Category Archives: Integrity

Government, Impressions, Integrity

Copenhagen, December 2009

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Aislin did a wonderful cartoon in the Montreal Gazette showing all the jets circling Copenhagen.

In another article we read that every Limosine in the city, and from elsewhere was booked solid for the entire period of the meetings, and were seen with their engines idling for hours to keep the inside of the car warm for the guest.

Protesters came from afar to be heard, wave their flags, and with any luck be seen on national television, but they never openly mention the fact that they also flew on jet planes and took taxis and limosines, stayed in hotels, and consumed coffees and food in restaurants, creating more garbage.

The newspapers and television reporters all had their own commentary on the state of the world and global warming, printing thousands of pages of newsprint.

Several thousand banquet meals were served over the duration of the conference, creating no end of garbage, laundering of tablecloths and napkins.

All the restaurants and hotels in Copenhagen were full, creating more garbage and laundry.

Thousands of gallons of fuel were consumed.

Another unsuccessful meeting where nothing was decided, but the participants all felt they were the ones who would make the changes in the world.

Meetings in Bali, meetings in Copenhagen, meetings all over the world to discuss “How to be Green”.

Other than a totally insane media spewing out hype about being socially and ethically responsible, whatever that means, and stop using plastic garbage bags, so that we now we pay for them, further fattening the pockets of the grocery stores by thousands of dollars weekly for a product which we need, nothing has really changed. Most people I know don’t plan to go to a store to purchase necessities, they see a store and remember that they need some items and go shopping. No one walks around during their business day with pockets stuffed with bags on the off chance that maybe they will need a few greens and milk. What a thought, a Senior Business Executive with a plastic bag
In his back pocket in case his wife calls and asks him to pick up milk and bread on the way home….!!!

People are having more children than ever, buying huge homes and cottages, buying more than one car, living further away from city centers, necessitating more driving, and having what ever the latest pet of the month is ostensibly for their children. One couple in London England, actually have the nerve to print a magazine about being green, but they are in their 20’s, have 4 children, numerous pets, several homes, and jet around the world on vacation regularly, sometimes commercial, but very often on private jets. It is about ‘do what I say, don’t do what I do’ …somehow they think their children are special.

The statistics on the family dog are actually staggering, each 30 pound dog creates the same amount of garbage as a human.

China no longer has the one child per family legislation, and there is still no push in the third world to stop over population, even though many of the people are dying of starvation.
India has a population explosion, and is growing exponentially with no discussion of limits of children per family.

A lifetime of rhetoric, and yet at the end of the day, the only thing which has truly changed is that the world population continues to explode and fanatical religious leaders are continuing to tell women to have babies, some of whom have over 10 children and are continuing to breed.

The only way to get serious is to STOP encouraging people to have children, and instead of paying women to have children, to pay them if they get sterilized. The current economic models are at fault, and to date, no one has actually come up with a model which encourages full employment and the promotion of innovation in order to reduce carbon emissions and garbage in order to clean up the planet.

It CAN be done.

It MUST be done.

We are losing our forests, our oceans, our fish, and much of our natural wildlife due to over-population and urban sprawl.

The biggest contributor of all the problems the world is facing regarding pollution, global warming and potable drinking water is that we have TOO MANY PEOPLE and TOO MANY PETS. Period.

The biggest creator of pollution are humans, followed by unneeded animals. Yes, I love animals and have had pets a good part of my life, but we are speaking reality here.

There is an arrogance among people that their children will somehow be special and change the world, but the harsh reality is that we need to start looking for new ways to grow the economy than multiplying.

Investment in cleaning rainwater, cleaning sewage, heating homes without fossil fuels, not wearing clothes made of synthetics, not using Styrofoam containers, re-cycling, re-use of car tires, cleaning of used oil products, re-cycling of products like paint, are but to name a few.

Encouraging people to live downtown and walk to work. Educating the people already on the planet, and putting them to work, instead of allowing high school drop-outs, high-school pregnancy, facilitating adoption of already existing
Children instead of making the process hideously long and arduous.

Cynical yes, fed up of being lectured to, yes, fed up of hypocrisy, absolutely.

Let’s change the economic models to stop encourage growth and encourage re-use and investment in new technologies.

Business, Integrity, Quality, Socialites

SERVICE Industry

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Let me once again re-iterate the word SERVICE. That means the service of your customers or potential customers, You know, those people who pay your salary.

