5 Benefits of Managing Ethics

International trainer, consultant, and founder of The Toxic Workplace, Tara Powers partners with organizations interested in improving their company culture to boost their bottom line.  If you're ready to make changes in your business that will make employees happy AND make you money, check out  www.PowersResourceCenter.com.

In top rated business schools across the country, ethics courses have seen an explosion of interest as students view running a business about more than just making money.

What is more important to this next generation of leaders is HOW you do business, HOW you make money and the impact business has on society.

Here are some examples:

• Nearly 20% of Harvard's 2009 MBA class signed the MBA Oath which states that they will act responsibly, ethically and for the greater good of society rather than striving for only their personal ambitions.  
• At Columbia Business School, all students pledge to honor a code which states they will not lie, cheat or steal OR tolerate anyone who does.
  

Can I get a big OH YEAH!!

It's not only responsible but crucial that businesses study and consider their impact on workers, community, and society. Once armed with that information ~ they can choose to do the right thing, even if it costs more. This is the definition of business ethics and what I believe can and will positively change our communities, our environment, our country, and our world. 

Still not sold on the importance of managing business ethics in your organization? Check out this list of benefits that may surprise you.

5 Benefits of Managing Ethics

1. A Focus on Business Ethics Has Substantially Improved Society and Working Conditions

If it wasn't for ethical standards being set, children would still be working in factories, 16 hour work days would be the norm, discrimination, abuse, and unfair labor practices would still be part of doing business. What's important to recognize is that change is happening and new standards are now being set. This is good for all of us.   

2.  Having a Code of Ethics Provides a Morale Compass During Tough Times

By having a code of ethics, it provides you a tool to make consistent decisions about what is right and wrong. This is especially helpful when making decisions in times of conflict.

3. Ethics Support Employee Growth and Provide Meaning to the Work They Do

By running an ethical operation, employees feel like they are contributing to society in a positive way. This sense of accountability provides meaning and context to what they do on a daily basis.

4. Ethics Programs Can Align with Personal Values and Improve Performance
If clear ethics are consistently communicated in your organization and discussions take place on how they align with personal values, it can develop motivation and collaboration in your organization.  Employees that feel strong alignment with their personal values and the ethics of an organization react with strong commitment and performance.

5. Clear Business Ethics Can Promote a Strong Public Image and Goodwill

Aligning behaviors with values is important in developing a positive image for your business. Today's savvy consumer is doing more research and watching more closely how businesses conduct themselves and if they truly "walk the talk". Consistently applying ethical values to everyday business decisions is the foundation to building a truly successful and socially responsible business.

© 2009 Powers Resource Center

Become the Threat!

Break the cycle of countering the competition! Many business consultants advise clients to study their competitors and play off their every strategic move to mimic successes and dodge failures. I respectfully disagree. In this post we will explore techniques to help you innovate rather than copying, and get ruthless about trying something different.

Most companies achieve conventional growth rates because they pursue conventional lines.In order to really rocket your results into another stratosphere, you have to abandon the status quo and make an abrupt change in behavior. That can be a tall order when money is tight and you’re stressed about the future, but it’s truly the only way to move beyond modest, incremental improvements in your bottom line.

Since the process of thinking outside the box obviously can’t be delineated in a neat list of bullet points, I’m instead going to give you some basic principles to help spark your imagination and help you see business development in a new perspective.

Accept failure. Our aversion to failure is what makes us perpetually play it safe. If we don’t do anything risky or dangerous, we’ll be less likely to fail. But if you’re experiencing no difficulties, problems, or pain, you’ve probably aimed too low. You aren’t pushing your limits. When Alexander Graham Bell was working on one of his many inventions, someone asked him why he wasn’t discouraged after failing thousands of times to build a working prototype. Bell snapped back that he hadn’t failed 1,000 times. He had simply succeeded in isolating 1,000 methods that didn’t solve the problem. To him, the exhausting process of eliminating options that didn’t work was success – not failure. You won’t reach your full potential if you aren’t willing to make mistakes.

Suspend disbelief. In business, most of us tend to operate on the principle that we must verify that success is probable before we make a move. But our most inspirational thoughts spring forth when we suspend disbelief for a moment and open up to a new plane of possibilities. Ask yourself, “What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail?” Stop holding back because you don’t have hard proof that a crazy concept will fly.People typically only realize 10% of their full potential. Why not suspend doubt and skepticism by acting on one of your bold ideas?

Do the opposite. There is a Seinfeld episode where lovable loser, George Castanza, decides that all his instincts are obviously wrong and he will now do the opposite of everything that seems logical.He immediately sees a turn-around in his bad luck and makes money, meets women and starts having fun. It’s just a sit-com, but consider the natural principle of ‘ricochet’. By launching yourself in the opposite direction of where you want to go, you gain momentum and are able to leverage other things to move in the right direction.

