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.

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.

Can a sweet, chocolate coated figure appeal for the sweet and dreamy seduction?

...Probably not… The evolution of new class in Indian society – ‘Educated labourer class’ is on the verge of asserting this fact. Recalling the days few months back, the lucrative job proposals rained by the BPO world at the doorstep of Delhi University was applauded not only through out Delhi but almost all the northern states like – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar Punjab, Haryana. In that scenario no one was in mood to spare his/her chances to boast on the matter of unemployment. Why not…, in fact the population which is going to caress 1.5 billion mark in future seems to be mammoth challenge before ‘we the people of India’. Currently, over 7% of the labour force are totally unemployed which comes around 400 million. Through the NREB (national rural employment bill 2004) the present UPA government tried to intercept the cyst of unemployment in rural areas. This bill was aimed to provide anyhow, at least the employment in the rural areas. But it is a matter of introspection of the psychology which was adopted while drafting the NREB how effectively that psychology will handle the educated labour force of India. No considerable measures have been adopted as yet to address the problem of improving the higher education status in India and positive resources to absorb them.

Every year, 2.1 million graduates and 0.3 million post graduates pass out of non-technical colleges. This figure, somehow, attracted and fetched the attention of those countries that were looking for the chance to slash their operational cost in business. Leaving millions of work force unemployed the top notch companies from the US, the UK, Australia and many other bourgeois countries started to outsource their parts of business in terms of services, data maintenance and so to the developing countries. Thus, the term BPO evolved and strengthened its position in the world market. On one hand where it started to boom the developing countries like India, on the other hand it received a curse of million of unemployed work – force of those countries who came on road overnight. The cause was evident and crystal clear – ‘Profit’. However, business is responsible for its impact on society also whether intended or not. But the origination of this consortium comes from the womb of curses, negations, hue and cries of millions of lamented populace. Naturally, the aftermath reflected in the US election which was contested on the center point of outsourcing, the Democrat defeated the Republicans with a great mandate and in addition to that William Greene (US international trade commission) had figured out the flaws related to the policies of outsourcing in his report heading “Growth in service outsourcing to India: Propellant or drain on the US economy” in Jan.2006. Thus, for how long booming BPO will keep booming us became a burning question in the countries like India.

Setting aside the speculation over the longevity and durability of the BPO, it is evident that BPO, in India, had significantly given a boost to the Indian economy by employing 4,00,000 people and having a bulk size of $9-12 million recording a growth of 37% of year on year basis. But it is expected that the BPO will face shortage of 2, 62,000 workers by 2012 which is currently facing the problem of quality human resources. Over 50-60% of attrition rate which is highest among all conventional or non-conventional sectors in India is also significant to be noted. The nine cities of India where 90% of Ites – BPO are located – Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, NCR (National Capital Region), Pune, Kolkata, Kochi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad are coincidently hub of academics and reservoir of quality production in India too. Thus companies in these are forced to complete for the same worker due to their need of more manpower which leads to wage inflation, saturation of market or knocking the door of fresh work force from the production house whether it is Delhi University or any other universities ignoring the result of stumbling block in the formation of GenNext. It was recorded that in 2004-05 the salary at the captive units have increased between 9.7%-14.3percent in comparison 4-5% growth with the European countries or Americans. In fact, they are not there for any charity or work force empowerment but preying for fresh on low wages in order to curtail their expenditure. If we analyze the background of fresher, they are either from the middle class or star class of the society. Around 70% - 75% are from the lower middle class or middle class. According to the social analyst “the front runners for catching job are the students hail from vast middle class of Indian society however undeniably they have been the only reservoir of knowledge and research works for the different walks of life.” Result – to show the back to the challenges of ‘how to nurture the reservoir of knowledge’ have been inevitable. The present studies say that the enrollment in American Institutes declined from around 80,000 in 2004-05 to 76,503 in 2005-06 and will continue to fall in the forthcoming years also. But the interesting fact is that the ranks of students are swelled by 32% over the previous year. Decline in the number of candidates dreaming for technical/semi-technical studies and rapid declining value addition at the vast majority of universities are also significant to be noted. Thus, this is nothing but the penetration of money in the honey of academics and no bees are available to safeguard them.

There is growing paradox in the industry esp. the voice based call centers. Despite of the fact that the BPO firms have much innovation, flexibilities and freedoms, at the core, it denotes a relatively hollow form of life. Portrayal of ‘work as fun’ and ‘workplace as another campus’ is the central logic through which the potential workers are attracted to and engaged in the BPO sector. The superior façade of work in the sector and the vibrant ambience of workplace – with sweeping glass and concrete buildings, factory of jazzy computers, the company of smart and trendy peers –help in drawing educated and fun loving youngsters from urban middle class, who are fascinated with western ways of living and modern work environments. A review of advertisement of BPO reveals that preferred attributes of a call center are that of young graduates/undergraduates with English speaking and comprehension ability. The firm, in their profile and advertisements toss the bright ambience of workplace with lucrative offers as the prime aspect of attraction. The comparatively easy access to job, a good communicator, having little typing skills and a command over English is all that it requires. Though a newly hired agent engages in somewhat slightly elevated job of a receptionist/computer operator or a telephone operator, the firm are found labeling the job with very attractive nomenclature such as customer support associates, customer support officers, customer care officers, customer care executives and so on. All these cumulatively lead to favourable supply conditions in the labour market and the emergence of new genre of workers who stand apart from the regular workers of conventional manufacturing/service sectors in terms of socio-economic and demographic attributes. More or less, it fails to garner the prestige of “white collar job” among the youths now. The reason which can be summoned through the dialectic of data which reveals that the average year of education of the new breed of workers is16 years fills the qualified breeds to alienate from the main stream. It gives only the idea of work as fun rather than any seriousness and sincerity with professional touch.

This is really a conundrum to understand the BPO life-cycle. The average tenure at a voice-based Indian BPO is merely 18 months and 3-4 years for the other types of business process outsourcing firms in comparison to the normal service life of 25-30 years. Despite of all the positive features of attracting the young breed of ‘educated labourer class’ why the BPO is facing the annual attrition rate of around 50-60% needs an exigency of to be pondered over. The NASSCOM, National Human resource development network and ICRA in BPO report point out the cause of attrition as – wage inflation, expectation mismatch, job stagnation, lack of growth, quest for a better job, content and dissatisfaction with the company policy. But ultimately it gives inconsistency within. The BPO culture however, has resulted in the creation of a new class of workers with distinct features and differently conceived identity eroding even the basic rights at work. This class is not only squaring him from the education but willing to be trapped into the seduction of money and repent on their decision when their golden phase of learning comes to a permanent end. They joined initially for the sake of fun only but later, when they address the real challenges of their reel of life which is many more than the pharaoh monetary need, it becomes too late to move back. Either they are kicked off under the ‘push attrition’ measures of the company in order to save themselves from the long time commitments of their employee or voluntary attrition due to non-compliance of expectations which are natural due to nature of the work.

That’s why, the immediate challenge of the researchers and social scientist here is to delineate and explore the insecurities and vulnerabilities are so veiled in the organizational logic of the firm. However, every act decision and deliberation of business management has economic performance as its first dimension but if any firm or organization does not leverage the specific cultural heritage of a country and people, social and economic development is unlikely to take place. It is really an emergency of confining the ambits of hiring process in the BPO world as basic factor in economic development is the rate of brain formation not the employment guarantee. Any country can not afford to outsource its ethics in the name of economic development only. If we do not address the need to save the contraception of brain formation and quality production on time; this is appalling to say, but there will be no one to participate in the booming media sector which is going up at the rate of 19% per annum where real academic qualities are needed whereas the BPO does not require the academic qualification essentially. The poor status of research and development is again a different chapter. Science and technology on the basis of which any nation can represent it proudly on the world forum is still remained unaddressed. How long will we keep boasting on the pseudo victory where that victory is going to prove itself lethal for a balanced development? The tier division of educated class is the only way out for the ongoing enigma; of course, hunting for new scapegoats in the university campus is not justifiable.