One of the most common complaints today, is with the voice dripping with condescension on the other end of the line when one calls to make a reservation in a pricey restaurant. First, you are put on hold, then told they are incredibly busy and will be back in a moment, then the breathless ‘hello’ as if your time is of no interest or value to them. The negotiation as to the time and day the restaurant will deem to allow you into it’s hallowed halls to pay for overpriced, over spiced food. One must wonder what exactly goes through the head of these individuals. One trendy fusion Asian-French Restaurant kept us on the phone waiting for well over 10 minutes to make a simple reservation. No, 8pm wasn’t acceptable, but 8:45 was, but a lecture to tell us that we must absolutely arrive on time. We arrived early on the appointed night, to discover an amazingly pretentious greeter, a half-empty restaurant, good tables which were empty, terrible tables full, an attitude when we suggested that we didn’t want the assigned table, and mind-numbingly slow bad service. By 10pm the restaurant was 3/4 empty. The staff spent the entire evening fussing and preening themselves in front of the mirrors, and actually complaining about the clients. The food was totally unimaginative, the setting a very poor rip-off of a well known London Restaurant, prices over the moon, a grotesquely over-priced and not exciting wine list, and washrooms which weren’t the cleanest or most interesting off in Siberia. Furthermore, I can’t possibly imagine how someone older and not totally mobile was expected to be able to reach them- up stairs, around a corner, down a corridor. Forget wheelchair access.

Somehow, it is assumed that if you can afford to frequent these trendy restaurants, that you aren’t stupid. Obviously one must be intelligent enough to have worked for the cash in your pocket. What on EARTH are these people thinking? That clients are stupid and blind and we can’t see that with all your advertising everywhere, that your restaurant is half empty and all the staff seem to care about is their own image?

The same things apply with ‘Customer Service’ desks in shops, banks and government departments. How many times have you reached the counter only to have a rude employee look over you as if you are invisible, put a sign on the wicket and walk away, even though you are the only one in the queue. You are then expected to wait for 30-70 minutes while they either go on ‘break’ or for lunch. Forgetting that your time is also of value, and presumably you took time off work to be there. Spending the 5 minutes serving you would not have been such a hardship for them. And the polite response that you are the last one before they go for their ‘break’ or lunch.

The endless being put on hold on telephone ‘Customer Service’ lines, to wait over 20 minutes sometimes, only to have someone from half way around the world with a bad accent, who doesn’t understand two thirds of what you say, is rude, and finally hangs up on you because they don’t want it to appear that they couldn’t answer your question.

If you are being paid to provide a service, smile, provide the service, THANK your customer, they are the ones paying your salary, and then move on to the next. If you are having a bad day, don’t blame it on the people paying your wages.

Somehow there seems to be a common thread – treat your clients like ignorant children and think they will flock to continue to do business with you. With the internet today, word tends to get around at the speed of light. One has to pity the investors in some of these ventures, as they are usually not aware of how poorly the clients are treated. With all the social networking services available both on mobile phones and the internet, it is seconds today from being in business to being ruined. Companies should remind their ‘Customer Service’ Representatives about this fact.

Business, Integrity, Privacy, Quality

On-Line Business

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Sometimes one feels like they are in a world gone mad.

With the explosion of ebusiness, a lot of companies seem to be under the absolutely ludicrous impression that everyone is always on-line, and wishes to conduct all their business that way. Some twenty-something teckie who is in love with the idea of technology has convinced management that the only way to do business is on-line, and it will solve all their problems. There are a terrifying number of airlines, shops, banks and other service companies who appear to have forgotten why they were in business in the first place. In a word, giving SERVICE to their CLIENTS.

Do they really expect the silver-haired octogenarian to conduct her business on-line? The infirmed? To book airline tickets, do their banking, and deal with problems by accessing a computer? As some of the modern telephones are intimidating enough, never mind being told by a recorded voice that if you have a problem, ‘you can contact us on line at ‘ www.noservice.com’ or ‘we’re too important to speak to you on the telephone.com’ or ‘we don’t care about you.com’ and being incapable of actually finding a human being to speak to.

