Introduction

Policy makers in many countries base their codes of ethics on certain Religious and Ethical Systems.   Widely varying cultures and ways of looking at the worlds make it difficult, if not impossible, to find a common ethical system from which to operate.  While one individual may have certain values they hold dear, how they’re able to hold their company to a religious paradigm is always a hot topic.  In the points below, the different systems are explained and hopefully will provide a clearer understanding as to the basis of decision making.

The Idea in a Nutshell

Humans base their values either on what rules they value, what consequences arise from their actions, what society says is right or whether they are simply a moral person.  Explaining each system works best when contrasted with the others.  For example, Deontology is concerned with duty and what rules to follow while consequentialism is merely concerned with the outcome of the actions.  A deontologist would never condone lying while a consequentialist would allow it if lying caused no harm.  Pragmatic Ethics would consider lying to be okay if society allowed it while Virtue Ethics would consider it harmful because it runs contrary to a person’s innate goodness.  The Divine Command Theory says lying is wrong because God says so, while Natural Law says humans have the right to lie.  Righteous Moralism would allow lying if the home country allowed lying, Cultural Relativism, while maybe not condoning lying, would allow it if the host culture thought nothing of it.  Kantian Ethics would only allow lying if human rights were respected and the Friedman Doctrine wouldn’t care if one lied as long as it was legal and benefited the company.

The 10 Things You Need to Know About Religious and Ethical Systems

1.    Deontological Ethics is a philosophy based on what an individual has a duty to do.  They are not based on the results of the duties or rules, but rather on the rules themselves.  Individuals holding to a deontological ethical system would never break one of his/her rules in order to bring about a greater good (Alexander, 2007).  A business involved in deontological practices would adhere strictly to the letter of the law by doing exactly what it said, even if it resulted in negative consequences for the business and the employees.
2.    Consequentialism differs from deontology by focusing on the outcome of actions, rather than on any particular rule set.  A consequentialist does not worry about whether the actions themselves are particularly harmful, but rather what the result of those actions will be.  A business believing primarily in this theory would not have qualms about using child labor, unless using child labor effected the company more negatively than positively.    In other words, anything is permissible as long as it is beneficial.
3.    Society is held as the ultimate moral compass in Pragmatic Ethics.  Pragmatism is generally the philosophy of ethics to which science adheres.  Science recognizes that what is true and relevant today may cease to be true tomorrow.  Dissident is considered valuable, because it keeps society on a path towards greater truth.  In other words, if we have been properly taught by societal values, then we are moral people (LaFollette, 2000).  Judged by pragmatism, a slave trader would have been perfectly ethical to his time period, but unethical in a modern society which values humanity and freedom above station in life.
4.    Virtue Ethics is different from the other ethical systems in that they depend on the character of the individual for their basis of the “good”.  The morality of a person is based on their intrinsic function as humans or more on “being” than on “doing”.  A human attains values by being correctly taught and then continues being their moral selves.  According to Annas, a virtuous human would do “the right thing for the right reason without serious internal opposition, as a matter of character”.
5.    Divine Command Theory equates “good” with the adherence to that which a deity proscribes.  Some view this to mean an action is not good because there is intrinsic benefit to the action, but rather it is good because the deity has commanded it to be done.  Samuel Wheeler, however, supposes that because God’s intentions are good, He would not proscribe an action without it at first being a good action.  

6.    One of the most famous American proponents of natural rights or Natural Law was Thomas Jefferson.  He interpreted natural law to mean that human have intrinsic rights simply because we are human.  Because we have the ability to make moral judgments and discern between good and evil, we have rights that no human law system can ever take away.  The Declaration of Independence refers to a “separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them” and by merely being human, we have “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson, 1776).
7.    Righteous Moralism subscribes to the belief that the standards of ethics from a corporation’s home country are the correct standards to follow in foreign countries.  For example, McGraw Hill’s International Business tells of an American accountant who went to Italy and found them under-reporting earnings.  He was upset, but came to discover that Italy compensates for under-reporting by assuming everyone is under-reporting.  Because the foreign national wanted to correctly report the earnings, he was costing the company more than what it actually should be paying in taxes.  As a result, we learn that not every situation can be given the same ethical treatment we would give it in our home country.
8.    Cultural or Ethical Relativism is the philosophy that all ethics are relative to the culture in which one finds oneself.   A business model applying ethical relativism would find it acceptable to bribe officials if that country which considered bribes acceptable.  A multinational corporation would hold different countries accountable for different things and would not look badly on a division which could justify their actions culturally.  Currently, however, this theory is not widely held by many corporations and is severely frowned upon due to its inability to hold up under closer scrutiny.
9.    Kantian Ethics holds that individual rights should be viewed as all important and not merely as road signs along the path. The ultimate goal of society should be to treat people with respect and dignity.  In a negative sense, it limits the behavior of an individual.  For example, if an individual’s primary goal is self-preservation, then sky-diving would appear to limit one’s actions (Johnson, 2010).
10.    In 1970, Milton Friedman wrote a paper outlining his belief that a business exists solely to maximize profits as long as it does it legally.  The Friedman Doctrine, as it has come to be known, does not advocate any action unless it is explicitly required to be done by law or unless it benefits the bottom line of a business.  For example, Friedman wouldn’t advocate Starbucks’ mission to be socially responsible by educating coffee laborers in foreign countries unless it increased their profits as well.  Participating in an activity merely because it is the right thing to do is not enough.

