|
Favorits •
Web Domain Directory •
ODP •
Annuaire FR •
Directorio ES •
Directory EN •
Diretório PT •
IT Katalog •
Czech Katalog •
Polski Katalog •
Maps •
Satellite Photos •
View Card
|
||
|
|
Ethics |
|
|
| ||
 |
Ethics? How To Take the Measure Business
When asked to write a small piece pertaining to ethics and integrity in the business world, my first inclination was to draw on personal experience. Everyone has bad experiences to relate. We deal with a business, determine that we were treated shabbily therefore that business has no integrity. Or perhaps we disagree on the implementation of a refund, hence the business or owner has no ethics. Rather than using ethics or integrity to describe business practices, a better definition might be "character". My dusty old copy of Webster's New World Dictionary provides the following definitions for use in this context: -ethics...the study of standards of conduct and moral judgment; moral philosophy. -integrity...the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, and sincerity. -character...an individual's pattern of behavior or personality; moral constitution. moral strength; self-discipline, fortitude, etc. reputation. If you will look at these definitions you can see that ethics relates to standards of conduct. Period. Ethics are...no good or bad comes into the mix. Integrity either is or isn't. Sound moral principle is relative to the observer or end user. It stands to reason, therefore, that the best measure of good or bad practice falls to basic "character". Okay, so what does all of this have to do with business. Well, I wish I had a nickel for every time someone has asked me the following questions: "How do I tell if a business is good or bad?" "How do I know where to shop?" "Are they a good business?" My response is always the same...check the fruit on the tree. What is the pattern of behavior? What is the company's reactive personality? Is the moral constitution flexible rather than rigid? Check the reputation. The offline world provides numerous resources to determine the patterns and trends of businesses. Trade associations, chambers of commerce, better business bureaus etc. In the online world, however, we are still treading murky waters when it comes to measuring the "character" of a business. By far, the best route to take are testimonials. Testimonials on your website are powerful. But, they must be honest and sincere. Don't just make them up. Add a link back to the provider and it will increase your credibility TENFOLD! Now I know what you're thinking, "Who wants to be answering tons of email for ME?" Nobody. That's why you use the technology available at your fingertips. With the permission of the author, use a line or two of their testimonial on your site with a link to an autoresponder for the full message. Now, sit back and watch your credibility soar! Patty Baldwin © 2001 About The Author Patty Baldwin is a former Better Business Bureau executive and the owner of several online businesses. A successful net marketer, she invites you to visit any one of her sites at:
MORE RESOURCES: |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Business Ethics: How The Sales Function Can Transmit Company Values I recently got a "thank-you" call from a man who read my new e-book Buying Facilitation."Boy," he said, "this method sure helps me close more deals and make more money. Mind Your Own Damn Business Sexcess You have certainly heard the expression "mind your own damn business" used in a multitude of contexts. The most typical being the don't kiss and tell type statements, often uttered by responsibly private individuals about their love life. The Everyday Business Ethics Crisis Or Im Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take it Anymore Breaking news may feature the Enron debacle, WorldCom activities, or accounting problems but we live our everyday business life making ethical choices that affect our employment and businesses. Consider the ethical choices made in these situations:-A restaurateur hired a firm, used the firm's ideas, benefited from them and refused to pay for the services rendered. Enron's Ultimate Victim: Ethics FROM the 'MORAL HIGH GROUND', where we imagine ourselves, the Enron fiasco should have come as no surprise. Enron is simply a quintessential example of the degradation of principles such as trust, loyalty and ethical standards. Are You Selling Out Your Integrity? Integrity in business is a quality that is highly under-rated by executives these days. Many executives are so "pushed and pulled" by a not so hidden force called the "profit motive" that they often find themselves compromising something that without which they could lose all credibility and trust from those they are trying to retain business from. Brain Development and Due Process DUE PROCESSAfricans, especially Nigerians are stereotyped on the internet and offline in foreign countries as corrupt, cheats and thieves.Whenever I have to introduce myself to foreign contacts, whether online or offline, I must make visible effort to prove my contact wrong, because he or she instantly sees me