Maricopa Chamber Ethics Blog

Sep 17

hispanic real estate and ethics

Filed Under Uncategorized

Last modified: September 17, 2007

We can only pray that Lawyers and insurance companies are close behind. (just joking for you lawyers and insurance people, sort of?)

Realty ‘Code of Trust’ unveiled
Andrew Johnson
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 16, 2007 07:24 PM

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals is unveiling a Code of Trust today that it wants its members to follow in light of recent data showing that Latinos are more susceptible to predatory lending.

“En Confianza: The NAHREP Code of Trust,” urges members to offer a prime loan to any consumer who qualifies for one, educate consumers about the impact of “negative amortization” products and provide consumers with all lending information they need at the beginning of a home purchase.

It will be unveiled during the Hispanic Marketing Convention & Expo in Orlando.

The move is prompting by a “crisis in trust in the industry,” said Tim Sandos, president and CEO of the association, adding that the crisis is between “consumers and their trust of professionals in the field.” Association members have indicated they believe that Hispanic borrowers are at greater risk to predatory lending because a lack of knowledge about home buying.

Sep 12

is this a case of reverse ethics

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Last modified: September 12, 2007

When is it ethical to be unethical to find unethical people. You be the judge. Read on

IT workers have access to confidential data, and they can see what other employees are doing on their computers or the networks. This can put a good worker in a bad predicament. Bryan, the IT director for the U.S. division of German company, discovered an employee using a company computer to view pornography of Asian women and of children. He reported it but the company ignored it. Subsequently the employee was promoted and moved to China to run a manufacturing plant. That was six years ago but Bryan still regrets not going to the FBI. Other IT workers admit using their admin passwords to snoop through company systems. In a Ponemon Institute poll of more than 16,000 U.S. IT practitioners, 62% said they had accessed another person’s computer without permission, 50% read confidential or sensitive information without a legitimate reason, and 42% said they had knowingly violated their company’s privacy, security or IT policies. But in the absence of a professional code of ethics, companies struggle to keep corporate policies up to date.”

Sep 6

you will be caught

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Last modified: September 6, 2007

There is an ancient proverb that says. “The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes the crooked path will be found out” Proverbs 10:9
I keep this proverb stuck in the visor of my truck to remind me of the consequences of not being honest. You will be caught eventually. Working within ethical boundaries means you take the high road of integrity.

When will people figure out that they will be caught. I read this today in the headlines.

TRENTON, N.J. - FBI agents arrested 11 public officials in towns across New Jersey Thursday on charges of taking bribes in exchange for influencing the awarding of public contracts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. READ MORE

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070906/ap_on_re_us/corruption_arrests

Sep 1

maybe we should visit the islands

Filed Under Uncategorized

Last modified: September 1, 2007

In our little city we occasionaly have some conflict of interest, perhaps we should take some notes from Hawaii.

Hawaii lawmakers urged to adopt ethics rules

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer

State House lawmakers should adopt new conflict-of-interest rules to prevent lawmakers from voting on bills when they have direct personal or financial interests, the executive director of the state Ethics Commission told a House task force yesterday

The House has an internal code of conduct that warns lawmakers against using their offices to advance personal or private interests but none of the conflict-of-interest rules in state ethics law apply to lawmakers.

“If the public is suspicious, then government really isn’t going to work,” said Dan Mollway, the commission’s executive director.

The task force is considering the creation of a permanent House ethics committee that may be divided evenly between Democrats and Republicans. The committee would handle ethics complaints against lawmakers that may not fall within the jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission, such as conflicts of interest or outside conduct that casts the House in a poor light.

House leaders already have the power to form special committees to investigate lawmakers and recommend punishment to the full House, but such committees rarely have been used to police behavior.

Questions about conflicts of interest have come up in the House during the past two sessions. In 2006, state Rep. Jerry Chang, D-2nd (S. Hilo), privately told colleagues he had a potential conflict on a $50 million tax credit for a new motorsports facility at Kalaeloa. Chang had an ownership interest in a company that had offered to exchange land in Hilo with the state so motorsports developers could acquire the Kalaeloa parcel from the state. The bill was quickly tabled after Chang’s disclosure.

read the entire article at http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070822/NEWS02/708220387/1006/NEWS02