The Video Lounge

Joseph R. DesJardins believes that Ethics is an attempt to answer the question, “How should we live?”  Different philosophical approaches to this question answer the question in different ways.  If one decides to live life the way the culture wants, then the individual has to rationally decide whether the way the culture wants us to live is right or whether it is right because the culture wants us to live this way.  We shouldn’t just take any ethical system at face value, but should always be active in examining our own morality.

My Take

Instilling ethics in the workplace is such a tricky situation.  How one decides which philosophy to follow or which rules to put in place may be second guessed by everyone.  I truly believe each individual has the right and the responsibility to discover the truth for themselves and hold themselves accountable to a high ethical standard.  Many of the aforementioned philosophies depend on the culture around them to tell them how to live their lives.  The question then becomes, “Who exactly is the culture?”  We are our culture. Our core values must therefore be formed apart from our culture and based on solid and universal truths.    If we form our culture from our beliefs which are taken from our culture, then our moral foundation is very weak and liable to crack.  

References

Alexander, Larry and Michael Moore (2007, November 21). Deontological Ethics. Retrieved from http://Plato.Stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/

Annas, Julia. (2002). Virtue Ethics.  Retrieved from http://www.u.Arizona.edu/~jannas/forth/coppvirtue.htm

DesJardins, Joseph R. (2011, June 15). What is Ethics?. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/3fMLIMaPw0I

Jefferson, Thomas. (1776, July 4). The Declaration of Independence. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/

Johnson, Robert. (2010, Summer). Kant’s Moral Philosophy. Retrieved from http://Plato.Stanford.edu/cgi-bin/encyclopedia/archinfo.cgi?entry=Kant-moral

LaFollette, Hugh. (2000). Pragmatic Ethics in Blackwell Guide to Ethical Theory. Retrieved from http://www.hughlafollette.com/papers/pragmati.htm

Pragmatic ethics. (2012, January 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 16, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pragmatic_ethics&oldid=470584920

Wheeler, Samuel. (2002, January). A Defense of the Divine Command Theory.  Retrieved from http://www.philosophy.uconn.edu/department/wheeler/divine.pdf

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Contact Information

To contact the author of “The Top Ten Management Primer on Religious and Ethical Systems,” please email Christina Read at Christina.read@gmail.com.

About the Publisher  

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Management, can be viewed at http://wyldaboutmanagement.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of his student’s publications regarding:

• management concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
• book reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
• international foods  (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/)                                         

Introduction

Corruption conduct as defined by the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 is unlawful activity done intentionally.  Corruption is also the act of people committing or engaging in corruption (whether they are a public official or not) that could or badly affect a person’s integrity by practicing several criminal actions willingly or unwillingly within an organization.  Several examples not limited to but include fraudulent dealings in the office such as policies and procedures not visibly available for employees to access.  Also employees developing close associations with outside sources to solicit monetary gifts, employee training is inadequate, and not to mention public officials wasted resources of public money.  All these conditions affect the world today in employment practices and require immediate attention since most public and private organizations are affected by this behavior.

The Idea in a Nutshell

The situations surrounding corruption happens worldwide and affects many different ethnic groups and businesses.  Corruption can take many forms and occurs almost undetected throughout the judicial system.  This behavior is practiced in many forms and people use it for all types of reasons whether it involves their job or the political structure.  The Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 has been implemented to help protect the administrative operations and offices within organizations and guard them against fraud. This Act has the power to issue legal investigations into any reports of corruption whether it is acknowledge or suspected.  Basically, in today’s society this crime exists and several measures can be taken to lessen its consequence as it involves employment practices.

