Promoting Your Website Or Blog With Online Competitions

If you’ve got a website it doesn’t matter what sort it could be a personal blog detailing your daily adventures, affiliate site marketing your favourite e-books or a site promoting your company. Even if you don’t want to make money from the site it is going to be a pretty pointless venture to undertake if no one ever sees it.

You need visitors, not just one off visitors who come maybe click an ad and never come back. You need return visitors, people who interact with you, subscribe to hear what your trying to say and buy your affiliate products.

It’s easy to get visitors to your site popular methods include search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click advertising (PPC) and social networking on sites like twitter, Facebook etc. Unless these visitors return your sites never going to reach its full potential, your going to spend a lot of time and money just getting more visitors who come and go.

How can you get visitors to return to your site?

There are a few ways you can get visitors to return to your site or sites you could try building a mailing list, with a mailing list you can send mail shots or a regular newsletter to all your subscribers at once. Mailing lists are a great way to promote and make money from affiliate marketing.

If you have a blog running on a popular platform like WordPress, Blogger, Drupal or Joomla to name a few you will almost certainly be able to offer your visitors an RSS feed that they can subscribe to and they will be updated every time you make a new post.

If you sell products on your site you could produce a catalog that visitors can subscribe to receive or post it out with orders.

One great way to build subscribers and repeat site visitors is with website competitions.

Offer your visitors something in return for them subscribing to your feed, newsletter or catalogs. Everyone likes the idea of getting stuff for little or no effort and that’s where a free to enter competition can help you.

What can you offer in your competition

What you can offer competition winners depends largely on your resources and budget, the more costly the prize should but won’t necessarily guarantee better results sometimes a creative prize can work just as well as an expensive one.

If your website is already established you might even be able to get an advertiser or supplier to sponsor your competition that way it won’t cost you a penny.

Internet Marketing Demystified

Successful internet based marketing requires bringing dozens of details together. In fact, we’ve identified over 160 details that are part of a successful online marketing strategy and have grouped them into five categories:

- Your internet marketing business plan
- Why as an SEO optimization firm we are positioned to help you grow organic inbound traffic
- Reaching out and driving online web site traffic with email, PPC advertising, landing pages, and even old-school direct mail advertising
- The social media sensation and how services like Facebook and LinkedIn are changing niche internet marketing
- Maximizing your internet marketing strategy by measuring and monetizing your website to be a profitable venture

Internet based marketing is more than having a successful website. No doubt you have a website for your business. But if was created only a few years ago, it could be out of date and out of touch with the realities of how search engine optimization and SEO copywriting has changed, and how web copywriting has evolved from “sell sell sell” to “give give give.”

As consumers become more and more savvy about using the internet, and their overall experience, the style of web copywriting continues to evolve. Those marketers on the internet who are most successful recognize the value of having an individual with web copywriting experience handle their marketing.

While many internet based marketers may not realize it yet, gone are the days when web programming and flashy graphics was king. Now is the time for use of keywords, rich and deep content, multiple tiers of a web’s wireframe, and engaging copy that gives away information free, but in the end, compels the prospect to take action.

With the rapidly expanding movement by consumers to the online space to research products and make purchase transactions, it is vital that you explore more deeply how to harness the power of internet based marketing. Each month, quarter, and year that passes is time that should be invested in testing online marketing. While, of course, it takes commitment of both time and money to fully realize the potential of online marketing, it’s clear the genie is out of the bottle and there is no going back to the way things used to be.

Internet Marketing Business Plan

Your internet marketing business plan must incorporate several elements. You can see them on the interactive chart, but here are the items listed in a checklist:

a. Develop a Plan

i. Establish objectives
ii. Establish a purpose
iii. Setting ultimate business goals
iv. Description of ideal customer
v. Competitive analysis
vi. How captured email addresses will be used to market
vii. Trend tracking tools

b) Web-Friendly Architecture

i. Ensure usability
ii. Wireframe individual pages
iii. Message blocks
iv. Identify number of pages
v. How pages flow from Home Page through buying process
vi. Ease to capture email addresses
vii. Familiar navigation buttons
viii. Determine primary content per page
ix. Shopping cart or other order mechanism
x. Photos
xi. Videos
xii. Custom designs vs. templates

These steps are a start for you to consider everything you need in an internet marketing business plan.