An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Have you ever thought what makes one manager better than another? It might start with his or her credibility. Good values give leaders credibility. Today’s politicians argue about God’s political affiliation. Politicians promote values like they were Nike shoes. As a result, Americans are now cynical their leaders.

Let’s examine this matter closer. In 1998, President Clinton was caught in a vicious sex scandal. Clearly, it was a national disgrace. There was a circle of low character issues, including adultery, lies, and betrayal. His opponents gleamed at the possible political advantages. However, the results were different than expected.

A character train wreck pursued. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich resigned, and his replacement Bob Livingston resigned after his adulterous scandal. As a result of these personal shames among politicians, voices grew quieter about these unethical deeds. No one was discussing good family values during this scandalous timeframe. However, people want to think highly about their leaders. Leadership gurus Kouzer and Posner explain that most individuals admire leaders who are honest, inspiring, and competent.

I wonder why these powerful people don’t get it. Why do some politicians feel they can short circuit good character in their offices? People do care about character. Clearly, effective leaders need to understand that character does count and is valued among followers. Therefore, more politicians need to listen closer.

I took a course in social deviance several years ago. What this course helped me understand is that societies and cultures have their own definitions of values and they exist on a continuum. Anything outside the boarders of the continuum is deviant. In relation to values, both ultraliberal and ultraconservative are inappropriate values within the society or culture’s definition. The problem with this is how one society and another define the same value.

When one experiences a significant emotional event it may tear the fabric of their values leaving them with the options you identify of confirmation, rejection, or modification. Further, when one wants to assimilate into a new culture, one tends to accept the values of that culture in spite of ones acculturated values.

We have evidence of this from our study of Paul’s letters last term. Paul had the option to reject his calling. He did modify his values accepting the values of the new sect growing out of Jerusalem.

We read an interesting argument in Joas (2000) on self and values. We base our value system on how we define ourselves, a declaration of what we commit to and from what we distance ourselves. Therefore, our self-defining becomes a “strongly valued good” (pg. 130). We make qualitative distinctions on our actions creating a value preference self-defining what is important.

Joas' suggestion takes into account life-long development of values through interaction with others. Johnson (2005) writes of casting light that spiritual development goes through several stages. At the primal level, spiritual development is of trust of parents and caregivers. Progressing, one begins to internalize beliefs and values of family and those barrowed from others, until one has an “individuative-reflective faith” (pg 111) of doubt and question. At mid-life, one accepts others’ beliefs and values and may reach the stage “universalizing faith” (pg. 112) desiring to serve a greater good beyond oneself.

In a biblical world view, both seem supporting Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”

Joas (2000) opens us to a new level of value development through the internalizing of new experiences and “interpretation of complex activity in which we strive for harmony…” (pg. 135). Values change based on experience coupled with new experiences and new “ways of life and practices” (pg. 135).

Leaders within organizations who are founded spiritually display inward, outward, and corporate disciplines that aid in developing new values in workers. Inward values include disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study. Outward disciplines involve simplicity, solitude, submission, and service. Corporate disciplines shown by leaders are confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. Johnson (2005) presents these 12 disciplines of individual and corporate values as a way to seek a level of leader servanthood.

Compare Joas and Johnson with the spiritual gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, the similarity is striking.

A few months ago, I was given a bar of soap from a very well know high-end chain store. The person who gave me the soap knew I worked with this type of product and wanted to give something she thought I’d like.

I looked at product, liked color and fragrance, put it on a shelf, and honestly forgot about it. The other day, needing a new bar of soap, I found the bar and decided to use it.

Reading the back, it gave the name of the company with their motto, “From the Heartland of America.” The very next line read, “made in Guatemala.”

So when, may I ask, did Guatemala become a “State?”

And, on top of that, once I took the clear wrap off, I was disappointed in the soap itself.

To anyone who has used M&P, you will understand. To all others M&P means Melt & Pour. You go to your local craft store, buy a base, heat it up and pour into molds of choice. Nice way to have decorative soap without the hassle and having lye around the house.

So, this soap looked like someone had used M&P, added color and fragrance. Because it came from this well know chain, I was curious about what the cost was and decided to go to my local mall to check out the price for myself. $8.00 a bar, only one word for that, RIP-Off! OK, so that’s two, but who’s counting.

Now, please don’t get me wrong, I’m all for fair trade, but to say the product is from the heartland of America, than have the very next line read “Made in…….,” sounds a little false advertising to me.

Company headquarters, yep, in the heartland of America, but Guatemala? Maybe my sense of geography is playing tricks on me. Last time I looked at my map of the world Guatemala was in Central America, or have we annexed it, so that it is a protectorate like Puerto Rico and Guam? If so, then yes, it can then say, “Made in America,” or for that matter from any region of this great country.

But, maybe I’ve read it wrong, they were on two separate lines. Just maybe in my old age, I’m beginning to run words together. But to read From the Heartland of American, then to read Made in Guatemala, simply does not ring true.

Producing products outside of the USA, may save companies money by paying less for wages, but why not pass that savings to the consumer. If they can give retiring executives retirement packages worth millions, why not give a little back to the average buyer.

High-end products are nice, but when money is running low, guess I will not be going to the mall for my soap. The best soap I’ve used has been made by a friend, the old fashioned way. In fact, my son swears by her Goat’s Milk Soap.

Since “made in …..” has become our 53rd state, wonder if I can save money but shopping there?

“ Choosing one's leaders is an affirmation that the person making the choice has inherent worth.” Linda Chavez

As I glanced at the news, I was reminded of the ugliness of humanity. Do we really need another ethical scandal in America? Bernie Ebbers, WorldComm founder, started a 25-year sentence for an $11 billion account fraud. Likewise, HP had its own embarrassing moment with scandals. Recently, HP decided to keep Board Chairman Dunn after the chairman was discovered wiretapping her board. What are these executives thinking when they conducted these transgressions against their corporations?

Does character count in capitalism? Guinness, a religious authority, explains that contemporary society views character as something that distinguishes an individual; however, biblically, character is viewed as essentially moral. In many cases, character doesn’t count in secularism.

Most corporations preach high ethical behavior but are sidetracked morally by the bottom-line. Joyner, author of Leadership Management, argues that outstanding leaders fail unless their lives are underpinned with honor, morality, and character. Under the current model, anything goes. Don’t get caught! Any path will do. However, Jesus disagreed in Luke 13: 24 “Do all you can to go in by the narrow door! A lot of people will try to get in, but will not be able to.”

Don’t expect companies to clean themselves up. However, a wave of moral conduct is coming. Maynard and Mehrten, renowned futurists, maintain outside forces will demand high ethics and a moving away of a focus solely on material gain.

Therefore, leader get ready. We are entering this moral revolution.

The greatest shifts in American culture tend to originate from the media, but even something as innocuous as a saying can drive a cultural change. One saying in particular seems to epitomize a cultural shift that seems to be going unnoticed.

“Just do it and ask for forgiveness later.”

Heard that one lately? Used that one lately? We all have, and most of us have likely heard this used at work.

The first time I heard it, I was a little shocked. It sounded like something I would have used as a kid while trying to rationalize using Mom’s Visa Card without her knowledge. Taken aback, I looked back at my manager to see if he was serious; he was. The walls of resistance softened, and I began to nod slowly. The stamp of authority seemed sufficient to justify doing something that I would not have ordinarily done.

Maybe I was raised with unusual values. My parents were adamant that I say “please” and “thank you”. I didn’t tell my parents where I was going or what I was doing; I had to ask. May I go to Suzi's house? Can I borrow your earrings? It wasn’t considered good manners to take things that weren’t yours without asking, and it wasn’t okay to do things without checking in with other people first, especially authority figures.

The ironic thing is that those values segued nicely into the professional world. We don’t go into someone’s office and take a file from their desk when they aren’t around. We wait until they show up and then we ask them for the file. We don’t make big decisions without communicating with others first. We consult with our managers, discuss with our team members, loop in our clients.

But one day we started saying things like, “It’s okay, we’ll purchase it now and ask for forgiveness later when Finance realizes it went over budget”.