Embrace the supernatural. Unseen forces… we all have different labels for them, but most people believe that there are invisible powers beyond us. I don’t think most of us have the strength and fortitude to achieve our dreams through our own singular effort. Embracing the supernatural is comparable to playing bridge: your bidding is based not only on your own cards, but also on your partner’s cards. Though you can’t see the value of those cards until you play your hand, you trust that they will bring additional strength to you when you need it most. Whether it is God, angels, spirits or sheer luck… leverage your belief in mystical powers to summon the courage to act on a breakthrough idea.

Second guess yourself. I know, I know… we’re always being told to trust our intuition. And a lot of times our gut instincts are right on the mark. But to move beyond the bounds of familiarity you have to second guess your initial reactions and push the envelope. Instincts are great, but they’re designed to help us survive – not thrive. If it’s thriving you want, you’ll have to rethink your tried and true responses and make a quantum leap into the unknown.

Risk more than you have to lose. A top-notch poker player (I can’t recall which one) once said that you don’t really learn to play the game until you risk more than you have to lose. When you have a net to catch you, you will automatically tend to hold back your best efforts and most creative ideas because everything is not at stake. But, if you are brave enough to risk so much that losing will hurt immensely, you are forced to play the best game of your life!

The business climate is very competitive right now. The ease of tweaking a competitor’s successful ad or copying a new service model can lure us like a siren’s song of proven performance. But that strategy will take your company from innovation to stagnation. Look inside yourself today for the opportunity, the vision, the timing and the courage to break away from the pack and try something new.

My advice to you is BECOME THE THREAT. While every smart business owner knows understands his differentiators and keeps an eye on the market, the most successful organizations step away from the norm and make their competition worry about them!

Look Before You Leap: A Price Increase Backfires

By David Berky

David Berky is president of Simple Joe, Inc. a marketing company that sells simple software under the brand name of Simple Joe. Thanks, David, for this simple reality check on price increases and how to do your homework beforehand!

I just got off the phone with a company that provides me a service for which I pay $600 each month. A couple of days ago I received a letter from them saying that due to economic factors, cost increases, blah, blah, blah they were going to raise my rate by a "modest amount".

Ok, so what do they consider a modest amount? I called them and found out that to them a modest amount was 8-10%; they weren't sure yet. I don't know if their definition of a "modest amount" struck me wrong or if I was just against paying more for this service, but I took the time to look in the phone book and find two of their direct competitors.

I called each competitor and got price quotes on the exact same service.

As you probably can guess, I found some lower prices (without even mentioning what I was currently paying). And it turned out that both of the competitors were priced about the same.

I then called my current provider and mentioned that their competitors would give me a price of $500 for the same service; $100 less! They said that they would research it and call me back.

I got a call a few hours later saying they wanted to keep my business and would be happy to match their competitor's price. I gave myself a pat on the back.

But I started thinking about how my current provider intended to raise my monthly rate by about $50 but ended up cutting their rate by $100. So rather than creating an additional $600 of cash for themselves next year, they are now going to take $1,200 less. I can't believe that would have been considered a good risk by anyone. So where did they mess up? By not doing their homework.

They did not take the time to compare my current rates with the rates offered by their competitors. If they had (and I am assuming they didn't because I can't believe they would take this risk), they would not have sent me the letter about increasing my rate.

The letter led me to call them to find out the actual amount of the increase. The significant (to me) price increase led me to call their competitors. Before the letter I was content to pay their fee. I hadn't planned on checking prices and making comparisons. But when they brought the subject of fees up, I took the initiative and ended up with a much better deal.

Maybe they were counting on most of their customers to roll over and accept it. But I wonder how many will now renegotiate their fees since the subject has come up.

They obviously have different customers on different fee schedules. So why wouldn't they take the time to determine which customers should have their fees increased and which should be left "overlooked" this year.

Customers who were paying close attention to their competitors fees would probably accept their "modest" price increase because of the hassle (read: barrier) of switching to a competitor. Even if they did a price comparison a small increase is usually not worth the trouble.

I guess the moral of the story is that before you bring up the subject of increased fees, make sure you know your customers' alternatives.

Emotional Quotient: Measuring Decision Making Ability

Thanks to Paul Cattermole for this insightful interpretation of the impact EI and EQ have on our leadership ability and earning potential! Visit http://www.catt-alyst.com/ to learn more!

Research has shown that high performance in any field is driven by good decision-making. Of course, high performance also requires other attributes such as general intelligence, technical skills, and training or experience. However, what separates sporadic high performance from consistent and sustained high performance is Emotional Intelligence (EI). EI when measured, gives one a score known as one's Emotional Quotient (EQ).

