New Location for BYU Management Society Video

We had to make a few minor edits to the video to correct a couple of typos. The new video is located at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XWHWIvnmLU. The short url is http://tinyurl.com/ydeurgy. Unfortunately, our views which were up to almost 600, but have to start over. So, let’s start promoting the revised version and ask everyone to rate it, too!

Elder Quentin L. Cook saw the video at a chapter event in Salt Lake City and had nothing but good things to say about it, as did many others in attendance. Jussi Kemppainen will be showing the video in Stockholm, Jonnkoping, Lund, Malmo, Gothenburg in Sweden and in Copenhagen, Denmark and Oslo and Drammen in Norway.

Please post your comments here and how you are using it in your local chapters. Thanks.

Using Facebook to Promote the Rancho Santa Margarita Management Society

I just created a new Facebook group,

Rancho Santa Margarita Management Society, Affiliated with the BYU Marriott.

I think this will be a great way for us to stay in touch and expand our membership. I know that many of us have little to no experience with Facebook and it is just one more thing that we do not have time to learn. However, it is the wave of the future and undoubtedly our children are already there.

It will be a way to reach the students and younger generation to get them involved with the Management Society. To the graduating classes of both BYU-Hawaii (Saturday, December 15, 2007) and BYU-Idaho (Friday, April 11, 2008) Elder Russell M. Ballard, of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, called upon the graduates and their guests to take our message to the world. On 21 April 2008 Elder Ballard was honored for his life-time achievement by the Brigham Young University Management Society in Washington D.C. where he addressed the group which included such notable people as Senators Harry Reid, Orrin Hatch, Robert Bennett, and Gordon Smith and raised the same plea. (Transcript of his address to the Washington, DC chapter of the BYU Management Society.) The cover story of the July Ensign, also written by Elder Ballard, was on this same topic.

If you have not already done so, I suggest you create an account on Facebook (it only takes a few minutes to enter the minimum information and you can expand it later). Then, as a separate step, join our Facebook group, referred to above. Then you will have greater access to information about events, people, news, etc. Please post any comments you might have on this topic either pro or con.

BYU Management Society enters fourth decade promoting business ethics

Saturday, July 12, 2008
LDS Church News

Corporate integrity BYU Management Society enters fourth decade promoting business ethics By Jason Swensen Church News staff writer Sobering tales of bad business behavior and fraud are easy to find. Simply unfold the finance pages of your daily newspaper or enter "corporate scandal" on an Internet search engine. The stories will file across the page like crime suspects in a police line-up. Indeed, high-profile allegations of business fraud have transformed corporate brands such as "Enron" into synonyms for avarice. Meanwhile, local papers tell of senior citizens scammed of their life savings by fraudulent men and women they once trusted. Sometimes the con artist and victim are members of the same congregation of various religious faiths. Since Latter-day Saints are not exempt, some will find they are in the same ward or stake— fellow members and friends. Earlier this year, the First Presidency urged members to be wary of fraud and expressed concern that "there are those who use relationships of trust to promote risky or even fraudulent investment and business schemes." Locating accounts of ethical, moral business practices is a bit trickier. Conducting honest business is typically transparent. It goes unnoticed. When was the last time you called your mechanic and thanked him for correctly repairing your transmission at the estimated cost? Still, Church leaders have long said that morality and ethics are essential in business. In his October 1987 general conference address, Elder David B. Haight of the Quorum of the Twelve said free societies are built upon foundations of moral values. "Only in an atmosphere of freedom and trust could values like honesty and integrity truly flourish and thus encourage others to pursue their rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness." So it's alarming, he added, when daily media accounts detail the corrupting influence of dishonesty — from "small-time" stealing and cheating to major embezzlement, fraud and misappropriation of money or goods. Despite the many stories of corporate malfeasance, many members insist the term "business ethics" is not an oxymoron. Entrepreneurial Church members, they say, can adhere to a strict moral code and make a go in the business world. An organization dedicated to ethical and moral corporate leadership has drawn LDS businessmen and women together for more than 30 years. In 1977, Elder Merrill J. Bateman — then dean of Brigham Young University's College of Business — founded the BYU Management Society. The society was designed to bring together business professionals who shared a desire for high ethical standards even as it helps develop corporate leaders worldwide via networking and mentoring. Today, the society includes some 6,000 members doing business in 40 cities in 10 countries. As it enters its fourth decade, the need for an ethics-anchored business society remains, said William Chapman, chairman of the society's international steering committee. "We feel that there is a crisis in the world in (areas) of morals and ethics," said Brother Chapman, a California attorney and bishop. By utilizing its many chapters throughout the world, society officials hope to regularly drive home ethical and moral practices in businesses of all sizes. Society chapters meet regularly, allowing LDS professionals to interact with fellow members and discuss ethical issues they may be facing. Speakers at those meetings often focus their words on moral business leadership. The society also hosts an annual leadership conference at BYU during the week of the October general conference. Again, ethical and moral leadership anchors their message. BYU Management Society's Executive Director Rixa Oman is familiar with the anecdotes of members who might separate their "church" life from their "work" life." The society, she said, is committed to "connecting the values with what we do on Sunday and what we do every other day." Besides its work in the chapters, the society also performs a mentoring role by supporting the BYU's Marriott School of Business, said Sister Oman. Included in the school's curriculum are several courses that focus on business ethics. Despite its obvious connection to BYU, the management society is not exclusive to graduates of the school or even Church members. Ethics-minded business professionals of all backgrounds are welcome to join. Brother Chapman said the society's influence extends beyond LDS business professionals and students. For example, a local newspaper regularly covers the seminars sponsored by a local chapter in Orange County, Calif. Perhaps weary of "businessmen behaving badly" stories, the editors of the paper were eager to include coverage of members of the business community dedicated to moral business practices. "All we can do is continue to talk about (ethics)," Brother Chapman said. As the society grows, its leaders hope to realize the challenge extended by Elder David B. Haight: "We need members of the BYU Management Society to help build the moral base of our communities. You have standards, ideals and values that will not only lead you to success, but will bless and strengthen this nation and all the world." E-mail to: jswensen@desnews.com