I took a moment to deconstruct what was happening here. First, let’s state the obvious. In these cases, the person knows that they are doing something wrong. They know they are going over budget. But, they don’t care. They have an opportunity to approach Finance and have a conversation with them about getting the necessary approval. They don’t do it because they know the request will be denied. So, they take the conniving, underhanded, manipulative route instead. When you catch yourself using the same strategy as your eight year old kid, you really ought to slap yourself on the hand and reconsider your approach.

Now, perhaps I’m overreacting and reading into this a bit too much, but here’s a perspective on what this “approach” to life and business is really enabling:

• This seems to suggest that you can do whatever you want with total disregard toward others as long as you follow it up with an obviously insincere apology later

• It appears to be socially okay to disrespect others. According to this, you can borrow your roommate’s things without asking and steal your coworkers food from the fridge at work. For the truly advanced, you can violate rules, go around the system, thumb your nose at the law and cheat on your spouse – as long as you can con them into accepting your apology if you get caught.

No wonder systems aren’t effective! It’s no surprise that people don’t trust others. Doing it and asking for forgiveness later is becoming a norm, which is now accepted and even worse, tolerated. When we go over budget, Finance reworks the numbers and fits it in somehow (usually by taking away from another department).

And what is it that we are actually tolerating? At the root of this, aren’t we are tolerating being blatantly disrespected? In some cases, the person knew they were doing something that you would not have approved of (forging your signature, having an affair), and yet they did it anyway. In other cases, they didn’t know whether you would have approved of it or not (borrowing your snowboard, drinking the last of your milk). We don’t consider that we may be inconveniencing that person for our own immediate benefit. “Who used up my milk? I needed it for a dessert I’m making tonight. I don’t have time to run out to the store now.”

Regardless, there seems to be an entitlement factor that is driving our actions and decisions. It’s okay to do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself. Others will figure out a way to sweep up after you. Others will work around you and figure out a way to deal with it. Others will make adjustments (at their own sacrifice) based on what you did. In other cases, you’ll be able to talk your way out of it, buy your way out of it, or will simply accept the loss as a game that you didn’t quite pull off.

Those “other” people are real people. They are part of our universe, and what we do affects them. I guarantee you will find yourself on the receiving end of a counterfeit apology and pleading eyes, and I hope you recognize it for what it truly is. Instead of accepting it, confront the person. Ask why they thought it was okay; if they don’t have a legitimate answer, tell them that you found their actions to be disrespectful and unacceptable. Attach and enforce real consequences. Let them know that you aren’t okay with the approach they took. If their behavior left you questioning their ethics, judgment or integrity, tell them that. Stand up for yourself. Respect yourself enough to demonstrate to others that you expect respect from them.

The entitlement factor is so great that we have cast aside manners where we treat others with courtesy and respect in favor of taking care of our own needs expeditiously. I fear that this may be the beginning of a cultural change where treating others with disrespect is socially acceptable, which can have truly disturbing consequences and impacts on our society.

I ask you to demonstrate integrity and build trust in others by rejecting this problem solving solution. We are not crafty children or wily teenagers, we are adults who have the knowledge, skills and savvy to render this tactic unnecessary in both our professional and personal lives. Set a new standard on respect for yourself and those you work with.

We hear a lot about business ethics issues in the United States and yet our businessmen and women are some of the most ethical business practitioners anywhere in the world. The transparency, integrity and accountability in American business is not found anywhere else in the world. With all the disclosure, over regulation, lawsuits and government forms it would be difficult to call any American businessperson unethical. Yet, we find that the mass media hysteria, incited by folks who do not understand commerce has cheated the positive American opinion about business ethics.

The truth of the matter is that ethics in business, the military, sports, government or even the nonprofit sector in the United States is a reflection of the overall ethics of the average human in our civilization. For someone to say that people are less ethical in business than let's say it law-enforcement; this would be a failure to adequately observe the reality of the situation.

Many people believe that our court systems and lawyers are of the highest ethical standards, but it simply is not so. Even the fine folks in government who are regulating the business community have to draw from this same population base. This is why the ethics in Government are no better than those in business; perhaps Government ethics are worse because there is less oversight. Is this good or bad? It is neither, it just is.

For us to discuss business ethics properly we must be honest with ourselves, we cannot simply label all business people as crooks, shysters or con men. Unfortunately it seems that many people in our society are pointing fingers at the business community, when in actuality they should be looking in their mirrors. In this book we will discuss and contemplate the reality of human psychology and ethics and look into the abuses of power in government, government regulators and how over regulation to prevent criminality in business is a self-fulfilling prophecy and how we are making criminals out of hard-working men and women and our brightest entrepreneurs.

As a businessperson and a Franchisor, I have been critical of over regulation at every level; Associations, City, County, State, Federal and International and more often than not government agencies, Trade Organizations and Associations are used by companies to attack their competitors. In fact, that in itself is unethical and once again proves that you cannot regulate morality and if you allow those who will point fingers to assist in the abusing of power you will undermine the inherent integrity of free-markets between buyers and sellers. I hope you will enjoy this discussion and the thoughts on business ethics and I thank you for reading this article, as it is one of my first on this subject. Perhaps this topic is of interest to propel thought in 2007?

Business Law Before you start a business, legally, you need to obtain any business licenses or permits required by law. Doing so will identify your business, protect public health and safety and help you keep track of your finances for tax purposes. The application for an employer identification number (EIN) is available at the IRS website; an EIN is required for corporations, LLCs and partnerships, as well as any sole proprietors who will hire employees. Unless your company's service or product is regulated by a federal agency, you probably won't need any federal licenses or permits. However, things like public transportation, investment advice, or producing drugs or firearms, require supervision by a federal agency and you will need special licenses. If, for example, you will become involved with environmental regulations at the federal level, you'll need to deal with the EPA.

State Business Licensing Laws States license people in certain professions, such as lawyers, doctors, and accountants. Your state might also require a license for certain other businesses such as barbers or real estate agents. You should check with your state to find out if your business requires a state license or permit. Selling certain products including alcohol and lottery tickets might also require a state license.

Your municipality might require a license or permit for your business. Check with your city or town to find out about zoning laws to ensure that you are allowed to conduct business in a particular building like your home or the storefront you rent. If you are involved in retail sales, you will also have to pay state and local sales tax. Depending on your city, this could be done at the state level or both the city and state levels.

Internet marketers, when making a list of the things they think they need in order to successfully run an Internet business usually include the following:

1. A Web Site
2. Ads
3. Articles
4. Money For Promotion
5. A Product
6. An E-Zine

And the list goes on and on. But 95% of them forget one thing, and it's probably the one most important thing you need to have if you're going to succeed.

It's called credibility.

Instead of trying to define what that is, I'm going to give you a very simple example of how not having it will shoot down any chance you have of being successful.

You've just signed up with this great new program. It's the hottest thing since sliced bread. You've got your ads out all over the place. Finally, somebody emails you or even calls you on the phone if you've provided them with a number, and they ask you about this wonderful program. And you start telling them all about it. You can't rave about it enough. And then comes the question that makes it all meaningless.

"How much money have YOU made with this program?"

Do you see where this is going?

Sure, you can lie. But trust me, that lie will come back to haunt you in more ways than you can imagine. Or, you can tell the truth.

What do you think is going to happen when you tell this person that you haven't made a DIME?

Without credibility you are NOWHERE.

So, the $64,000 question is, how do you get credibility? How do you show people that you ARE a successful person online when you haven't made a buck?

The answer is simple, but you're not going to like it.

You're going to have to go out and make a buck.

If this sounds like a catch-22, it's not. There are ways out there to make money without having to promote a product or recruit. You just have to find them. My book has a number of ways to get that credibility so that you can show people that you HAVE made money online.

Fortunately, my Honest Income Program ebook, which you can find in my signature, WILL give you ways where you can get credibility and be able to easily promote your business with some degree of success.

The point is, there ARE ways to make money online even if you don't get my book. Just do a search engine search for online jobs or something like that. Some jobs pay okay, some not so great. You're not going to find anything that's knock 'em out of the ball park.

