organization Archives - A Million Lives

May 30, 2018 by Greg Underwood

5 UNETHICAL PRACTICES THAT SHOULDN’T BE ENCOURAGED IN A WORKPLACE

While most businesses focus on protecting themselves against large scale fraudulent practices that can bring the business to halt, small unethical practices deserve equal attention as well. First, what may seem to have no impact on the business can affect productivity and in turn profits. It can also lead to loss of business opportunities. If unhandled at an early stage, what is mostly considered small grows into a huge monster that eats up the business. Such forms of misconduct shouldn’t be left just because they seem to bear no impact. Here are five unethical practices that you shouldn’t let creep into your business;

Time mismanagement

Showing up late once in a while with a valid reason for being late is excusable. Constantly showing up late, no matter your position, is bad for the business. Not only does it make you look like you don’t value your work and business goals, it demoralizes your colleagues. Mismanaging business time also includes using office time for personal errands. Handle your side hustles when you are out of office and only call home when you have to, not to find out if the lastborn has taken a bath.

Cyberslacking

Cyberslacking refers to using the company internet for personal reasons such as downloading movies and browsing through social media. Most business have laid down policies on the use of internet at the workplace. Even if you don’t, it doesn’t mean you can spend the whole day on Twitter and taking endless selfies for Instagram. It counts as time mismanagement. Besides, you could end up infecting work computers with viruses and malware.

Internal theft

Employees more often than not steal from the employers. It is not something new. It is not something you would want to turn a blind eye to though. A few missing office stationery turn to missing equipment, and before you know it, funds are getting siphoned off the organization’s accounts. Letting the small stuff go will make staff think they can get away with anything. Nip employee theft in the bud while you still can. Encourage a culture of openness and honesty where employees don’t have to hide things. Also, watch out on employees stealing from each other. View Site on how to handle such cases.

Aggressive behavior

Physical or verbal aggressiveness is not something you would want to take to the workplace. While you will encounter frustrations here and there once in a while, do not take them out on your colleagues. It brings you out as being disrespectful to others, especially if you are in a position of power. Do not bully or mistreat people you share a workplace with. It makes it difficult to bring the team together towards a common goal.

Managerial lies

It is said that the truth eventually comes out. It is pointless feeding lies to your employees. They will eventually get to know the real state of matters. It also makes them feel unvalued and demoralizes them. You will their trust and it won’t be easy getting it back. Always be honest and truthful to your employees, no matter how unpleasant the truth is. If you want honesty in your team, practice it first.

December 5, 2017 by Greg Underwood

Online Reputation Management Company, How Your Business Can Benefit

Whether your business operates online or not, it is vital that you are investing in boosting your company’s online presence. The internet is fast becoming the new high street and consumers all over the world are heading online to discover products, services and companies who can offer them in their local area. This means that you have a great opportunity for additional exposure for your business when you invest in creating a strong online presence. There are many areas of investment when doing this such as digital marketing and online practices, and there is also the important aspect of hiring an online reputation management company to ensure that your online rep is positive and truthful. Let’s take a look at how your company can benefit from hiring such a service.

Understanding Your Reputation

I’m sure that if you asked most businesses what their online reputation was like, they either wouldn’t be able to tell you or they would guess that it is in good shape. Very often however, there are negative stories and comments floating about the internet about your company, and the majority may not even be true. When you enlist the support of a reputation management company, you will instantly be able to understand what kind of reputation you have online, and how you can go about protecting or repairing it.

Removing Links

If your company has had links or partnerships with individuals or businesses who have been found to be doing things in an unlawful or unethical way, it is very possible that your company has been tarred with the same brush because of these links. In such a situation, your reputation management company will be able to get to work on severing ties with the people in question, and ensuring that your company is not considered in the same bracket. It would be unfair for your company to be treated negatively simply because of the mistakes of another, and so investing in reputation management for this kind of situation is really the best bet.

Avoiding Attacks

Because of the freedom of the internet, it is not uncommon for an ex-employee or a competitor to leave nasty reviews, or write negative comments across social media about who you are and what you do. IF you don’t have a reputation management company on your side during these times, you may not even know what is being said about you and so that is the first reason why you should hire a firm like that. The second reason in these situations is so that they can remove, hide or bury the kinds of falsehoods which are said about your business, and ensure that people don’t see a negative picture which has been inaccurately painted about your business.

Ultimately the idea of a reputation management company is protecting and preserving you positive reputation, so that you can find more customers, and ultimately make more sales.

November 28, 2017 by Greg Underwood

Chase Rubin LinkedIn Looks at the Similarities and Differences Between the Mafia and Large Corporations

Source

It is, for some, hard to imagine that there are similarities between the Mafia and corporate America. After all, one is illegal and the other is not. However, there are actually some very close similarities between the two, and, according to Chase Rubin LinkedIn, the concept of someone like Al Capone running Apple, or someone like Bill Gates heading the Bonnono crime family, is not that hard to imagine.