The 10 Things You Need to Know About Employment Practices/Corruption

1.    Bribery is accepting gifts from outside persons as a form of appreciation for recognition, gratitude, or favors.  This behavior is an unethical conduct that causes employees to seek a reward from people doing business with the organization.  These gratuities can be used as special treatment for employees who overlook policies and procedures within private companies, or public offices to help their external resources in illegal practices.   Eventually, the employee conducts this performance regularly with the person giving the gift naturally causing them to participate in activities willingly and unwillingly that questions their integrity.

2.    Embezzlement is also a corrupt practice within a company which involves pilfering of their assets swindled by employees.  These finances can be taken by people who are representing a public office intended for community purposes.  Although embezzlement is considered as thieving, it does not involve the public as a whole.   Many foreign countries experience the clash of this crime due to common practices internally among organizations.  Sometimes countries practice another form of embezzlement known as “straddling” which illustrates the power some business have and only allow family members and unmitigated communities to  become a component of them.  Since this act mainly consist of taking money and not personal possessions it would be hard for government officials in the judicial system to eradicate such a crime.

3.    Favoritism involves specifically choosing close relatives and associates for personal acknowledgment due to close affiliations.  Leaders who choose to exercise this treatment toward individuals they feel deserve special consideration is causing other co-workers to feel disregarded by management.  The executives tend to show preference to individuals of favor regardless of their abilities or position.  Many employees start to feel to feel left out and less favorable for their work.  According to others this behavior may be conceived as the administration basing work ethnic on personal likeness to certain people within the organization rather than noticeable abilities to do the job resulting in discriminative actions against management.

4.    Fraud is a deliberate act to con officials into performing fraudulent activities between members of politics and society in order to acquire undisclosed funds.  It is an act of manipulation to gain substance from the other individual.  Fraud covers a huge area of illegal acts to deceive and collect payment for misleading actions in government and state officials.  Fraud can also be described as gathering knowledge of information in exchange for favors.  Unfortunately, this is a crime that causes state and political agents to participate in other improper conduct such as illegal foreign trade and distortion.

5.    Extortion is threatening to impose bodily harm to an individual for money.  Most scandalous mobs use this form of blackmail to attain free money without earning it.  This form of extortion is practiced by criminals demanding money through the intentional actions of persecution, terrorising, and dangerous pursuits of violence.  State officials are also capable of imposing this corrupt act on businesses and communities.  Some private companies receive threats to persuade them to accept faulty dealings by becoming involved in money laundering.  Nevertheless, extortion causes people to perform dirty deeds as a way to receive money they did not earn honestly.       

6.    Nepotism is the act of choosing ones individual family members for a particular job.  These individuals must be close kin and a part of the immediate family.  Managers who are in high positions often try to appoint their close relatives to offices that may not be the appropriate occupation for them. However, since the manager is the leader that constitutes for work skills and experience.      

7.    Businesses can influence collaboration of these crimes by encouraging employees to tell if they suspect or discover any type of corruption within the company.  Managers should make their staff feel comfortable enough to disagree with authority and report an act of distrust being performed within the organization.  The supervisors must support employees and investigate any alleged discrepancies of illegal activity they feel inappropriate behavior in the department.

8.    The corporate overhead should consider appointing an ethnics officer in the company educated in ethnics laws and policies.  This officer would be better equipped to suggest different alternatives to handling issues with unprofessional conduct regardless to which area it involves.  Most employees feel contented while addressing problems regarding corrupt practices with an official who has knowledge and training with these types of work ethnic issues.     

9.    Managers can implement strategic goals and expectations on the performance of employees to reward them for their hard work individually.   Some workers who feel neglected and overlooked for pay raises or promotions will start to steal if necessary to compensate for the pay they deserve.  Personnel tend to create dishonest strategies to get the manager attention if their hard work is not noticed and rewarded according to personal tasks.  

10.    Although corruption is common in employment practices there are ways it can be exposed such as contacting state agencies.  The Project on Government Oversight Agency is available to take reports on any suspicious activities noted by employees.  The act of reporting corruption to external entities without the knowledge of internal management is known as whistle blowing.  Most employees fear this type of approach due to fear of revenge from upper superiors within the department or office.  So to eliminate being targeted by others with threats or intimidation tactics, a person must remain anonymous and provide only facts and documentation that relates to the incident to back up the allegations.

The Video Lounge

• The first video shows private citizens offering bribes to public employees to keep sewer contracts in Florida in exchange for gifts

• The second video is demonstrating a statistical fact of bribery among people in India which involves police, city officials, and society as a whole.

My Take

My take on corruption is that this crime continues to affect all aspects of employment practices.  There are different forms of illegal practices occurring in private businesses and companies.  Most illegal activities remain unreported for fear of harm allowing the perpetrators to continue this trend of destruction among honest working people.  If someone suspects this activity in their job management should be notified immediately to launch an investigation into the matter.