But, before you can go out hawking your "biz-of-the-week" you will have needed to earn at least a few hundred to a few thousand dollars before you're going to have ANY chance to get people to believe you.

If you think I am kidding, try getting people to sign up to your program when you haven't made a cent online. You may get lucky in one out of a thousand responses, but by the time you get your next sign up, the guy you just recruited will be gone because he too didn't make a cent and got fed up.

I hope everyone will take the issue of credibility seriously. I had no success online at all until I got it.

Trust me, it is the number ONE thing we all need.

There is a large ground swell building in the general public. If you wish to be successful with your Internet business, then you had better ensure that you practice integrity in all your business dealings.

Everywhere I turn, people are discussing how they or someone they know has been ripped off by another Internet scam. Thousands of Internet customers have been burned by Internet businesses that put financial success ahead of business integrity.

My mentor, Mike Litman, #1 International best-selling Author of "Conversations With Millionaires" keeps telling me, "Gilbert you must grow as a person before you can reach a new level of income." He insists that you have to ensure that your customer gets way more benefits than he has paid for. You must ensure that he always feels happy and satisfied because he did business with you. In this way, he will be willing to do business with you in the future.

Jim Rohn, a great motivational speaker, says it is far more important who you are becoming than what you are earning from your Internet business. Jim advocates that you should work toward becoming a millionaire, not for the money, but because of whom you become while achieving that goal. He stresses becoming a better person, a person who has integrity.

Integrity is defined as soundness, adherence to a code of values, having utter sincerity, honesty and candor. In other words, being someone who can be counted on, or depended upon. If you say that you are going to provide a service or product for a certain amount of money, then you do it. You are looking out for your customers, as well as yourself.

In most cases your reputation will precede you! If you conduct your business with integrity, word will get around. Similarly if you think that no one will discover your flawed business practices, you are wrong, this type of behavior will spread even faster, and on the net, word spreads at the speed of light.

One of the universal laws of success is that financial success follows hard work done with honesty. Help enough people get what they want and you will find that you receive what you want too. However, if you are just looking out for yourself, you are only hurting yourself in the long run. Wouldn't the Internet be so much better if we were all watching out for each other?

One important lesson that you must learn if you are going to have a successful Internet business, is that people buy from those whom they trust. If they trust you, they will buy from you. If your integrity is guiding you as you make your presentation to others it will come across to your potential buyer. You are more likely to make that sale with your integrity guiding you than with any other aspect in your presentation.

It does not matter how well you intellectually present your service or product, if your prospects detect flaws in your character you might as well close up your website and admit that it’s over. Perhaps an even greater reward for being a man or women of integrity is that you will sleep better at night just knowing you did your best to sincerely help others achieve their dreams. What can be more rewarding than to help others reach their goals?

And finally, if you use integrity in everything you do, your children will have someone that they can be proud of and more importantly someone whom they can trust and that’s something that money can’t buy!

The phone card business is not what is was a few years ago. Every new telecommunications product that comes along, has a product life cycle of about four years at which time something new and better comes along, and so begins a downward trend. There are still millions of phone cards being purchased every day at this country in convenience stores, gas stations, online websites, news stands, and at various ethnic restaurants, ethnic grocery stores, and ethnic import stores. While many international phone cards represent excellent value when calling your home country, Why is it that almost every phone card advertises more minutes than it delivers?.

First, let's understand the trend.
When phone cards first hit the market in the USA, calling cards were advertising and giving about 25 domestic minutes on a $10 phone card. This was a good deal, since long distance credit cards issued by the phone companies such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint, and others were assessing a surcharge of about $1.50 to make a call using a long distance calling card. Most of the early phone cards disclosed and assessed a connection fee on international calls of $1.00/minute.

As technology made it easier to get into the calling card business, competition for minutes began to heat up. While the actual cost of long distance minutes was coming down, phone card companies were struggling with the hidden costs of issuing phone cards. For example, the cost of making a phone call to Nigeria includes an inbound 800 number (or local access number) leg and an outbound international leg. The phone card issuer has to pay for the inbound 800 number leg, even if the call does not complete to Nigeria. Typically this might result in 20 "incomplete" calls billable to the phone card issuer, for every one billable phone call to Nigeria, especially if there is a poor quality service in the local Nigeria community. Phone card companies who did not adjust for these costs, ran up big debts and often went out of business. Soon the hidden surcharge was invented to deal with these costs.

Early calling card surcharges were disclosed. At the beginning (around 1985), phone cards were such a good deal, most phone card companies were run by honest techno - entrepreneurs, who disclosed their surcharges. For example, a typical surcharge was $1.00 for each international call; and the phone card delivered the advertised minutes after deducting $1.00 for the call. The poster adjusted for the connection fee, so that a $10 phone card with a connection fee of $1.00 and $.10 per minute, would announce and deliver 90 minutes on one call, 80 minutes over two calls, etc. The surcharge was only deducted for completed calls. This covered the cost incurred by the phone card company for all the uncompleted calls. But as competition heated up, phone card companies began to find that the consumer would prefer to buy a phone card with smaller connection fees. So advertised connection fees began to come down, but phone card issuers applied other surcharges and named them "communication taxes".

This resulted in the birth of the hidden fee. Phone card industry soon came up with all sorts of ways to increase the advertised minutes on a calling card, while delivering fewer minutes than advertised. This practice has continued to this day, to the point where virtually no phone cards delivery advertised minutes on multiple calls over a period of weeks. Most if not all all phone card companies charge some combination of call connection fees, long call surcharges, activation fee after the first completed call, daily or weekly maintenance fees. More often than not, these fees are not accurately disclosed. Moreover, it is common for card issues to juice up the fees to certain countries on a temporary basis if they find that consumers are actually using the card to call the countries with the most advertised minutes. The president of a well know Florida based phone card company claims these temporary fees are justified when consumers "bastardize" his phone cards, by making calls only to the advertised countries.

What is the best way to compare phone cards?
First, know that all phone card companies cheat on their minutes. All of them, including AT&T, MCI, Sprint, as well as the thousands of smaller phone card companies advertise more minutes to a certain country than they deliver over multiple calls.

Bait and switch
Keep in mind that almost all phone card companies reduce or eliminate their fees altogether during the first 30 to 90 days of a new card release. Once the card is popular with consumers, stores and distributors; the fees begin piling up. It is reasonable to assume that phone card companies who issue one or more phone cards every month for calling to the same region of the world, are doing so specifically with the intention of jacking up the fees after a few months on the older phone cards. The big phone card companies have actually turned this into a science. They know exactly how much money they are willing to loose at the beginning on a new phone card, so they can make it up later on with hacking fees. Consumers will generally do good to jump on the new phone cards issued by companies who have issued good phone cards in the past.

How to test a phone card:

Try this if you wish to test any phone card to any specific country (if you find one to be good, we certainly want to know about it)

1. First buy a phone card based upon the minutes listed on the point of sale phone card poster displayed in the convenience store, gas station, restaurant, or ethnic store.

2. Write down the number of minutes advertised on the back of the phone card, while you are in the store.

3. When you get home get some paper and write down the name of the phone card, the date, the country you plan to call, the city you plan to call, and the destination phone number you plan to call, and the minutes advertised on the phone card poster to that country.

4. Get a good timepiece. Preferably one with a second hand, or a stop watch.

TEST CALL #1
5. Now make a test call. On your paper write test call #1. Write down the date and time of the test call. (Remember to write down the country, city and dialed number)

6. Usually, you will get an announcement telling you how many minutes you have remaining for this phone call. Write down the announced minutes and hang up immediately. Were the announced minutes the same as the minutes advertised on the poster?

(now in theory, you have not completed a phone call, so your phone card should not be debited.)

TEST CALL #2
7. Now write down on your paper Test call #2, then repeat the exact same process once again. Remember to write down the date and time of the test. Write down the the announced minutes.

8. THEN HANG UP immediately after the announcement..

Note: Did the announced minutes change from the first call to the second call?

TEST CALL #3
9. Now if you are patient, put the phone card away, and wait until tomorrow. This will tell you if the phone card company charges an activation fee even if you do not complete a phone call. Some cards charge an activation fee immediately after the first call while some charge the activation fee at midnight after the first call. Most will not charge anything if the call is not connected. But some large big name companies charge an activation fee as soon as you enter the pin number!

