believe that management will see them as “troublemakers” for reporting ethical concerns. A key element to take away from this discovery is the need to address and eliminate retaliation systemically, at the management and peer levels throughout the organization.

Questions Answered
Let’s go back to our two key questions: “How do workplace ethics apply to practical goals of my organization and the work of my employees?” and “Is there reliable data to support these assertions?” There are a variety of practical reasons for executives to focus on workplace ethics and reliable data that supports these efforts. The NBES findings consistently link ethics programs to more positive organizations outcomes and increased employee satisfaction.

It would be naïve to suggest that an emphasis on ethics will improve the work environment and solve the company’s problems overnight. In many cases a well developed and organized effort to target key ethical issues sends an important message. It tells employees that your organization is moving in a positive direction, one that is positive for them as individuals.

Establishing an Ethics Program
Establishing an ethics program is not an exact science. As with any organizational program, it will involve the input and cooperation of many people. The effectiveness of any organization’s approach will depend on characteristics that are unique to its culture, the leadership styles, proper planning, and so on. Since some people may be uncomfortable talking about the issues of ethics it can be helpful if management first asks, considers, and then responds to the following questions:

· Why might good people in this organization do unethical things?
· What are our organization’s values?
· Have we adequately articulated these values internally and externally?
· Does our organization have written ethics policies, procedures, or structures?
· To whom is our organization accountable?
· What do we mean by “success”?
· Does the leadership of our organization support the idea of an ethical workplace?

With the feedback obtained by discussing the questions above, management will have a better idea of the perceptions their employees have on how the company is performing ethically.

In the end, it’s all about beginning with our personal and collective understanding of ethics. The second step is awareness of, and solutions to, questions concerning ethics as applied to the workplace. Many universities are now heavily applying the teaching of ethics to their curricula. Graduates of these programs take this information into the workforce with the understanding that solid, positive ethics need to be applied there as well as in the private sector.

In a perfect world, corporations will be better able to avoid embarrassing scandals that appear and reappear in both national and world-wide news scandals. Small businesses will be able to keep and attract more clients and customers. Negotiations between businesses could be accomplished with increased consideration for the other company. This is something for which we can all strive.

Christian Del Monte: creator of iBlogMarketing Internet Marketing Blog and Director of Operations for TMA E-Marketing has a B.S. degree in Marketing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. In addition, Christian has over 10 years in personal sales experience and has directed the operations for TMA for the last 4 years.

He has directed and worked on Internet marketing projects for mid to large-scale clients including several fortune 500 companies. Christian continues to head up the operations for TMA as well as lead research and development on vertical search markets and business blogging.

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Tags: ethics, workplace, business, training, leadership

You’re looking for a work at home job and you come across a webpage that tells you it is going to steer you away from the hundreds of scams straight toward the scant few legitimate sites out there. Sounds great, right?

Wrong! It’s the latest in work from home scams and simple to create: all you need is a website and a affiliate ID with ClickBank. I have looked at over a dozen of these sites. They were all designed with one basic principle in mind: steering you toward the three to five sites they wanted you to purchase through their ClickBank affiliate links.

One note about ClickBank. ClickBank is not a bank as its name implies. According to them, they are a “”digital marketplace”" that sells “”digitally delivered products.”" While many of the questionable products I have found are sold via ClickBank and Google Ads, and you might wonder about a company who is willing to profit off such schemes, you shouldn’t necessarily blame them. After all, would you blame Amazon or BooksaMillion for selling you a bad book? It’s a moral quandary, sure, but it is simpler to teach consumers to protect themselves, then to try to battle against consumerism.

When looking at these sites, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does the person give himself or herself a title without proving it? I’ve seen sites where the author was claiming to be an “”online fraud investigator,”" although he never stated for what company. Other sites claim they are “”protection”" agencies, but in reality, they just people trying to part you with your money.

2. Does the site claim to have been seen on well-known sites, newspapers, magazines, or TV shows but fail to give the dates, times and links to this information? As far as you know, they could have been profiled on those programs as being scams. Don’t assume that those sites lend creditability to what you are looking at until you see it for yourself.

3. Does it use strong words in its title that are designed to produce a strong response? They might claim to be “”scam free”" or the “”top site.”" They’ll claim to be a “”review”" site or a “”consumer protection”" site.

