Brett Chulu

WELCOME to our Bible School Business School (BSBS) series. BSBS takes insights from the Bible and applies them to business, leadership and personal development. The cause of the financial crises by many of our corporates over the past 12 months, particularly those in the financial sector, was not necessarily incompetence but poor corporate governance. The failed institutions were led by highly-qualified executives, most of whom, ironically, belonged to professional bodies that pride themselves in promoting and upholding high standards of ethical business practice. To survive in the present and harsh banking environment, highly-qualified directors seem to have deliberately seared their consciences, setting aside ethical standards. Does the threat to a businesss survival in extraordinary economic times justify casting aside personal integrity? This article mines lessons from the Biblical-historical record on the role of personal integrity in shaping outstanding executive talent. Joseph-Daniel model Two of the worlds erstwhile glorious empires, Egypt and Babylon, whose cultural legacies are integrated into our contemporary world, are tutorials in the role of personal ethics in business. From amidst the daily grind of political administration in the two ancient empires, two characters stood out, Joseph and Daniel. These two personae both started out as slaves, Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon, and rose to the centre pinnacles of power in their respective empires. This they did, not through political hugger-mugger, but through a rare amalgam of competence and personal integrity. Nevertheless, in this instalment we shall only consider the ethical exploits of Daniel, together with his three friends Shadrech, Meshach and Abednego. Three tutorials stand out. Three business ethics laws To lay the ground for understanding the three laws of ethics, namely the law of ethical intelligence, the law of ethical minorities and the law of ethical legacy, we shall explore these through the eyes of the historical locus Daniel developed and matured in. In the year 605 BC, the Babylonian empire rose to prominence. The Bible records how Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, after vanquishing the kingdom of Judah, forcibly carried away into captivity members of its defeated royal house. That group of captives included Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, better known by their Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The Babylonians were master human capital developers. As part of their human capital strategy, they sought to develop their human capital base through selecting the best brains from among their captives. It was a very rigorous selection programme. Those who went through this sieve were taken through an intensive three-year tertiary education programme. Of this human capital strategy the book of Daniel 1:3-4 records: Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the kings descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the kings palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans, (NKJV). Herein lies the shortcomings of talent-acquisition processes that have persisted to our modern day. A careful analysis of the profile of candidates earmarked for Babylons top jobs shows a bias towards expertise and intelligence. Babylons recruitment criteria for top jobs differed markedly from the executive talent development practices of the Hebrew. The executive talent development strategy of the Hebrews placed a greater premium on ethics. For instance, Hebrew education taught how accepting bribes compromised intellectual freedom. Exodus 23:8 records: And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous. (NKJV) This could explain why a significant number of seemingly intelligent people in our country do things that defy logic. It is the ethics premium in Hebrew education that regularly brought Daniel and his friends on a collision course with their colleagues in the corridors of power. An ethical challenge surfaced during training. The training regime included a dietary routine specially-appointed by the king. Daniel 1:5 records: And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the kings delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king, (NKJV). The Hebrew quartet had had deep grounding in Hebrew ethics, including shunning harmful dietary habits. A deep grounding in ethics compelled the Hebrew boys to politely ask for an alternative diet. Daniel 1:8 reads: But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the kings delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself, (NKJV). Daniel was a straight A student, who later became the emperors top aide and chief diplomat. From the get-go Daniel set clear ethical demarcations. The phrase purposed in his heart means he rehearsed in his mind, meaning he would envision future ethical challenges and he would then premeditate his responses. Thats one facet of ethical intelligence. The dividends of a risky ethical choice were astounding. Daniel 1:18-19 records how the Hebrew quartet outperformed the other trainees: Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them 10 times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm, (NKJV). What is clear from this narrative is that ethics combined with intelligence result in exceptional talent. Those who are scientifically-minded would have realised that there appears to be an association between ethics and quality of talent. Simply put, among the crme la de crme, ethics give an unassailable margin of performance. Ethical intelligence is what Zimbabwes corporate world needs to turn around the fortunes of industry and our national economy. A top chief executive with a leading Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed entity shared with me how ethical intelligence turned around the fortunes of a top Zimbabwean company. The company needed to fill the position of finance director to arrest a deteriorating financial position. Among those interviewed for the position was a candidate who spelt out clearly their ethical values which they were not willing to compromise.