10. Now we are ready to see what happens with a completed call. Write down the date, and time, and make a call to the same destination. Write down Test Call #3 on the paper. This time let the party at the other end answer, but tell them quickly that you are making a test call, and that you will call them back in a few minutes. Make sure you are on the phone call for less than one minute.

a. This time, write down the exact time you finish dialing the 800 number or the local access number.

b. Then enter the pin, and write down the exact time you finish entering the pin.

c. Next enter the destination number, and write down the exact time you finish entering the destination number. Make a note of the announced minutes.

d. Then write down the time when the dialed party answers the phone

e. Finally write down the time when you hang up after about 30 seconds.

f. Calculate the actual minutes and seconds of elapsed time from when the dialed party answers until you hang up. This is the call duration.

Now the fun starts.

TEST CALL #4
11. Make another call marked as TEST CALL #4 to the same phone number.

a. note announced minutes.

b. record start time (as soon as party answers) and end time (as soon as you hang up)

Note the difference between the advertised minutes and the announced minute after you only one completed 30 second phone call. Is there a significant difference?

TEST CALL #5
12. Now make another call TEST CALL#5 using approximately 25% of the remaining minutes.

a. once again write down the date, start time of call, end time of call, announced minutes

B. Write down the actual minutes talked (minutes and seconds)

By now you have a good idea if the phone card company is assessing hidden surcharges. But watch what happens next.

13. Once again put the card away until tomorrow.

TEST CALL #6
14. Make one more additional calls to the same number and mark the call as TEST CALL #6.

a Remember to record the announced minutes for each additional call, the date, the time, and the actual used minutes.

The variance between advertised minutes and delivered minutes will be more dramatic if you wait one week before making subsequent calls after #6.

TEST CALL #7
15. If there is additional time remaining on your phone card, go ahead and use it up over one or more calls, recording the date, time, duration, and announced minutes before each call.

One final test in order to see how your phone card performs "advertised" world is get a second phone card (same brand and denomination), and use it to make one long phone call. Record the date and time, the announced time, and the actual time from answer until the card is consumed, or until the phone card company disconnects or drops the call.

Now once all of this testing is done, if you feel you are not happy with the results, you can contact customer service at the customer service number on the back of the phone card and explain to them that you conducted a test, and let them know what you found. If you did not get the announced minutes, you might ask the customer service representative to reinstate the entire value of your card; so that you can try again and make just one long phone call.

I do not recommend that you get nasty with customer service, or they will just hang up. Likewise, if you are not happy, I would not recommend you take it out on the store owner where you purchased the phone card, because they do not make the phone cards. However it might be a good idea to give your store owner a copy of your notes. Convenience store owners, gas stations, and ethnic stores value your business. They would much rather sell quality phone cards. I suggest you give the store owner a copy of your test notes.

(There is little point in suggesting that you are going to go to the FBI, or FCC, or the Public Utility Commission. These agencies know what's going on, and if they wanted to prevent this sort of thing, they would have cleaned it up years ago... however if you are really upset, you might complain to the State's Attorney General. Unless the actual carrier and phone card issuer are located in your state, you will only be causing problems for some store owner or phone card distributor who has no control of the surcharges.) It might also be fun to take your notes to your local newspaper. The guy who prints the phone card is often also a victim of the guy hacking the minutes. The biggest companies are generally the biggest offenders. They have lots of fine print disclosures on their phone cards that nobody reads.

What to do with your test notes Finally, if you put your notes in a spreadsheet or email, and send them to bob@phonecardhotline.com, we will publish the results or a summary of the results. Or you can mail a copy of your results, together with the used phone card to: Phone Card Hotline, 7324 Valleyview Drive, Independence, OH 44131.

More testing fun If you contact our online retail business unit and tell them you wish to test a phone card to any of their popular calling destinations, they will generally give you one free calling card (if you purchase 3). For sure, if you find any phone card that stands up to this testing process and has no fees, we will most certainly want to know about it!

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

Ken Blanchard

Corporate executives appear to be faltering and need help. Scandals grow larger and more intensive day-by-day for organizations. Some people may proclaim that a highly respected consulting firm can get this job done. Executives only need to hire a good consultant, and the ethical issues will disappear. By being an objective party, a consultant can evaluate an organization and provide them new insight on organizational behavior.

In this line of reasoning, consultants become the executive’s moral compass; they serve in this role to produce ethical people at all levels. Unfortunately, given most consultants’ power position, this would not be the case for most consultants. Consultants are paid on a fee basis. Some work for unethical organizations. How does a consultant deal with an unethical client? Consultants have little formal organization power. Draft, organizational behavior guru, argues that expert power is derived from a person’s higher knowledge. Ciulla, author of Ethics: The Heart of Leadership, explains that all leaders bring a certain agenda to the table based on their value systems. Organizational leaders listen to consultants if they’re highly respected.

Fortunately, a consultant’s role can serve as a preventive and remedial action for management. In profit-making, Brown-Volkman, management consultant, argues that successful businesses stay positive. Consultants can use their influence for good. They can model high moral integrity. A consultant’s level of influence on customer values is a sliding scale on his or her expert power. If a consultant is highly respected, organizations may listen more about their ethical shortcomings. However, there’s a mental breakdown. Although the consultant’s influence is limited, he or she must always maintain their ethical standards. In bad situations, it is better over the long-term to just get out. Therefore, good consultants can make a difference by their moral conduct.

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

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

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

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

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

References:

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

FoxNews.com (2006). Hastert sys he did nothing wrong in foley page scandal. Received on October 13, 2006, from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,217943,00.html.

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

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

”Wealth in the new regime flows directly from innovation, not optimization; that is, wealth is not gained by perfecting the known, but by imperfectly seizing the unknown.”

Kevin Kelly

One question that comes to mind is “Why should we distinguish organizational values from personal values?” Let’s take a closer look. Over the centuries, philosophers and researchers have examined the various aspects of values and ethics. Our investigation today will take us on an ethical journey that will help understand how to improve the integrity of 21st century organizations as well as leaders.

Are we in a new era of corruption by senior leaders? Have you noticed all of the leadership scandals? You have high profile CEOs. You have government officials. You have celebrities. What are the results of these bad behaviors? People become less trusting of organizations and people. How can organizations exist when the leader-follower relationship is broken? According to one poll, 45% of the people give Congress poor marks for its honesty and ethics. How can intelligent and powerful people get in so much trouble?

In recent history, political strategists have shifted their approach for dealing with political scandals before the public. The most prevalent method is for a political figure to “get in front of the story” by voluntarily disclosing as much information as possible and by projecting an image of total cooperation with legal and media inquiries. This strategy goes along with denouncing questions as politically motivated, providing little information and praying that the storm will pass over.

Ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay took a similar approach when he discovered he was tied to the lobbyist Jack Abramoff scandal. Recently, evidence suggest that politicians are better off just hunkering down until it is over. This strategy is based on the belief that the public has a short attention span or memory. If a politician carries on with his duties, he can overcome any negative baggage. Examples of this approach can be found with prominent Democrats and Republicans as well the White House.

For example, President George Bush and the White House came under investigation in the Plame case in 2003. Senior White House officials faced legal and political scrutiny for leaking the identity of the covert CIA operative. The White House took no personnel actions and said nothing publicly. It appeared to have worked.

During the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal, President Clinton used the hunkered down approach. Polls taken during the time suggested that most Americans concluded that Clinton probably lied; they considered the matter a private one for family.

Clinton knew if he had acknowledged the affair in 1998, the political uproar would have driven him from office. Clinton explained in 2004, “I think the overwhelming likelihood is that I would have been forced from office…” Hunkering down does work. Unfortunately, this unethical behavior will continue unless citizens demand more. Lead, character does count.

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.

Machiavelli said that “The first opinion which one forms of a prince, and of his understanding, is by observing the men he has around him; and when they are capable and faithful he may always be considered wise”.