References

1. What is Corrupt Conduct? (January 31, 2012). Retrieved from http://www.icac.NSW.gov.au/.
2. Herald, Deccan. (February 12, 2012). Dealing With Favoritism at the Workplace. Retrieved from http://www.deccanherald.com/content/173905/dealing-favouritism-workplace.html
3. Bergen, Oslo. (December 2000). “Research on Corruption. A Policy Oriented Survey”. Chapter 2. Section2.3.page14. Accessed February 10, 2012
4. Ethnics Rules and conflicts of Interest. (February 2, 2012). Section 6.5.1.Acceptance of Gifts. Retrieved from. http://www.ictregulationtoolkit.org/en/Section.2049.html
5. Project on Government Oversight. Report Corruption. Retrieved from http://www.pogo.org/report-corruption/.

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Contact Information

To contact the author of “The Top Ten Management Primer on Employment Practices/Corruption,” please email Debra.tucker@selu.edu  and – if you wish – Debra.tucker85@yahoo.com.

About the Publisher  

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Management, can be viewed at http://wyldaboutmanagement.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of his student’s publications regarding:

• management concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
• book reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
• international foods  (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/)                                         

   You see a lot in the news lately about how Obama is infringing on Religious Freedom with the law mandating that Catholic Business owner provide contraception care for their employees. Now when I first heard this, like many people, I jumped to the conclusion that we were somehow waging war on the Catholic Church. However, after I did some research and found what the law actually said, I quickly changed my mind. You see a lot today that leads you from conclusion to conclusion, especially with the Republican Primaries currently going on. Anything they can snatch at to try and get the backing of the people (as if they really needed it) they grab on to and won’t let go of. I personally like to think for myself, which is why I did some research into this.

   The law that was pushed through (from Congress) mandated that Religious business owners, of all types, must provide contraception care for their employees of different beliefs. What does this means? This means if your not a Catholic, but you work for a Catholic business, then contraceptive care should be available to you, through the insurance provider of that company. The rebuttal to this from the Catholic Church was that they didn’t care what you believe, they don’t believe in contraceptive care and therefor would not be forced to provide it. The Republic Parties if you have noticed have latched on to this and stated that it was impinging on religious freedom! That’s completely wrong to begin with, Catholic business’s are forcing their beliefs onto their employees whether they like or not, that’s an infringement on religious freedom! Of course there are a great many Americans who bought into this crap because as Americans, we don’t do research ourselves, we expect it to have already been done. Unfortunately that’s never the case and always turns around to bite us.

   I know that our votes don’t matter, and lot of people are coming to realize that. However, that does not mean that we should not be informed! The whole point behind the education system was to make sure that the people knew what the government was doing. Religious parties would prefer us not to know what’s going on. It makes things easier on them. Our fore-fathers had the fore sight to separate the church and state. They also had the fore sight to make that we were all educated so that we could understand what was going on from BOTH sides. This law should have never been an issue and the Government should of had our backing in this. Especially since 99% of all women use a contraceptive in their lifetime!

Lily uses repetition to get her point across. In paragraph two, Lily repeats the phrase ‘I know for a fact’ five times. This shows that she knows what she is talking about. She knows what teachers do behind the scenes and that is definitely not just to teach a class for a period or two each day. No, they also help their students in areas they are unsure of and they must also work overtime to prepare the materials for the next day.

Lily uses anecdotes in this letter. She talks about how all her teachers are willing to help her out and her close relationship with her teachers. The student-teacher relationships are so close that they can be called friends. Through her own personal stories, Lily was able to show the readers how important teachers are to their students.

In the last paragraph, Lily indirectly blames the officials who decide teachers’ wages. She doesn’t blame the teachers who aren’t teaching their classes and are on strike. She agrees with the teachers in that they should receive higher pay for what their hard work.

Overall, I think Lily’s letter to The Age is very persuasive and can sway readers into supports for teachers.

Introduction

Body languages are nonverbal cues which you give, whether to one person, to a group of people, and even when you think no one is watching.  Being mindful of the unspoken messages you may be sending can be just as important as what you are saying.  We should be sure to learn more about this subject as many situations in our lives can be affected.  I’m not just talking about our personal relationships, but professional relationships, too.  When you are interviewing trying to get a job, there are certain ways you can behave to help you in getting that job.   If you are presenting, you should learn the best behaviors to use in getting your message across.  Be sure, though, to pay attention to the group you speaking to and adjust your behaviors accordingly.   

