Integrity in business, especially on the internet, seems to be a quality that, unfortunately, is rarely found nowadays. The internet marketing world has become so glutted with hype, scams and empty promises that even the most trusting of us have become skeptical about the claims we’re subjected to on a daily basis. So when we find a company or a person with real integrity, we’re impressed, and much more likely to do business with them.

Integrity is the basing of one’s actions on an internally consistent framework of principles. Integrity is also the cornerstone of every truly successful business. It is the idea of living consistently so your actions are in harmony with your professed principles and beliefs. It is one of the building blocks of earning and maintaining trust.

Integrity is described by Webster as the state of being sound or complete, being upright, honest, and sincere. It is primarily a virtue that comes from within, and the best way each of us can promote integrity is to exemplify it, to lead lives that embody our beliefs and our sense of moral values. Integrity, in short, is doing the right thing, doing the next right thing and doing things right, knowing that even if nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not, the rewards you will receive are much greater in the long run. It is the first step to true greatness.

Moving through life with integrity is freeing because there is nothing to cover up, no guilt, and a clear guideline for how to respond in every situation. The greatest fallout from a lack of integrity is the loss of trust, both from those we work with and, ironically, even within our own subconscious. A lack of integrity can have a subtle, but powerful, effect on our psychological state, which, in turn, affects our ability to be successful in the long term. Unfortunately, integrity is an old-fashioned virtue that, for many, has become a low priority in the quest for increasing profits, maximizing market share, or acquiring votes or tenure.

True integrity is more of a journey than a destination. It’s not something you do once and you’re finished. It’s an ongoing series of personal choices that we make as we go through our lives. If you’re running a home-based business, personal integrity is as important as the products you sell or the services you offer. As an entrepreneur, a reputation for integrity is your most valuable commodity.

Integrity, like most other good things, begins at home. Little things make a big difference. Developing a habit of honesty will set you free in ways that most people don’t even begin to realize. If we’re honest with ourselves, it is always easier to be truthful. For one thing, if you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything. The greatest homage we can pay to ourselves and others is to walk with integrity. Making morally clear life choices is actually much easier and much more profitable in the long run. Do the right thing and speak the truth.

Whatever business you’re doing, it’s important to practice integrity in the way you operate on a daily basis. Serve others. Avoid making claims or promises that are not true. Offer real value through the products or services that you market. If you do these things, it is inevitable that you will succeed. If not, you’ll just get lost in the crowd.

Tim Wright, Ph.D., is a freelance writer and busy internet entrepreneur living in Virginia.

Visit his website at: http://godcenteredwealth.com

The probability that he will go to jail for what he did is almost zero. His lack of personal leadership resulted in thousands of people feeling violated, cheated and betrayed. If his patrons trusted him before, his impersonal approach to leadership shredded that trust in a matter of milliseconds. We won’t give our support to leaders we don’t trust.

2008 is an election year in the U.S., with selection of our next President taking the main stage. We want someone we can trust to lead us for the next four years. We’re willing to give our enthusiastic support to those we trust so that we can achieve significant results together. When trust is lost, disillusionment and disappointment set in, and the result is no results at all.

Blanked After 12 Years

On May 31st, 2008, the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) newspaper published “School chief makes a name shredding Clayton diplomas”. John Thompson started as the new Clayton County Superintendent on April 28th, replacing Gloria Duncan. The AJC reports that on May 29th he ordered the shredding of 3,000 high school diplomas because his name was not printed on them. The very next day, graduates attending their graduation ceremony were surprised to discover their diploma was missing. They would have to wait for them to be reprinted, to arrive in the mail weeks later.

John Thompson shredded the diplomas because he could. The powers associated with his position enabled him to do that, despite the fact that he didn’t know at the time how much the replacement diplomas would cost the county taxpayers. He made an executive decision, and his motives have been called into question.

Upward Turns Outward

We can’t deny it is human nature to be selfish. Abraham Maslow’s pyramid illustrating the hierarchy of human needs acknowledges that we are driven at a primal level to satisfy our needs for food and shelter. We must selfishly take care of ourselves and what we need to survive before we can think about others’ needs. Unfortunately, some never choose to think of others even after they are far above survival level. Until we put aside our selfishness and develop an outward view that considers others’ personal needs before we consider our own, we can’t be trusted with a leadership role.