SEO Optimization

Your checklist for SEO optimization includes:

a) Optimized Website Content

i. Copywriting plan
ii. Offer
iii. How to capture email addresses
iv. Use of strong headlines
1. What’s offered
2. Why it matters
3. Captivating
4. Makes a promise
5. Emotion
6. Specific
v. Strong leads
1. Tells us what you get
2. Describes benefits
3. Offers proof
4. Removes risk
5. Asks for sale
vi. Keywords
1. Choice and usage
2. Long copy for key phrases
3. Hyperlink key phrases
vii. Logical information hierarchy
viii. Endorsements or testimonials
ix. Guarantee
x. Keyword effectiveness tool
xi. Inbound links

b) Maximizing Search

i. Keywords and Key Phrases
1. Research and brainstorm
2. Evolution of choosing keywords and key phrases
3. Keyword rich domain names
ii. Title bar copy
1. Character count
2. Description friendly for search engines and users
iii. Back end code copy
1.
iv. Long tail key phrases
v. Key phrase repetition and placement in copy
1. 2-3 key phrases per page
2. 3-4 times within copy
3. In headlines, subheads and hyperlinks
vi. Determine if technical issues exist
vii. Examine current page rankings
viii. Keyword up sell opportunity research
ix. Directory listings
x. Articles on other sites with links back
xi. Writing snippets for search engines
xii. Generate links to your website

Generating Online Web Site Traffic

Your checklist for driving traffic to your website includes:

a) Driving Traffic

i. Pay per click
ii. Email marketing
iii. Bookmarking services
iv. Affiliate marketing
v. Online directory listings
vi. Online banner ads
vii. Catalogs
viii. Direct mail
ix. Direct mail with Personalized URLs (PURLs)
x. Print advertising
xi. Broadcast
xii. Other offline media
xiii. White papers
xiv. RSS feeds
xv. Direct-to-consumer news releases

b) Profitable Pay-Per-Click

i. Determine PPC marketing strategy
ii. Offer
iii. Research relevant keywords and exact phrases
iv. Keyword and key phrase bidding
1. Desired page position
2. Geographic targeting
3. SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) Vs. Content Networks
4. Time of day
5. “Negative” words
v. Conversion benchmarks
vi. Use long-tail keywords
vii. Copy that grabs, makes the offer
6. Proven formulas
7. Urgency
8. Newsworthiness
viii. Assign unique tracking codes
ix. Drive PPC response to landing page
x. Landing page continuity
xi. Click-through analysis

c) Smart Landing Pages

i. Direct from PPC ads
ii. Avoid message mismatch
iii. Referring link on offline media
iv. PURLs from offline media
v. Layout key to success
1. Urgency
2. Newsworthiness
vi. Use proven formulas for copy and design
vii. More clicks requires = less sales
viii. Test multiple landing pages
ix. Statistically valid tests
x. Assign unique tracking codes
xi. Multivariate testing on Google – 7 scenarios

d) Sales-Producing Email

i. Contact strategy
ii. Segmentation
iii. Offer
iv. Subject line copy
1. Teaser
2. Question
3. Event
v. Headline copy
vi. Email styles
4. Testimonial
5. Dialogue
6. Q&A
7. News
8. Criticism
9. Voyeur
10. Joint Venture
11. The sale
vii. Multivariate testing
viii. Conceiving a reason to email

Social Media and Niche internet marketing

Your checklist for social media and niche internet marketing includes:

a) Leveraging Communities

i. You Tube
ii. Podcasts
iii. Blogs
iv. Forums
v. Polls
vi. Facebook
vii. Twitter
viii. Flickr
ix. MySpace
x. Plaxo
xi. LinkedIn
xii. Niche communities

Internet Marketing Maximizing Strategy
Through Measuring and Monetizing

Your checklist for measuring and monetizing your website for maximizing internet marketing strategy include:

a) Bonus Income Sources

i. Google AdSense
ii. Other contextual advertising
iii. Display ads
iv. Banner ads
v. Affiliate programs
vi. Commissions
vii. Publishing
1. Books, guides, e-books
2. Teleseminars
3. Webinars

b) Keeping Score with Analytics

i. Headline results analysis
1. Titles
2. Leads
3. Call to action
ii. Online keyword tools
iii. Website optimizer tools
iv. Stat counters
v. Campaign performance
vi. Multivariate testing