The Idea in a Nutshell

Charles Darwin was the first to conduct a scientific study of nonverbal communication. His argument was that all mammals show their emotion on their faces.  The study on human emotions was done seventy years later.  Body movement analysis was later studied.  However, Anthropologist Ray Birdwhistell pioneered the original study of nonverbal communication—what he called ‘kinesics.’   (“Nonverbal Communication:  History”)

The 10 Things You Need to Know About What Your Body Language Says

1.    Body language speaks volumes when your mouth does not.  Author Ajit Kulkarni wrote an article for Hpathy Ezine (also known as Homeopathy) in May 2008 entitled “The Unspoken Language.”  In his article, he quoted Past Maclean who said, “Emotional feelings, instead of finding expression and discharge in the symbolic use of words and appropriate behavior must be conceived as being translated into a kind of “organ language” (“The Unspoken Language”).   

2.    Your posture, the way you sit, the way you stand, the way you walk, the way you move, all reveal to other people the way you view yourself.  Whether you are self confident or nervous, can be expressed with the way your body moves.  Being aware of your movements can express to others confidence when in fact you can be nervous (“The Unspoken Language”).

3.    The Power of Body Language by Joe Navarro.  When Joe Navarro was 23 years old and working as a police officer, he was approached by the FBI to work with them.  Not many people are approached by the FBI, but he was.  He accepted their offer and became one of the youngest agents to work for the FBI.  He was there for 25 years working as an agent and supervisor.  He trained agents and the intelligence community and has vast knowledge in reading body language.  He retired in 2003 and now dedicates his time to speaking and consulting with major corporations worldwide.  He is recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on reading non-verbal communications (“The Nonverbal Expert”).

     Here is a clip on Joe Navarro on body language.

4.      Other types of body language include hand signals.  For example, the American-style ‘OK’ sign made with your hand is actually a rude gesture in some cultures, notably Latin America, Germany and the Middle East.  In Arab countries the thumbs up gesture is considered rude (“Body Language in Different Cultures”).  Remember to take other cultures into consideration and learn about them if you are in a situation where you will be before a group from another country.

5.    When on a job interview, do not sit with your arms crossed in front of you.  It sends the signal that you are guarding yourself and not open.  Sitting with your hands on your lap and slightly leaning forward shows that you are interested.  This suggests that you are involved in the conversation and positive.

6.    Mimicking the person you are having a conversation with is also a means of unspoken language.  When that person leans forward, you can lean forward, too.  When that person leans back, you can lean back.  Take care though to not do this in a copycat manner, but in an engaging manner.  If you do it in a copycat manner, it could be perceived as insulting.

7.    The eyes also send many signals; including the eye brows.  We know that furrowing the eyebrows can mean that we don’t understand and need additional information.  A wink could mean, “I like you,” or as a signal that what you said was in jest, and it could also mean “I’ve got your back.”

8.    This brings us to eye contact.  Avoiding making eye contact could be interpreted as though you have something to hide.   In these types of situations, presenting before a group of people, making eye contact with individuals in the room can help win the trust of people to whom you are speaking and they feel acknowledged (“Learn Some Important Basics on Body Language”).

9.    Body language for men and women is viewed differently.   There was a case study involving business school students wherein a man and a woman were posing as venture capitalists and used the same body language during their presentation.  The students they presented to viewed them differently.  They viewed the woman as being less genuine, less humble, less kind, and more power hungry.   This is because our own culture views women differently.  We prefer women at behave in nurturing, warm ways as opposed to dominant ways.  So, if we want to be liked when presenting, we need to keep this in mind (“For Women Leaders, Body Language Matters”).  

10.    Of course, it’s not only in business where the unspoken language is important; in matters of love and relationships, being able to read someone’s body language is very important.  This is how we communicate an interest in each other.  This can also be how we express annoyance with our loved ones.  Today is Valentine’s Day.  Did you guys get a card for your sweethearts?  Just a piece of ‘nurturing’ advice, don’t ever let a Valentine’s Day pass without at the very least getting a card for the woman in your life.   Not acknowledging that she is important could get you some unspoken language of the unwanted kind.

My Take

    This is certainly a concept which should be taken seriously if we expect to advance in our careers, or in any other aspect of our lives.  This is very relevant in business today considering that many companies function on a global basis.  We need to learn about different cultures so as not to offend anyone we want to do business with.  If we are working in Human Resources, we need to have the skills needed to be able to read behaviors of the people we are interviewing.