Selfish people can never develop trust with others. They take actions that serve themselves and then find ways to rationalize them. They offer explanations that often sound hollow to everyone but them.
– “We either give them two diplomas or get the right one mailed. We decided to have them wait for the right one.”
– “I took the initiative and I did it.”
– “It’s no harm. It’s just a sense of pride, and they will have it soon.”

These don’t sound like explanations, but excuses. If you are ever tempted to offer an excuse, it’s probably time to offer a sincere apology instead.

It’s Your Life to Lead

Personal leadership is all about how you lead yourself in your own life. It’s about the decisions you make and the actions you take, whether people are watching or not. It’s about learning to trust your own actions so that others can learn to trust you. It’s about developing the habit of doing the right thing all the time, even when it causes you inconvenience, expense or embarrassment. Here are three tips to help you develop your own personal leadership.

1. Serve Others before Yourself

While your self-interest and self-preservation are important, get in the habit of first considering how a situation or decision will impact others involved. Look for ways to give before you find ways to receive.

When Davidson College made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA basketball tournament this past spring, the trustees of the College offered to give any student who wanted to travel to Detroit to see Davidson play Wisconsin a ticket to the game, bus transportation and 2 nights lodging. The trustees knew that this opportunity may not come again to the College for a long time, and they wanted their students to have powerful memories of the experience. They gave to the students without expectation of receiving anything in return, because that’s what they want their students to learn. Should you ever meet a Davidson grad (from any year) ask them what they think of their school experience. “Trustee” — what an appropriate title. Nearly 300 students took them up on their offer.

2. A Deal is a Deal

Follow-through on agreements you’ve made, even if they seem trivial or insignificant. If your voicemail greeting says you will call back anyone who leaves a message, either call everyone back or change your voicemail greeting. Inconsistency is the enemy of trust.

Often we are paid to deliver a service. Many of us make a deal to receive a paycheck in return for performing a job. Make sure you’re living up to your end of the bargain by delivering good service to your employer.

Some employees (like school superintendents) are expected to deliver service across multiple key groups: in this example, to students, to parents, and to taxpayers. Serving multiple groups before serving yourself requires a high degree of personal leadership. Thinking selfishly for even a moment can rapidly extinguish trust with one or more of your key groups. Keep your deals, and do well the jobs you are paid to do.

3. Better Kind than Right

Often we find ourselves in situations that offer us two paths. One path will give us an opportunity to say something like, “I’m right, you’re wrong, and I can prove it.” The other path gives us an opportunity to decide that proving ourselves right in this situation isn’t worth causing another person pain or embarrassment. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer suggests that often it is better to be kind than right.

Debates can be healthy, and sometimes it is necessary to clearly establish right from wrong. Other times, who is right really doesn’t matter. For example, a friend recently remarked about how overpaid CEOs are. While I was prepared to debate it from the other side, I chose not to because the outcome would be neither productive nor supportive of our relationship. While I didn’t agree with him, I chose to be kind when I could have been right.

Take Trust Personally

Trust is central to all our important relationships. Some try to dodge trust issues by insisting on written contracts. Personal leadership puts its trust in personal behavior, not a piece of paper.

It takes time to learn to trust others, whether we’re hiring them, electing them, or marrying them. Trust is earned over time, yet it is lost in a moment of irrational behavior. Always strive to do the right thing by considering others before yourself. Then others will consider you a leader worth following.

Copyright 2008 Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson the Trouble Breaker is a keynote speaker who works with organizations to convert trouble into double and triple digit performance breakthroughs. Discover breakthrough concepts at http://www.paul-johnson.com. Visit http://TroubleBreaker.com for presentations on leadership.

You may think that business ethics pertains to OTHER people. You learned good ethics at your mother’s knee. Well, what did she tell you about conflicts of interest?

As a former Director, Ethics and Compliance for a $1.5B publicly traded organization, I learned a few important bits of information I would like to share with you.

1. A conflict of interest is when someone puts their own interest above those of the organization they work for. I found this to be the most commonly misunderstood concept in business ethics.

Here is an example: You sometimes buy lunch for your staff. As it turns out, your wife recently invested in a nearby sandwich shop which will deliver lunch. Isn’t it okay to throw your lunch business her way? Well, probably not. But no answer is absolute. It may be that she can bid on delivering lunches just like any other nearby sandwich shop, and she may get the business now and then like her competitors.