Ideas For a Home Based Business – How to Track Down Lost Money For Commission

You have decided that you want to start a home based business. The next step was deciding what type of business. You explored many work at home opportunities and finally decided on a business.A business that will help people find unclaimed cash was one of the ideas for a home based business and you decide to pursue this as a home based business. The only problem is you don’t know where to start with finding lost money for commission. Furthermore, this article will focus on the steps involved with tracking down lost money.Did you know that at any given time the state government is holding 10 billion dollars in unclaimed money? Also, the following places are holding unclaimed money such as businesses, banks, other entities and government agencies.The first way to find clients to help with finding unclaimed money or property is to visit an unclaimed property search site. These are pretty much websites that you can search by name and state to find out if someone has any property or money waiting.For example, you can put a last name and first name in the search box or just a last name. Also, you would search in all of the states the person has lived or has family. Every state is in charge of any unclaimed property. Most states have laws and procedures for claiming any unclaimed money or property.The U.S. Treasury Department has over 15 billion dollars in unclaimed savings bond. In addition, some of the bonds have stopped earning interest but the bonds haven’t been claimed by anyone. Savings bonds are very easy to forget because they are supposed to last for 30 years.You can contact the record keeping department for information on unclaimed saving bonds. Also, there is not a statue of limitation on saving bonds and the money stays there until someone claims it.Many people find this line of work exciting as a home based business. This is one of the reasons why some people choose finding unclaimed money as one of their ideas for a home based business.The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has over 133 million dollars of unclaimed pension. It’s really hard to believe that someone or the family wouldn’t claim a pension fund.Some folks actually forget about their pension fund and the money waiting to be claimed. If a company has any unclaimed pensions for an employer then the money is turn over to the PBGC. This protects the money in case the company goes out of business.In addition, you can do a search for unclaimed pension through PBGC website or contact the officeUnclaimed money is any money, property or asset that has been left unattended by the owner. Also, there are different types of unclaimed assets such as unpaid wages, bank accounts, gift certificates, royalty payments and traveler checks.The internet is a good tool to use researching different government organizations and tracking the whereabouts of people. Furthermore, starting an unclaimed cash business can begin as one of the ideas for a home based business but can turn into a successful business.

Home-Based Business – 3 Tricks For Getting Twice As Much Done Everyday

Are you a home-based business owner with all the ambitions and goals of earning a full-time income, or even a six-figure income but are having trouble getting ahead and getting all the things done on a daily basis that it takes to make it big? If you said yes, then you are in luck, because there are plenty of strategies that you can apply to your home-based business that can help you achieve more in one day that you are currently achieving in a week.If you hope to build a successful business from home using the Internet, then you will have to master the art of time-management, so let’s take a look at three important tricks you can use to increase your productivity and significantly decrease the time it will take you to achieve massive success with your home-based business:Trick #1 – The law of time expansionThere is a law that states that whatever you are doing will fill in the time that you allow for the task at hand. So if you are in the process of writing an ebook, and you have given yourself 14 days to write it, then this law states that it will in fact take you 14 days to write it. If on the other hand, you only allotted yourself only 5 days to perform the same amount of work, then you could likely do it in this time period. The great thing about this law is that you can essentially decide how little time you want to dedicate to each task, and you will be able to get it done in that time. So stop giving yourself two hours to do something that can be done in 30 minutes; turn off the T.V and get to work, and you will reap the rewards of running your own business much sooner.Trick #2 – Schedule breaks into your dayOne of the best ways to ensure you don’t burnout or become prematurely fatigued throughout the day is to set a time and take a 15 minute break every 2-3 hours. By scheduling in your breaks, you will keep yourself fresh and won’t hit a metaphoric “wall” by the early afternoon. This will ensure your productivity remains high and you progress faster in your business.Trick #3 – Create a “to-do” list everydayThe more “to-do” lists you create for yourself the more you will get accomplished and the less you will forget to do. Simply create a “to-do” list for the next day every night before going to bed, and you will be sure to move forward daily without forgetting to do the important tasks required for your success.