References

Abedi, Abbas, “Learn Some Important Basics Of Body Language” 2/11/12

“Body Language in Different Cultures” 2/11/12

Cooper, Marianne, “For Women Leaders, Body Language Matters,” 11/15/10,

http://www.Stanford.edu/group/gender/cgi-bin/wordpressblog/2010/11/for-women-leaders-body-language-matters/

Kulkari, Ajit  “The Unspoken Language” 2/11/12  

papers/the-unspoken-language/>

Navarro, Joe, “The Nonverbal Expert” 2/11/12
“Nonverbal Communication:  History”, 2/11/12
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Contact Information

To contact the author of “The Top Ten Management Primer on What Your Body Language Says,” please email Gwyndolen Mendez at Gwyndolen.Mendez@selu.edu and gwynmendez@yahoo.com.

About the Publisher  

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Management, can be viewed at http://wyldaboutmanagement.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of his student’s publications regarding:

• management concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
• book reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
• international foods  (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/)                                         

Introduction

Values and Norms are the foundation on which you present yourself to the world.  Values and Norms can be based on a variety of things.  It can include things such as individual freedom all the way to topics such as love and marriage.  Values and Norms vary in a many different ways.  People base their values on where they are at the time.  Values and Norms can range from personal at home values to work values.  Furthermore, values differ across many cultures and countries.  Without values and norms there wouldn’t be a foundation to put yourself on to build who you are today.

The Idea in a Nutshell

Values and Norms are all about how and why people act.  They differ from place to place and person to person and all across cultures.  Without values and norms all people would act the same and do the same as the person besides them.  Values and Norms provide that variety to make each person and culture unique.  Values and Norms provide insight to many unique cultures.  They help people answer the main question—Why?

The 10 Things You Need to Know About Values and Norms

1.    Values and Norms date back to the first man and woman.  Values and Norms don’t have one specific place that they came from.  They developed as time passed on.  Many cultures have developed the unique values and norms that many people follow today.  Values and Norms are based on where you live and what you believe in.  In America, we base our values on freedom and the law.  Other societies base their values on a wide variety of things including Gods and other justice systems.  

2.    Norms are the social rules that govern people’s actions toward one another.  Furthermore, it’s the reason why people act the way they do towards their selves and others.  Norms tell us what is normal in a variety of situations.  It tells us what to wear, eat, think, and so on.  It provides the basis of what we consider normal in our everyday life.  

3.    Norms consists of two forms, which are Folkways and Mores.  Folkways consist of the routine conventions of everyday life.  Folkways have little moral significance.  They consist of things such as proper dress code, correct eating habits, and proper language.  A violation of these will not result in a serious punishment but still play a huge role in why we act they way we do.  Although folkways may not seem as important as other things they are still apart of who we are as an individual.   

4.    The other norm is Mores.  Mores are norms that are seen as central to how a society functions and how people socialize.  A violation of a more can bring great retribution.  Mores consists of things that involve theft, incest, cannibalism, and so on.  Mores will vary from culture to culture and in even some cultures mores have been enacted into law.   

5.    Values are abstract ideas about what a society believes to be good, right, and desirable.  People in a culture all value different things.  In America we value freedom.  In other cultures they may have a different value at the top of their list.  In all, values form the bedrock that each culture evolves around.

6.    Values differ from place to place also.  Values are very prominent in the household.  The head of the household lays down those values, usually consisting of quite of few.  The top family values are belonging, flexibility, respect, honesty, and forgiveness.  These values play an important role in having a harmonized household.  Many families will hold each other accountable to these values and help each other learn from these values.

7.    Also, values take place in the workplace.  These values define the workplace that you work in.  Many businesses set a list of values by which the workforce has to partake in and live by.  Most businesses have zero tolerance for breaking these values.  They believe that these values will bring great harmony between employees and create a positive work environment.  The top values in a workplace are strong work ethic, responsibility, positive attitude, and honesty.  

8.    Like said before, values and norms differ all across culture.  Different cultures will have different takes on what they value and what they consider normal.  This depends on a lot of different aspects such as their economy, government, and politics.  Even in some cultures their values and norms are decided for them.  In America, we decide on what we value and what we think of as normal.  Even though values and norms differ across cultures, it is something that we all can believe in.

9.    Knowing another cultures values and norms can give you a competitive advantage over other people.  It can give you the edge in doing business with foreign investors and companies.  Knowing what others believe in and what they consider normal is shown to be a great sign of respect.  In a lot of situations the person with cultural knowledge will be put ahead of everyone else and land the deal with the foreign investor.  It can also help you understand why another culture acts they way they do.  Having that competitive advantage helps you answer a lot of questions before partaking in foreign business.  It helps you prepare for any situation.