But, if she becomes your exclusive provider, thereby enriching your household income, you have just put your interest above that of the company’s. To avoid this situation, just ask yourself, “Will I personally profit from this decision, to the detriment of the company I work for?” If the answer is yes, it is probably best to just avoid the action you are considering.

2. Theft is when you take something that isn’t yours; that is obvious, right? Like taking some money from the company till.

Well, theft — of time — can also be taking time to do personal work on company time. This doesn’t mean making a phone call to arrange a dental appointment, it means picking up your laundry, getting your hair cut, and talking to a friend for a good long chat while being paid by the company. Theft is also taking a handful of pens or notepads home to your kids when school starts in the fall. Both of these examples constitute theft. Not outrageous, but theft all the same.

3. Gifts are a tricky matter. You’ve worked hard to get a contract signed and the vendor is appreciative so he offers you two tickets to the local professional football team game, worth about $350.00. Can you accept the gift?

Check your company’s Code of Ethics or Code of Conduct. There may be a limit or prohibition from accepting (or offering) gifts. Just check to be sure. It may simply be a matter of declaring receipt of the gift, or getting permission to accept it from your boss. It is also possible that you can not accept the gift.

4. Federal Sentencing Guidelines: What the heck are THOSE? The Federal Sentencing Guidelines were issued by the US Sentencing Commission, and encourage actions to help a company avoid fines and penalties for ethical wrongdoing.

Examples of actions to avoid fines and penalties include communicating standards and procedures around ethics and compliance, and requiring participation in related training programs. Your company may have some obligation to adhere to these guidelines or similar ones depending on whether your company is public or private sector. The part that applies to you is that the company should promote a culture of ethical behavior. Your obligation as an employee is to do your level best to behave in an ethical manner.

5. A Code of Ethics sets the tone for company regarding ethical behavior. Many companies have such a document. At the very least, the Securities and Exchange Commission requires a Code for officers of a publicly traded corporation.

If your company has a Code of Ethics (or Conduct), it is probably on your internal web, or may be housed in Human Resources or the Legal Department. Inform yourself about it and plan to live up to it. If you have questions, find out who to ask so you can stay on the right side of ethics.

As a final thought, why wouldn’t you want to be ethical? If you have a good reason for not being ethical, please write and let me know your thoughts.

Sally Rhys, MS, coaches and consults on business ethics. As the former Director, Ethics and Compliance at a $1.5B publicly traded company, her expertise will help you increase both your business knowledge and professionalism. Contact her at http://www.coachingforperspective.com

Wow — every day seems to bring us a new story about business ethics wrongdoing! Is America headed to hell in a hand basket because of a serious lack of ethics at the highest level in American business? Or, it is just that ethical transgressions are more visible now? Or is it that the media reports more? Whichever it is, I urge you to be concerned about business ethics, even if simply for yourself.

A few facts will raise your awareness about the current state of ethics in American business. The Ethics Resource Center notes that the number of ethics programs is on the rise in corporate America. Unfortunately, the center also notes that ethical misconduct is high. (Google “The National Business Ethics Survey” for more details.) Other research shows that a majority of people in America have quit a job due to an ethical concern at sometime in their lives. (Google “lrn” for more details.)

You may believe there isn’t much you can do about ethics in American business. But, you can choose to follow a high standard of ethics for yourself.

Here are three simple tips to stay in Integrity with Yourself:
1. Listen to your gut. If it doesn’t smell right, it probably isn’t. Don’t risk your reputation by going along with something that is fishy. Sometimes in the work place, what the policy says to do and what people are doing are two different things.

For instance, if you go to lunch with a co-worker to discuss business and you each spend $11.95, which is all you can claim on your business expense forms. But, your coworker may encourage you to submit a claim for $23.95 (since the policy says you don’t have to submit a receipt until the amount is over $25.00, per IRS rules.) Your coworker may even say everyone pads their expense report. This action would be a quick way to double your cash back, but you know it isn’t right. Don’t cave-in to the peer pressure or temptation. Just don’t do it!