4. Does the site provide affiliate links and only link to sites you have to pay for? A ClickBank affiliate link is easy to spot. Right click on the link and select “”properties.”" If you read something that has “”hop.clickbank.net”" in it or if you click on the link and you wind up at a site that has “”hop=XXXX”" (XXXX= the person’s unique affiliate ID) in it, it’s an affiliate link. You may have to click on more one of the links as the sites are learning to cloak the links to try to seem more legitimate. You might also want to see who owns the site and any sites they are promoting. Sometimes, these sites end up being the same.

5. Read the small print on the site. What is it saying that the big, bold print doesn’t? With many of sites, it seems the smaller the print, the closer to the truth. You’ll find statements such as “”this site is not to be regarded as advice”" and “”it is our opinion that these programs have been featured on the programs.”"

Once you’ve finished evaluating the so-called expert’s site, start looking at the companies it’s recommending. I’d start with the Better Business Bureau. Then, I would contact the company directly and ask what their guarantee is and what their refund policy is. If you don’t get a response from them, do you really want to give them your money? Finally, I would put in the company’s name in Google or Yahoo along with the word “”fraud”" or “”scam”" and see what happens. You might find other people have already fallen victim to this scheme.

Remember, these are sites offering you a job, how many legitimate jobs do you have to pay for in order to obtain?

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Tags: ethics, IT, Information, training, corporate

Not too long ago people didn’t talk about heart and soul in connection with business. It seems that when manufacturing shifted out of the home and into factories, compassion stayed home. I think, for example, of the culture of Massachusetts, USA. Business men kissed their wives and kids good-bye in the morning and went out to join the fray that was American business. They believed they could not be entirely ethical and succeed. They believed competition was a basic truth. Actually they were making it up, creating a competitive world with their belief in it. They believed in scarcity and fought scarcity and drew scarcity for the many and even for themselves.

The idea of keeping women and children at home did not apply to the lower classes. Businessmen believed others deserved the lot of laborers. This was an age before pensions. The common laborer worked until he died. Keeping in mind that Social Security and Public Assistance did not exist until 1935 (these came about because of the threat of revolt during The Great Depression), we get a picture of the grim world of the 1800s. I used to live near Lowell, Massachusetts. Sometimes I drove by the deserted brick buildings that had once been cotton mills. I thought of the women and children who had worked eighteen hour days and died of white lung disease from the cotton fibers that accumulated in their lungs, something that did not happen to weavers at home or in cooperatives.

So, if you are a mill owner, you know you are killing people and just to get through each day you have to believe these people don’t matter. Not an ethical place to be. They made compromises-and split the (upper class) family into two parts, the kind world of home and the unkind world of business. It was as if these men thought they could leave their souls at home in the care of the women and return at night to reclaim them.

This mind set lingered through the 1900s. In the 1980s M. Scott Peck offered workshops to businesses to help with communication and mutual respect among workers and bosses. As reported in his book A World Waiting to Be Born, Peck would only do the workshop if the bosses agreed to participate fully. Sometimes a president or vice president refused. Peck concluded that such a person “needed” power based on something other than mutual respect.

The world Peck envisioned is being born today with internet business models that keep the heart and soul. I listen to the Business Whisperer, Kendall Summerhawk, and Jeff Herring the article guy, to name just two out of many, and I know I’m listening to people whose heart and soul are fully integrated with their business. It’s about service and success, and we can all do it.

Article by Patricia Lapidus, author of the memoir SWEET POTATO SUPPERS: A Yankee Woman Finds Salvation in a Hippie Village. Patricia is a writer, editor, teacher, and an encourager. Up coming books include SWAMP WALKING WOMAN, a mythic fairy tale about women’s strength, and GIDEON’S RIVER, a novel dedicated to all who live with a temper, their own or someone else’s. Note: SWEET POTATO SUPPERS is due out soon in a second edition. This memoir is for those interested in communities, in spiritual hippies, and in the personal journey of discovery.

While I was raising my family and working full time, my explorations into how to create a better world were often limited to reading books. I read Thomas Moore, M. Scott Peck, Riane Eisler, Alice Miller, and Winona LaDuke, to name a few. From these I stored up wisdom for the future. Suddenly we are here in that future. I see dreams coming true.

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Tags: ethics, training, course, practice, behaviour

There are many circumstances in which it would be easy to enlist the aid of ‘white lies’ in the era we live in today. ‘The check is in the mail’ when in actuality it won’t be mailed until tomorrow. ‘She/he is in a meeting – out to lunch – gone for the day’ instead of stating that she/he is unavailable and take a message. ‘No we didn’t get your fax’ when it has actually come through hours before but gone unnoticed and unattended by the staff. A majority of humanity reacts favorably to honesty and integrity.

