This is a thought provoking guest contribution on a handful of companies that created PR mayhem when they failed to uphold the image their branding and messaging invokes. 

Those of you astute enough to do so, can use this piece as a benchmark for what NOT to do if you don’t want to be splashed across the news headlines in a derogatory way.

Regardless, enjoy the interesting read and feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments below.

An organizational scandal really generates headlines when it is steeped in irony.

There have been many examples of companies and organizations coming under fire after being plunged into a scandal by a member who:

Fails to practice what they preach.

You would think they would know better, but as the following cases prove, organizations often fail to live up to the high moral standards by which they judge others.

Animal Rights and Human Scandal

No one would deny combating animal cruelty is a worthy cause and many animal rights groups do magnificent work to improve the treatment of animals across the globe. However, sometimes their more extreme action works contrary to their strongly held ideals.

For example, when the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) cut through fencing at a mink fur farm in Ringwood, Hampshire in 1998 they stirred up intense debate regarding just how moral and eco-friendly their action was.

The fur trade is widely criticized these days, but many saw the release of over 6,000 mink into the local ecosystem as potentially disastrous.

Despite protests from the ALF that the large packs of freed mink would have no adverse effects on the environment; the police were quick to point a finger and suggest the mink could do very serious harm to local wildlife due to their aggressive nature and unruly appetites.

Needless to say, something of a scandal arose when the ALF were accused of freeing wild mink that would almost certainly cause the deaths of many other animals and cause an imbalance in the local ecosystem.

Anti-Piracy Group in Copyright Scandal

There were red faces all round when a copyright scandal erupted in the Netherlands involving the anti-piracy organization BREIN.

In 2006, musician Melchior Rietveldt was commissioned by BREIN, a Hollywood-supported anti-piracy group, to compose a piece of music for an anti-piracy video, which the contract stated was only to be shown at a local film festival.

All was well, until Rietveldt noticed his music had been used to score a campaign video appearing on the Harry Potter DVD he had just purchased. The composer eventually discovered that his music had been illegally used on millions of Dutch DVDs, for which he had received no compensation.

Ultimately, the blame was laid at the door of a distributor rather than BREIN. However, further scandal resulted from the revelation that during the case Jochem Gerrits, a board member of the Dutch royalty collecting agency Buma/Stemra, had tried to strike a deal with the composer whereby he would be paid 33% of the monies recouped.

Gerrits resigned from his position when his underhand dealings were exposed. The case is ongoing and no doubt the BREIN will hope for a speedy resolution that acquits them of any part in copyright infringement, an embarrassing charge to be faced by an anti-piracy group.

Homophobic Organization in Gay Scandal

The rather abhorrent homophobic National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) has for some time argued that homosexuality is an illness and has promoted the idea that gay men can be treated through therapy to overcome and abandon their gay lifestyle.

Naturally, some glee was expressed by pro-gay groups when one of the most prominent anti-gay activists and member of NARTH George Rekers was alleged to have taken a 10-day European trip in the company of a male escort he had met via website Rentboy.com. Rekers resigned his position from the board and vehemently denied the allegations made against him.

A US Baptist minister, Rekers had testified against gay adoption in Florida and Arkansas, yet the escort Jo-Vanni Roman was adamant Rekers had drawn up a contract whereby Roman was to eat two meals and spend 8 hours a day with him during the vacation.

The anti-gay group suffered a PR disaster from the incident, but it is hard to feel for purveyors of prejudice.

Drunk Officer Drives DARE into Trouble

The organization DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) received some devastating publicity when one of their School Resource Officers and Seymour Police Officer John Newcomb was arrested earlier this year driving a pickup truck while drunk with a DARE trailer attached to the vehicle.

Newcomb had lost control of the truck while under the influence of alcohol and had crashed into a tree. Requiring medical attention, Newcomb’s reputation did not recuperate and he lost his position as a mentor and school lecturer on the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

It was a ridiculous crime to commit and the incident succeeded in ruining Newcomb’s reputation as a police officer and tarnishing DARE’s public image as an organization committed to raising awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol and drugs.

Despite having lectured widely in schools, Newcomb failed to abide by his own teachings and irrevocably damaged his career by stepping behind a wheel while intoxicated.

News of the World Becomes News

source: Wikipedia

Following years of muckraking exclusives the News of the World came unstuck in disgraceful fashion when it was revealed that the newspaper had hacked a large number of people’s phones.

Public outrage was swift in swelling up against media mogul Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation. The News of the World was now the subject of scandalous headlines.

