FUN WORLD

In a Free, Unregulated Self-Ethics Model
If business ethics and values are left to the self of business houses and entrepreneurs, society may have many dead weight losses to bear. A few producers can collectively skimp on supply to increase market prices, a few strong buyers may collectively reduce demand till prices fall and a single entity can capture the entire supply chain and refuse its services to the free market and reserve them for the best price. To top it, the labor market can unite and ask for unreasonable increases in wages and the public transport unions can stand up for price hikes. Who decides whether all this is reasonable and hence ethical, or unreasonable and thus unethical? Who says that an earner who earns lower than the minimum wages is entitled to a wage increase even by somewhat unethical measures that require some employer arm-twisting? Who decides that a person who already earns millions in profits is not entitled to reducing worker wages to earn higher margins because it is unethical? See what I mean, ethics change depending on which side you view them from. What may be absolutely right for you may be a gross injustice for me. So, if the market is left to its own individual mechanics, the most important ethical issue of all will be that all those in strong positions will always be the ones manipulating the weaker ones. This is where business ethics comes in as a self-regulatory mechanism on the stronger players in the economy. Let us now move on to certain routine ethical issues in business that almost every business have to face.

Industry Wide Ethical Issues in Business
Following is a list of industry wide ethical issues in businesses. The problem with these ethical issues in business is that they are not only really routine and frequent but they are also more wide-spread, i.e. throughout the whole industry rather then being confined to a particular business.

• Bribing powerful officials in order to get bids and tenders accepted and bribing competitor employees to get informational leaks is a serious ethical issue in business. In fact, it is a crime that is legally punishable in most countries today.
• Labor related issues like gender discrimination at workplace employee harassment, minority community participation, working conditions and child labor are also some general ethical issues in business.
• Business practices like sourcing of materials, quality of inputs in production, compromising on certain aspects like product quality, safety, etc. and deception in packaging, quantity or size also fall in the purview of business ethics.
• Some industries consciously omit the details of the side effects of the usage of their products from the product packaging while some indulge in controversial practices like animal testing and these too are some of the ethical issues in businesses.
• Forcing labor to work at below minimum wages, sweatshop work conditions, violation of worker rights and not complying with health, safety and environmental standards are some common current ethical issues in business.

Company Specific Ethical Issues in Business
Here are some company specific ethical issues in business. These ethical issues should be dealt with pretty strictly as to serve an example to the rest.

• Showing honesty, integrity and openness in consumer relationships, addressing warranty and guarantee claims in an open and transparent manner and involving the company in some kind of social welfare causes is an ethical business practice that many are yet to follow.
• Whether to accept moral responsibility of on site mishaps, spills, leaks and disasters and whether to make product recalls if certain harmful information about them comes to light, are ethical issues that all businesses must be prepared for.
• Unethical business practices like dumping good at loss making prices just to earn market shares or to oust a new competitor from business, colluding with competitors to fix higher prices, using high pressure selling tactics, using deceptive advertising, etc. are also some things that need to be looked at.
• Some stronger ethical issues in business are related to practices that are not easily detected, like releasing products that have built in obsolescence (to generate further demand for future products) and indulging in accounting manipulations to generate secret reserves or to show higher or lower profits as per convenience.

Since the law is meant for the people and the well being of the society, it needs to be largely dynamic as the society within which the people live is also dynamic. The third important element of a common judicial system is the law, also known as the law of the land. This law is commonly divided into two parts namely, statuary law and common law. The statuary law is principally the written law which has been passed by the legislature. It is also referred to as a Code or Statute. Sometimes a third classification of the law that is the regulatory law is also seen. The regulatory law in some cases is considered to be a part of statutory law, and is made of compliance. The common law, which is also known as case law, on the other hand is defined as follows:

Definition and Meaning of Common Law

The common law, sometimes also known as English common law, is basically a rightful interpretation and application of a statute. The interpretation and application that encompasses this law is done by the judiciary, judges and magistrates. The basic logic is that the law is written in a transparent language which is also quite complicated. The statutory law, is interpreted in several different ways and manner, thereby getting variable meanings from the same statute. There is a specific decorum in which the statute is to be interpreted. The common law, is basically the appropriate interpretation of statute which is done by judiciary. The common law encompasses the decisions and verdicts that are dictated by the jurists, based upon certain statutes. In fact, common law in itself is another common law as it was dictated by Lord Chief Justice Edward Coke, a British jurist. Common law is evoked by attorneys by referring to cases and their respective verdicts, which are treated to be common laws or rather commonly accepted interpretations.

Overall, common law in modern times is a quasi-law and a way in which a given statute or law is to be used, interpreted and treated during any given litigation process. At the same time, judges and jurists also have the authority to dismiss a certain common law if it is inapplicable in the case. Another way in which a common law is established is when jurists, parliament and other higher bodies recommend or decide upon something using a rightful interpretation.Legal advice and compliance measures that are suggested by lawyers, attorneys and solicitors is also often based upon the references and derivations from common law.