Similarly the selection of the employees in the modern organization is critical as they are the most valuable assets of the organization. Machiavelli proposed that those should be hired who believe in the grandness of the task and greatness of the leader rather than who are simply driven by other factors like money and reputation (Knowledge@Wharton, 2003). As per him the people looking for money and reputation will leave the moment they will get it better somewhere else.

Secondly all the employees and subjects should be armed as the power of prince will considerably increase with their number. This can be easily translated into providing more opportunities to employees in the work place. This will not only prepare them for bigger task but also improve their loyalty toward the organization.

End Justify the Means

The word ‘Machiavellian’ in English is now widely referred as ‘the political doctrine of Machiavelli: any means (however unscrupulous) can be used by a ruler in order to create and maintain his autocratic government’. The book time and time again mentions that it is prudent for a ruler to use cunning and necessary evil activities, either to instigate fear among his opponents or to protect his kingdom.

The philosophy today is as outdated today as media plays an increasing role in public life and people have zero tolerance toward unscrupulousness. Even in the business world anything unethical is looked down upon and there are strict regulations against it.

Time and time again we have witnessed how the companies which adhere to unscrupulous methods to justify the means are punished not only by authorities but also by the stakeholders. Nike has seen customer protest and product boycott against employment of child labor in its vendors factories in South Asia. Wal-Mart is criticized for not allowing its employees to form labor union and making illegal workers clean stores to cut costs.

The biggest of all is the rigorous punishment to CEO’s of Enron and WorldCom who were found guilty in manipulating accounting practices and fattening profits of the company.

Companies these days are more concerned about ethics attached to their publicity, and among their shareholders and future investors. All around the globe, one can see that investment now seems to be more sensitive towards fair dealing and conducting of businesses. Ethical awareness spread during the era when companies' frauds are seen very often appearing in the newspaper and media around the globe including major stock listed corporations.

Different nations now share common policies of interest to strengthen ties with other nations and their businesses then tend to grow more rapidly with the understanding of mutual trade agreements to help them in economic growth and development. By joining hands together, it will definitely extend the work by outsourcing to cheap labour in developing nations, creating more job opportunities, and the outcome is prevailing on local and foreign investors. The pros and cons still lay as an open threat to the world and precisely to the poor nations, which constantly struggle to match the ethical requirements to compete in the world market. Global impact of changing business trends to improve quality of production and services costs the companies their skilled workers and resources available at high cost, which are covered by ripping off the unwanted labour from their human resources. This leads to a low profile approach by individuals seeking a proper place in the social and economic norms of life.

Young entrepreneurs have emerged in the business highline voluntary to express their concerns for changing the way of thinking and approach to solutions of problems faced around the world. It proves to be a source of innovative ideas in these voluntary entrepreneurs to uplift the economy as well as bring new ideas of performing activities of daily life to remittance and from import/export of goods to telecommunication.

The introduction of the Internet has surprisingly changed our way of life as a society. It has defined the way we do business and the way we correspond. The Internet has opened many opportunities for online trading. The financial industry revolves around the Internet. Every thing is just a few clicks away. This makes online trading most convenient. But there are still investors who prefer the old fashion way of offline trading and they mainly prefer offline trading for security reasons.

Internet has introduced a way for consumers to manage their money online. Not to mention, Internet has transformed the way investment companies operate their business and has made it easy for private investors to gain straight access to a range of different markets and online tools that were at one point only reserved by the use of investment professionals. Consumer investing and online trading has dramatically changed over the last decade. Online trading dynamically continues to be redefined. Services have expanded to include integrated management of additional financial accounts. Not to mention, it has subsequently expanded in conjunction with ground-breaking improvements to the traditional trading interface, such as telephone interface systems.

Of course, online trading has many pros. There are several wonderful reasons to invest online and consider online trading.

1. Money saving opportunities The amount of money you save depends primarily on the online brokerage firm that you choose. No two firms are the same. There may be different regulations, similar to bank regulations. There are minimum deposits required that must be maintained. As mentioned above, this will depend on the online brokerage firm.

2. Instant online access You can gain instant access to your account, the value of your portfolio updates immediately before your eyes.

3. Enter online trades at anytime You can enter online trades at anytime and from anywhere. This is very convenient if you live in a different time zone than the country you are trading in. Not to mention, it is especially fit for investors with busy schedules.

4. With online trading you are in charge You are in control of your investments. No sales pitches and no hassle. You decide where to invest your money.

Nevertheless, with all the convenience of online trading there are still investors who prefer the old fashion way of offline trading. Offline trading has lost some popularity but it is still the main form of investing. Offline trading offers many benefits as well.

1. The one benefit that an investor appreciates the most is that they are not alone when making investment decisions.

2. There are experienced and professional brokerage companies that handle their investments for them.

3. Investors are not faced with the challenge of making these vital investment decisions; especially, if they do not have the experience necessary to make the appropriate investments.

4. Also, there is someone there to answer any questions that may cause concerns.

Not to mention, with offline trading mistakes are less likely to take place. No one wants to throw their money away or stand by and watch someone else throw their money away. It may be wise to hire a professional to assist you in making the correct investment decisions if you feel you lack the knowledge necessary.

Everywhere you look there is information on how individuals can protect themselves from credit card fraud. This information can be found at banking institutions, libraries, on TV, on the Internet, its everywhere. However, that isn’t the case for businesses. How can your business protect itself from these fraudulent individuals who make purchases for products or service online or over the phone? Like most business, you may ship the products before discovering that the credit card is stolen. In this case, your company suffers the bill and the true owner of the credit card cannot be held reliable.

Nevertheless, these are the steps to protect your business from fraudulent individuals and avoid this terrifying situation.

1. It is important that you gather all the information associated with the credit card. This can be done by requesting all of the information exactly as it is shown on the card. This information includes: The cardholder’s name (Exactly as shown on the card, including middle name or middle name initial). Request all 16 digits on the credit card. Request the credit card verification number. This number is the last 3 or digits located on the back of the card after the account number. Request the expiration date on the card. Request the billing address for the card which in most cases should not be a P.O. Box. Requesting this information is very important. The fact is that most card thieves only have the card number. They will not have any other information associated with the card. By having all of this information you will be able to utilize address verification services. Address verification service compare the billing address given by the customer to the banks database and alerts the user if the addresses are different.

2. Pay particular attention to customers who list a different billing address and mailing address. In some cases, card thieves may also have the cardholders ID. In this case they will be able to supply the billing address; however, request for the product to be sent to a different address. You may opt to call the bank of the credit card and ask them to call the cardholder to verify the purchase. It is definitely advised not to ship orders internationally with a different billing and mailing address.

3. In most fraudulent cases, the card thief will request a next day delivery. They want to get the product fast and without being caught. This is a red flag and should be carefully observed. If the order is larger than your typical orders, most definitely question it. Remember, the card thief is not concerned about how much he/she is spending; it is not their money. Most likely, he/she needs a large quantity for resale.

4.As a business owner, you want to do everything it takes to protect your business from fraudulent activity. It may be resourceful to have all the information collected validated by the customer. Since you are not meeting with the customer directly, it is wise to request that the customer fax you a copy of the credit card and photo id. This may seem extreme, but not as extreme as been taken for thousands of dollars in products. This precaution should most definitely be exercised for large orders involving heavy sums of money.

5.If you do find yourself a victim of this fraudulent activity, take immediate action to reduce loss. a.Immediately inform your local police department. Make sure to answer all the questions the police may ask and give them all the information that you have.

b.Contact the bank of the credit card. Request that the issuing bank calls the customer to inform them of the situation. Make sure to give the issuing bank all the information that you have. Including, the billing and mailing address the card thief submitted. When the cardholder calls your company, explain the importance of the situation and why it is vital that he or she also reports the incident to the police.

By following these steps you are taking the necessary action to protect your business from credit card fraud.

With over ten years behind me since I walked into Federal Prison, I can clearly see the effects of the choices we make. We can wander in the illusion of life and think that we have eluded the consequences of our choices, but those consequences are inescapable. Whether in our personal life or in business, the choices we make on a daily basis will always have a consequence.