2. Ask questions. Sometimes what you know is not the whole story. Ask questions to fill in the gap. Don’t assume. Something you don’t know may make what looks wrong actually be a good thing. As the former Director, Ethics and Compliance for a $1.5B company, I learned to ask questions before forming a judgment.

For instance, I know of a case where a manager became aware that his employee had lied about his whereabouts during the work day. One appropriate action would have been to discipline the employee or maybe even fire him. Another appropriate action would have been to extend a little compassion for the employee, who was under some external stresses, and work more closely with the employee to help him manage his time better. Asking a few simple questions revealed the external stresses, which opened doors to alternative resolution of the problem.

3. Keep an open mind. There is rarely an unequivocal right or wrong answer in any ethical issue.

For instance, an employee reported to me that he believed a co-worker was falsely claiming an important professional certification. I asked him why he thought that, and he said that the person didn’t seem to demonstrate the knowledge base required for certification. He also said he had checked the certifying agency’s website to find the co-workers name without success. Since falsification of job qualifications is a serious offense, I went to the website to check for the name too, and asked an internal recruiter to verbally check with the certifying agency.

As it turned out, the person under suspicion had registered at the website with his formal name, not the nickname he used at work; as a result his name wasn’t recognizable at the website. Only by triple checking the website and making a phone call to the certifying agency were we able to get the whole story.

Stay in integrity — do what YOU think is right and stay in good conscience.

Sally Rhys, MS, coaches and consults on business ethics. As the former Director, Ethics and Compliance at a $1.5B publicly traded company, her expertise will help you increase both your business knowledge and professionalism. Contact her at http://www.coachingforperspective.com

Are you thinking about installing Hidden or Surveillance Cameras in your place of business? Many employers consider video and other surveillance key to keeping an honest and productive workplace. It keeps employees on the straight and narrow – no fingers in the till, no time clock funny business, no drinking or drugging on breaks. Many business owners and managers also record or review phone calls and emails from the office.

But employers must be careful not to go too far in their surveillance or they will risk being sued by an employee for an invasion of privacy under federal or state law. This article is an overview of the laws applicable to workplace surveillance – you should always talk to your own attorney to determine exactly what the law is in your state.

VIDEO SURVEILLANCE
There are several variables when considering video surveillance in your place of business. Your choices include visible traditional and dome surveillance cameras or hidden cameras, with or without audio. Each of the variables has potential legal implications. Visible surveillance cameras (not hidden in any way) are generally not illegal if they are in a non-private place.

If the camera records sound as well as video, you must comply with federal and state wiretapping and eavesdropping laws. You will need consent of one or all parties to any recorded conversation, depending on your jurisdiction.

Hidden cameras are a slightly different story. Video recording (without sound) is usually okay, even if the camera is hidden unless the person(s) being recorded has a reasonable expectation of privacy, the taping is done for some illegal purpose or there was trespass to record the video.

Courts across the country are finding with more and more frequency that no reasonable expectation of privacy exists with non-covert video surveillance or even with hidden surveillance if the physical space examined is a public space. Note that, if an employer uses union employees, the employer may be required to notify the union of its intention to use hidden cameras, but probably doesn’t have to disclose where the cameras will be installed.

There is a federal law which makes it a crime to secretly capture photo or video images of people in places and situations in which they have an expectation of privacy. Most states have followed suit. These laws are often referred to as “video voyeurism” statutes.

VIDEO VOYEURISM LAWS
As you can see, surveillance technology has advanced so much over recent years that excellent cameras can be completely hidden from view in a number of different ways. These Spy Cameras are a great tool for many employers but can also be used inappropriately. The federal government and most states have recently passed “video voyeurism” laws.

These laws make it a crime to secretly record or distribute images of people in places where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as bathrooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, hotel rooms and tanning salons.

The federal law prohibits anyone from recording images of an individual’s “private areas” without consent when that individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy. Every state in the U.S. now has some legal prohibition of video voyeurism or invasion of privacy, except Iowa and Washington D.C. About half of these statutes actually make this kind of video recording a felony. Many have an even harsher punishment for distributing such videos.

You will need to check your home state’s particular laws as the courts from state to state may have differing opinions as to what types of places are expected to be private – bathroom and changing rooms may be “no-brainers” but some states’ courts have even decided that employee break rooms or lunch rooms are “private” for purposes of video surveillance.