The candidate literally told the high-powered interviewing panel not to bother offering him the job if there was a possibility that his stated ethical non-negotiables would be violated. The interviewing panel, impressed by such a rare ethical stand, settled for this candidate, though in terms of experience, he was no match for the rest of the candidates. It took less than three months for the new finance director to uncover the sources of financial leakages in the company. Within a space of six months, the financial position of the company had dramatically improved. Thats what the law of ethical intelligence entails. The law of ethical minorities states that only a few ethically intelligent individuals strategically placed in the top-echelons of an organisation are needed to positively impact on the performance of an organisation. This is a simple law that we can plug into to turn around Zimbabwes corporate and national fortunes. The law of ethical legacy states that the impact of ethically intelligent talent reaches into future generations. Daniel 2:21 states: Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus, (NKJV). Ethical intelligence can do more to safeguard our banks than strong capitalisation.

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The Human Capital Telescope: Role of personal integrity in business

Education degrees earned at online universities now dwarf those of traditional universities. USA Today analyzed recent Department of Education data and found that online education behemoth, the University of Phoenix, awarded more than twice as many education degrees as its closest traditional competitor, Arizona State University (5,976 vs. 2,075).

We shouldnt be surprised because the whole industry is moving in that direction, said dean of the University of Virginias Curry School of Education, Robert Pianta. The thing I would be interested in knowing is the degree to which they are simply pushing these things out in order to generate dollars or whether theres some real innovation in there.

While ASU still awards the most bachelor degrees, the other top 4 online universities, 3 of which are for-profit, hand out far more advanced degrees, which are increasingly important for hiring and promotion. This, of course, says nothing about the quality of online degrees. Senator Tom Harkins office released a blistering report, noting that though only 10% of enrolled students are with online schools, they account for roughly 50% of student loan defaults.

Unfortunately, theres no good way to compare the quality of offline to online degrees.Schools and unions are still in a heated debate over how to measure the quality of existing teachers, largely because we still dont know how to measure learning.Children are educated and learn over a period of time, but we have this notion that children are to make a years growth for every year theyre in school, said Paul Heckman, UC Davis Associate Dean of Education, This is a problem, because children do not develop in nine-month chunks except during gestation.

Still, the convenience factor for online education is a major appeal. Meredith Curley, dean of the University of Phoenix College of Education, said that the average age of the student is 33, and many come back after starting families. Do you think it makes a difference whether a teacher was trained online or at a traditional college?

[Image Credit: Flickr User CollegeDegrees360]

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Online Education Degrees Now Dwarf Traditional Universities

Virtually unknown a decade ago, big online teacher education programs now dwarf their traditional competitors, outstripping even the largest state university teachers' colleges.

A USA Today analysis of newly released U.S. Department of Education data finds that four big universities, operating mostly online, have quickly become the largest education schools in the U.S. Last year the four - three of which are for-profit - awarded one in 16 bachelor's degrees and post-graduate awards and nearly one in 11 advanced education awards, including master's degrees and doctorates.

A decade ago, in 2001, the for-profit University of Phoenix awarded 72 education degrees to teachers, administrators and other school personnel through its online program, according to federal data. Last year, it awarded nearly 6,000 degrees, more than any other university. By contrast, Arizona State University, one of the United States' largest traditional education schools, awarded 2,075 degrees, most of them on campus. Columbia University's Teachers College awarded 1,345 degrees.

Traditional colleges still produce most of the bachelor's degrees in teaching - ASU topped the list with 979 bachelor's degrees in 2011. But online schools such as Phoenix and Walden University awarded thousands more master's degrees than even the top traditional schools, all of which are pushing to offer online coursework. Every one of the top 10 now offers an online education credential.

"We shouldn't be surprised because the whole industry is moving in that direction," said Robert Pianta, dean of the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education. "The thing I would be interested in knowing is the degree to which they are simply pushing these things out in order to generate dollars or whether there's some real innovation in there."

For-profit universities have been the subject of intense scrutiny in Congress. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, last week released findings from a two-year investigation showing that they cost more than comparable not-for-profit schools and have higher dropout rates. For-profits, the investigation found, enroll about 10 percent of U.S. college students but account for nearly 50 percent of student loan defaults.

Online education schools, many of which have open-enrollment policies similar to community colleges, say their offerings are high quality. Most of the top ones are accredited by the same organizations that certify traditional teacher education programs. And they stress that students don't just sit around in their pajamas.

Janet Williams, interim associate dean for educator licensure programs at Walden 's Richard W. Riley College of Education & Leadership, said her student-teachers must undergo a full semester in a real-live K-12 school as a "demonstration teacher," paired with a master teacher and supervisor in the school district. Walden's education school is named after the former U.S. secretary of education under President Bill Clinton.