Often when the word ‘integrity’ is spoken it brings to mind a picture of trustworthiness and truthfulness.

Definitions for the word ‘integrity’ are: 1. Wholeness, Completeness 2. unimpaired condition, soundness 3. honesty, sincerity. A more current definition indicates that integrity is ‘comprised of the personal inner sense of wholeness – an honesty and consistency of uprightness of character’. Thus a relationship with an individual or business that promotes integrity would suggest an ethical relationship. One in which honesty and trustworthiness would be understood.

Is it possible that a definition of excellent Customer Service could include white lies? First and foremost, the definition of white lies has changed dramatically in the past 25 to 30 years. Webster’s New World Dictionary – published in 1974 – indicates that a “”white lie”" is ‘a lie about a trivial matter often told to spare someone’ s feelings.”"‘ Yet a current definition suggests: “”….is a lie which is believed harmless or innocuous, or is in accordance with the conventions of the culture”". Does this imply that we have become more complacent about accepting and indulging in “”white lies”". A “”lie”" – from current AND older resources – is an intentionally false statement. Albeit a “”white lie”", “”lying by omission”" or “”just a lie”" – it is still lying.

It is human nature to want to believe and trust. It is when a trust is broken that the problems begin – in all relationships. After we have been lied to,it is natural to disbelieve thereafter.

The success or failure of a service business is based on its customers. Satisfied, happy, trusting customers are
essential to success. A business that has a solid foundation and where the essence of excellent customer service
is an innate practice of every day’s operation has no need for “”white lies”".

So the business owner must decide if the ‘white lie’ is worth the risk of breaking the trust of your customers.

Assistant to the President – Visit the The Tab Store here. Honesty, Integrity, Values, Unparalleled Customer Service

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Tags: value, ethic, business, corporate, training

Within the past four and a half years or so, I have been “fortunate” to run into – and in certain instances – work quite closely with – some unscrupulous, or “not very honest”, entrepreneurs. In most cases, I was heartbroken to find that the impressions I initially had, tended not to be accurate representations of what they did in reality(I say “fortunate”, because I learnt quick, valuable lessons as a result, that now make it possible for me to write THIS article for the reader’s benefit).

Quite a number of these individuals seem willing to – every once in a while – allow themselves a little indiscretion here and there. Some are greedy cheats, and will go out of their way, given the slightest opportunity, to take advantage of another person – even if s/he is a relative!

Yet they KNOW it is wrong to deceive or defraud customers, clients – or indeed anybody. James Cook in his book, “The Start-up Entrepreneur” was obviously familiar with the widespread nature of this problem, and hammered quite a bit on the need for entrepreneurs to be ethical in all their business dealings, at all times. The fact remains that no matter how many people openly engage in dishonest or fraudulent business practices, it will still be wrong for YOU to do the same thing!

But Why Do People Do It?

We must not be too abstract in the way we discuss this problem. To understand it, one could ask the question: Why do some people in business appear to so readily succumb to the temptation to cut corners?

The truth is that many who embark on entrepreneuring with honest intentions, often encounter traumatizing trials, challenges, setbacks and disappointments. In Think And Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill acknowledged that an individual, due to the pressure of a prolonged period of adversity may become temporarily dishonest, in a bid to secure some relief for the pain s/he feels.

So the necessary suffering that a person undergoes in the pursuit of a challenging goal might make him/her do one or two things that are dishonest, for a while. Ideally however, his/her conscience would eventually force him/her to take corrective action to discontinue the bad habits.

Where it becomes a problem is when the affected person, or another who does not even have such a problem – but who seeks a quick and easy route to success – makes engaging in dishonest or insincere acts a regular habit. In other words, s/he adopts routine and repetitive corner-cutting or crooked dealings, as a preferred alternative route to reach a desired goal(s).

You Do Not Need To Do It

I want anyone confronted with this kind of challenge to understand that IT IS POSSIBLE to weather those rough periods of adversity without engaging in unethical business conduct. Simply dig in, learn quickly from your experiences, and correct your mistakes. Keep in mind ALWAYS, the proven fact that periods of difficulty and hardship WILL help you develop psychological stamina, and become more resourceful in dealing with problems you encounter while pursuing your goals.

Again, and at the risk of sounding boastful, I know this to be true because I’ve been there. Had it not been for those terrible losses and disappointments that I have continually overcome in pursuing my goals, I would not have become as self-confident, as I am today, when it comes to discussing entrepreneuring or what it takes to persistently pursue challenging life goals under situations that appear utterly hopeless and discouraging.