OTHER SURVEILLANCE IN THE WORKPLACE
The monitoring of electronic communications such as telephone calls, voicemail, email and IMs is covered by the federal wiretapping and eavesdropping statute – the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The ECPA does include several business use exceptions to allow employers to perform necessary investigations, protect trade secrets and keep an eye on inventory and receipts.

Under the federal law, the monitoring of things such as email and phone calls is allowed if either the sender or recipient consents or if it is done in the regular course of business. Employers can monitor only equipment which they own and do not have the right to monitor email hosted by a third party (like web-based email programs.

BEST PRACTICES
Whether they have a right to privacy at work or not, many employees find surveillance of any sort offensive. It is good practice for employees to be provided with written notification of the existence or possibility of any monitoring in the workplace – video, audio or otherwise.

Notices can be made a part of a written, distributed policy or a section in the employee handbook. Employees can even be asked to sign a consent to or acknowledgement of the monitoring. If you are cautious, ethical and respectful of your employees and of the law, video and other surveillance in the workplace can be a wonderful tool to keep your business running smoothly and profitably.

Sharon Macdonald, a retired teacher, distributes products to protect our families, property and businesses. For more information on Hidden Cameras and Surveillance Equipment please visit http://www.A1-HiddenCamera.com

The UK is fast becoming the Health and Safety nightmare of the modern world. There are those who work in the care sector who are not allowed to come into physical contact with the people they care for fear of breaching some health and safety law, there are those in childcare who are not allowed to so much as apply a sticky plaster without a signed waver from the parent.

Of course, to counteract all these nonsense rules we have health and safety training. You can go on a course if you want to be certified to apply plasters to grazes which always comes in handy when you’re working in a playschool. If the teachers are away on health and safety training courses then they have stand in teachers. If the children should graze themselves during this time, there is no need to worry. They will simply call out a parent who can then drop what they are doing at work and run and fix their broken child.

If you think this is crazy then look to the UK’s compensation culture to appoint blame. For fear of being sued in the event of a plaster reaction and a rash appearing, teachers are stepping back from taking any action that involves physical contact and could result in a law suit.

I have a family member with a disabled teenager. His mother has no health and safety training yet she continues to lift this eighteen year old boy backwards and forwards to the bathroom. This is because the council housed her in a place that had a step down into a tiny bathroom with no wheel chair access.

The council refused to put in hoists because they needed to move house and didn’t want the expense. They asked for help from social services with help to bathe him and although there are social workers who have had health and safety training to lift weights, he was over a certain weight to be lifted without a hoist. And they won’t fit a hoist because….

So, with diabetes and two major heart attacks under her belt, his mum continues to lift him without health and safety training and does what the majority of us do – she just gets on with it.
Care workers all need health and safety training. To lift another human, however frail, can cause difficulties and especially back problems. Of course, people have done this for years without complaining but, as I said, in this age of compensation claims no company can afford to slip up in the training to approach things with common sense, apparently.

There are work places where health and safety training makes common sense. The building site, for instance. Nobody would expect an inexperienced person to go into such an environment without some form of training and expectations of good practice. The same applies to handling dangerous chemicals. It is common sense to make sure those that do that type of job are highly qualified people with the knowledge that will keep them safe.

But do we really, really need health and safety on how to use a desk and chair properly? Do we need a whole training course dedicated to the correct use of a ladder? Apparently so! This is because no one wants to take personal responsibility for their actions anymore and any chance of making a quick buck that will also see them taking six months paid holiday from work and this is what leads companies to cover their backs with health and safety training.

Employment expert Catherine Harvey looks at the way health and safety training has become such a neccessity in the workplace. To find out more please visit http://www.complywise.co.uk/products/dse-vdu-training/

When it comes to the use of office furniture there are several etiquette rules that should be observed and these rules will differ from office to office. What is acceptable in one place will be your downfall in another. Suss out the rules of your new office early on and you will be welcomed with open arms if you observe them in the decent way.

Open plan offices take a great deal of delicate handling. Office furniture is often laid out in a manner where all workers are in fairly close proximity and all types of rules should be applied. You will not, ever, get away with making just one coffee. If in doubt, offer those in your immediate vicinity a drink when you make your own. If this is not the way things are done in that particular office, at least it will make you look good.