Meredith Curley, dean of the University of Phoenix College of Education, said many students are returning to complete their education after starting families and changing careers. Their average age is 33, she said, and many work while they attend classes. Becky Lodewyck, Phoenix's associate dean, said teaching candidates must complete at least 100 hours of field experience. She said online classes are "incredibly dynamic" and have the potential to hold students more accountable than face-to-face classes. "You can't hide," she said. "Everyone participates - everyone has to be fully engaged in the work."

(c)2012 USA Today Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Online education degrees skyrocket

August 9, 2012

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Slow breathing. Long stretches. These are just a few of the characteristics of yoga. Researchers from the University of Michigan recently revealed that yoga helps pregnant women have less depressive moments and also increases feelings of maternal bonding.

The study, featured in a recent issue of Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, is particularly helpful for expectant mothers, many of whom suffer from depression. According to the University of Michigan, one in five expectant mothers report feelings of depression. Yoga can be helpful for this particular group of women to decrease any stress or anxiety they may have.

We hear about pregnant women trying yoga to reduce stress but theres no data on how effective this method is, commented lead author Dr. Maria Muzik, assistant professor of psychiatry and assistant research scientist at the Center for Human Growth and Development, in a prepared statement. Our work provides promising first evidence that mindfulness yoga may be an effective alternative to pharmaceutical treatment for pregnant women showing signs of depression.

In the project, pregnant women who were seen as being psychiatrically high risk participated in a yoga intervention that lasted ten weeks. The intervention included 90-minute mindfulness session that featured poses for the pregnant body and an understanding of how bodies change during pregnancies. The researchers stated that they saw a decrease in depressive symptoms and an increase in attachment to the babies in their womb.

This promotes both mother and baby wellbeing, noted Muzik in the statement.

Furthermore, over the past few years, health professionals have become increasingly concerned about mental health disorders for women during pregnancy. Some of the disorders include anxiety and depression, genetic predisposing, hormonal changes, and social factors. Expectant mothers often cite feeling overwhelmed, have difficulties dealing with stress, and continuous irritability.

If the symptoms arent treated, it can place a toll on both the mother and the child. A few health risks related to this situation includes premature labor, poor weight gain, and difficulty in developing a relationship with the new baby. Other studies done on the topic report those pregnant women are less likely to take antidepressants to treat the mood swings, fearing that the drugs could ham the babys health and safety.

Unfortunately, few women suffering from perinatal health disorders receive treatment, exposing them and their child to the negative impact of psychiatric illness during one of the most vulnerable times, remarked Muzik in the statement. Thats why developing feasible alternatives for treatment is critical.

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Yoga for Pregnant Women Reduces Depression, Increases Maternal Bond

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (WUSA) - If you scoff at the notion that Yoga might become an Olympic sport, consider this, it may be more physically challenging than some sports already in the Olympics... like table tennis or race walking.

Ha Nguyen, a Yoga Instructor at Dancing Mind Yoga in Falls Church is accepting of race walking, "They get really into it and there was form, and stuff, so I think its really cool. I'll try it out."

But some question why rhythmic gymnastics or synchronized swimming are Olympic sports. And how about shooting?

Ha Nguyen: "I don't know about shooting. I'm not a big fan of guns. But, you know, they could be my body guard anytime."

Pole dancers may need body guards after their routines... but is it a sport worthy of a formal competition at the highest level?

Zach Street, another instructor at Dancing Mind Yoga answered, "Is dancing an Olympic sport? I don't think so. Its more of art form, right? An entertainment form...right?"

The International Pole Sports FederationandUSA Yoga...are both working toward getting in the official games.

Paula Baake, owner ofDancing Mind Yoga would love to see her passion brought to the world's stage. "Let's bring it on. If it means more people understanding about Yoga and getting to see how beautiful a practice is, why not?"

If Yoga becomes an Olympic sport, it would mean yogis competing against one another and that's not what Yoga is all about ... or is it?

"With Yoga, the mind-body-spirit connection is within. So, to have Yoga as an Olympic sport, it'd be great to have coverage, but I don't believe that is the true teaching of Yoga,' said Nguyen.

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Yoga And Pole Dancing: Olympic Sports Or Not?

10 August 2012 Last updated at 00:12 ET

Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev's anti-corruption hunger strike has entered its second day in the capital, Delhi.

The yoga guru says he is campaigning for the recovery of suspected bribe money allegedly held overseas.

He is also demanding strong anti-corruption laws and more autonomy for government investigation agencies.

Baba Ramdev has said he will wait for the government's response until Sunday to decide on "the next course of action".