Don’t mistake, however, the word – consequence. Consequence doesn’t carry with it an emotional outcome of good or bad. Consequence is just the outcome. Whether it is good or bad depends on the choice made and how the recipient feels about the consequence. Let me give you an example from a perspective that looks back over some time.

The day I walked through those prison doors was clearly one of the worst days of my life. I can’t begin to describe how low, unworthy, and valueless I felt as I took on my new identity. I went from being what some folks would describe as “somebody” to being what most would call a “nobody.” I was effectively the lowest of low in our society. Yet, looking back over my life since then, I found that this was one of the most valuable experiences of my life. Not only did I learn many valuable lessons that have been life changing, I’ve also found that sharing these lessons have been beneficial to others.

One of the greatest gifts we can give to others is to help them along their journey. Afterall we are souls having a human experience.

The following is my journal from the first day after my admission into Federal Prison. Perhaps the insight will help others. Read it and see where it takes you.

October 3, 1995.

I've been here less than 24 hours and understand that I will have time for reflection. I also now appreciate a good mattress! Sleeping on a 4-inch thick plastic mattress stretched across metal bars is not very comfortable. Should I expect more? This is prison.

As a new inmate there is nothing to do. I need to concern myself with something, but what -- I have no idea. For now, I'm writing to my children. My first letter from prison, and I feel sad. I know will be amazing how much they will grow during my absence. It's clear to me, that no amount of money can replace the loss that I feel right now.

It's been less than 24 hours and I have never had so much time to do what I want and the lack of freedom to do it. What I want is what I can't have.

It's 9:10 p.m. My cellmate, Buck, and I have just had an interesting conversation. It took some time for Buck to ask me what I was in for. Still being concerned about self-preservation, I told him I was a thief. He asked me what I stole? I said, “money.” He asked, “how much?” And a sternly as I could muster a response, I responded, “Is it really important how much?" We both seemed to understand that we were here, for reasons beyond what appeared on the surface. The amount was irrelevant. What was significant was what we did with the time we were given.

As we experience life daily, know that we are all more than what we seem and that each experience that we encounter in life has a purpose and meaning. We may not know at the moment what the meaning is or what value it brings. Make no mistake, meaning is there, we just have to look deep to find it.

As you read these articles, which include Lessons from Prison, you may find that you want to know more. Two specific results, which came from this experience, are the establishment of the Choices Foundation, a non-profit organization and a book that will be published in the late spring of 2007 – Success Beyond Illusion. The Choices Foundation funds educational scholarships for underprivileged youth and speaking to youth in High Schools, Churches and Universities about the effects of the Choices we make. If you would like to schedule a presentation for your organization, contact Chuck Gallagher at www chuckgallagher.com.

Whether the choice you make deals with your spouse, your family, business associates or people seemingly unknown to you, you do have an impact and your choices do have a consequence. In today’s society we seem bombarded with the effects of ethical choices and are reminded that bad choices = negative consequences. For information on how this message can be shared with your group go to www.chuckgallagher.com .

Chuck Gallagher is a successful sales executive, business entrepreneur, and professional speaker with humble beginnings: he was raised by a single parent in the projects. He has led a $25 million sales region with 100 sales representatives and started his own training business with projects in 30 states. Gallagher currently helps corporate employees realize the ramifications of their ethical choices. Through his own choices, Chuck learned this lesson the hard way.

In the middle of a rising career, Gallagher lost everything because he made some bad choices. He has since rebuilt his career and his life back to immense success. With more vulnerability than the average keynoter, Gallagher shares with his audiences his life journey, the consequences of his bad choices, and how life gives you second chances when you make the right choices.

Competent, educated and in prison – I would never have considered that this is where I would be some 11 years ago. But, there are consequences to every choice we make and though one might think that we can avoid the consequences – we can’t. They are unavoidable and certain. We just don’t know how or when we will face the inevitable.

As a former CPA who, through a series of choices, became a white-collar criminal, I now take the time to review my time in prison and write about that experience so that others may gain benefit from my experience. Some of us learn lessons the hard way. Yet, through sharing the experience of my incarceration, others have stated that they’ve been able to look at their choices in a different and more productive way.

While the prison experience was painful, as the following excerpt from my memoirs shows, it provided a foundation for an incredible opportunity for growth. Likewise, through the prison experience I found numerous ways to help others.

My journal dated - October 6, 1995 reads as follows:

“8:37 a.m. -- Reading this morning brought up feelings of sadness, once again. I understand I'm here to be punished, and being away from my children and the things I hold dear is punishment.

4:00 p.m. -- Its time for mail call and stand up count time. I live for this time. Being cut off from society is difficult. I hope each day that someone cares enough to send me a letter.

9:40 p.m. -- At dinner tonight I had a revelation, I need to talk to high school children and college kids, about the effects of the choices they make. 70% or more of the people here are here for drug-related crimes. It's sad to see the educational level of most of the inmates. How can anyone expect to ever break the cycle of poverty and crime, if they don't have the education to do so? I don't know my role now, but hopefully someday I can make a difference.”

Now, some eleven years later, I find that the personal growth from the prison experience provided a foundation for help to others. The revelation to speak to high school and college students has manifested through the establishment of the Choices Foundation, which provides a forum to educate young people on the effects of the choices they make.

It’s extremely powerful to see and hear how young people react to the message of choice and consequence. All too often they don’t experience the direct consequence of the choices they make. The detriment of youth is you haven’t lived long enough to see the link between choice and outcome. Likewise, many youth, other than perhaps those extremely disadvantaged, have no connection with anyone who has been incarcerated for their actions. Therefore, being exposed, in a direct way, to someone who has made unethical choices and faced the consequences, to some is profound.

All too often we find that “ethics” and “ethical choices” dominate our media through new events of what has been done wrong. In order to change our focus, we must create an awareness of what should be done right. Ethics and ethical thoughts must begin with an understanding that one cannot escape the consequences of their personal choices.

For a free report on the five most common corporate ethics violations, go to www.chuckgallagher.com.

Chuck Gallagher is a successful sales executive, business entrepreneur, and professional speaker with humble beginnings: he was raised by a single parent in the projects. He has led a $25 million sales region with 100 sales representatives and started his own training business with projects in 30 states. Gallagher currently helps corporate employees realize the ramifications of their ethical choices. Through his own choices, Chuck learned this lesson the hard way.

In the middle of a rising career, Gallagher lost everything because he made some bad choices. He has since rebuilt his career and his life back to immense success. With more vulnerability than the average keynoter, Gallagher shares with his audiences his life journey, the consequences of his bad choices, and how life gives you second chances when you make the right choices.

Have you ever noticed how untrusting people are? What is the cause of all this? Is it the media scaring people into believing that everyone is a scam artist? Is it the government causing mistrust amongst the masses to further propel law enforcement agencies, which in turn make more rules and regulations to control? Is it the Internet where everyone runs around using a false “pen name” as they practice deceit?

Recently, I was discussing some possible ideas for someone who wished to start their own business. They asked me some questions and I asked them some questions as well. Then their wife Esmirelda asked George, why is this guy helping you; what is in it for him? I found this interesting, as since when is it wrong to simply help someone or your fellow man? The gentleman then confronted me with this question and told me his wife wanted to know.

So I thought about it, why was I helping this man and discussing such things with him and giving him my advice that he had asked me for? I guess my goals of helping him and his family were somewhat personal; I think my reason for helping include; to keep your family together, help them start their dream small business, delete the stress of George, save their kids from hardship and for fun or intellectual exercise. The business was to be an education center for the arts.

For me I guess my wanting to help stemmed from some other interesting observations I had previously. It was something I saw a video on Education in the World from TED, as I think the speaker, Ken Robinson is right (see for yourself);

Many workers and consumers distrust CEOs (in part due to recent scandals like at Enron) and believe that they are overpaid. Many look at it as a moral issue saying that you cannot justify paying millions to one person when so many people are working for minimum wage and in poverty.