Computers are a truly wonderful creation, I’ve spent most of my career working in the computer industry, and am enthralled by the level of imagination in the field. From voice recognition, 3D animation, robotics , aircraft simulators for pilot training, complete with cockpits which actually move, microscopic surgery, and artificial limbs, the uses of technology are advancing daily, and most of it at the click of a mouse. However, companies must understand that not everyone wishes to live through the use of technology, nor does everyone think with the logic of a computer. Some people are visual, some auditory, others tactile, some mathematical, and others just plain lonely. Never underestimate the value of a live human voice. No automated system can ever replace the sound of the words,
‘can I help you with something? Is everything ok?”

Although I work in the industry, and am extremely savvy to the uses of technology, as it happens I am also someone who does NOT wish to conduct my personal business on-line. And it is interesting to note, that there a great number of people like myself, who have decided that if a company does not wish to speak with me in person in order to obtain my custom, then I will probably not be doing business with them.

So, next time you decide to automate a customer service function, try asking the clients what they think about the idea first.

Clients pay your salary and your rent. They should have a voice. The old expression ‘money talks and money walks’ should be remembered. Do something original.
ASK.!

Business, Impressions, Integrity

Preferred Vendors: Competition and Kickbacks

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Are you the CEO or CIO of a publicly traded company?

Then you want to read this blog and think seriously about it means to you.

Over the last few years there has been a move by certain companies to reduce the number of suppliers as a way to save money and simplify the purchase process. Along the way a great number of excluded companies have seen their opportunity to propose innovative solutions decline as they have been unable to respond to “members only” RFPs (request for proposals). We have heard no end of excuses in the marketplace as to why this is a good idea. However, the reality is that it removes competition and introduces opportunities for dishonest employees to show favouritism to suppliers who claim to be offering better prices based upon ‘partnership’ or volume-based price reduction.

How can anyone determine if they are getting the best product if they are eliminating any chance for competition? Even if you manage to short-list the top ten best vendors in the market today, by tomorrow there will be another company born that offers superior solutions.

A quick review of today’s media makes evident that during the current recession there are thousands of individuals who have taken their know-how and created new opportunities. Economists recognize that start-ups and small companies are the engine that drives economic recovery and economic growth, which benefits everyone including large corporations. In a phrase, their growth is your growth. So why not include them more directly in your success?

But even more pernicious effects are resulting from the restrictive preferred vendor list and the close vendor-client relationships that ensue. A level of out–right fraud has escalated in recent years to a point where it is no longer a matter of accepting a free lunch or two. Every day one reads about another scheme where some ‘highly innovative’ individual has found a way to work around the system and walk away with substantial ill-gotten gains. There are middle level managers in large corporations who earn very average wages driving new Mercedes, owning country homes, going on lavish holidays and drinking fine bottles of wine.

And how have they arrived at this unearned lifestyle? After skilful positioning and self promotion about how they are saving the enterprise vast sums of money by reducing the number of suppliers and negotiating significant discounts, their actions are no longer scrutinized leaving them free to personally benefit in any way they can arrange. Ironically, in many cases the same companies are insisting that new employees have extensive background checks and police file verification prior to being hired.

Examples of preferred vendor policy effects and “under-the-table” transactions abound; here are just a few:

1. An approved vendor representative conducts special meetings at a strip bar where cash stuffed envelopes are dispensed to his ‘best’ clients.

2. An middle-level executive of a large corporation has an $80,0000 golf club membership, has gone cruising in the Greek Isles with his family, played golf in Florida, and is regularly taken out for lavish meals to thank him for his “patronage”. A preferred vendor list decision was made once and his employer has never questioned vendor invoices since.

3. A middle manager, after ‘streamlining’ the number of suppliers to his department, miraculously went from living in a modest home to inhabiting a million dollar mansion with an in-ground pool, period antiques, and a new Mercedes, not to mention taking amazing golf trips during the winter.

4. A multi-million dollar contract is awarded. A few days later five executives receive shipment from a local art dealer of signed, large, gilt-framed, original art work. After a week on the walls, the art, being recognized as far too valuable and obvious, is removed to the homes of the executives.

5. A handful of people in a very large multi-national have eliminated most of the suppliers to its technology initiatives, initiatives which count in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Although some middle managers question the economic benefit of such an approach, they nevertheless adhere to the ‘initiatives’ under threat of losing their jobs during the recession. No employee is willing to step forward and challenge why, in such a large corporation, with such diverse needs, they are not allowed to have contact or do business with those not on the restrictive ‘approved’ list. Kickback rumours abound, morale is low, and the department is operating well below its capability. The hidden intimidation is unethical at the very least, the threats to whistle-blowers very real, and the productivity impact incalculable.