Another tip for open plan office furniture is that of keeping your own house in order. Do not allow your paperwork to spill onto the desks of others and never leave your bag on the floor where others can trip over it. If you have a cough or cold, always stay at home. Open sneezing causing spattering of nasal secretions on those around you will incur the wrath of that foam in your coffee not being from extra vigorous stirring.

Some offices will be open plan but have partitions as part of their standard office furniture. These are to allow a little privacy and division of work places. They are not sound proof. An argument with your wife over the phone will be heard and dutifully embroidered upon and spread by those around you until, by the time you leave work for the day, your colleagues from the next office are commiserating with you on your divorce.

Partitions are not smell proof either. For the women, over powering perfume is annoying to your colleagues and for the men, it really is only you that finds your personal bodily gases entertaining and fragrant. Please limit all aromas to coffee or fresh laundry and you will be more popular.

Computers are the staple of any office furniture and as such should be treated with the utmost care. Any punching or slamming of office equipment that doesn’t do what you want when you want it will be frowned upon, as will using computer equipment as projectiles.

Emails should always be kept professional as bosses that are good at delegation often find they have quiet spots in their day and will fill them with checking up on who’s sending what to whom and if people are talking behind his back. Any bitching about colleagues or the boss should be saved for the ladies loos and not bandied about via emails.

Lunching on office furniture is always a delicate subject. If you must eat at work, nobody wants to smell your lunch so keep the spices for at home. Similarly, nobody wants to be leaning in your lunch if you happen to share a desk so always clear up crumbs behind yourself and never, ever, drop food in the keyboard. Anything nasty growing out of it in a few weeks time could spread germs and see you getting scorn poured from above.

Networking is an important aspect of office life. If a lunch is held in honour of new contacts and any alcoholic beverage is served, please remember that office furniture is not a prop to be used when flirting. In fact, just don’t flirt at all. This will not further your career, only get you a bad reputation.

For those moments in the day when you feel yourself flagging, do not fall asleep at your desk. Office furniture is never comfortable and walking around an hour later with qwerty stamped on your face is a bit of a give-away. If that forty winks is absolutely necessary, try the stationary cupboard.

Office expert Catherine Harvey looks at the best use of office furniture and what to avoid. To find out more please visit http://www.planscapeuk.com/

The Talmud cited the following incident: There was once a food shortage in Nehardea. All the people sold their mansions. Eventually, wheat arrived and Rav Nachman told them that the law is that the mansions must be returned to their original owners.

The Talmud notes that the reason why sales are void is because they were made in error, since it became known that the ship carrying the wheat was waiting in the port at the time the mansions were sold.

The Talmud in the daf yomi adds that this would explain the following conversation: Rami bar Shmuel said to Rav Nachman, if you rule like this, you will cause them trouble in the future. Rav Nachman replied that a food shortage is not common, and therefore we need not worry about the next one. Rami bar Shmuel retorted that a food shortage in Nehardea is indeed a common occurrence!

There are many legal issues that this Talmud is used to resolve.

Reuben desperately needed an operation and he desired a certain expert doctor to perform the surgery. The hospital told him that he presently was outside of the country, and will only be returning the following week. Reuben vowed an enormous amount of money to charity if the surgeon would return earlier than he originally intended. As soon as he uttered those words, the doctor was standing by his bedside. He told Reuben that he had decided to shorten his vacation. The question was asked – was Reuben obligated to fulfill his vow? Perhaps, he was not required to give the money to charity, for at the time that he pronounced the vow, the doctor was already in the country.

There was a certain city where a terrible edict was issued against the residents. They sent a message to a well-known Rabbi, who was famous for delivering miracles through his prayer. The Tzadik agreed, but requested of them to send a certain amount of money that he would be able to distribute to the widows and orphans residing in his city. A short amount of time after they sent the money, they received a letter that the decree had been cancelled. The city was overjoyed. However, one resident sent a letter to the Maharsham saying that perhaps, they should get their money back because he noticed that the date on the letter stating that the decree had been cancelled was before they actually sent the money. It appears that the giving of the money was erroneous.