Sensational headlines add fuel to the fire. In Canada, there was a report published in most of the daily newspapers saying that by 10 am on January 2nd, the 100 top paid CEOs in Canada have already earned more than what the average Canadian makes in an entire year. A few more facts on this story: The average income of the 100 top paid CEOs in Canada is $9 million per year. The income of the average Canadian worker is $38,000 per year. Look at it this way – By the end of the fourth day of each year, these CEOs make more than twice what the average person makes in the entire year!

Stories like this are sensational. Sensationalism hurts reputations. Nothing was published about whether these CEOs earn their keep or how anybody would go about measuring their worth. Sure, some of these people are probably overpaid. But some are not. Some of these CEOs, I'm sure, risked everything to start the companies that they now preside over. They risked a lot. They now enjoy the rewards that come with success. Not to mention, many of these CEOs are probably responsible for the creation of many jobs.

In the end, nothing is really told except a headline saying that CEOs make a lot of money - Headlines written in a method to grab people’s attention and sell newspapers. There is more to sensational headlines than meets the eye. The unsuspecting public naturally comes to the conclusion that these CEOs are overpaid and immoral. In most cases, I don’t think that’s true.

Have you ever had one of those “ah-ha” moments when you quickly gained a greater awareness than you ever had before? I must say, that as bad as I felt in this place, prison was an intense learning lab. I didn’t know that going in, but in retrospect I am glad I took notes, because the lessons and opportunities for growth were coming at me quickly. How easy it would have been to miss those lessons.

Often folks grow weary when they hear people talk of learning through adversity. All too often we prefer life to be a smooth ride with few bumps in the road. Fortunately, I’ve experienced both and while there is joy in a calm pleasant ride, more times than not my greatest learning has been during turbulent times. The next section that follows is an excerpt from my Memoirs from Prison. In each of these one can capture a learning pearl – something that can be applied in everyday life, if only we let it.

October 5, 1995.

Buck, my roommate, and I talked for a long while last night. He is a spiritual person, doing his time, the best he can. He has five children in been in federal penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm surprised, but I like this guy, he seems to shoot straight.

Last night, Buck asked me a question. I don't recall today what it was, but I remember his response. He looked to me with a puzzled look, and said, “word?" I didn't understand, and repeated his statement with, “word?" He said, “Yeah -- word?” I must admit I didn't have a clue what he meant. Then he looked at me and said, “You just don't understand a brother do you?" And with that he walked out of the room.

I just stood there. I had no clue what just happened. Three days in prison, and we just hit a communications stumbling block. Moments later, Buck returned to the room and said,” I'll make you an offer. I'll teach you how to communicate in the hood, if you'll teach me how to talk, so I can get a job when I get out of here.” “Deal?”

At that moment, I began to understand the term -- success -- in a whole new light. I had always defined success in terms of one's possessions. But in here, we have no possessions. Success can be defined as being safe while in prison and getting out of prison safely. Buck recognized that I am a fish out of water. This is not my environment. But he is willing to help me achieve success here, if I could help him achieve success outside of prison. What an amazing opportunity that is placed before me.

Now, it’s over ten years later and that lesson still rings clear. Success in one’s life is not really measured by the “trappings” of success. Sure a big house, nice watch, expensive car, fine jewelry all are indications of abundance of resources – money. But none of them truly define success. I was, by all accounts, successful – at least that’s what everyone thought. Yet, by making unethical choices I gained a clear understanding of true success in one of the most unexpected places – prison.

Bad bosses, poor supervisors, inept managers create negative impact on the bottom line including less production, higher turnover and increased operating costs. These individuals all share one common trait – poor business ethics and values.

An organization is a group of people working together to achieve shared goals. Everyone should have the same high personal ethics and personal values respective to each other, the customers, the vendors and even the community. However, when supervisory or higher employees continually demonstrate negative values and ethics, the organization’s performance suffers from the bottom up.

Unfortunately, many of these same organizations believe the answer for these employee related issues is improved training for their employees and waste thousands of dollars focusing on the symptom instead of the problem. These organizations are living Einstein’s’ definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over again hoping for different results) on a daily basis

Florida State University just released a study (January 2007) of more than 700 people within a variety of industries and at different employment levels revealed some interesting facts:

* Almost two out of five bosses (39%) fail to keep their word
* One in four supervisors (27%) insulted those they supervised to fellow co-workers
* One in five (23%) blamed others for their mistakes
* Almost one in three (31%) used the silent treatment to show displeasure

All of these behaviors demonstrate that these bosses lacked personal values and personal ethics. This lack of ethical behavior may be attributed to top management because upper management has probably modeled the same behaviors. Finally, there is probably no core values adopted by the organization within the strategic plan. Even if there is a values statement, it is much more for show.

With all the national attention on corporate malfeasance to corruption politicians, we, as Americans, should not be surprised by the results of this study. Poor ethical behavior attracts poor ethical behavior and becomes the justifying reason for continued poor ethical behavior.

To stop this negative drain on productivity and the U.S. workforce in general demands that organizations adopt a values statement of non-negotiable behaviors within the strategic plan to be demonstrated to all external and equally important internal customers. Failure to adhere to these values is a reason for termination and termination will happen.

Ethics and values are part of the performance for all individuals. If management fails to treat everyone with respect, then how can management expect loyal employees?

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S. is a business coach who multiplies results for her clients beginning with the creation of executable strategic plans. With offices near Chicago, IL and in Indianapolis, IN, she writes, speaks and coaches individuals and business to achieve greater results by focusing on those obstacles that prevent improved performance.

One quick question,if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one roadbloack holding you back from success, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give me, Leanne, a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible results.

“In the end, integrity is all you’ve got…” this statement succinctly encapsulates the importance of ethics in the corporate scheme of things, and underscores its role as the corner stone of business practices today.

Jack Welch, former chairman of GE is a major champion of the supremacy of ethics in business. Whenever an employee’s actions have put GE on the wrong side of the law, he has hastened to co-operate with investigators, admit guilt and take prompt corrective action. Such corporate mea culpa has served the company well.

The time-card scandal in 1985 was the first significant ethical challenge of Welch’s 25year GE career. GE Re-entry Systems, a GE subsidiary, was making a new nose cone for the Air Force’s Minuteman missile. Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia charged it with 108 counts of criminal fraud. The indictment alleged that GE managers had altered worker’s time cards with improper charges totaling $800,000. Welch’s response and damage control were brilliant, thereby winning the trust of government officials. Welch personally called on Secretary Orr, presenting a comprehensive proposal for cleaning up the mess and preventing such mess from recurring. He created a top-level review board within GE to oversee compliance.

In this time-card case and other similar instances, candor and a determination to ally GE with the forces of law have enabled GE to emerge with more vitality and systematic approaches to ethics. The experiences also underscore the challenge of having to raise employees’ awareness of the need for high ethical standards.

“You can’t audit integrity into a system any more than you can inspect quality into a machine. Where you can make a difference is by changing the culture, by tireless, forceful leadership that won’t tolerate winking, rule-bending or looking the other way.” Welch was quoted as saying. His favourite question to GE employees was: “Can you look in the mirror every day and feel proud of what you are doing.” According to Welch, “In a global business, you can win without bribes. But you better have technology. That’s why we win in business like turbines, because we have the best gas turbine. You have got to be the low-priced supplier, but in almost all cases, if you have quality, price and technology, you win.”

Even the comeback kid, Donald Trump has this advice for businessmen: “Be honest, even if there are others around you who are not.” In the 1999, he almost wanted to run as a candidate for the Presidential election but eventually did not. Apparently, he had received good support of popular votes in the unofficial poll on his chances of running for Presidency. You can go bankrupt and fail in your business, but as long as your reputation of strong ethics stay intact, people will always remember that and you can make a comeback again.

Companies spend a lot of money in selecting its candidates. This is normally based on competence and achievements, which are easier to measure. However, it is equally important to select candidates with high levels of integrity and ethics. Strong ethical practices should pervade across the whole corporate spectrum. It is important that board members need to be more independent. Analysts too need to provide independent views and assessments in their reports on companies. Shareholders and investors need to focus and do their homework rather than merely relying on earnings per share and short term profits. All of these issues have to do with integrity as it is necessary to do what is right and ethical.