Within the supplier community, the facts are obvious. In fact, they are openly discussed and the perpetrators well known. In many cases even the “kickback” amounts are discussed freely. The only people who seem to be totally unaware of this behaviour are executives in corporations where this behaviour occurs.

As a responsible executive you should ask yourself:

1. Is anyone in my organization guilty of this behaviour?
2. When is the last time we did a ‘lifestyle’ audit on those individuals making substantial purchasing decisions?
3. Do I believe that the new million dollar home that my employee purchased is due to an inheritance … from a rich aunt?
4. Can I really afford to have this illegal behaviour occur on my watch?

Simple First Steps (RCE)

Rotate Personnel: Individuals who make major purchasing decisions should be rotated on a regular basis. If the same people occupy these roles for too long, it is just too tempting for them to accept the gifts on offer.

Conduct Internal Audits: Unannounced, fully authorized, and executive committee supported internal audits should be SOP.

Expand the Vendor List: Open up the bidding process to more competition. The innovative ideas and cost containment may surprise you and will please your stakeholders.

“Unintended consequences” and “collateral damage” are two phases that came to this blogger’s mind when researching this article. In an era of increased regulatory oversight, think about the consequences of a corporate policy that could place you in the cross-hairs.

Copyright 2009 roslyn-on-the-go

Business, Integrity, Quality

Too Good to be True

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Every day we read about another Ponzi scheme which was sold to unsuspecting individuals for amazing amounts of money by self proclaimed “Investment Advisors”. Some of the sums of money, such as in the case of Bernard Madoff, are truly staggering. To have absconded with $65 billion is, to me, inconceivable. Mark Dreier who is only in the hundreds of millions looks like small change in comparison.

In Montreal there is the story of ‘Uncle Earl’ who spent somewhere in the $75 million range of other people’s money living the lavish life, never once thinking that this money actually was not his, but he, of them all in recent times is the one who is the most despicable. To be chasing after widows and old women for their total assets, including visiting them in the hospital to convince them to give him their money, sometimes on their deathbeds, goes beyond words.

The big question is, what is it about human nature that makes one so gullible as to invest such substantial sums of money with only one money manager. We are always instructed to spread the money around, as history has shown us, things are not always what they appear, and they best way to protect oneself is to invest comfortable sums of money in numerous places.

Over the years we have heard of some stunning stories, which leave readers with their mouths agape, of the deceit and cunning used to separate normally intelligent people from their money, the only difference being this time around, that the sums are greater than we have ever heard of before, and the utter gall of the perpetrators to live such openly lavish lives knowing there is no way the money could ever be repaid. How could they possibly expect that they would not be caught?

This note to the blog is short and sweet, and a simple message for all of you, spread your investments around. Do not let anyone convince you that they know better than everyone else. If the market is at 6% and someone offers you 18%, you should question the investment, and question whether or not they are a licensed investment counsellor. Check and see if there any complaints about the person or the firm. Don’t, above all ,allow anyone to bully you about how you should invest your money, and if they do, run.

If someone brags too much about their success, probably it is only in their imagination. Like anything else, usually it is the ones who are bragging who are in fact NOT successful. The ones who truly are, don’t need to brag, they already know.

Business, Integrity, Quality

Ethics ……or lack thereof……..

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I recently had a long conversation with a merchant banker who  requested information about a certain company. He was told that their  business practices are unethical, bordering on fraudulent. An example was given, and he suggested that next time he had the opportunity, he  would speak with the Chairman in confidence about it. He was  immediately informed that not only did the Chairman know about these  practices, but that he blessed them.

We are discussing a publicly traded company, on the verge of a major  stock play. Certain members of the executive team stand to walk away  with tens of millions …..

The will to bank millions was too great and he lined his pockets,  knowing full-well that there were many small shareholders who would be  losing out. Sarbanes Oxley and Bill 198 were passed to stop these  practices…but unfortunately there are too few to risk blowing the  whistle and not capitalizing personally.

It will be a very frightening day when the pendulum starts to swing in  the other direction, and the minor shareholders decide that they are  ‘not going to take it anymore’