How to Effectively Run Your Home Based Business – Part 2

In the last post, I touched on some of the ways you can get the word out about your home based business. Continuing to do those things on a regular basis will definitely be effective and you will have a successful home base business. In this post, I want to cover some of the day to day operations you should (and should not) be doing so you will be able to enjoy some of those great benefits of having a home business.There are many different types of people out there: workaholics, procrastinators, lazy, motivated, etc. What I am going to suggest here will be for all types of personalities. As a home business owner, we don’t want you working 24-7 and burning out within months of starting a home based business and we also don’t want you being lazy and only working a few hours per week. If you are planning on doing paid online surveys or maybe data entry jobs as extra income, then a few hours per week will do. These suggestions will help you to be effective as well.1. Set a Schedule (when to work) This is probably the most important step to being effective. You need to set a time to work and a time to play! It is very easy to get distracted when you are working at home: kids, TV, phone calls from friends…set up a time when all you will be doing is work, even if it is only for an hour. For me personally with 2 kids in sports and summer vacation just around the corner, I set my schedule more on a weekly even down to daily basis at times. It does vary but I still have one and use it. So give yourself ample time to work but also give yourself time to play, it is very important that you do this!  Now, stick with that schedule!2. Set a Schedule (what to work on) As a home based business owner, you have all the responsibilities of the business. For those of you doing data entry jobs online or paid online surveys then the only thing you need to do is set the time when you will be working. For all others, there is advertising, budgeting, social networking, article writing, bookmarking, blogging and doing your actual work! This can become overwhelming if you have no plan or schedule. Allow yourself time to work on each part of your business. Example: today I am working from 9 to 1, I will post in my blog from 9 to 10, bookmark it from 10-11, then do social networking from 11-1. Once you have everything set, you won’t waste time wondering what to do, you will be doing it and doing it effectively.3. A Place to Work Definitely the least important thing you should consider, but still important. To be effective, you need to be organized. Having an office with a desk and a file cabinet to keep all business related material will keep you organized. Again, you don’t want to waste time looking for papers when you could be making money working. And if you have kids…keep them out of YOUR space! I wrote that this shouldn’t be on the top of you list because while I do have an office with a desk, good chair, file cabinet, etc., I like to move around occasionally. I have a good wireless network and laptop that allows me to move anywhere around the house, even out to my pool so in the summer when my kids are swimming, I can be there to watch them and still be able to work. But just to break up monotony, I will work in the dining room, living room and kitchen from time to time. Do whatever works best for you.I hope these tips will help you become very effective with your home business. All successful home based businesses are run effectively. So set when you will work and what you will be working on and where you will work on it. Have a game plan and set your day to day schedule and most importantly – stick with it! If you follow these guidelines, you will be able to enjoy all the perks that come with having your own home based business.

The Truth About Marketing

We’ll be looking at some tips that can help you during your marketing cause. So let’s start by discussing few tips that will work.

Setting Goals
Setting goals is important to an individual as it is also important to an organization. Setting goals makes you focus on what you want to achieve, you’re convinced about getting what you want, you believe it is right and that’s how goals work. If you don’t have a goal, you’re like a leaf being blown by the wind and it can take you in any direction, it’s like having no control over the activities you do but it’s the activities that are controlling you. So set goals for what you want to achieve and work towards it.

Another thing you should look at is in your marketing cause is when getting weaned, and you feel like quitting, one of the things that can keep you going is the goals you’ve set, because you know what you want, you will be willing to pay the price to get what you want.

Do Your Planning
The next thing to do after setting goals is to plan. You need to make plans on how to achieve your goals, I see some people start their day without planning and they feel cool with it, but that’s not actually a good way to start a day, even though you it happens sometimes you could achieve your goals without planning, it’s important you do it.

Having plans sometimes serves as a reminder, reminding you of the things you should do. If you set out to work you might start working and forget some important activities you need to do, that’s why it is important to plan your day and so also your marketing.

Equip Yourself
Like we’ve always seen, when soldiers are going to war they need to go with weapons, it also works like that in marketing too. In marketing you need to have the necessary tools when going for marketing. Tools you might need for your marketing may vary depending on the product you’re marketing; you could need a car, call cards, proposals, cover letters, flyers or a notepad. The main thing is getting everything you need that can enhance your marketing cause, that way you won’t be slacking on opportunities.

If you don’t equip yourself before going out for marketing, your customers won’t take you serious, that’s why you need to be prepared. Also bear in mind when going out for marketing that there are also other marketing executives out there that will likely approach your customers too, but what can stand you out is you being prepared, organized and well equipped then you can be rest assured of success.

Perform Marketing Activities
Doing activities is very important when you want to market a product, that’s where the results come from. Do you know that 20 percent of the activities you do actually results to 80 percent of sales result you make, so what you should look at is focusing first on important activities (activities that are more likely to bring results) and important customers, by giving them utmost priority during your marketing activities.

Persuade Your Customers
As a marketer you need to be able to persuade people to buy your product, that’s one of the core characteristics of a good market, being able to persuade people. If it’s a skill you don’t have, then you need to develop it. Generally in marketing it’s always better you do a soft sell as it tends to work better and it is aiming straight to the heart of your customers.