Networking and the Rancho Santa Margarita Management Society

In recent public and private conversations I've had with members of the Executive Committee of the Rancho Santa Margarita Management Society, as well as some of our members and visitors, I have detected some divergence in opinions about what our primary purpose(s) should be. In the interest of oversimplifying, I would suggest that there are two general camps or schools of thought as to what our primary purpose is:

1. General Networking. This group's primary purpose is to get together with other business people who share our values, learn from good speakers on current business topics, meet new people, generally socialize in a business setting that is not filled with alcohol, smoking, coffee, off-color jokes, foul language, etc.
2. Specific Networking. This group's primary purpose is to network to grow their business in both the short term and long term. If they are not finding new customers or people who can refer them to customers, coming to a monthly breakfast meeting is not worth the time and the $15-$20.

I think we need to have a very good discussion among the Executive Committee (and I would like to get input from the entire group by way of our monthly survey) on the following questions:

• Which of the two above purposes is our primary one?
• Can we hold out both purposes as equally important and remain a viable organization?
• Can we put one of the two purposes above as the primary one, but keep both purposes as priorities, and remain a viable organization?
• Should we give up one of the above purposes and focus exclusively on the other?

Please leave your comments on this blog so that we can keep all of our thoughts in one place.
Bill Chapman
Orange County Attorney

Orange County Register Publishes Article on Inaugural Breakfast of the Rancho Santa Margarita Management Society

The Orange County Register published an article on the inaugural breakfast of the Rancho Santa Margarita Management Society entitled, "New Rancho Society focuses on ethics in business." We are very pleased that the Register published a very positive article on our first meeting.

RSM Management Society Survey

Below is a draft Survey that we plan on inviting our members and other interested individuals to respond to. Please review it and post any comments before we go public with this. Thanks.
Bill Chapman

1. Reason for coming (rank each one in order of importance; 1-most important, 5-least important):
a. Networking
b. Breakfast
c. Moral and ethical leadership
d. Socializing
e. Other (describe)
2. How did you find out about us? (Check all that apply)
a. Word-of-mouth (name if you care to share it)
b. e-mail flier
c. Regular mail flier
d. Coto News (please check if you saw the article)
3. Please check any of the following committees you would like to volunteer for:
a. Speakers (searching for speakers who can address our vision of "growing moral and ethical leadership around the world" with a unique viewpoint from their industry)
b. Membership (recruiting new members)
c. Blog (researching and writing about stories of moral and ethical leadership)
d. eNewsletter (similar to the blog but less frequent and sent by e-mail)
e. Media (getting our events and stories published in the local media)
f. Service (we may look for an appropriate annual service project to participate in in the local community)
4. Evaluation (1-10, 1 lowest, 10 highest):
a. Speaker
b. Food
c. Facility
d. People
e. Other (describe)
5. Do you plan on coming to our next event (Peter Vidmar, February 13)? Yes No
6. Would you recommend this group to a friend or neighbor?
a. Yes
b. No
c. If yes, name and e-mail address or phone number (if you are willing to share it)
7. Suggestions on how we can improve
a. What did you like? What did you not like?
b. Comments:

Congressman Ken Calvert To Speak At January 8, 2008 Governmental Affairs Committee Meeting

For those who are interested in knowing about our local political issues and would like to meet our US Congressional representative for the 44th District, Congressman Ken Calvert, you'll have an opportunity on January 8, 2008 at a special meeting of the Governmental Affairs Committee of the South Orange Counties Regional Chambers of Commerce. The meeting will start promptly at 7:30 a.m. and will be meeting at Cox Communications, 29947 Avenida de las Banderas, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688.

For more information, go to the South Orange County Regional Chambers of Commerce website, which also has a flyer for this event.