Reuben and Simon bought two lottery tickets together. They made up that they each would share the winnings of each ticket. The reason for this decision was based on the Talmud in Bava Metzia that states that the mazal of two people together is better than one. After the lottery numbers were chosen, Reuben went to Shimon attempting to switch the deal. He said, let us each keep the winnings of our own individual ticket. Reuben did this because he already knew that the ticket that he was holding was chosen and he would receive fifty thousand dollars. Simon agreed to this new deal. The reason that Simon agreed was because the ticket that he was holding was chosen, and he would now receive the full share of a two hundred million dollars. Can Reuben now retract from the second deal?

Based on the decision of the Talmud, in all three cases it would seem, the money does not transfer when a deal was made after the circumstances causing deal are no longer prevalent.

Billy Kite is a researcher writing on behalf of http://www.premiumsteelsales.com.

A Google search for “fair trade jewelry” will bring up numerous companies, many of which sell ethnic jewelry produced in small villages in the developing world. The ‘fair trade’ concept draws the socially responsible shopper, yet the third party labeling organization, Fair Labeling Organization (FLO)- of which Transfair USA is a member – does not currently list jewelry as a category certifiable as fair trade. Apart from that, some large players in the mainstream jewelry industry are beginning to tout concepts such as “fair trade diamonds and gold.” So how does one make sense of these jewelry claims, especially as they relate to the $150 Billion plus mainstream jewelry industry?

Investigating the Self-Proclaimed Fair Trade Jewelers

‘Global Exchange’ comes up number one on Google in the organic, unpaid listings for the “fair trade jewelry” search. The Transfair logo at the bottom of their website would lead a shopper to believe that their jewelry, like the coffee they sell, is third party certified.

In the context of their claim, I emailed them, asking about the source of their precious metal and the environmental safeguards for their manufacturer’s; proper ventilation and disposal or toxic chemicals used in the manufacturing of the jewelry they sell. Finally, sterling silver is supposed to be .925% silver. Imports out of small villages in developing countries are notorious for labeling as sterling silver jewelry which has less silver content than real sterling silver.

Global Exchange wrote back explaining that that what qualifies as fair trade jewelry is that their jewelry is made in a village by small scale artisans and fair working conditions, which they monitor. They could not answer questions about the environmental practices of these small manufacturers and did not monitor sterling content.

This application of the term “fair trade” to jewelry by Global Exchange is backed by a fair trade concept that exists outside of FLO. Global Exchange also referred me to the Fair Trade Federation (FTF), of which they are a member. FTF’s website FAQ pages lists jewelry as a “fair trade” product. I interviewed Carmen Iezzi, the executive director of FTF, which helped me understand that FTF has nothing to do with products: only businesses that sell them – a subtle distinction probably lost on the average person.

Global Exchange, at least, has some history behind their ethical stance; there are many small and large companies and stores using the “fair” and “eco” label around jewelry with more questionable accountability.

Though “fair trade” jewelry is helping some villagers in the developing world, it is a negligible niche market in the mainstream jewelry industry as a whole, which does over hundred and fifty billion dollars annually.

The Difficulty of Fair Trade in the Main Stream Jewelry Industry

Taking the concept of “fair trade” jewelry out of the village and into the mainstream global jewelry market (think gold, diamonds, bling bling) is like banging that old square peg into a round hole. At present, the industry is totally commodity based and price driven, somewhat like lumber or oil. Fair trade is just not part of the paradigm.

Consider the general conditions required for a fair trade item which is fairly straight forward: coffee. The beans are organically grown often in farms that work collectively, fostering entrepreneurship which translates into broader community prosperity. Third party certification assures a level of integrity that the ethical consumer buying at Whole Foods feels good about.

To translate the same concept into a jewelry product, one would have to factor in labor and environmental practices in the sourcing of precious metal and gemstones. Mining and development of the raw material – metal refining and gemstone cutting – are additional steps. Manufacturing a finished product presents another process with its own labor and environmental issues. Plus, there is a wide range of jewelry products, from toy rings to the high end. Attempting to come to an agreed upon criteria of what is ethical with such an elaborate, disparate supply chain is daunting.

The Ethical Sourcing Movement in the Mainstream Jewelry Industry

Meanwhile, a small segment of passionate, dedicated people in the mainstream jewelry industry are attempting to define “ethical sourcing”, with the ultimate aim of some kind of agreed upon criteria leading to true, third party Fair Trade Jewelry certification. This is going to be a long process.

