Changing the driving force upon which business decisions are based is crucial in order to not only restore ethics in business but to truly improve the lives of those whom they were meant to benefit: executives, employees and consumers. After all, weren’t business activities meant to improve the state of existence of human beings on this planet?

So what is this driving force that I am referring to? Well its the “fear of not surviving”. You thought I was going to say something like “the profit motive” didn’t you? Well the latter tends to derive from the former. Hence I would prefer to look at the deeper issue.

Is anyone surprized that the current state of business decisions and activities is ruled by this emotional factor? If you are an executive and look deeply within yourself I think that you will likely recognize it operating and living within yourself and also the CEO’s of many major corporations.

What impact does having such a force inside one’s self likely to have on that individual? Well if its powerul enough, and it can be quite powerful, as you can determine for yourself by recalling the last time you felt its effects operating, it can literally cause you to entertain decisions that could potentially undermine your self esteem, your integrity and the integrity of your organization.

For instance, when needing to survive at all costs becomes the main agenda then one’s health, one’s compassion for others and one’s personal and relational needs become distant and unimportant matters in one’s mind. So when this happens, what happens to you?

Well just think about it. Where are you without your health, without your family and frends, without the very thing that makes you a human being “the experience of the love in your heart”? Well you are essentially dead! Yes, even if you are still actually walking around you most likely feel, if you have the courage to feel what you feel, quite empty inside. That emptiness is a sign that “you are not present” to any great extent inside that body of yours. That’s what empty means!

So if you follow me so far, this fear of not surviving is paradoxically killing you, isn’t it? Additionally, if you wish to recognize it, it’s also making everything you are trying to accomplish rather meaningless because if you aren’t present then how are you possibly going to benefit from any outcome of your decisions? Well you’re not!

So how does one get out of this trap? Well it’s about re-establishing the courage to live and work from the deep core values that make you who you are, a human being. If you are having trouble remembering what these are you may wish to visit the web site link below in my bio.

Dr. Nick Arrizza is trained in Chemical Engineering, Business Management & Leadership, Medicine and Psychiatry. He is a Key Note Speaker, Author, Stress Management Coach, Peak Performance Coach & Researcher, Specializes in Life and Executive Performance Coaching, is the Developer of a powerful new tool called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that helps build phyiscal, emotional, mental and spirtual well being by helping to permanently release negative beliefs, emotions, perceptions and memories. He holds live workshops, international telephone coaching sessions and international teleconference workshops on Physical. Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Well Being.
Personal Url: http://www.telecoaching4u.com

Tags: business ethics, CEO, core values, emotion, executive, fear, organization, profit, success, survivalbusiness ethics, CEO, core values, emotion, executive, fear, organization, profit, success, survival

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Are you surprised when you read and hear about all of the corruption within business these days? I’m not. The way people act in business situations is nothing more than a reflection of how they act in their normal lives. Why would we expect anything different?

I am a follower of rules. I believe that rules are there to give everyone an equal opportunity to enjoy the benefits that our great nation provides. I get angry when people don’t follow the rules.

I don’t like seeing people park in handicap zones, with or without a handicap tag, when they don’t need to. I get irritated when shoppers take 15 items and check out in a 10 item or less line. I don’t like to listen while people talk about how they managed to by-pass the cable company and get their cable TV for free. You get the idea. When people don’t follow the rules, those of us who do pay the price. I guess those folks believe that the rules are made for everyone else and not for them. Their selfishness comes before rules.

I have a sign on my wall that reminds me of this, it says, “He who follows the rules gets screwed.” It is not there to suggest that I not follow rules, rather to remind me not to get too angry when people don’t. Every now and then I get comforted when I see someone who did not follow the rules get their just reward.

Last week a news story reported that a school teacher was arrested in her classroom in front of her elementary kids. The story, and of course, the lady arrested, thought it was horrible that the police came into the school room in front of these young children and embarrassed her over a parking ticket that she did not pay. It turns out she had more than one outstanding parking ticket and they were several years old.

To bad lady, you broke the rules and thought you could get away with it. The fact that you were embarrass in front of your kids is your own fault. Do you think those of us who follow the rules should be considerate of your feelings when you obviously don’t care about ours? And the kids, let them see what happens when people don’t follow rules. Let us reinforce good actions by clearly punishing poor actions.

My hope is that by doing so, these kids will grow up following rules. Remember, the way people act in their normal lives will carry over to their business lives. Do you want businesses to become less corrupt? Cheer the small victories we get when those who refuse to follow rules get caught. I want to change my sign to read, “He who follows the rules wins.”

To Your Success,

Tags: bad decisions, broken rules, Business rules, ethics, poor management, rulesbad decisions, broken rules, Business rules, ethics, poor management, rules

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Ethics and History

“Ethics (from Greek - meaning “custom”) is the branch of axiology, one of the four major branches of philosophy, which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to distinguish that which is right from that which is wrong. The Western tradition of ethics is sometimes called ‘moral philosophy’”. (WIKIPEDIA).

The origins of ethics are related to the introduction of moral behaviour in early societies. The application of concepts such as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, and the definition of these concepts in different environments, induced the need for a formal approach to social behaviour - an attempt to create commonality and organisation in a society. In this context, codes of behavior were created, and different forms of behaviour enforcement adopted.