Do Follow Up On Your Customers
Another important thing to consider when marketing is doing follow up, it’s not all prospects that you market to that are going to buy your product as at the expected time, what you need to do is a follow up with them, you can do this by calling them or even visiting them. Always do a follow up when you’ve not achieved the desired result from your marketing activities.

This is an aspect where some marketers fail, after sealing a deal; they fail to deliver on their promises. One of the things your customers will look out for is the quality of product you’re offering, another thing they are going to look at is how fast you can deliver on your promise.

When you can keep to your promise by delivering to the customers what you’ve promised then your customers become loyal to you and they keep patronizing you.

Outdoor Education Camps With Programs

Summer camps are special camps arranged for people to enjoy their vacation or tour in any adventures. Summer camps comes up with special offers outdoor education camp, leadership camp, science camp, awareness camp and many other social welfare schemes are offered to the public for reasonable prices. Outdoor education forms major part of the education and it is more required for people. Outdoor education is considered has important and essential requirement for most of the people and they fetches more demand among the people. Outdoor education is created and offered specially for kids, children and adults.

The main purpose of estimating and offering outdoor education is to develop self confidence and self esteem among the people. The outdoor education activities, outdoor education courses, outdoor education programs are offered to kids, children, adults by outdoor education schools or outdoor education centers. Outdoor education camps are conducted either inside or outside classrooms. Outdoor education forms major part of the education system and it is more important to be known by the people to come up with every possibility in life. Most of the parents feels better that their children should be aware of outdoor education programs offered and they should compete with outside world.

Outdoor education activities or outdoor education courses are provided by more number of outdoor institutes or adventure outdoor schools. An outdoor education course, outdoor education programs initiates cooperation, coordination, team building, goal settings and spirituality among the students and others. Outdoor education camps are provided by more number of outdoor education institutes or outdoor education schools for reasonable and affordable prices. The outdoor education camp provided will be more worth and valuable for the students who obtains and they are provided under complete knowledge and experience.

Generally, adventure outdoor school or outdoor education schools provides outdoor education activities, outdoor education courses, outdoor education programs to kids, children and adults under prescheduled, guidance and procedures. With regards to qualified, professional and expert outdoor education instructor, outdoor education programs will be offered. Under proper guidance and precautions, outdoor educations will be offered to the people to enable them to know the required outdoor education provided. More number of kids, children and adults are obtaining the outdoor education programs offered.

The outdoor education professionals, experts or instructors guide the kids, children and adults in efficient manner. Generally, outdoor education programs and outdoor education courses are offered to students based on age group, duration of course offered and kind of outdoor education program selected. The outdoor education camp offered will be creative, enthusiastic, innovative and technical appraisement for the students hindering. Outdoor camps will be offered to the students for reasonable price consideration and they are offered by more number of adventure outdoor schools.

Ethics in Business

Sustainable advantage of an organization can be determined by its ethical capability. Ethical capability of an organization is its duty to do what is right. Some organizations such as Enron, Sathyam, and Tyco etc have made false statements in their accounts and cheated both the stakeholders and government. These kind of issues gave rise to the importance of business ethics in business schools all around the world.

Sustainable advantage can be defined as the beneficiary element that determine the long term objectives of an organization, where objectives would be the economic development that generates wealth and meets the needs of the current generation while saving the environment, so future generation can meet their needs as well. There are number of factors that determine the sustainability of an organization, which are its ethics, strategy, employees, financial capital etc. in present scenario, human resource of an organization considered to be its competitive advantage, but it will not provide sustainability. Sustainability of an organization will depend on the impact it has on the people, in the form of trust, honesty, integrity, respect, quality and responsibility. Organizations with poor sustainability will fall back as happened in case of Enron and Sathyam.

Enron was an American energy company founded in 1985 by Kenneth Lay after merging Houston natural gas and internorth( citetation). In early 1990′s Enron sold electricity at market price. At around the same time US congress passed a bill regarding the deregulation sale of natural gas which favored Enron to sell energy at higher prices. In 1992 Enron was the largest merchant of natural gas in North America. Online trading model developed in November 1999 known as Enron online has developed and extended the abilities to negotiate and manage its trading business. By 2001 Enron had both owned and operated gas pipe line, pulp and paper plants, broad band assets, electricity plants and water plants internationally. Enron stock was priced at US $ 83.13 and market capitalization exceeded US$60 billion, and Enron was rated the most innovative large company in America in fortunes most admired companies survey. By the end of 2001 the Enron scandal was revealed. The CEO Jeffrey Skilling with some of the executives have hidden billions in debt from failed deals and projects. Chief financial officer Andrew Fastow and the other executives were able to mislead the board of directors and audit committee by presenting them psydo account statements. Once the scam was published the Enron stock priced at $90 per share in 2000 plummeted to less than $1 by the end of November 2001. This fall in stock value has caused at $11 billion loss for its share holder. The employees of the organization received a limited amount of their salary and pension when it was bankrupted. Several law suits were filed against the company CEO and other executives.