10.    Lastly, values and norms are what makes you, you.  Values and Norms give us that uniqueness that separates us from a lot of other people.  People place different values on things such as family, income, education, and personal appearance.  These vary from person to person depending on when and where you grew up and was raised.  Without the values and norms society would all act the same and there wouldn’t be any cultural diversity.  

The Video Lounge

This clip really does a great job showing what really goes on in the world today.  The world today values comedy and making fun of the social norm.   The video shows what society considers normal like opening the door for someone, and it also shows how society breaks those norms.  The video is definitely right on point on how society acts today and shows how violating a social norm is just as normal as following them.  

My Take

    The concept of values and norms still exist today, but society has made it very acceptable to stray from those values.  The world we live in today has made it very easy to get away from what we consider normal.  Managers today really have to make sure that employees will be loyal to them and their business.  Managers are having to ask employees real extensive question to make sure they are the right person for the job.   The word trust isn’t what it use to be.  Even though, there is a lot of corruption in the world now there are still people who hold their values to a high standard in their life and I really believe that.  In, all values and norms still take great precedent in many peoples life, but there is one thing we have to remember and that is that values differ from person to person and culture to culture.  So, before judging someone learn what their culture is and it will answer a lot of your questions.  

References

Kruger, S. (n.d.). Top 10 essential family values. Retrieved from http://www.zenfamilyhabits.net/2010/02/top-10-essential-family-values/

Loretto, P. (n.d.). The top 10 work values employers look for. Retrieved from http://internships.about.com/od/internshipsuccess/a/workvalues.htm

Sociology Guide. (2011). Social norms. Retrieved from http://www.sociologyguide.com/basic-concepts/Social-Norms.php

Uipurta. (2011, January 21). Meaning of values and norms in the community. Retrieved from http://family.wikinut.com/Meaning-of-Values-and-Norms-in-The-Community/p1a84h5w/

Marini, M. (n.d.). Social values and norms. Retrieved from http://edu.learnsoc.org/Chapters/4 key concepts in sociology/20 social values and norms.htm



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Contact Information

To contact the author of “The Top Ten Management Primer on Values and Norms,” please email Jordan Hymel at Jordan.Hymel@selu.edu.

About the Publisher  

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Management, can be viewed at http://wyldaboutmanagement.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of his student’s publications regarding:

• management concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
• book reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
• international foods  (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/)                                         

What can we say about the all hated reality of taxes?  Much of the money we pay politicians for are so they can adjust and fight for or against taxes. To me taxes has become a horror show.  They want me to give the government hundreds of dollars a week when I am already paying the government institutions thirty plus thousands a year for college educations.  In truth I would not be against paying taxes on goods that I buy when I can afford too.  I don’t have a problem paying higher prices on goods to make up the income tax, because I would be paying my taxes along the way and not up front.  I much rather them be fare and give me a dam break.  Stop taking my money I work for.  It is not the governments and they have no right to it! The government can get their taxes on sales not my check.  By the way I am not a math major, but I have read that a system like this could actually get the government more tax dollars then stealing it from our paychecks.  Another thing they do is take the power to use the money they take from me to pay for our enemy’s legal fees, illegal aliens, and to help other countries who hate us.  If you are taking my hard earned dollars then let me decide where it goes.  I would put mine toward food, medicine, education, housing and many other things as long as it is for Americans.  There are ways we can change the system, but again it will take a well-organized people to do get the job done.  We have to get together and stop the government from using our money for outsiders and put it to work for us and our American people.  You may be saying that it is the war and the military that is to blame because they are spending billions of tax dollars but I will tell you that if you don’t have a strong military you will pay more than you do know, mark my words.  The government is shaky enough without having a week military.  We need protection more now than ever.  All of the underhanded and secret deals made over the years with other groups and other countries by our federal government have weekend us to a point where the government can’t really protect us any longer.  If we change the tax system and how we get our taxes paid, and use what may sound like a very strange concept, which is to use American Money for Americans, and America, we can all have all we need. We would have medical care to housing.  We would have a strong military and a rich nation with the wealth shared not by socialized programs, but by the government being able to pick up the tab for education, building hospitals, financing homes for less, and creating jobs and businesses through grants.  We are a wealthy nation that throws its money away and then has to scramble to make ends meet.  Do they take us for idiots? If we don’t make some of these changes real soon we will be speaking another language and maybe not even be the United States as we know it any more.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not starting trouble I am however starting change! I am sick of seeing the tax dollars I work for, work for work outsiders. I am sick of the government taking the money I need when they want it and not when I can afford to pay it. I am sick of the government telling me at the end of the year when college tuition is due that I have to pay even more because they didn’t steal enough.  I am sick of their loan sharking credit card rates, and I am sick of them asking the bank what I do with my hard earned already taxed dollars, because the bank tells the government everything I do with my money.  I don’t know what you readers are thinking about your money and privacy right now, but I am mad as hell!