As societies developed, and increasing importance was placed in structural thinking - such as the advent of sciences - meta-ethics became an eminent topic of discussion. Meta-ethics refers to the investigation of ethical statements, an actual analysis of ethics itself. Names such as Hobbes, Kant and Nietzsche were prominent in this period.

Nowadays, ethics is still a main topic of discussion. As societies evolve, the relationships between individuals become more complex, and so do the etiquettes and codes of conduct. The development of business relationships has raised many ethical dilemmas, and ethical counselling is one of them.

Ethical Counselling

Because counselling is not a regulated profession in many countries (including Australia), the use of ethical standards is a method of guiding the quality of the services provided by counsellors, the quality of training provided to counsellors, and of protecting clients. These standards provide conduct guidelines for professionals and are an effective way support many counsellors lacking experience or knowledge of the industry. It also serves the purpose of structuring the counselling industry, providing common professional descriptions, definitions and service boundaries according to each type of counsellor.

There is a wide range of issues comprising the field of ethical counselling - which are also part of common guidelines for the practice of therapy. According to Daniluk and Haverkamp (1993), “the main ethical framework referred to in many discussions of therapy is one based on the concepts of autonomy, fidelity, justice, beneficence, non-maleficence and self interest”. In this context, we devise several ‘problem areas’ in ethical counselling:

Law and Counselling

The need for professionalisation has created a common link between ethical behaviour and legal conduct in the therapy fields. Legislation was provided to primarily protect clients from misguidance, and ultimately to provide guidelines for the profession. However, as cited previously, in most countries ethical conduct in counselling is not yet part of the legal framework - which outlines the importance of professional and industry peak associations in providing guidelines and codes of conduct for affiliated professionals.

The Australian Counselling Association is one industry association in Australia that provides ethical guidelines and a code of conduct for counsellors. The ACA’s Code of Ethics and Code of Practice are part of the Code of Conduct - which can be accessed from their website at www.theaca.net.au/docs/code_conduct.pdf. An excerpt from this Code is:

Counsellors will:

- Offer a non-judgemental professional service, free from discrimination, honouring the individuality of the client.

- Establish the helping relationship in order to maintain the integrity and empowerment of the client without offering advice.

- Be committed to ongoing personal and professional development.

Confidentiality

This area is closely linked with the legal issues in counselling therapy. Confidentiality plays a major role in defining the communication between a counsellor and a client, bearing in mind that trust is one of the backbones of a therapeutic relationship. Albeit confidentiality is a key component of the relationship, it is also one of the leading causes of ethical dilemmas for counsellors. Situations which may put the client - or other individuals - in danger usually require the counsellor to make difficult decisions in regards to breaching confidentiality. In many instances, the actual breach is a legal requirement as it may incur the prevention of a crime against the state, or another person.

Other predominant issues such as consultancy with supervisors or colleagues; definition of the type of confidentiality to be used (absolute or relative) prior to the counselling relationship; and session record-keeping, must be considered by therapists when practicing professional counselling.

Bad Practice

The issues of privacy and power in a counselling session can be prejudicial in terms of unethical practice. The private nature of a counselling session leaves a ‘gap for unsupervised practice’, and therefore it is quite difficult to be assessed. For instance, fairly recent explorations of unethical practice in therapy have shown the emerging problem of sexual abuse of clients. This issue is augmented by the power relationship between client and counsellor, in which the therapist could take advantage of their position of power to practice unethical behaviour.

Training and Professional Recognition (Australian Industry)

As cited before, counselling is not regulated in most countries. In order to standardise the industry, and ensure that counsellors have the necessary skills to professionally practice, training and recognition must be accentuated. In Australia, the ACA plays a role in coordinating industry efforts, providing information to the public and maintaining records of counsellors in practice.

That system protects clients from bad practice, and supports training standards for organisations that provide counsellor training. The Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, as an example, is recognised by the ACA - which means that AIPC and the Diploma of Professional Counselling complies with industry standards defined by this peak organisation in regards to training standards for counsellors.

Safety and Negligence

These concepts are utmost concerns of counsellors in practice. A counsellor-client relationship is a very delicate encounter of an individual seeking help, and a professional providing advice. Primarily, it is the counsellor’s responsibility to provide a safe environment for the counselling session - particularly because physical and psychological safety is a premise for the counselling therapy to succeed. Negligence is closely related to the concepts of breach of confidentiality and safety. Observing principles for duty of care is part of ethical behaviour in counselling.

Complying with ethical guidelines is one of the most important aspects of being a professional counsellor. Creating awareness in both counsellor and clients of the boundaries of the services provided will lead to a better development of the profession, and overall improvement of industry standards. Counsellors are responsible for keeping up-to-date with professional codes of ethics, confidentiality guidelines, and other relevant information.

© Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. If you wish to republish or reproduce this article, please include this information in the end of the article. For more information about the Institute - please visit www.aipc.net.au/lz. To access our Article Library, visit www.aipc.net.au/articles

Tags: Codes, Conduct, Counseling, Counselling, ethics, moral, Philosophy, Psychology, rules, TherapyCodes, Conduct, Counseling, Counselling, ethics, moral, Philosophy, Psychology, rules, Therapy

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