Why Business Ethics Are So Often Lessons Not Learned

Some same you cannot change the spots on a leopard. When it comes to plagiarism in article marketing or blogging, this lack of business ethics appears to be on the rise.

Possibly poor to non-existent business ethics is a sign of the times. How many business people have experienced potential clients or professional colleagues missing meetings without even a by your leave message? This behavior is also all about the lack of positive core values.

A survey on business ethics released early this year by the National Resource Center indicated unethical behavior was on the decline. This might be true, however within the Internet specific to ownership of intellectual property my sense is just the opposite is happening.

When we look at the logistics, how can anyone monitor all of their intellectual content on the world wide wide (WWW) with over 200 million sites? I have over 2,000 plus articles spread among three high traffic article directory websites. Add in my blog and this total can quickly rise to almost 2,500. Making sure that no one plagiarizes my efforts is a Herculean task.

This is why being united with other bloggers helps because there are more than two eyes traveling over cyberspace. Lori Richardson of Score More Sales shared her insight as to having a "community of colleagues" who are looking out for you so that you truly do not have to go it alone.

Using Google Alerts is another strategy especially if you are focused on several key words or phrases. Another option is to visit the site Copyscape.com to check out who might be swiping or copying your intellectual property.

Yet, bottom line it is truly about what action will you take when confronted with unethical behavior.

• Will you ignore?
• Will you make a polite and professional request to remove the tainted blog?
• Will you report the individual to the hosting site?
• Will you post on other blogs?
• Will you directly contact the unethical individual by phone or email?

By not taking action and in some cases secondary actions are you keeping the lesson from being truly learned by the offending party? Since as individuals we can only control our own actions, then it is those actions that we must examine.

Sometimes those who are ethical fail to take the necessary time to reflect when faced with these situations. This is the lesson not learned for them. Maybe it is all this political correctness and the desire not to be "judgmental." However, until unethical behavior is actually confronted then those who engaged in bad behaviors will continue to do so.

Do you know what your talents you have? Learn more about how to maximize your strengths and create a culture of high performance.

Executive coach and consultant, Leanne Hoagland-Smith partners with innovative leaders who quickly want to improve team results and are willing to be uncomfortable in that process. Call 219.759.5601 CDT USA to just have a conversation about the results you are seeking.

P.S. Download this free leadership skills audit because the real Issue is not "Do they (you) know it," but "Do they (you) want to do it?"