Actually Corruption i doesn`t only happen in our country..Corruption happens in many countries and many world organization. But let me only talk in our country..

Why Corruption can`t be solved as soon as possible in our country??

There are many factors about it which maybe can explain and open your mind.

Here are the factors..

1. Corruption involve many people who make decision and policy. It`s difficult when the people who lead the organization and board involve the corruption.. Can you imagine if the leader of Law institutions which responsibility for fighting against Corruption, but they are corruptor too?? 

2. Who did not need money? That is the common proverb, everyone likes money even the money from illegal something. 

3. Many people did not believe God..I mean, they are prayer but they never recognize and pretend did not know that corruption is not and God really hate corruption and misuse the responsibility..

4. The enforcement law and the punishment for corruption is so weak..

So when 4 factors can`t be solved, don`t even hope that our country will be free from corruption

Smoke is the way politicians say words.  The way in which the politicians say things can make a huge difference.  Words are always crafted diligently to appease the crowd.  Depending on the crowd, these words may vary.  To cut spending, in political speak means they will tone down how much they spend.  This is not a cut, but spending less.  If we spend less, we are still spending.  No matter how we say it, if we weed out the waste, the seventeen trillion owed at the end of this political term, can be cut out all together in less then five years.

in five years, if Americans start treating politicians like employees, and stop letting them all, take advantage of us all, we can cut out the debt all together.  By eliminating all pork projects, stopping all bail outs, ending all accounts to all foreign nations, becoming our own manufacturer of oil, coal, weeding out all unnecessary regulations, making taxes obsolete, bu using a flat tax will end the debt all together.  A flat tax means everyone pays their fair share.  There would be no loop holes, a simple flat tax will insure that those who earn so little pay a little, and those who make the big bucks pay more.  One more thing, if we eliminated all useless government posts, government jobs that do nothing, and stop paying diplomats for looking good, we can have a surplus.  Lets not even get started on golf games, vacations, and living like a king.  We roll in the mud while they tell us they know what we are feeling but do they?  The President lives rent free, travels for free, and vacations for free.  When is the last time America had a vacation?  The poor can survive with their hand outs, the sick can like easier, and the elderly can keep that money they paid into the fund.  Lets not cut any important programs, or let them tell us we need to, but lets do cut the fat off of our steak in America.

As I said, all politicians are to blame.  We cannot place all the blame for everything that happened in the past twelve years on George W.  If politics practiced honesty, instead of trying to fool all of the people all of the time, we would all be better off.  If four years into a Presidency, Obama still blames Bush for all our woes, what can we believe in?  The blame game will always be there, that is one of those tricks of the trade.  America, be smarter then your employee, be smarter then that, because if we let those politicians trounce on us, we fail as an employer.  Now, all those bail outs, they are paying us back so, where is out dividend?  When they say, they are paying the tax payers money, that is a whole lit of bull.  They are spending revenues made.  We pay to live, but we don’t need to spend to survive.

Occupy Wall Street is opposed to big business. However, with a $20.00 per hour minimum wage, big business would be the only businesses which could afford to pay their employees. Small and even some medium-sized business would fail entirely or reduce their work forces to accommodate the wage increase. Businesses would further influence the government to intervene which could lead to more drastic legislation of people in the workforce.

HOW MUCH IS THAT HAPPY MEAL?

Everything comes with a cost. The increased wages would mean higher prices for all goods and services. The proposed hike in minimum wage is a little over 3 times the national average for minimum wage now. With that math, a Happy Meal would run upwards of $13.00. “Can I get Happy Meal without the toy?”

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO CUSTOMER SERVICE

Automation would replace many more jobs throughout America. This would be one of the only ways for businesses to maintain a profit. In addition, large chain 24 hour grocery stores would be forced to adjust operating hours to eliminate the 3rd shift work force.

YOU GOT YOUR FIRST JOB WHEN YOU WERE HOW OLD?

Forget about your kids getting summer jobs. Congress would have no choice but to raise the working age to combat the reduced number of jobs left in America. In addition, businesses would lobby to reduce the retirement age.

I know there needs to be change in this country, but we need to think through what we want from government. Some solutions may end up being our demise.

Sources

Blood, J. (2011, November, 6). OWS Manifesto (Anti Gun, Pro Union, Pro Abortion, and “Social Justice”), Deadline Live. Retrieved from http://deadlinelive.info/2011/11/06/ows-manifesto-anti-gun-pro-union-pro-abortion-and-social-justice/