Good Business Ethics Require Good Training

Ethical practices in management are something that must be taught.  None of us are born knowing the difference between right and wrong.  We learn appropriate behaviors from parents, peers, and society at large as we grow into functioning adults.  So it should come as no surprise to companies that employees who are trained in ethical business practices are far more likely to engage in them.  While there is certainly a large amount of personal responsibility involved when employees commit fraudulent, illegal, or even simply immoral acts, companies that neglect to train their workers in the ethics of business are doing both themselves and their employees a great disservice.  Not only that, but they are partially culpable in indiscretions that occur under the veil of business. Read more

Outsourcing to India: What are the Ethical Implications?

If you have recently found yourself calling a customer service support line for any number of products or services, you may have noticed a distinct geographic shift amongst representatives working in call centers.  This of course refers to the current corporate trend of outsourcing to India.  And while most consumers only see it when they dial in with questions or concerns, it is a development that has invaded many levels of business in America, although the main focus seems to be on lower level positions like customer service and technology services (such as tech support, quality assurance, computer programming, and engineering).  The reason for this marked mass exodus to the east centers on money.  As always, corporations are looking for ways to pad the bottom line and the fact that they can hire five employees in India for the same cost as one in North America has no doubt heavily influenced the recent move to outsource American jobs. Read more

Shirley Sherrod: A Cautionary Tale for Business Owners

The Back-story

A month ago, you never heard of any such person as Shirley Sherrod.  And indeed, at that time she was only one of the many people who work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, people whose names are known only to their family, friends, and the public they assist on a daily basis.  Certainly most of them will never have their name splashed across the internet and the nightly news.  But that’s exactly what happened to Sherrod.  It all began with a speech she made for the NAACP.  Sometime during the 43 minutes that she spoke, she told a story about how she once had to help a farmer keep his property despite the fact that he treated her as though she were inferior (because she is black and the man was white).  She spoke about how she struggled with the knowledge that she could punish him for his attitude by offering him less help than she could actually give.  Ultimately, it was a parable about how she had to rise above racism and help others regardless of her personal feelings.  Sounds pretty heartwarming, doesn’t it?  Unfortunately, a small excerpt from her speech was taken out of context and posted online, portraying her as using her position to treat white farmers unfairly (by right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart).  The video made the rounds with the media at which point Sherrod was publicly lambasted by the NAACP and asked by the USDA to resign her position.  That was where the trouble began. Read more

Careful Hiring Practices Help You Avoid Legal Issues

When placing an advertisement for an open position in your organization, take care – using the wrong words could mean legal problems for discrimination, even if it is unintentional.

It is important to ensure that you are not accidentally choosing the wrong words to describe the opportunity or interview the applicants…and can actually become a legal concern if the ad you release or interview you conduct is considered discriminatory.
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Girl Friday’s 12 Top Tips for a Greener Office

This is a guest post by Sam Szczepanski. Sam is a music industry consultant specialising in back catalogue reissues at Ivywood Productions

Whilst we’re more inclined to eco-police ourselves at home by recycling household waste, switching off lights, turning down the thermostat, and replacing leaky washers (utility bills are high enough without making a bad situation worse) , it seems too many of us willingly check our green credentials at the door once we reach the office. Maybe we think it’s not our responsibility – hey, we’re here to work – that’s enough – or perhaps we believe the powers that be will have already done the eco groundwork by sourcing the most economical, environmentally friendly energy suppliers and products to minimise the corporate carbon footprint. Think again.
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The Perils of Being a Union Member in Colombia

Colombia’s recent history is a bloody and violent one. Since the 1960’s, multiple factions including government forces, left-wing insurgents and right-wing paramilitaries have been fighting for supremacy. Members of unions have particularly suffered from the free-for-all killing sprees. Union members and their families have been targeted ever since the beginning of Colombia’s civil war, with over 2,500 union members killed since 1985. There has been no justice for these victims – as of 2008, less than 100 cases resulted in convictions. In recent years, the number of killings has begun to drop. However, the numbers are still unreasonably high – between 2002 and 2008, 400 union members were killed.
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The Value of Workplace Diversity

You may or may not be aware that workplace diversity is on the rise.  If you’re one of the many people who have contacted a company’s customer service in the last few years, you’ve no doubt realized that many businesses are outsourcing that particular aspect of operation overseas to India, but that’s not really the same thing.  Diversity within a work environment is an entirely different beast, and it can not only be difficult to implement, but also very hard to handle.  Whether we realize it or not, most of us have some tendency to consider our own group superior to others (whether that classification includes age, gender, race, ancestry, alma mater, or any number of other factors).  This is a fairly typical attitude, but it can lead to problems in a setting that demands respect, understanding, and compromise.  And diversity amongst employees is the direction that most companies are heading, for a number of reasons. Read more

Shifting Tide of Workers’ Rights in China

Workers’ Rights in China

One of the most heated topics of debate today in regards to China has to do with workers’ rights. There are millions of workers in China who are affected by this, due to the numerous domestic and foreign companies who have factories in China. There are many different kinds of companies operating out of China, including computer and keyboard manufacturers, textile companies, and garment/apparel industries. The products coming out of China today run the full spectrum of quality, ranging from generic household items to more sophisticated products such as wireless and ergonomic keyboards for high end markets.
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Sustainable Harvesting in China

Why adopt sustainable practices?

In China, companies are beginning to explore the idea of adopting sustainable harvesting. This is beneficial for both companies and the environment. If resources are used up without thought as to how they will be replenished, after an extended period of the time the company will not have any resources left to use and will either have to stop producing their product or move into a new area and strip it of its resources as well. Short term planning in terms of utilization of natural resources leads to severe environmental problems, extinction of plant life and loss of income for the local people living in areas affected by short sighted companies.

Due to these concerns, China has begun to look at the way they harvest both timber and non timber forest products (NTFPs). Sustainable harvesting is especially relevant considering that around 6,000 species of rain forest plants that are found in Southeast Asia have economic uses. The bamboo industry in China is a large one, and thus this field has been researched extensively. Bamboo is used in a variety of products such as picnic baskets, wine rack and other common products such as flooring.
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Current Factory Work Conditions in Vietnam

What are sweatshops?

For years, human rights groups have been protesting the working conditions of sweatshop laborers in countries around the world. Sweatshops are environments in which workers participate in activities that are considered unacceptably dangerous or difficult. Critics cite the long hours employees work, the very low pay employees receive, the use of child labor, dangerous working environments, employer abuse and lack of worker rights as reasons for why they do not support sweatshops.
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