as a scammer-419, another Nigerian cheat or thief. Laws and Ethics?. Who's Kidding Who? Years ago I read an article by a renowned psychologist wherein he wrote his studies found one percent of all human beings would never lie, cheat or steal. One percent would always lie, cheat or steal and given the right set of circumstances, the rest of us would likely lie, cheat and/or steal. Ethics in Business...A Lost Art While watching Face the Nation one Sunday earlier this year, Bob Schiffer discussed the airline industry, his mother and ethics in business. Like Bob, I think it is a sad commentary today, that we have to police businesses. Ethics in Business - Please Have Some Is your business ethical?What I mean is "Does your business do the right thing when faced with that decision?" It's a simple question, which many businesses struggle with. I just don't understand the struggle part?I have worked for companies that believed they were ethical, and really have no clue. The Armaments Industry and Holy (?) Roman Emperors "The time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is while our rulers are honest and ourselves united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going down hill. Business Ethics: Functional Choices Years of experience have taught me there is no such thing as "Business Ethics". If a person isn't ethical in the rest of their lives, their business ethics aren't worth the shoe leather they've worn out either. Ethics In The Workplace Workplace Ethics is a subject that we have all heard of. In fact, the subject of Ethics in general is something that most people are familiar with. Six Reasons to Give If you run a business, you undoubtedly feel many pressures on your time and money. Why would you want to add "giving to the community" to your "to do" list? Here are six reasons . Vice of Buggery at FTC At the Federal Trade Commission we have seen attorneys who suffer from the vice of buggery get promoted to higher and more important international divisions. Now then, are these attorneys who have personal sexual problems and are breaking the laws of sodomy not wanted in the main group of Federal Trade Commission Employees? Is the FTC worried about sexual harassment laws? Are they worried about on-the-clock Men's Restroom "Quickies" and the possibility of the need for an unflattering in-house employee investigation becoming public? Is the Federal Trade Commission afraid to fire these buggerists, for some employee unlawful termination suit? Is buggery so pervasive that the FTC has to invent new titles for these guys so they can be moved up in rank to other divisions? If so why doesn't the FTC adopt a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy" to prevent special treatment of those who suffer from buggery? Can't the FTC get psychological help for these men who thrust their penis up another man's rectum? Obviously these human organs were not set up to do that. Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Diversity And Success, In The Workplace This article relates to the Diversity in the Workplace Competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. This competency explores whether your organization provides understanding and supports interaction among diverse population groups while respecting individuals' personal values and ideas. The Collapse of Enron: Managerial Aspects Executive summaryIts revenues made up US $139($184) billion, assets equaled $62($82) billion, and the number of employees reached more than 30,000 people in 20 countries around the world.While Enron Corporation was so highly praised by the outside observers, internally it had highly decentralized financial control and decision-making structure, which made it practically impossible to get coherent and clear view on corporations' activities and operations. The Three Schools of Business Ethics G. Richard Shell, author of Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People, identifies three primary schools of ethics in negotiation. Conflict: Not Necessarily a Bad Thing I got yelled at tonight. Not the type of yelling that someone does when you've done something to tick someone off, but the kind of yelling that was a swift kick in the pants about something that I'm NOT doing. The Social Implications of Computing Directed by Mark Harrison, "Visions of Heaven and Hell" is a three-part cautionary tale come documentary commissioned by Channel Four, that warns of the impending infiltration of technology and pessimistically endeavours to communicate the sentient of an old Buddhist proverb which states "To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven; the same key opens the gates of hell." and within computerisation lies such a key thought a dismal set of apprehensive predilections. The Views of Karl Marx VS Max Weber Compare and contrast the views of Karl Marx and Max Weber with regards as to what motivates people to work.Karl Marx: [1] Exploitation[2] Proletariat have to sell their labour-power[3] The machines of the industrial revolution eliminate creativity require only the workers own labour, work is alienated, workers alienated.
|