If you look at the whole picture of common law, you will notice that it is a decision by a court in the favor of truth and righteousness. In a way, it also draws the line between right and wrong and provides the rightful direction for interpretation. Common law has been in existence even before judicial systems came into being. Monarchs and people used the common law to ensure peace and justice in the society. Common law marriage, just as the name suggests, is a type of common law which has been established as a rightful norm by the society. Here the priest acts as the jury. For more inputs, you may also read on types of law.

In order to write a contract agreement, you also need to understand some basic terms related to contracts. A contract is an agreement that is legally binding once accepted and is backed up by the concept of consideration. A contract can be in both forms, either written or oral.The consideration of a contract basically makes it legally binding. Looking at the different systems of corporate law, that are followed and established throughout the world, the word 'contract' means a legally binding document. On the other hand, an agreement does not have to be legally binding when it is not backed up by consideration.

A famous case law Balfour vs. Balfour, that is studied by all in the corporate law, draws the distinguishing line between a legally binding contract and a common or domestic arrangement. In this case, a husband who worked overseas, had made an arrangement to send his wife a monthly allowance. However, when he discovered that his wife had been unfaithful to him, he stopped the allowance. The wife filed a case against her own husband in response. The courts observed that since this was a domestic arrangement between the husband and wife, the husband was not legally obliged to pay the amount, as it was not a contract. It ruled that it was not a binding contract because the consideration was absent from the arrangement. It must be however noted, that contract agreements can be signed on a domestic as well as a corporate level.

How to Write a Legal Contract?
Many people believe that writing contracts is a very easy task. However, it is pretty difficult to write contract agreements. To write contract agreements you can follow some of the following steps.

Write Contract Agreement #1 - Negotiation
The first step is negotiation, so brush up on your negotiation skills. During the process of negotiation, the goods and services that are to be exchanged for the consideration, are decided. When you want to write contract agreements, it is very important that all parties must be well informed and must also be aware of the of goods and services that are to be exchanged for consideration, during the honoring of the contract.

Thus, when you write a contract agreement, the step of negotiation is used to establish the ratio and proportion between the amount of goods or services that are to be traded.

Write Contract Agreement #2 - Phrasing the Elements of the Contract
When you write a contract agreement, it is extremely essential that one knows how to phrase the contact agreement. The phrasing of the contract agreement must be kept simple and must also be straight forward. The following are the most important elements that should be included, when you write a business contract or even any other domestic contract.

• Consideration
• Existence of more than one party
• Goods or services, or any item or property that is to be traded in return of the consideration
• Legality of all terms and conditions
• Time period or maturity, or the date of execution
• Acceptance of all the involved parties, in the signature and seals

Write Contract Agreement #3 - Penalty and Extension
Sometimes, when you write a contract agreement, you need to include the clause related to the extension of the time period and also the penalty or compensation, that is to be paid to the party who breaches the contract.

Most organizations were only focused on getting sponsors for special events and for other funding they depended upon donations, grants, etc. Times are changing and 2008 will mark a huge change in how Sponsorships are solicited and given.

Corporations are now gearing towards long term partnerships rather than sponsoring one time special events. The Sponsorship Industry is a Multi Billion Dollar Industry (11.7 Billion in the USA in 2007 and Billions more through out the world). More and more corporations are looking for strategic long term partnerships where they can get the best return on investment. Your organization should be looking to build partnerships as well. Your sponsorship package should have a variety of ways for corporate sponsors to get involved with your organization. It makes more sense to secure a partnership for the long term (1 year or more) rather than to keep approaching the corporate sponsor several times through out the year for special events sponsorships only.

The impact of a partnership is that you can get sponsorship for not only your special events, but also your programs, advertising, etc. This goes for non profits, associations, etc. In your sponsorship proposal make it a one stop shop for corporate sponsors. In each level of sponsorship be sure to display every possible available benefit that they will receive for partnering with your organization. Obviously the lower level the sponsorship, the less benefits a sponsor will receive. Remember for the sponsor, the partnership is about strategic planning – getting the maximum return on investment and reaching and impacting many. Focusing on partnerships instead of one time sponsorships is easier and more productive for your organization and more importantly for corporate sponsors.

In simple terms, a business partnership accounts for a relationship that exists between two or more individuals who undertake and carry on a business. Partners contribute funds, property, skills, and labor, and are expected to have an equal share in both the profits and losses made by the business. While partnerships are easy to establish, there are also many positive and negative aspects they involve later on. It is always advantageous to learn what is the advantage and disadvantage of partnership business. Hence, I have compiled the essential points which talk about the the advantages and disadvantages of partnerships. Check them out:

Advantages of Partnership

• Simply put, more than one owner of a business introduces more money to help starting business.
• There is a combination of talents, skills, and experience with the involvement of new partners, which may help in increasing the profits and cost-effectiveness of the business.
• A partnership brings about better administration and financial planning which is otherwise difficult in case of a single owner of the business.
• It is easy to expand the business with new partners being involved, since there is no hassle of managing the entire business on one's own.
• All partners have an equal say in the matters of financial management which fosters them to work whole-heartedly for the betterment of their company.
• There is lesser room for rash decisions as the decision-making process is the field of performance for all partners.
• Post the payment of super tax to the government, the profits made by the company are equally divided among the partners. It is then that they can pay tax to the government on the shares of profit they've received.
• In case of a loss, partnership renders moral support, thus enabling for an even more insightful point of view.

