Thursday, February 15, 2007

Carnival of Ethics, Values, & Personal Finance #3

Welcome to the third carnival of ethics, values and personal finance! In case you're new to this carnival, it highlights articles that address the intersection of ethical issues and personal finance—a remarkably broad category. I've grouped the articles into two major categories and pulled a sample sentence or two.

I picked a few personal favorites; I also omitted quite a few submissions, ones I didn't think were sufficiently relevant to the topic at hand. If your article didn't make the cut, never fear: it's an opportunity for you to consider how your beliefs affect your financial choices, write about it, and submit to the next edition of the Carnival, hosted by ISPF.

Press on, gentle reader, for a smorgasbord of articles to pique your interest and provoke your intellect.

First, the editor's picks.
Penny Nickel, of Money & Values (and the founder of this carnival!), examines Salary Negotiations and the Gender Gap. This rings a bell for me personally: despite having a higher offer on the table from another organization, I failed to negotiate my salary when I accepted my current job.
One part of the problem which I've been reading about lately is the difference in starting salaries between men and women—and specifically, the impact of negotiating salary offers (or failing to do so). There are huge gender differences here.

Well-Heeled's Wanda considers the trend of shifting financial risk onto individuals in Risky Business. Wanda brings up a core issue I'd really urge everyone to consider: do we allow individuals to flourish or founder based on their individual levels of financial resources and acumen, or do we try to make sure that everyone has basic needs met?
I’m conflicted on how I feel about this risk shift. Are the greater potential rewards worth the heightened insecurity that comes as part of the package?

Dennis presents A Walk with my Old Man posted at A Pile of Coins. It's a chestnut, but it's worth a reminder: Whatever you're up to, never forget to be with those beloved ones, sometimes they can give so much of value, way beyond finances...

Sarah Winfrey takes a look at a different kind of return on investment in Share the love! Invest in Microlending posted at Wisebread Finance.
What seems to us to be a small amount of money can dramatically change the life of a poor person and their family.


Ethics and Values in the Corporate World and Workplace
ISPF of Grad Money [Matters] examines an instinctive reaction to a friend doing manual labor in her workplace: Your boss wants you to do...WHAT?
I have no clue when this “it’s not my job” mentality got into me, but it can’t be good!

Leon Gettler presents Only 25 per cent of top schools teach ethics posted at Sox First.
A study has found that only one in four of the world's top 50 global MBA programs required students to study as ethics as a stand-alone course.

Dennis Mickley at Free Fudgie explains why he passed up a lucrative career for an option he finds more exciting in An Introduction.
Initially, I was dabbling with being a lawyer, and being creative on the side but I decided on writing, and forsaking a traditional career path to dance with the great unknown of independent creativity (and extreme poverty).

Charles H. Green talks about Trust, Democracy and Capitalism at Trusted Advisor.
But a nation whose laws of financial fine-tuning are opaque, written by those with a bias toward more concentration of wealth, and even then brazenly violated, is not a nation whose capitalist system is any longer built on trust.


Personal and Interpersonal Values and Money
The Silicon Valley Blogger of The Digerati Life reports on the extremely frugal lifestyle of adherents to The Compact in Borrow, Barter, Buy Used: Espousing the Frugal Lifestyle.
It sounds like it started as a dare. Or a challenge, if you will. It turned into a full blown economic boycott sealed by a casual pact and governed only by conscience.

Over at Queercents, Nina wants to know, WWYD: Revealing How Much Money You Make.
If someone asks how much you make, do you tell them? Does your answer change if the question is posed from a friend vs. a family member?

Another Queercents blogger, John, considers what to do when an interest in fitness conflicts with a dedication to work (and lucrative overtime hours) in WWYD: Keeping Up with Fitness and a Demanding Work Schedule.
Considering how important fitness is to me, should I find some way to cut back on work?

TC at Investments & Loans gives some pragmatic tips for those who value Simple Living: Best Buys for DIYs.
These postings are especially for our minimalist, sustainability and saving conscious readers.

And, uh, I wrote this thing about the chicken-or-egg intersection of lifestyle and financial choices: Frugal Pleasure.
It's the power of peer pressure used for good.