Condemnation was widespread. Prime Minister David Cameron announced a public inquiry, while Murdoch announced the News of the World would cease publication on the 10th July 2011, before publishing an apology across all national newspapers.

It was too little too late and the ongoing investigation continues to unearth shocking information.

The phone hacking scandal has had a seismic effect upon journalism. Revelations that the phones of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, 7/7 London bombings victims and a large number of celebrities had been hacked led to multiple lawsuits and a resounding call for the media to be more strictly regulated.

The whole truth has yet to come out, but Murdoch’s power and influence has already been greatly diminished by what is the scandal of the decade.

Moral of the story? Practice what you preach or ultimately wind up suffering the consequences. People appreciate businesses and brands that are honest and credible and you can’t be seen as honest or credible if you say one thing and then do something else that’s in direct opposition to what you said. (Ask Obama!)

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Hey there BGB’ers… this is a guest contribution regarding something highly important to the success of your biz.

In a word?

Money honey!

OK so that’s two words. Sue me, maybe you’ll get some.

Actually this post is more about the MANAGE-ment of money which we all know is just as important as making it.

If you don’t learn to manage it properly you can make money all day long and never get ahead.

So ’tis important to learn to manage it properly and luckily there are plenty of handy dandy tools in the world to help make it a little easier. Read on “mon” and suss out a few of the tools for yourself.

And if you have a fave money management tool not talked about here, do spill in the comments below.

For any business wishing to experience success, proper money management is crucial –if not the predominant pillar on the road to success. Even a company with a great and in-demand product or service can fail should its money not be handled properly.

Fortunately, there are a variety of money management systems that can help any business owner better manage their company’s bills, invoices, payroll, and additional operating costs.

Each of them has different pros and cons, making them best suited to different businesses. The three main types of money management systems are listed below.

Banking Advisors

A financial advisor at a traditional bank is a great money management resource, and one that nearly every business owner should consider having – regardless of their confidence in their own abilities.

Most major banks, like Bank of America and Suntrust, have business financial advisors on hand to help you handle any monetary needs, or questions related to your business.

The advantages of this system include the fact that your finances are being handled by a financial professional and you are able to more easily secure low interest business credit card and credit union checking accounts.

Not only does working with a financial advisor allow you to more easily apply and be approved for needed business credit cards, it gives you the following perks as well:

• Proven plans for financial success personally customized to fit your business’ needs.
• Professional help with maintaining your business’ long-term financial plan.
• Alerts to any discrepancies in your accounts.

BGB’s Note: Make sure you do your due diligence if you go this route and find a reputable financial advisor that knows their shite.

There are plenty out there just eager to make a buck off of your lack of knowledge, so bone up on some finance basics before you let any banking personnel influence your decisions regarding your money.

However, a bank is only available during the bank’s normal operating hours. What are you to do if you need service after hours?

While a business owner shouldn’t need a banker 24/7, having access to financial assistance is important. So to actually maintain full 24/7 support, it is always a good idea for a business to consider using a personal advisor, as well as a financial software or app to help them with their daily bookkeeping.

Computer Software Programs

There are several money management software products available; however, none is more trusted or more widely used than Quickbooks. Quickbooks can help any business owner quickly and easily organize all of your company’s finances, and allows you to do so in very easy and visual ways such as through graphs, tables, charts, and other items. The software even guarantees that it will pay for itself within the first ninety days, or you will get your money back.

A few of the other benefits associated with using this software include:

• Allows you to know your company’s financial situation at any given time.
• Reduces excessive need of an accountant during tax season.
• Allows you to see projections and create milestones based on current numbers.

Also, it is currently acknowledged to be one of the most popular accounting and money management tools for small businesses. While this clearly means that the product is likely to be sound, it also means that the customer support behind Quickbooks will also be high.

So if you should have a problem with the program or don’t understand how to use certain features, you will easily be able to get ahold of someone or find the right forum with the answer to your question.

Although Quickbooks is incredibly accurate, it may be you don’t want to limit yourself to a service that you can only use on your laptop or desktop. In today’s mobile world, many business owners want to be able to check and review every aspect of their business regardless of where they are.

For this reason, some owners may want to also download the Quickbooks mobile app or consider one of the following:

Easy Books

This is a great mobile bookkeeping app available for iOS. It is absolutely free, and lets you manage your company’s money from the ease of your iPhone, iPod, or iPad.

Easy Books is like a very simplified version of Quickbooks that has been designed for iOS mobile devices, and you can try it at no risk, as it is 100% free of charge.

Mint

This was actually intended to be a personal finance app, but it works just as well as a finance management app for a small business. The app can be synced with all accounts, and will let you know where you are within your budget and alert you to areas where you may be spending too much money – allowing you to make your company more cost effective.