Similar is in case of Sathyam computers, which is termed as the Indian Enron scandal. Sathyam computers were an information technology company which produces software’s headquarters at hyderbad, India. Its chairman Ramalinga Raju produced an account sheet which has a 7000 crore fraud. The chief auditors were also not able to identify this adjustment. As a result of this scam the employees lost their job and chairman was jailed for fraud.

These two cases throw a light on how an organizations as well as economy of the country or in large the world can be impacted with their unethical practices. That, if the organization does not practice ethics will not have sustainability.

Need for the business ethics: for the following

1. Business operates with in the society

2. Every business irrespective of size exists more on ethical mean or in total regard to its social concern to survive long.

3. Business needs to function as responsible corporate citizens in the country.

Business is a part of subsystem of a society, therefore its functioning should contribute to the welfare of the society. If the business earns social sanction of the society, where it exists then it would be able to survive, develop and excel in activities, because only through earning social sanction the business can get loyal customers. Loyal customers are sustainable advantage and therefore can survive in market without which it will collapse and die away. Large organizations put more interest on public, the managers are eager to have public opinion and always seek to maintain a proper image of company in their minds.

Now a day’s minimizing profit is not the only priority of business, it should have sustainability, which can only be achieved through ethical practices. Any organization big or small should follow ethical practices as it brings in a sense of social responsibility which eventually provides sustainability to the organization. Business should also be a responsible corporate citizen which does not allow narrow mentality goals and motives.

Cross culture variability

Ethical practices in a country or society will depend on various factors such as religious, beliefs, historic, traditions, social customs, and existing political and economic rules or policies. For example in Asian countries such as Japan, China etc loyalty to work groups and corporations has strong ethical values. This kind of ethics has been brought down through centuries long traditions, therefore one does not think of oneself but rather think of family, government and others involved with him, thus providing social responsiveness.

Nature of ethics

The concept of ethics deals only with human beings, as they only have the freedom and means to choose free will. Human being can distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, and just and proper. For example a Japanese employee believes that it Is unethical on his part to attend an interview with other company when he is still with the current company. So human can fix a goal and the means to achieve it. Ethics is also science that nowadays has become a set of systematic knowledge about moral behaviour and conduct. Ethics deals with human conduct which is voluntary and not forced by any person at any circumstances.

Business ethics and profits

The cases of Enron and Sathyam makes a point that ethics and profits are opposed to each other, as when an organisation is ethical it makes short term profit and if the organisation is unethical it makes huge profit. The same cases prove us one more thing that is it makes huge profit unethically but will not sustain in the market. Ethical companies not only make profit but also overcome their competitors and other turbulent changes happening through out the years and have contributed to social welfare. Ethical companies have social responsibilities which allow them to flourish undiminished and make profit. Tata group of companies is one company which follows ethical practises. It is said that the chief executive officer of Tata is also its chief ethics officer. Some of the ethical policies followed by the company include national interest, support from open market economy, gift and donation for social cause, political non alignment, health safety and environment care, quality product and service and regulatory compliance etc. Ratan Tata the present chairman of Tata group has declined from airline industry because he was told to bribe then minister to enter the business, which he claimed to be unethical and against the policies the group follows. His predecessor JRD Tata had set up the first commercial airlines ‘Tata Airlines’ in India which was later overtaken by the government of India and named it as Indian airlines. So besides being a pioneer in airline industry they were not able to procure it because they felt it would not sustain them and it would bring a bad image for the company. This is the reason why people have great respect for Tata group and their ethical practices and policies have created brand loyalty which has helped them to survive in market even though many competitors came.

