How to fight the giants?Written by John Crabtree
How does an internet business compete with giants who have been in place for ten years and dump thousands upon thousands of dollars into their sites? If I said 'that's easy, here's how you do it', I would be telling you wrong. It's not easy and it never will be. I can tell you one prime ingredient, persistence. 1: know your product/service well. 2. Integrity, if your business doesn't have it, your visitors will know it, and word of mouth will ruin a business. Some advice: Read and learn from those in your industry who have made it. Learn from their mistakes as well as their golden moments. No successful site will openly admit their failures on line, which I think we should, for benefit of those coming
| | Employer’s Quick Guide to Avoiding Sexual Harassment Liability Written by Myron Curry
Employers can be held liable for any sexual harassment that occurs in workplace. However, if they take reasonable care to prevent and correct harassment, they will not be liable. The following article looks at elements of reasonable care that will greatly reduce risk of sexual harassment liability. Written Policy. The policy should explain what sexual harassment is. It should give a variety of examples that make it clear that sexual harassment can take many different forms: unwanted physical contact; efforts to trade sex for employment-related benefits; lewd language or offensive jokes, pictures, drawings, or graffiti; or any combination. It should explain that harasser’s intent does not determine whether conduct is sexual harassment. Whether behavior is sexual harassment depends on how victim experiences it, not whether perpetrator intended to harass. It should state that male and female workers can be victims of sexual harassment by harassers of either gender. The policy should be written in a way that will communicate well and be understood by average worker. It should avoid legal jargon. It should be translated into languages other than English if there are workers whose command of English is deficient. Complaint Procedure and Penalties. The policy should tell workers: how to file a complaint, providing model complaint forms; where to file a complaint, identifying several persons on staff designated to receive complaints. It should explain what happens during investigation and what happens after investigation, identifying who is responsible for making final determination of whether sexual harassment occurred; what possible penalties are, as well as who imposes penalties for sexual harassment and whether complaining party has right to know what penalty employer has decided to impose; and how to appeal employer’s findings. Retaliation. The policy should strongly prohibit retaliation, giving examples of what retaliation is. It should state that retaliation against complaining parties or witnesses will be taken as seriously as harassment itself. Fairness and Safeguards. The policy should protect rights of all persons involved. It should assure confidentiality to extent possible. Publicizing Policy. It’s no good to have a written policy if employees can later claim they never saw it. Each new hire should be given a copy of policy and sign a receipt stating he or she has read and understands it. But too many employers leave it at that. If you want employees to remember policy and to understand that you are serious about it, there must be ongoing exposure. Make available a brochure or pamphlet that summarizes policy.
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