To that end, the first Ethical Jewelry Summit was held in late October of 2007 in Washington DC. Fair trade oriented suppliers, NGOs, Manufacturuers, Miners from all over the world as well third party certification groups like TransfairUSA came together to start this process.

The jewelry industry derives most of its revenues from diamonds, precious and gemstones and precious metal. The ethical sourcing movement has attracted the interest of governments, large corporations and the World Bank, where the Washington meeting took place.

Most raw materials in the jewelry industry are sourced from small scale mining and efforts are under way to bring ethical practices to this sector. FLO’s early efforts focus on ARM (Association For Responsible Mining). Some companies, such as the Rapaport Group and Columbia Gem House, have taken strong initiatives on their own, extrapolating the fair trade concept to apply to gemstone sourcing. However, precious metals and gems in themselves do not make up an entire piece of jewelry.

Though a finished piece of jewelry could be analogous to a fair trade chocolate bar which may have parts that are independently certified, we cannot have ethically sourced jewelry without addressing manufacturing which has its own labor and environmental concerns. Fair trade concerns items that are produced in developing countries. Unlike coffee, mainstream jewelry cannot be easily manufactured in a developing world village because it requires a huge initial investment in equipment and raw materials.

Apart from companies that source their manufactured products from ethical factories, the most notable experiment in this regard is taking place in South Africa in a project called, Vukani-Ubuntu. The project essentially trains people from local townships into the mainstream jewelry trade, providing training, mentoring and equipment. It is heavily supported by government and NGOs. But according to Lores Mares, CEO of the South African Jewelry Council, one of the most difficult challenges is bringing the product to a market.

Jewelry is strictly a commodity that is heavily cost driven. This ethical sourcing concept does not bring added value because the market is undeveloped. My anecdotal research shows that the progressive, green shopper who buys from Patagonia does not feel at ease with a typical jewelry sales person. Winning the progressive ‘eco’ demographic back will not be easy. Yet those in the mainstream jewelry world who are involved, are sincere and heavily driven by humanitarian concerns – with the possible exception of the larger corporations who may be joining to polish their blood diamond, dirty gold image.

Though millions of websites reference “fair trade
jewelry,” the designation is, at this point, too ambiguous for all but a few main stream jewelry manufacturers to use. The consumer interested in ethically sourced jewelry needs to look for detailed information as to sourcing, labor and environmental practices. At present, transparency is often more valuable to the consumer than any ‘fair trade’ designation.

Marc Choyt is President of Reflective Images, an ethical designer jewelry company, http://www.celticjewelry.com selling diamond wedding rings by artisans: http://www.artisanweddingrings.com. Marc authors http://www.fairjewelry.org, supporting green, fair trade, responsibly made jewelry.

By definition, job security is the amount of job loss risk an individual has in their job. It is transient and is quite dependent on the state of the countrys economy and prevailing business conditions. It has been found the people have more job security in times of economic expansion, and less in times of a recession.

Nowadays, job security has taken on a new meaning, referring to security you plan to create with your career management skills, rather than security with a single company. The unemployment rate is a good indicator of job security along with the state of the economy, which is closely being tracked by economists, government officials and banks.

Since 2005, automotive sector jobs have experienced very low security; and since 2007, real estate and mortgage related jobs have seen a big decrease in job security. In the aftermath of the dot com boom, computer related jobs experienced a low job security, whereas the situation was just the opposite prior to that.

Typically, government jobs and jobs in education, healthcare and law enforcement are considered very secure, while private sector jobs are generally believed to offer lower security, and it usually varies by industry, location, job type and other factors. Orthodontists, dentists, surgeons, physicians, and trial lawyers are some of the few professions that truly have a sense of job security.

There are more and more people starting their own businesses due to the status of the economy, and the slow eradication of the middle class in the U.S. These masses of newbie entrepreneurs are quickly learning how easy it is to become business owners and exercise new streams of income, in the face of a falling economy.

However, in our school days, most of us were never taught to grow up and become and employer. We were traditionally taught to become the best employee. So to answer the question in the title, job security has always been a myth, when dealing with the leverage of corporate America in times of having to cut losses.

Creating currency is the bottom line of any business of profit. So even if an employee does a job exceptionally well, if the bosses feel they can hire two more employees for the price of that one employee, people can become dispensable. A better question is how much does this myth of matter to you?

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