Cross cultural contradictions

Ethical policies become a problem when the companies are not able to do business at home, therefore the other societies where the ethical policies are liberal or works in their favour. At home they are not allowed to sell products because it is unethical to use unsafe products but they may sell it in other countries where the ethical standards allow them to sell these products. It happens especially with pharma products. Some factories which emit pollutant gases are set up in neighbouring countries because ethical standards at home do not allow the factory to run business. These pollutant gases emitted are dangerous for people and the environment. Still it is ethical in certain countries. These kinds of issues give rise to cross cultural contradiction and exploitation. These issues which arise become difficult for the managers and firms to solve. Therefore the business has responsibility for their country but to four major groups they are society, employees, customers or consumers and investors.(example drugs)

Factors influencing business ethics:

Leadership, strategy and performance, individual characteristics, corporate culture and environment

Leader is a person who leads the people towards achieving a common goal. Leader can be good or bad, great or small they arise out of the needs and opportunities of a particular time and place. Not all leaders are considered to be perfect in their decision making because each and every decision they make will depend upon the character of person which differ from person to person. Character of a person includes their inborn talents, learned and acquired traits which were imposed upon them by life and experience. Leaders are models and mentors to their followers therefore they follow the path way set by their leaders. In a large organisation the top level managers or CEO are considered to be the executive and supervisory leader. The CEO should have strong commitment towards ethics and ethical conduct and should give a constant leadership in renewing the values of an organisation. They play a key role in creating, maintaining and changing the ethical culture. It is necessary for the leader to set good examples, and follows ethics. One such good leader is JRD Tata who set a good example for his successor and they still follow it. Where there are good leaders there will be good ethical practices in business.

Corporate governance: is the set of systems and processes that a company follows to ensure that it is in the best interest of the stake holders. Stakeholders are the shareholders, employees, customers, creditors and the community.

Sustainability has three components according to john elkington’s triple bottom line concept they are economic, social and environmental. According to elkington the business does not have one single goal of attaining profit but to extend the goal set by adding environmental and social values. Thus sustainability has become the new goal set by the organisation.

Environmental perspective: natural resources.

Economic perspective: about the future generation.

Social perspective: over exploiting of employees and not providing equality in gender employment, caste creed and religion based employment employing child labour.

Organisational culture: is the set of shared values, beliefs, goals, norms etc that prevails within an organisation. The organisational culture emphasis on ethics but as it grows it may change, as in the case of tyco where its organisational culture supports unethical practices. If the company makes huge profits in unethical way then individual who joins the organisation would also have to practice unethical things to survive in the company. As in the case of enron where many executives and managers knew that the company was following some illegal and unethical practices, but the executives and the board of directors did not know how to make the ethical decisions and corporate ethical culture. Thus they fall back and managers have to pay in the form of fines and imprisonment.

Business ethics is the application of ethical principle in the organization or business. An organization should produce or make its own ethical cultures, but this ethical culture formulated should be drawn from the concept of what is ethical to all and not what is right for the organization itself. The employees of the organization, also has to follow the same ethical principles. The organisation being ethical will provide certain social responsibilities such as they do not harm the stake holders, the general public and the society as well. “business that treat their employees with dignity and integrity reap rewards in the form of high moral and productivity” (Frederic, Post and Davis).

There are three major types of ethical issues that arise in a business they are, face to face ethics, corporate policy ethics and functional area ethics. Face to face ethical issues happen between the employees of an organization in their day to day organizational life. the employee face these ethical conflicts when their personal standards differs from what their job demands. Corporate policy ethical issues happen in the basic operations of a company. The top level management including the board of directors and CEO’s are responsible for ethical practices of the organization. Functional area ethics issues arise at all functional levels of the organization. For example in the accounting department, if unfair pressure is put on employees to deliver an audit report which has been altered or not showing current accounts of the organization would be un ethical, as it does not follow the standards and policies set by the organization.

Causes for unethical issues:

There are many reasons for an organization to follow unethical practices they are personal gain and selfish interest, competitive pressures on profits, business goals and personal goals, cross cultural contradictions. When an employee gives more importance to his greed or concern for his personal gain rather than any other concerns, irrespective of the harm it can bring to the organization is termed as unethical practices that arise due to personal gain and selfish interest. When a company has tough competitors in a limited or static market; it may engage some unethical practices just to be in business or to protect their profits. If the organization uses some unethical means to achieve its goal that is unaccepted by its stakeholders will give rise to ethical issues under business goal and personal goal. Here the organisaiton has set a goal that would conflict with the personal goal of its stake holders. Under such conditions the individuals involved have two choices either to follow the ethical ways of the organization or “blowing the whistle” on organization.