Disadvantages of Partnership

• Surprisingly, a partnership is not necessarily a legal entity, and is identified only for the purpose of tax law.
• The existence of a partnership comes to an end with demise, incapacity, lack of funds, or even retirement of a partner. Moreover, dissolving a partenership is likely for partners in case of discontent.
• There are many instances when one partner is over-ruled by another as every partner has an equal say in important decisions.
• Even the simplest of arguments can, sometimes, turn into major disagreements between partners. As a result, all partners are bound by allegiance made by one, even if its disagreeable by all.
• Even if one of the partner is responsible for loss, all the partners are collectively liable for the aftermaths of the company. Many a times, partners are asked to clear the debts from their personal assets in accordance with the decision made by all.
• It is forbidden for a partner to transfer a share or segment of the company to outlanders without the approval of other partners, which may become inconvenient for that partner to resign from the company.
• In case of unlimited liability partnership, partners could lose all of their personal assets in case of bankruptcy.

Gold Investment for Beginners

We all have seen the drastic effects of economic recession on our lives; markets crashing, people losing their jobs, homes and what not. People who had some safe investments at their hands during those trying times are the ones who survived. Investing in gold is comparatively a safer investment than others. As an investor your portfolio should show at least 25% of investments in precious metals like gold and silver.

Physical Gold
The first option in beginner's guide to investing in gold is physical gold. This form of investment is one of the most popular and probably the safest form for someone who's still taking baby steps in the investment world. You can purchase bars and gold coins from gold traders, gold shops, private dealers, etc.

Gold Mutual Funds
Another great option to invest in gold is putting your money in gold mutual funds. By investing in gold mutual funds you become owners of various gold points but not owners of physical gold. Mutual funds consist of various investments such as gold mining securities, ETF exchange trade funds and gold stocks.

Gold Jewelry
Here's a good reason to buy your partner gold jewelry; gold jewelry is worth a lot of money if it's kept in excellent conditions. If the jewelry you've bought has some historical relevance, a great design and is also kept in a very good condition, its market rate can be quite huge. Gold prices are touching the sky right now, which means the need for gold is more than ever.

Gold Mining Stocks
Buying some gold mining stocks is also another way of investing in gold without actually buying the real thing. The increase in the value of gold as a metal gives a clear indication that right now is the right time to invest in gold mining stocks. I would suggest you be a little careful while going for the gold mining stocks because it directly depends on the prices of gold in the market. This investment is pretty volatile.

Maintenance of Ranks:
Search engine Optimization involves a number of techniques to increase the ranking and sales of the website through search engines. Some of the points to be noted for Search engine optimization are,

Keywords: The web pages should be rich in content, communicative and item-specific. The web pages should contain the highly specific keywords which are frequently searched by the users. This helps to increase the position of the website in the search engine. For optimization purpose, the pages should be checked with keyword density analyzers.

Link Popularity: The links in the website is marked factor which decides the ranking of the website. The number of incoming links which conjoin to various files, directories, keywords and also to other sites is called as link popularity.

Good Content: The content of the website should be periodically updated so that it becomes alive and effective. The website should contain good content for the visitors to use it efficiently. Also, the content’s flow throughout the page should be relevant. Thus clarity and relevancy are the key points to be noted for search engine optimization.

Pay Per Click: Another method of increasing the website’s popularity is pay per click advertisements. According to this method, the website owner maintains an agreement with the search engine on a specific keyword. Every time when a user clicks the keyword, the owner is supposed to pay a specific amount mentioned in the agreement. Thus the ranking of the site is increased followed by good volume of traffic.

Accordant Title Tags: Relevant title tags and meta tags should be given to the web page for user convenience. The title tags should be shorter in length with 6-8 words and should not be too critical to analyze. The description tag is also required to describe briefly the content of the web page. Readability will also increase the number of visitors to the site.

Web Design Factors:
The factors involving web site design also affects the ranking of the website. Some of them are;

Frames: Certain search engines are not compatible using frames. For the website which uses frames, they should also use NOFRAMES section in each page to avoid the above said backward compatibility of certain search engines.

Better Indexing: Avoiding graphics in the web pages containing keywords will help in better indexing of the search engines. If the html code is less, then the search engine can access it faster and easier. Search engines are not comfortable with the pages which are more than 100 Kbps.

Things to be Avoided: Flash should be avoided in a web page since it takes more time to explain a single concept and also to load. PDF s should be avoided since there is no summary of the concept in the HTML. This reduces the ranking of the website. Frames also should be avoided.