Casual Articles - Business

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Workplace Ethics: Reaching the Highest Standard
This article relates to the Ethics in the Workplace competency, commonly evaluated in employee surveys. It gives examples of how employees and customers consider ethical behavior and sound values an integral part of your organization. This competency covers a variety of topics like customer treatment, employee professionalism, and expected/acceptable organizational behaviors. At a high level, this competency will investigate the standards by which your employees treat your customers, co-workers, and the organization itself.This short story, Workplace Ethics: Reaching the Highest Standard, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales from the Corporate Frontlines. It provides insight into one organization's efforts to establish and maintain the highest possible standard of ethics in the workplace.Anonymous SubmissionWhen I began working at a local no-profit organization, I had little experience with the concept of workplace ethics. My previous jobs had been in retail and health care, where I'd worked in team environments, and the companies I'd worked for weren't ethics oriented. I'd seen a few memos dealing with issues like sexual harassment, but no extensive workplace ethics programs appeared to be in place. When a situation arose that involved an ethics issue, employees turned to immediate supervisors for direction and then followed that direction.So, I was surprised when, only two weeks into my new job, I was asked to join a focus group dedica

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Article Submitted On: October 27, 2004

Putting Trust in Professional Engineers in Your Business
As a retired entrepreneur I was recently reflecting how I had always felt that our company needed to out innovate our competitors. In fact I spent countless hours considering how to be more efficient and use our machinery to make more money in less time and give us the edge over the competition.You know, I cannot even tell you how many things I have designed in my life. My entire company and all our proprietary equipment was designed by me, no degree, no engineering background, just common sense and trial and error and you know what? We built the best equipment the industry had ever known.The other day I was talking with someone who said he consulted with a professional engineer who said his project would never work. I laughed, but it was not at him, it was at my knowledge of reality and experience in actual observation, so this professional engineering stuff. Not buying it.In many cases you would be much safer when you go into the unknown to follow your gut when there is no trail and don't step in anything that smells, that is to say make obvious mistakes, which are known. But you have to push the envelope, other wise you will not win. What happen when you don’t?Instead you run redline with all the other engineers in the same race, around the same damn track and at the same speeds. Then you rely on the balls of a driver to win? What is the difference if they are driving the same cars built using the same plans. Scrap the rules; war follows no rules, r

Engineering Your Marketing
When I was seven one of my favorite ways to spend a hot summer day with my friends was playing a backyard game wecalled "waterworks".

We'd use a trowel to construct channels in the dirt, put the hose at one end and watch the water flow. If we wantedthe water to go straight, we'd remove rocks and debris toclear a path. We became sophisticated engineers, guiding water around corners and across short aqueducts. We felt like masters of the universe, directing the water where we wanted it to go. (You can bet my mother loved seeing uscome into the house at the end of the day.)

Plan your marketing to take charge of increasing your sales. Your marketing can lead prospects to your products and services the way my friends and I engineered our waterworks; by making clear paths and removing obstacles. Channel your prospects' attention and interests and eliminate objections. Below are the four most common objections and ways to eliminate them.

Lack of Interest
Prospects need to understand what you do before they canbecome interested in what you have to offer. It is that simple. If you're marketing yourself as a lawyer, coach,accountant or fitness center, you're not telling people why they should be interested. To capture their interest, explain the problems you solve from their perspective.

Lack of Leads
You want people to email you, call you or go to your website to buy your products and services. But first you have to motivate them to contact you so you can market to them.

Once you have their attention, use your conversation, your emails and your web site to ask them what they want and need.

Lack of Credibility
You want prospects to see you as the expert; the person and the firm that has the products and services they can rely on. One of the biggest challenges to attracting new clients is gaining their trust and being seen as the essential expert. Use your articles, ezine, and web site to demonstrate your expertise. Use testimonials from clients to tell prospects about the results you and your products have achieved.

Pricing Objections
Whether it is a $25 subscription or a $50,000 consulting fee, prospects object to price when they don't understand the value of the purchase. Establish a set of questions you can use to help prospects define what they want and what you are providing. When price is put in context, it becomes much less of an obstacle.

Still not converting as many prospects to clients as you'd like? Use questions to find out more about what they want, and what their concerns are. Then address each of these objections up front and remove them as potential sales killers.

Think of your target market as a reservoir of water waiting to be tapped. If you eliminate the barriers between them and you, you could send a steady stream of new clients and customers your way. Now, don't just imagine it, do it. Start eliminating your prospects' objections and create a clear path for them to become clients and customers. Help your prospects get what they want and you'll get what you want, more clients. 2004 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

This article has been viewed 674 time(s).
Article Submitted On: October 27, 2004

Franchise Consultants and Entrepreneurial Franchisor Start-ups
In my retirement I like to keep myself available for up and coming entrepreneurs who may have questions about the industries I was previously involved with or the franchising business format that helped build my company.Not long ago a gentleman wished to receive some consultation for a mobile business concept to franchise. After discussing this with him he said that I almost scared him away from the Franchising Industry. I told him that; "It really is not that I want to scare you out of the franchise business; just let you know some of the realities, barriers and freight trains on that track if you care to walk down it."He asked about various franchise consultants out there and mentioned FranCorp, which has been in the franchising sector for over three decades now. I told him as a non-corporate type Franchisor that FranCorp was not my style. As a Franchise Consultant type myself indeed I only care about winning and that means anyone I might consult takes the market by storm and holds it.There is a much better consultant in Houston for new franchise market entrants in my opinion. He is not my style either, but he is of the highest integrity, honest and he also teaches certified IFA courses to get a CFE degree (Certified Franchise Executive). I think you can find him on the IFA website under "Vendors; Consultants."When picking a franchise consultant it is important to match business styles and to understand more about franchising too. I recommend that yo

This article has been viewed 674 time(s).
Article Submitted On: October 27, 2004

Telecommuting Position and Data Entry Work
How Can I Land a Telecommuting Position and Data Entry Work?Where Do You Find This Type of Job?Finding a telecommuting position and data entry work is not complicated to do. You will find that when you are looking for a telecommuting job, the best place to look first would be any previous employers that you might have done work for before. Of course you want the previous employers to be ones that you left in good standing to even have a chance of getting a position like this.Does A Telecommuting Position and Data Entry Work Mean That You Work Strictly At Home?When you have a telecommuting position and data entry work, this means that you probably work primarily at home, using your own equipment. However, depending on your employer and their needs, you may be required to come into the office every so often or pick up and drop off work daily or even weekly.You just might be lucky enough to find a telecommuting position and data entry work where you can access everything online for the company that you are working for. That would be ideal for anyone that worked at home with children that are not in school yet. As this would mean that you would not have to worry about childcare while you picked up or dropped off work from an office. What Kind Of Companies Hire For Telecommuting Position And Data Entry Work?Any type of company that might need data entry work done would probably hire for a telecommuting position and data entry work to be done.

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