Environmental perspective relates to the exploitation of natural resources in business. The company should make sure that the natural resources are not exploited; it should sustain the resources so that the future generation can also enjoy them as we did. One such example is the restriction of fishing in the North Sea, to sustain the availability of diminishing cod fish to the consumers.

Economic perspective of sustainability relates to the economic growth and fall in the society. The short term adjustments made by the companies such as bribes and cartels will only be for a short period of time, it will never achieve a long time sustainability the organizations attitude towards the environment in which it is embedded. If the organization does not pay taxes are said to behave unethically similar in the case of organization that does not give donations to public institutions such as schools, hospitals, police and other justice systems.

What Can You Do With A Degree In Nutrition?

Earning a degree focused in nutrition can have many potential career paths other than becoming a nutritionist. There are six main types of nutrition paths to choose from, including teaching nutrition, public health nutrition, nutrition consulting, clinical nutrition, food science, and food service management. Most nutrition jobs should fall within one of these categories.

A degree in nutrition could help individuals land employment as a public health official, dietetic consultant, school food service director, quality control manager, food distributor, or wellness coordinator. Individuals may be employed through health maintenance organizations, school systems, food manufactures, wellness centers, and exercise and fitness centers. Government agencies also have the potential to employ those with degrees in nutrition. Some of the government agencies could include Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, SNAP- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Department of Health, and U.S. Public Health Services.

While earning a college degree, individuals will most likely be required to study a wide range of courses to gain a well-rounded education. Students could be expected to take courses related to nutrition, consisting of anatomy and physiology, introduction to food science, sociology, bacteriology, chemistry, and biochemistry. By completing an internship, individuals are able to gain hands on experience in the nutrition field before committing to a job or while still in school. Internships can serve as a great way to determine where your interests are, and if obtaining a career in this field is a good fit.

It is important for individuals wanting to succeed in a career in nutrition to possess skills such as organization and planning, strong verbal and written communication, proficient math skills for weights and measures, and interest in the well-being and health of others. To be successful working in nutrition, individuals may be required to advise patients in practicing good nutrition, monitoring diet modifications, and assessing health plans. Those with a degree in nutrition should also be able to monitor food safety conditions and create menus for specific dietary needs.

Depending on your place of employment and job description, individuals with a nutrition degree may be asked to create visuals aids and nutrition manuals that could be useful in teaching. Companies dealing with food service may hire nutrition graduates to create meal plans, ensure food safety, or develop new food products. Salary potential can depend on more than the actual job, but also education level, years of experience, and location of employment.

How to Pursue Online Nutrition Programs

Nutrition science a popular topic

One of the popular subjects in the curriculum of various educational institutions is nutrition science. With increased awareness of nutrition for the upkeep of the health of the individual, now more and more people pay regular visit to the nutrition experts to seek their valuable advice on various issues like nutritious diet, calorie oriented food and on such other related topics. As a result, nutrition technology has become one of the preferred subjects for study.

Nutrition program as a profession

Of course, there are several colleges and other organizations which teach nutrition technology as a part of the curriculum. At the same time, many institutions have started online nutrition programs for the benefit of those who are unable to attend the in house training programs. These online programs are conducted under the supervision and guidance of experts in the field. Many of these institutions teaching online nutrition programs have been accredited to appropriate government bodies. These online institutions teach as per the syllabus prescribed by the concerned authorities.

Course content

The curriculum normally is based on the credit hours. The credit hours depend on the course the student has chosen. For example, a diploma in nutrition science has 30 credit hours. On the other hand a bachelor course has 45 credit hours. These online programs also allow for specialization in nutrition science. Some of the popular fields of specialization include nutrition for sportsmen, nutrition for children, and nutrition for elderly people and so on. There are also several therapeutic nutrition programs like for those suffering from high blood pressure or for those who are obese or diabetic. Normally, students taking up online nutrition programs are taught by using the digital canvas. This helps to create a virtual classroom atmosphere for the student. The student is taught on various issues like human anatomy and physiology, application of nutrition principle for treating various ailments, nutritional therapy and also on counseling patients.

Offers better prospects

The duration of the course is normally nine months to one year. This of course, depends on the course the student has opted. At the end of the course, the students will have to undergo comprehensive examination. Normally, the student is required to undertake the examination in person at the designated place, date and time. Eligible students can opt for higher studies in nutrition technology like masters degree. The course fee varies from institution to institution. Some of the institutions also help the student in finding a suitable placement. Many of the students who have completed the online program on nutrition are of the opinion those who have taken up course at an accredited institution will have brighter chances of securing a suitable placement.