The yoga guru has millions of supporters and his daily television programme is eagerly watched by millions of people across India.

Last June he held a nine-day anti-corruption hunger strike before the police evicted him from Delhi.

His latest protest - attended by several thousand people - is being held at the Ramlila ground in Delhi, the venue of his protest last year.

Baba Ramdev said on Thursday that he was undertaking a "symbolic" three-day-long hunger strike, and he would decide on his next move on Sunday.

"The government must pay heed to the people's demand. The money stashed away abroad does not belong to anybody. It belongs to the nation and must be brought back to the nation," he told supporters.

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India yoga guru fast continues

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Humana Inc. (HUM) announced today it has acquired Harris, Rothenberg International, Inc. (HRI), a provider of work/life services and employee assistance programs. Terms were not disclosed.

HRI currently serves approximately 5.5 million people in the U.S. and another 70,000 internationally. Now in its 31st year, HRI provides services to employers assisting employees in dealing with personal issues ranging from emotional, financial and legal problems to child/elder care needs to alcoholism and drug abuse. HRIs services include employee coaching and training.

Employee Assistance Programs and work-life programs are key elements of Humanas total well-being approach to helping people lead healthier lives, said Sean Slovenski, leader of Humanas Health and Productivity Solutions unit. HRI will help facilitate the expansion of Humanas EAP and work-life offering integrating and enhancing many aspects of the offering.

Additionally, HRI will open a new pathway for growth as Humana creates a product that better addresses 3rd party and Humana internal customer needs.

HRIs highly customizable offering directs members or their caregivers to value-added services while also offering certain ancillary products that assist employees with day-to-day life issues. The acquisition will support Humanas efforts to help employer-customers reduce health care spending while also targeting productivity challenges. Loss of productivity due to problems with presenteeism, absenteeism, health issues and disabilities represents up to 10 percent of a typical employers payroll expense.1

Were looking forward to helping Humanas members live healthier lives, said Edward Trieber, J.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of HRI. Over the years, we have helped our employer-customers and their employees achieve greater success at work and in life by providing industry-leading employee assistance programs and work-life services.

Humanas acquisition of HRI is not expected to materially impact Humanas financial earnings guidance for the year ending December 31, 2012.

1Institute for Health and Productivity Studies, Cornell University

Cautionary Statement

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Humana Acquires Harris, Rothenberg International

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3aZ13MsrJQ

08-08-2012 04:11 Everyone one has problem areas on their body that they focus on mine is my upper thighs I will work all summer to get them to look tighter and to be in shape as I feel my upper thighs look flabby hehe Hello ! how are you? I am on here to try to help everyone eat better and exercise If you need any help with that email me or call 1 (607) 483-8445 please do notforget to eat raw organic fruit (focusing on the fruit) vegetables (especially dark leafy greens) nuts and seeds and exercise two hours or two miles (walking) a day everyday huge hugs remember you are loved huge hugs dedicating all my videos to my mom who passed on to Heaven April 24, 2012 She will be enormously missed.

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June-Marie Raw Food and Fitness Health misc videos 035 - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bguf1pW2RE0

07-08-2012 22:03 Hello ! how are you? I am on here to try to help everyone eat better and exercise If you need any help with that email me or call 1 (607) 483-8445 please do notforget to eat raw organic fruit (focusing on the fruit) vegetables (especially dark leafy greens) nuts and seeds and exercise two hours or two miles (walking) a day everyday huge hugs remember you are loved huge hugs dedicating all my videos to my mom who passed on to Heaven April 24, 2012 She will be enormously missed.

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June-Marie Raw Food and Fitness Health dancing at park - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYdAoZ7JDyU

09-08-2012 11:49 Workout Routine | Fitness | Workout | Shaping | Brazilian Butt Lift | Aerobics | Dance | Zumba | Health And Beauty Hey Everyone! After I posted "Get to Know Me" video where I answer a lot of your questions I had many requests to show my BBL workout routine. So here I'm doing BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift) workout which works all three major muscles of the buttocks from multiple angles to: SHAPE your gluteal muscles to get you that perfectly round Brazilian "bum bum" LIFT your butt to look great from every angle FIRM your butt and thighs, and melt away those stubborn saddlebags I hope this video will inspire you to workout and stay healthy and fit! WEBSITE : VISIT ME : FOLLOW ME : Workout Routine | Fitness | Workout | Shaping | Brazilian Butt Lift | Aerobics | Dance | Zumba | Health And Beauty

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Workout Routine | Fitness | Shaping | Brazilian Butt Lift | Aerobics | Zumba | Health And Beauty - Video