Chase Ruben LinkedIn on Corporations and the Mafia

When we think Mafia, we think RICO, FBI probe, victims, scamming, fraud, and more. Those are not things that corporations stand for. However, there are some very clear similarities between the two as well, and they cannot be ignored. For instance, both the Mafia and corporations have very strong values, and very strong rules. And both operate on one core value: increasing profits. 70,000 customers or victims is better than none. Of course, the Mafia uses fear, intimidation, and violence to achieve what they want. But in a sense, corporations do that as well. Smaller companies are always afraid of being swallowed up by the larger ones. According to Chase Ruben LinkedIn, the main similarities between the two are:

Loyalty and honesty, which is what both demand from all their members or employees. But they command it in different ways.
Policies and procedures, which is what corporate America calls what the Mafia would call “rules”. The key difference is that policies and procedures are written.
Strategies come from the top. As much as corporations say they take a “bottom up” approach, the reality is that this is only possible if the top agrees to it. At the end of the day, what the CEO says, goes. And that is the same with the Mafia.
Association and power politics. Both the Mafia and corporations know that networking and relationships are hugely important. Those with the best connections get the furthest, in both settings.
Titles, which the Mafia would refer to as “ranks”. A manager is less powerful than a senior manager in corporations, which is the same in Mafia. Someone’s title or rank makes it clear how much authority someone has.

11 Key Similarities in Values

There are 11 other key things that corporate America and the Mafia share. Those are:

That they forgive but never forget.
That trust must be earned.
That only the powerful will eventually survive.
That there are games to be played, many of which are quite deceptive.
That the goal is on achieving objectives.
That delegation is vital to achieve objectives.
That you must give more than what you take in order for things to remain operational.
To remember those who have been helpful.
To show forgiveness, by keeping your friends close but your enemies even closer.
To choose your battles right.
To be blunt and say what matters when it matters.

November 26, 2017 by Greg Underwood

Application of Business License & Employer Identification Number

Setting up a new business, even a small business on your own is no small matter. There are so many things to look into and to get ready before you can start your business. Things like the types of products you want to sell, whether you are selling online or whether you will need a shop for your business. If you want a shop business, then you will have to look for a good location for your business. Finding a shop to rent may not be easy in a good location and very likely, the rent will be very high in a good business area. The list is endless and it can be very stressful at the preparation stage.

There are some legal matters that you will need to take care of before you can set up your business. You will have to apply for a business license and a Taxpayer Identification Number, also known as Employer Identification Number (EIN). These are two most important things that you will have to take care of.

A business license is a permit issued by government agencies which allows an individual or a company to run a business. A business license is used for registering for business tax collection, for generating revenues, and etc. Depending on the city your business is located, filing for a business license might require the Social Security Number of the owner or owners, directors and officers of the business entity. The same applies for foreign corporations or Limited Liability Company for the government to track the individuals responsible for the business. In some cities, application for the business license will require the applicant to provide the Tax Identification number or the EIN.

A tax identification number or Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a 9 digit number issued by the Internal Revenue Service. If you intend to have employees working for you, you will need to apply for an EIN. As a business owner, you can easily apply online for tax id number on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website.

A tax identification number or the employer identification number will be not required for the application of a proprietorship or a partnership business. You will only need to provide your personal social security number. But, if later in the future, you may decide to take in employees, then you will need to apply for an EIN. The EIN is a one-time permanent number and does not expire. It is used for tax administration purposes.

November 9, 2017 by Greg Underwood

Should I Set Up a Trust for My Business?

When you put your business assets into a trust, you protect them from legal proceeding, which is highly beneficial if your own a family-run company. This option is a smart one, but it doesn’t come without its own obstacle. To answer the question once and for all, we take a look into the advantages and disadvantages of obtaining a business trust, looking into the legal jargon that often overcomplicates things.

What Makes a Trust?

Different to a limited company set up, a business trust isn’t a separate legal entity in itself. When broken down, it is a business structure where the trustee – often a registered company – conducts business for the benefit of the trust’s members. The trustee responsibility is then to distribute the trust’s income out to its beneficiaries, whilst safeguarding its overall financial health. This can sometimes incorporate larger business decisions such as the sale of assets or money lending. A trust will also come with an appointee, who has the power (as laid out in the trust deed) to remove the trustee and appoint someone else in their place.

What Trust Type Will You Need?

For businesses, a company typically acts as the trustee, with each beneficiary being designated a certain number of ‘units’ in the trust. It is these units that outline how much income that member will actually receive. In addition to this, discretionary trusts can also be created for businesses. More often than not, this will be family trust, where the trustee has full power over the funds that are dished out to the beneficiaries. You can also look to embark upon a hybrid trust that combines units and discretionary trusts depending on your set up and preference.

What Is the Downside?

In contrast to a partnership or sole trader set up, a trust can often be expensive to put in place with required fees from trust solicitors on an ongoing basis. The initial installation fee can typically be reduced if a pro-forma trust deed is used but this can be complicated so it is best to seek professional insight from trust solicitors in Manchester. If you opt to be more private than what you’d see of a company, the legal and compliance trust requirements become a lot more difficult and stricter. Something worth noting is that a trust comes with a limited life span, which is commonly a total of 99 years.

Trusts can be highly beneficial for family run businesses as they offer tax advantages and flexibility in regards to how profits are distributed to beneficiaries. It simply depends on your situation but whenever making a decision that is of such importance, it is always best to seek legal advice to highlight if a trust is the correct path for your business. Whether you choose to go with a trust, partnership, company or sole-trader arrangement, it is vital that you understand your specific needs before signing on the dotted line to avoid an unneeded costs and headaches.