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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:
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news Myanmar's Suu Kyi to get family letters, news mags (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has managed to wring small concessions from the ruling generals in the form of letters from her family and some international news magazines, her lawyer said on Friday. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (CBS News) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel 's current news flow, was picked up by a Google (NSDQ: GOOG) News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. After a lot of buck ... JCDecaux in talks for News Outdoor Group in Russia (AP via Yahoo! News) French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA said Thursday it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. News Corp tightens grip on Premiere with new CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch tightened his grip on German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere by appointing News Corp executive Mark Williams as CEO in a move to get the company back on track. Phila. mayor to announce grim budget news (The Philadelphia Inquirer) The Nutter administration is expected to announce grim budget news today, which is all but certain to lead to significant spending cuts - perhaps as high as 10 percent - in some city departments, according to three sources familiar with the budget. JCDecaux and News Corp. in talks to combine outdoor ad groups (International Herald Tribune) The News Corp. chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, has recently expressed nervousness about investments in Russia, where News Outdoor generated the bulk of its revenue last year. Help News pick Stadium's greatest moment (New York Daily News) The News is marking the countdown to the final game at The House That Ruth Built by reflecting on Yankee Stadium's greatest moments - and we're asking you - the reader - to help us pick out the best of the best. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (paidContent.org via Yahoo! Finance) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel's current news flow, was picked up by a Google News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. JCDecaux in talks to buy News Corp. billboard unit (AP via Yahoo! Finance) In a deal that would create the world's largest outdoor advertising company, French conglomerate JCDecaux SA said Thursday that it is in talks to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. News Corp says Mark Williams interim Premiere CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp. executive Mark Williams has taken over as chief executive of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere in an interim capacity, News Corp. said after the move led to renewed takeover speculation. Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. (> required at line 14, column 29) in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/scholarlyarticles.org/ethics/magpierss/rss_fetch.inc on line 238 Site: Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/scholarlyarticles.org/ethics/inc/ads-body.inc on line 52 MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for ethics Charges against Queens assemblyman amplifies calls for ethics reform (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle) In the wake of charges by a federal prosecutor that a Queens assemblyman solicited $500,000 in bribes from people trying to influence state government, reform groups Thursday renewed their calls for tougher state ethics laws. Ethics panel clears Gibbons (Reno Gazette-Journal) A Nevada Ethics Commission panel concluded Thursday that there's no evidence to support a claim by a state Democratic Party official that Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons pressured a county assessor to get an unwarranted property tax break. Charges against assemblyman spur call for tighter ethics laws (The Journal News) Following charges by a federal prosecutor that an assemblyman from Queens solicited $500,000 in bribes from people trying to influence state government, reform groups yesterday renewed their calls for tougher state ethics laws. Ethics complaint filed against Loux over salary hikes (Las Vegas Review-Journal) Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, R-Reno, filed an ethics complaint today against Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency chief Bob Loux. The complaint alleges that Loux improperly used his position to ?grant unwarranted privileges? to himself in violation of state ethics laws. House overrides ethics veto, 110-3 (Herald & Review) SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois House on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to override Gov. Rod Blagojevich's veto of a major campaign ethics bill. The question of whether to outlaw so-called pay-to-play politics now rests with the state Senate. Ethics complaint filed in pay raise flap (The Fresno Bee) The head of Nevada's anti-nuclear dump agency was hit Thursday with an ethics complaint filed by a legislative leader irate that the official gave himself and other staffers pay increases far above authorized amounts. Read comments Judge tells ethics luncheon 'Ethics is hard work' (Midland Reporter-Telegram) By Mella McEwen Oil Editor Ethics was the topic of Thursday's luncheon during the West Texas Geological Society's annual Fall Symposium. Ethics committee meets in secret (The Auburn Citizen) ALBANY - The New York Assembly's ethics committee met behind closed doors in an unannounced session Thursday involving a disciplinary case. Members wouldn't say if it concerned a colleague now facing federal charges of taking $500,000 in illegal payments, another accused of an extramarital affair with a legislative employee or a third accused of sexually harassing a woman. Ligon cleared of state ethics complaint (The Woodlands Villager) Attorney Brett Ligon, who defeated incumbent District Attorney Michael McDougal for the Republican nomination in the April runoff election, has been cleared of any wrongdoing regarding a complaint filed against him with the Texas Ethics Commission shortly before the runoff. Pelosi taps Va. Rep. Bobby Scott for ethics panel (Richmond Times-Dispatch) NEWPORT NEWS -- Virginia Representative Bobby Scott has been appointed to the House Ethics Committee. The Newport News Democrat said yesterday he was appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the committee, formally known as the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. He will succeed Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the Ohio Democrat who died Aug. 20. Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. (> required at line 14, column 29) in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/scholarlyarticles.org/ethics/magpierss/rss_fetch.inc on line 238 Site: Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/scholarlyarticles.org/ethics/inc/rss.php on line 26 |
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