Ethics of Decision Making
May 24th, 2007 11:40 AM By Staff

The immense pressure of every day business and business practices certainly creates reasonable issues of ethical principals and practices. However, as in any abstract concept it is obvious that beyond most common and agreed metaphysical concepts such as morality and ethical issues, it is in the eye of beholder.

Assuming that most common ethical set of issues such as honesty are agreed upon, the individual actions need to be examined for compatibility and adherence. Alternatively, if a concept such as honesty is the basis of all decision making, it is save to assume that the consequent actions are unlikely to stray. Hence, logically it is viable to suggest that in order to avoid ethical and moral pitfalls, the basis of the decision making should rely on organizational principals which may in turn prevent and discourage unethical outcomes.

At World Consulting Group the nature of humans and the consequences of their actions are the basis of all decision making including those relating to marketing practices. Essentially at World Consulting Group the organizational practices are designed to tolerate individualistic and creative nature of human beings, yet the oversight process as well as peer reviews are designed to discourage immoral and unethical behaviors.

In terms of ethical aspects of marketing at World Consulting Group, specific standard operating procedures to discourage ethical dilemmas and pitfalls include group and individual reviews, third party evaluation of marketing plans and implementations, client feedback, and historical comparison. Each of the above named SOP are designed to avoid the illusion of secrecy as well as enforce the belief that even the slightest hint of dubious theories or practices will be eventually discovered by one of the respective oversight layers.

One may argue that such strict practices limit the creativity of individuals or prevent them from suggesting innovative methods. However, such argument is not only flawed, it addresses the wrong issues. Creativity in terms of suggestions and innovations are not prevented because of their uniqueness, rather than the potential outcome, At World Consulting Group every one of our associates is encouraged to think and express any and all ideas that have the slightest chance of being innovative and successful. However, before such methodology or concepts can be implemented, the examination of the potential outcomes is examined for many factors including profitability, viability as well as morality and ethical issues.

Ultimately, we at World Consulting Group sincerely believe that we have implemented a virtually flawless method of evaluating marketing decisions and methods before issues such as moral and ethical standards are raised.  Yet it is not to say that our methodology is absolutely appropriate for all situations. In some instances, depending on clients needs, geographic location, market saturation, and many other factors, the standards of morality may be different. At World Consulting Group we have a solution for such situation as well which may include utilizing third party expertise to evaluate clients needs that may not be in tune with World Consulting Group fundamental ethical and moral values. If such determination is made first internally and is affirmed by a neutral third party, such clients may experience a rejection of their assignment.

Generally speaking, however, we sincerely believe that ethical issues in marketing as well as general decision making is greatly depended on organizational values, culture and mind set. Every company will have to decided individually what set of rules will apply.
 

Total Quality Management
April 25th, 2007 09:18 AM By Online Staff

TQM or Total Quality Management refers to internal or external organizational quality assurance process to achieve the highest possible effectiveness and efficiency  Essentially TQM is designed to enhance as well as control each and every stage of a given companies production or services by adapting and implementing standards.

At World Consulting Group (WCG), TQM is taken very seriously. Though TQM is not particularly designed to be adapted by service industry, it can be easily modified and adjusted to achieve the spirit of total quality assurance. At World Consulting Group every employee is required to pass certain internal tests relevant to their particular and respective fields in order to achieve a uniform set of knowledge / process basis. The second step of TQM at WCG is the peer review of all accomplished tasks. Each project that has reached the final stages undergoes a serious review and critic by team peers. This step is further fine tuned by having project manager also conduct a through review of the project plans and the end product. Once that is accomplished, external third parties will also have the opportunity to evaluate the project at hand.

Essentially the entire TQM process at World Consulting Group heavily relies on the opportunity to discover weaknesses and potential issues before the project is even presented to the end user / client. Steps such as layered review and critics, focus groups, as well as stress testing are created and vigorously implemented in order to avoid any and all pitfalls.

Though one may argue that even TQM may go too far such as in case of World Consulting Groups’ extensive approach; it is difficult to argue against internal institutional concerns and goals to deliver the highest possible quality of products and services. Even an argument pointing to potential costs in terms of additional internal and external costs of labor, can easily be countered by pointing to the long term benefits of virtually flawless products and services which may in turn achieve greater client satisfaction and retention. Never mind the valuable impact on track record and marketing which also may have an extremely positive impact on marketing, advertising as well as new client development