Invoice2go Lite

This option is great for any business owner used to dealing with a lot of paper. If you’ve got numerous invoices out on a regular basis, have a stack of bills to keep on top of, or have payroll that you manage yourself, Invoice2go can help alert you to due dates or payments received, and can even let you interact with customers.

When it comes to easy business management, mobile apps definitely provide a wide array of tools to make that task easier. Any business owner looking to keep their finances in order (as well as other aspects of their business) should check out the variety of apps available for both Android and iOS as they will find they can make their business life much easier while on the go.

Money Management for a New Era

Now that you know the most popular forms of both traditional and more innovative bookkeeping and money management methods, start trying them out with your business to see which one you like the best. All of these methods work well; different people and businesses just have different preferences and needs.

As they say… different strokes for different folks! Ultimately how you manage your money and your business is up to you. And I’m sure there are a myriad of other equally useful tools out there to help you do it!

There’s no one size fits all solution so don’t be afraid to try out different things and nail down what works best for you. And if you found this post useful a’tall please consider sharing it with your pals. Their money will thank you.

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This is a guest post courtesy of Lewis Love (<3 that name) that I hope you find useful. 

As any small business owner knows, to leverage your efforts can produce great rewards… but it can often be tough to do on a tight budget.

Hiring international students (and actually college students in general) can be a great way to help you gain that leverage but still respect yourself and your budget in the morning. 

Plus there are added perks when you go the international route that Lewis has dished on below. Enjoy and please leave any feedback in the comments section under this post. 

In this article we look at some of the ways small businesses and entrepreneurs can benefit from hiring international students, leveraging the power of using business students for part-time work.

By offering students who are studying business abroad a part-time job on a fixed contract you can limit your liabilities, whilst maximising your potential.

This type of position can act as an extended interview, like an internship, and can be extremely beneficial for both parties for many reasons.

Enhance the Quality of Your Staff

Students do more than just party and sleep, sometimes they attend lectures!

International students are often very driven and self-motivated too, the process which they have to go through to achieve a place at a foreign university is rigorous, which often helps to weed out the weaker candidates.

International students are sometimes studying at postgraduate level, or converting their local degree into one that is recognised internationally.

They possess a strong knowledge of their subject area but lack the time and experience required to secure a top-paying full-time position. By employing international students, you are choosing from a pre-selected group of extremely talented individuals.

Expand Your Cultural Identity

International students bring with them more than just a current understanding of their subject choice, they bring a wealth of knowledge about their culture. This could be vital for your business, especially if you are exploring international prospects.

The Internet and globalization has broken down borders between markets and now, especially web-based businesses, are more common than ever. Every day though, sales are being lost when international buyers are offended, concerned or even scared of doing business with certain companies, unaware of other countries’ culture and customs.

Hiring an international student gives you and your business the chance to learn about the country, politics and culture of where they come from, and you may be able to pick up on their language differences and business practices too.

Certain cultures have different negotiating practices and ways of entertaining prospective clients, all of which your international student may be able to teach you about.

Improve Your Contact for the Future

The students of today are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, so by building your contacts now, you’re preparing your business for the future. Your contact at IBM or Facebook won’t be there forever.

In fact, IBM and Facebook might not be around either. The companies and individuals that replace them can probably be found in the campuses of universities and colleges all over the world right now, so by hiring an international student, you’re getting more than just a part-time employee, you’re obtaining a contact ‘on the inside’.

Whatever your business does, having student contacts now will set you in good stead for the future.

Cost Effective

Hiring an international student on a part-time basis is also cost effective. You can generally expect to pay a lot less for the work than you would if you were to hire a freelancer.

Some international students will even accept unpaid positions to enhance their resume. Creating a ‘project’ for an international student to take charge of is a great way of safeguarding your current business model, whilst testing the waters in a different area.

You could, for instance, allow them to create and manage your social media presence if you don’t already have one or charge them with creating a blog which is an excellent way to enhance your online profile.

Commercial Advantage

All of this adds up to give you and your business a real commercial advantage. Great staff at a great price should never be turned down, as it’s the people who make your business.

When the staff are also helping you ready yourself for whatever the future holds, you really shouldn’t say no.

International students can offer so much to a small business that big businesses can’t take advantage of, so celebrate, pick up the phone and call your local university.

Their careers department will be able to help you, perhaps even put an advert in the library for you, and before you know it, your business could be riding the wave, all thanks to one quick phone call.

That wraps it up BGB’ers! Hope you found the read useful and if you did please pass this post along to your pals. They will thank you and I will too!

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