Pro Ethics

Prisoners at some Texas state jails are scaling back to two meals per day on the weekends, as part of budgetary belt tightening. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Prisoners in Texas jails have been tightening their belts as the state cuts back on weekend lunches to save money.

My first thought when I read this title was that it was disgusting to me that they would cut out a meal. Then, as I read the article, it became less about the fact that they were cutting out a meal (especially if it is true that they are still getting the same nutritional values as before). As the representative from the ACLU pointed out, there are many over-incarcerated individuals in prison. Instead of pulling out a meal, perhaps it would be wise to look at who they have in prison and see if an alternative punishment/treatment would be feasable. This would solve not only some monitary issues, but overcrouding in general and possibly even help rehabilitate better.

Innovation

Ethics in Business mentor Jeffrey Seglin responds to the following question from an inc.com visitor:Can you grow a small, bootstrapped company into a success without lying to potential customers and suppliers? Jeffrey Seglin responds:I've actually dealt with this question before, in "True Lies," a 1998 article citing an ethics poll of Inc.

Is it okay to found your company based on somewhat truth's, or even straight up lies?

During their start-up days, many Inc. 500 CEOs tell half-truths to win over customers, while others tell outright lies. A look at the ethical difference between posturing and overt deception. To grow their Inc. 500 companies, some bootstrappers engaged in an astounding amount of embellishment.

The single biggest threat to the survival of your company is not the competition. (article continues below) It's not the rising cost of gas or fluctuations in the stock market or any of the things people typically think of when they consider all the variables that can tank an otherwise thriving small business.

The weak economy is causing many companies to cut back. Yet you'd never know it by looking at the latest compensation figures on Wall Street.

Big Mario's delivery driver brings hot pizzas to the Seattle Occupy Wall Street protest. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Big Mario's Pizza has been keeping the tummies of the protesters at the Occupy Wall Street Seattle full for almost two weeks. Co-owner David Meinert donated about 12 pizzas to protesters a couple days after the occupation gained traction in Seattle.

The "shocking" lack of women on the boards of the UK's biggest companies was highlighted on Thursday by analysis claiming that at the current pace of recruitment it would take 20 years for one in three of directors in the boardroom to be female.

a $31.6 million settlement with Telecom over alleged discrimination under the Telecom Separation Undertakings - or rules of good market behaviour as a near-monopoly - that form part of the Telecommunications Act.

former chief executive of Sonray Capital Markets, Scott Murray, has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the collapse of the broking house.

corporate cutback on low level employees

Article stressing the importance of keeping up with technology and making sure Congress stays up to date with important innovations being done with technology.

Article stating that the America's infrastructure is on the decline and that repairing these declining structures would create jobs and benefit America in the long-term.

Advertisers and their agencies are frequently confronted with having to make ethical choices, which are often difficult, because they are not black or white. This presentation presents some of these challenging situations from a philosophical perspective. In addition, it covers: industry regulation; is advertising manipulative or misleading?; should potentially harmful products be advertised?

Great resource, Marcus. These are some classic examples for thinking through ethical issues in advertising. One of out talks for this week will be from Ogilvy & Mather's Vice Chairman, Rory Sutherland.

Kotler and Levy, in their book, Corporate Social Responsibility define corporate social responsibility as "a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources". Some of the benefits of being socially responsible include (a) enhanced company and brand image (b) easier to attract and retain employees (c) increased market share (d) lower operating costs and (e) easier to attract investors.

Here is the ethic statement from the AMA (american marketing association)

This article gives a nice break down of the rules that some people should fallow when be sales men.

More on ethics in advertising

Human Values in Marketing

Good article from Tim O'Reilly (a major innovator in the publishing industry) on Steve Jobs' remark about passion vs. profit: "My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products," Jobs told Isaacson. "[T]he products, not the profits, were the motivation. Sculley flipped these priorities to where the goal was to make money. It's a subtle difference, but it ends up meaning everything."

San Francisco State University class helps those in need. This article is a great testimony to those doing the moral act of helping others out.