Foxconn Aims to Improve Public Image

Most of the Apple-loving world is familiar with the name Foxconn, as are plenty of organizations devoted to the cause of fair-trade labor and labor rights. This Chinese tech manufacturer is probably best known for reports of worker exploitation and unsafe working conditions. News articles about the company are unflattering more often than not, with reports of employee suicide rates high enough to warrant placing netting around buildings in order to thwart jumpers, factory explosions due to unsafe conditions that result in injury and death, and of course, the long hours and low wages that are the hallmark of forced labor. And considering that their main export is Apple products, it’s surprising that the situation went on as long as it did. Read more

Creating an Employee Code of Conduct

While operating an ethical business certainly demands a top-down philosophy in which you set the example for employees to follow, at some point it behooves you to let your staff know what is expected of them when it comes to conduct. And there’s no better way to do this than to create a written code of conduct that you can add to your employee handbook (which you hopefully give out upon hire). Of course, it pays to be concise. While you can certainly try to think of every way in which an employee might misbehave in the line of duty, so to speak, it’s not like you’re dealing with toddlers here, and you don’t want your staff to think that you see them as children. So omit the obvious stuff and hit just a few points that are of major concern to the business world. Here are a few things you may want to consider before you put pen to paper. Read more

Issues in Outbound Marketing

Most people don’t have the faintest clue what the term “outbound marketing” means, although the majority of consumers do realize that they’re being bombarded with multiple forms of marketing each and every day. In essence, outbound marketing entails the spreading of a wide net meant to capture plenty of fish, with a business minding the net and the public getting hauled in. It could come in the form of print, radio, television, and even online advertising, or it could be mailers, flyers, brochures, email blasts, solicitation by phone or in person (telemarketing, cold calls, and door-to-door sales), and finally, events like trade shows and seminars. But while these traditional forms of marketing have been around for quite a while, there are myriad problems with the operation that haven’t been alleviated even during the many years that outbound marketing has been in practice. Read more

Is Hacktivism Wrong?

In a purely legal sense, any form of hacking is wrong. It is the virtual equivalent of breaking and entering, even if nothing is stolen. But like most everyone in this modern world, activists have found ways to utilize cyberspace to their advantage. While many organizations are content to launch campaigns and take donations via websites and social media outlets, there are always extremists willing to cross the line between pushing the envelope and breaking the law. And these people call themselves hacktivists. They hack not for their own gain, but rather to introduce issues and entities that they find questionable into the public eye, or else to take them down from the inside. So the question is not really whether these actions are legally wrong (they clearly are), but if they are immoral or unethical in some way. Read more

The Venetian Sewer Dilemma

You may not realize, unless you are both a student of history and of city infrastructure, that Venice, Italy actually had one of the first waste-water disposal systems. Of course, it can’t really be compared to the modern use of water for sewage disposal. The truth is that medieval citizens of Venice threw their waste out the window just like everyone else; it’s just that their streets were made of water, and the canals carried the waste out to sea twice a day on the tide. Unfortunately, their situation when it comes to waste disposal has not greatly improved since the 15th century. Although the city has made stabs at modernizing their waste system, the truth is that the population has grown dramatically and the city still relies largely on the canals and the tides to flush away waste (so to speak). And they are facing an uphill battle when it comes to sewage for several reasons. Read more

Businesses Greenify Corporate Events

Not every company has the environmental dedication and funding required to shoot for LEED Platinum Certification. But that doesn’t mean you can’t undertake some effort on behalf of the planet as a way to reduce the carbon footprint of your business operation and improve your brand image. And it doesn’t even have to significantly impact your budget or the way you function as a professional entity. You could make simple changes like installing recycle bins next to trash cans, swapping in low-flow toilets in your restrooms, and implementing a policy that mandates the complete shutdown of employee work stations each night. And when it comes to hosting corporate events, you can follow the example of other businesses that are going green with a number of easy and inexpensive alternatives. Read more

Understanding Ethical Issues in the Weight-Loss Industry

Weight loss is weighing heavily on the minds of the public. With the occurrence of obesity on the rise (both in adults and children), governments across the globe implementing programs to teach proper nutrition and provide healthy meals for kids, and doctors citing weight loss (through a combination of diet and exercise) as a primary objective to avoid some of the most common causes of death these days (heart disease and diabetes, for example), people everywhere are starting to look at the choices they’re making in terms of nutrition and fitness and ask themselves if they’re doing everything they could for their health. In many cases the answer is no. And this is where the multi-billion dollar weight-loss industry swoops in to save the day (supposedly). Read more

The Impact of Moving Your Business Online

The virtual world has helped people to connect across the globe in both personal and professional capacities.  It has opened a door to unparalleled information sharing and brought the most remote reaches of the planet into homes and offices in the blink of an eye.  So it’s no surprise that this virtually limitless communication tool holds incredible pull for businesses seeking to expand.  And while operating in the online arena can definitely have a positive impact on just about every industry known to man, there may also be some unexpected drawbacks. Read more

Is Travel Teaching Right for You?

Many recent college grads looking to break out and get some experience under their belts have likely considered the prospect of teaching in another country as a way to see the world, meet new people, and give something of themselves.  Teaching abroad is an excellent way to meet all of these goals in one fell swoop.  And whether you go to another country to teach your own native language or you learn a second language in order to teach outside your nation of origin, you stand to gain a lot in the way of insight and experience by interacting with other cultures.  However, there may also be some drawbacks to leaving familiar surroundings for foreign locales.  So here are just a few things to consider before signing up for travel teaching. Read more