We've traded up from conspicuous consumption to conspicuous expression. Rather than buying more cashmere sweaters or luxury cars than our neighbors, people are actually buying social media followers!

If compensation is solely based on influence, it would be difficult to argue that anyone should be paid more than CEOs of large companies. And yes, this includes political leaders.

Two efforts have met on the road, and are sure to work more closely together in the months and years ahead.

Christmas may be the most wonderful time of year for many, but for managers, it's summer that often brings the greatest joy. After all, this is when millions of college students and recent graduates offer their services for little or no pay.

Is this just rationalization for not advancing people (or shipping jobs overseas), a justification to avoid feeling guilty about not passing the reigns to a generation champing at the bit for their turn to be in charge, or something more?

Senators have constituents to answer to -- voters and interest groups -- and winning future elections means keeping them happy. Self-preservation is logical. Self-preservation that compromises your values and negatively impacts the country is a lack of leadership.

How many times have you received a call at your home at 9pm at night from a salesperson soliciting newspaper subscriptions or whatever. You find it beyond irritating.

The sales profession has a perception problem. It amazes me that I continue to encounter individuals who want to make a living selling, but haven't taken the time to make investments in their own development -- more importantly, they have not learned how to build a trusting relationship.

Something happened recently that was a stark reminder that honesty is more than a matter of ethics -- honesty is good business.

It's ethically intelligent to draw the line between fun that's appropriate in the workplace and good times that are better had elsewhere. Betting money on sports (or the Oscars, or anything else) falls in the latter category.

At any moment, an unhappy customer can share their opinion with the masses through social media and the web, negatively affecting your business. That's why it's important to create an excellent experience for your customers to help develop your company's relationship with them.

I found myself, like millions of others, faced with even more interruptions, and it became increasingly difficult to concentrate. The technological advances that once seemed so liberating had become oppressive.

Benjamin Franklin wasn't above a little "slick PR" but he believed that the appearance of integrity would inevitably be undone without the reality in support of it.

If you believe that the answer to this question is yes, an ancillary question is at what point is violence acceptable when you are being continually subjected to physical abuse by another person?

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) received 3,001 tips to its new Whistleblower Office during fiscal 2012 (starting in October 2011). This undoubtably begs the question: How can we put that number into context?

There's no shortage of debate about public policy which should or should not be used to deal with our current economic situation and the looming fisca...

The most successful salesperson I know is also one of the most considerate and giving people I know. Do you think that's a coincidence?

There is a lot of talk these days about what women don't do. We don't head Fortune 500 Companies. We don't sit on corporate boards. We don't hold key political seats.

Like a lot of what characterizes great corporate leaders, the key thing is to listen and observe, to learn techniques, and then to think about how to do this for yourself. This is not like rote learning. It is about internalizing, adapting and then practicing.

The leadership of a company sets an ethical tone that pervades everything that employees in the company do.

Those who work in business ethics are often asked if corporate social responsibility is an oxymoron. When it comes to China, our interlocutors hint that the answer, more so than usual, is already settled.

Is the route to a more ethical public relations profession one that includes regulation or, at least, certification?