What Will You Do, If/When Confronted With A Fraudulent/Tempting Offer ?

Before you give me an answer, I will ask you to read the following statement I use to guide myself: “you will never know if you will steal, UNTIL the day you find yourself presented with a perfect opportunity to do so, in a way that you can be certain no one will ever find out that you did it”.

Now that you have read it, think about my preceeding question again. Do you KNOW for certain what you will do if/when confronted with a tempting proposition to do something dishonest or unethical in business(or elsewhere) in exchange for a reward/return you place a high value on? For many, what they are willing to do is usually dependent on how they feel it will make them look to those who KNOW about it. This is the reason why people keep getting caught for corruptly enriching themselves: they ALWAYS think no one will find them out!

I believe every person who desires to achieve authentic success, must be able to successfully say NO to the above stated type of fraudulent/tempting opportunity (i.e. one known only to him and which s/he is sure no one will find out about). It however takes HAVING a compelling vision, strong values, plenty of self-discipline, great will power and an achievement orientation, to behave in this manner consistently – especially when you experience painfully prolonged periods of lack and hardship.

Work Hard To Immunize Yourself Against The Temptation Of “Corner Cutting”

You must work hard to develop the needed moral strength to resist the temptation when it does come…and it will! In the case of the entrepreneurs described above, they allowed their desperate desire to succeed quickly, to cloud their judgment of what was proper and ethical, and consequently adopted shameful practices.

Sometimes (especially in societies where entrepreneuring is not yet widely accepted as a viable means of earning a living, and social welfare schemes are absent or in their infancy) clients or customers may push the point(where they consider “switching from honest to dishonest”), by refusing to pay up after the entrepreneurs had delivered requested products or services. When this happens, those entrepreneurs who are unable to stay strong under these conditions, look for ways to cushion the “pain”: they begin to cheat those who do bring business to them! Having said that, there are certain entrepreneurs who don’t need any “tempting”, because they are just naturally greedy cheats – perpetually on the prowl for unsuspecting persons they can take advantage of.

BUT the truth must be said: Whether or not you have been cheated by clients, punished, exploited, or betrayed, there is absolutely no excuse for becoming fraudulent in your dealings with others. You won’t last long if you go on doing that. So, it’s up to you to decide where you want to stand. I hope when you take your decision, it will be the right one: which is to act with integrity at all times, in all your dealings, be it in business or life in general.

Self-Development/Performance Enhancement Specialist – Tayo Solagbade – works as a Multipreneur, helping individuals/businesses develop and implement strategies to achieve their goals, faster and more profitably.

To get more useful Tips, Information And News that can help you do what you do more successfully, visit this site to subscribe to Tayo’s “Five(5) Minute Read” Performance Enhancement Newsletter.

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Tags:ethical, issues, ethics, training, business

Most public and private entities today are trying to promote “Green” processes as a way of doing business to help the environment or are touting their “green” attitudes to improve their corporate image. Common examples may include using recycled copier paper, buying items with a minimum percentage of post-consumer waste, and encouraging recycle programs for their own waste. While all those methods are valid, implementation can be very costly and may prevent the programs from being successful and widely accepted. What some “Green” coordinators do not realize is that utilizing and implementing technology solutions that eliminate waste can be just as good or better.

The common misconception is that technology equals huge dollar expenditures and long implementation schedules that may cost more than they are worth. This may be true in some cases, but not for electronic reverse auctions. Public and private entities can save thousands of dollars and trees every year by posting their bids online in either a reverse auction format or electronic RFQ, The specifications and terms and conditions documents can be uploaded to a website so they do not have to be printed out every time a request for them is made. The vendors can then respond to these bids by uploading their responses or placing bids during the live reverse auction.

Hard dollar savings can be achieved by both parties by reducing the amount of paper, the mailing costs associated with issuing bids and responding to them, and the time it takes to process and report paper bid results. With an electronic bidding process, bids documents can be uploaded and results can be instantly reported on and saved without ever having to print anything on a piece of paper.

Reverse auctions with this site are easy to implement since you do not have to download anything to your computer to use them. This means that your IT department does not have to dedicate any resources to maintain your account. All documents and completed event results are archived in your account or can be saved in electronic format on your computer. We also offer many flexible and customizable payment options for your convenience.

Doug Luthringer is a Client Development Manager at this site with over two years of strategy, implementation and training experience in online reverse auctions and nearly six years with online forward auctions such as eBay. Doug has also been invited to be a guest speaker to talk about how to properly use reverse auctions to small and medium size business, as well as university students.

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