The tragic consequences of September 11 have left us all a bit ambivalent about globalization, and certainly more conscious of the need for vigilance. Yet, there still seems to be a fair measure of ignorance regarding the seeds of terrorism and the sophisticated underground network supporting it.

Want a Rolex, but not eager to pay for it? That cheap knockoff wristwatch you purchased on the street may be underwriting Al Queda or Hezbollah. This shocking, but well-documented news is provided by Interpol, the information clearinghouse for police and security services in more than 180 nations.

According to Interpol's secretary general, Ronald Noble, "intellectual property crime is becoming the preferred method of funding for a number or terrorist groups."

On a more positive note, we'd like to bring reader's attention to a recent study. Kim Cameron, professor of organizational behavior and human resource management at the Michigan Business School, noted that, "Virtuous organizations perform significantly better on indicators such as profitability, customer satisfaction, and quality."

University researchers discovered that higher levels of perceived organizational virtuousness-forgiveness, trust, integrity, optimism and compassion-are positively related to higher levels of real and perceived organizational performance when performance is compared with the industry average, best competitor, past improvement and stated goals.

Cameron and colleagues explain the impact of virtuousness on the following five measures of organizational performance:

• Innovation: Because exposure to virtuous behavior produces feelings of inspiration, awe, gratitude and other positive emotions, people broaden their interest in and accessibility to new ideas and information.

• Customer Retention: Customers are more effectively served and are more loyal to the organization when employees encounter positive experiences at work, such as caring, empowerment and various forms of virtuousness.

• Turnover: Virtuousness in organizations reduces turnover and fosters employee longevity.

• Quality: Exposure to virtuousness in organizations helps employees make better decisions, more effectively process information, support one another and, hence, make fewer quality errors.

Finally, there's the bottom line:

• Profitability: Enhanced employee innovation, expanded social capital development, increases in pro-social behavior and the development of resiliency all serve as mechanisms by which organizations achieve profitability.

Best regards,

Patrick Burnson, Editor in Chief
PatrickB@worldtrademag.com