Beyond Regulated Procedures

An ongoing issue since Plato, Socrates and Aristotle involves establishing a way of life with ethics. Should a person maintain standards above the law or exactly as the law dictates? While living up to personal or religious ethics is fulfilling, law helps to avoid treating people unfairly.

Additional ethics assists in avoiding problems which impede on progress. Regular practices do not meet legal standards. How often does a person cooking at home wash their hands or clean kitchen counters with a gallon of water mixed with a tablespoon of Clorox? At home, washing hands is normal, but washing the counters with chemicals is less likely. When running a restaurant, a business is liable for food poisoning and other problems; therefore, a restaurant can be closed for operating below the Health Code.

These codes were developed through investigation. Everyone working in a restaurant must have a Food Handler's Permit. This insures basic policies are met. These policies are established through legal cases and common problems. This is measurable by Worker's Compensation Cases and Food Poisoning Reports. There is a lot to be learned from reading laws related to their business.

Learning about registering artwork in Graphic Design Portfolio Planning, we looked at both parts of copyright infringement. Protect yourself from plagiarists and avoid being a plagiarist. Several English teachers briefly cover the topic recommending writing down references. This is to validate thoughts related to sources and give credit to inspirational sources. The writing and concept are original. Textbooks have a work cited page. It is important to remember everyone wants to make money and gain credit for effort.

Small businesses are at a disadvantage. It is complicated hiring, fact checking and contract underwriting. Even famous people and corporations inadvertently thought the same thought later than someone else. In addition, people either declared parts of their work as public domain or expired registrations place their work in public domain. However, practicing good procedures, constantly thinking of how to make improvements, enforcing improvements and practicing correct procedures assists in avoiding major problems.

Hardly anyone cares about small businesses. Being virtually invisible offers an amount of protection, yet it would be a shame to miss becoming a large company on the first try because of lawsuits, fines and penalties. Thinking deeply about problems when planning and developing a business is amazingly important. Excuses from an established company are less believable. (Even if excuses are believable, people start get worried, because ignorance is dangerous.)

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