Dr. Daniel Goleman, one of the pioneering researchers on EI, notes the following:

1. CEOs are hired for their intellect and business expertise - and fired for a lack of emotional intelligence.
2. Those with high EQ are 127 times more productive than those with low EQ.
3. The key differentiator between star and average performers is their EQ.

Just think of that remark for a moment. Have you ever been managed by, or lead by, an individual who may be intelligent and skilled, yet "missed the boat" on how to get the best out of the people working for him or her? They did not make good decisions about how to lead or manage, nor were they skilled at building good rapport.

Decision-making has a significant impact on how successful, efficient and effective individuals are on the job. Not surprisingly, this ability is becoming more important for both employers and employees, and the pressure is on to deliver!

Our EQ indicates how well we can sense, understand and effectively apply the power and acumen of emotions to facilitate high levels of collaboration and productivity. The higher our EQ, the more we can leverage our awareness of emotions (both ours' and others') for being effective in decision-making and overall performance.

Whether we are aware of it or not, we make decisions based on emotions. Sometimes they are the right decisions to make, sometimes not. Wouldn't it be better for us to be able to make decisions from the head, as well as from the heart? At least then we would have a choice. Well, the good news is, we can - if we use our EI.

EI is categorized into two parts: intrapersonal intelligence (the ability to understand ourselves) and interpersonal intelligence (the ability to understand others), and each can be measured.

Intrapersonal EI includes:
Self-awareness - the ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions and drives, and to understand their effect on others.
Self-regulation - the ability to control or re-direct disruptive impulses and moods and the propensity to suspend judgment and think before acting.

Interpersonal EI includes:
Motivation - a passion to work for reasons that go beyond money and status and a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence.
Social skills - a proficiency in managing relationships and building networks.
Empathy - the ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people.

Want to know more? Get a book to help you discover your EQ HERE.

Do Women Create Their Own Glass Ceiling?

Interesting study showing that female managers are more likely to underestimate how their work is valued. Say it ain't so, girls!

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A new study shows female managers are more than three times as likely as their male counterparts to underrate their bosses' opinions of their job performance.

The discrepancy increases with women older than 50, the study states.

"Women have imposed their own glass ceiling, and the question is why," said Scott Taylor, an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management who conducted the study.

Taylor will present his findings Tuesday in Chicago at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, a 19,000-member organization devoted to research and teaching.

"It's pretty fascinating, actually. It's a different take on it," said Leanne Atwater, a management professor at the University of Houston. Atwater has researched the standard management assessment tool that Taylor was examining when he discovered the gender difference.

In the study, 251 male and female managers from different industries nationwide rated themselves and requested ratings from supervisors, peers and subordinates. Each subject also was asked to predict the ratings made by others.

Taylor collected the data for the study in 2005 while a doctoral student at Cleveland-based Case Western Reserve University.

The ratings measured nine elements of emotional and social competence essential to leadership: communication ability, initiative, self-awareness, self-control, empathy, bond-building, teamwork, conflict management and trustworthiness.

The men who were studied slightly overestimated how their bosses would rate them, while the female respondents underestimated their ratings on average by about 11 percent.

Chelsea Walker, 52, an administrator for UNM's College of Pharmacy, participated in a similar exercise while taking Taylor's class and was shocked to find her results matched her professor's findings. "I was very, very surprised by his responses," she said. "I guess that I just didn't think that he thought that highly of me, even though I thought pretty highly of myself."

The exercise was a confidence booster, Walker said. Now, she takes five minutes during weekly meetings with her supervisor to discuss what she's done on the job, something she thinks men do more easily than women. "To me it's still uncomfortable to a certain degree," she said. "We're not out for the glory kind of thing. We're just out to get the job done."

Walker said her experience also reflected the generational difference found in the study.

"Younger women tended not to be as off-base in their predictions than middle-aged or senior women," Taylor said. Taylor said managers may need to learn better ways to communicate to female employees that they are valued. Women may need to learn how to better seek positive and critical feedback, he said.

Taylor says the findings could indicate why many women don't rise to head companies or why there is a wage disparity between men and women. In 2008, the Census Bureau estimated women receive only about 78 cents for every dollar that men get for doing equivalent jobs.

Bonnie Coffey, president of the National Association of Commissions for Women, said women are unable to predict their bosses' assessments because of media images, particularly those of older women, that show them as silver-haired beauties or grandmothers in dumpy dresses.

"If you recognize that society doesn't really value older women, then you say, 'Gee, this isn't where I belong. Maybe I shouldn't be asking for a raise. Maybe I shouldn't be speaking up at meetings," Coffey said.

Cara Waymire, vice president for human resources at insurance brokerage Hub International in Albuquerque, said when she works with female employees on getting raises or promotions, she notices they are more likely to focus on shortcomings rather than accomplishments.

"They think the boss needs to think they hung the moon in order for them to ask for anything," Waymire said.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32364451/ns/business-careers/