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Will You Add? - Electronic Signatures-Esign Origins, Understanding Laws, and the Affects
Everyone wants to feel important. That is the highest need we all have. Making people feel important is an essential part of managing people yet sometimes as leaders, we forget this powerful tool we have at our disposal. How effective is your management style when it comes to handing out praise to those you manage? Look through this list and see how many ideas you are not using.Praise Regularly. Each day, look for opportunities to genuinely pass on praise to those under your supervision. This is not a “fake it until you make it” idea. You must be sincere and the praise should be earned. It may be something as simple as a compliment on how well someone cleaned his or her work area. Walk around your department with a higher awareness of what is going right. Then, acknowledge a job well done on the spot. Then, watch the smiles light up the place.Provide Written Praise. Not only should you verbalize what is good, take a few extra moments to put your thoughts in writing. Here you should be a bit choosier. Don’t write down every little item. Look for that bright spot in the work place and then, consistently for everyone you manage, place your comments on paper. For that special task that was extremely well done, pass on the praise to your boss. That is a way to provide recognition for that rising star beyond the walls of your department. As a manager, you have an obligation to help strong employees move up the ladder. This is a great motivator as well.Encourage Risks. How well do you tolerate risks? If you play it too close to the vest and do not encourage your people to experiment and seek better ways of doing things, improvements will be few and growth will be slow. If peop
Trust is not a new thing in business; it was often indicated by a hand-shake or “You have a deal”, and that was all you needed to get a deal done. Has that changed today? I believe the answer is no, but what about the courts, and their opinion on the validity of the electronic signature? After all the courts’ goal is not just to keep the wheels turning and generate revenu
Participative Strategic Planning Workshops have come up as a welcome endeavor. They help in maximizing organizational resources, alongside promotion of creativity and innovation emerging from the coming together of various groups with different ideas and plans. Thus, such interactive and participative Strategic Planning Workshops provide a thrust towards the proper implementation of strategic plans.Workshops of this kind help pool resources for understanding the goals and objectives of the participants. This can be shared by the community at large, and prove to be useful. Participative workshops and community projects involving a wide range of participants who have an interest and stake in the project are likely to have a good chance of being successful.The equality among participants serves as the key to collecting the most appropriate and effective community resources. A successful workshop leads to greater commitment from individual participants, who are owners of the project, too, in their own right.Participation as a group involves adhering to a common program and strategy, and a commitment towards achieving commonly decided goals and targets. This gives a boost to group and community spirit, and instills a sense of pride in the participants. It is via workshops involving a wide range of views that more fruitful decision-making is made possible, and comprehensive programs are chalked out towards Strategic Planning. Since Strategic Planning is an ongoing process, these educational workshops are stimulating and prove invaluable when arranged from time to time. In addition, they keep employees updated as to what new events and conditions will be affecting the company
In the fours year prior to this Act’s passage a dozen states had passed similar laws and guidance for state specific business purposes, and in the five years since the Act’s passing every other state has passed similar laws and legislation. What does it all mean, and in the end how can it benefit businesses, individuals and the nation or world as a whole?
The best way to answer a question like this is to take a look at the origins of the law, and understand the reasoning behind its passage and the passage of the state specific laws.
The Birth of the Electronic Signature – Faxing
In the 1980’s companies and even some progressive individuals began using fax machines for high priority or time sensitive delivery of paper based documents. Today, the fax machine is a staple of the business world. Most people do not even consider the original hurdles this new medium created, nor do they consider its impact on the speed of communication and the advantages of its use. However in its infancy many of the same issues surrounding electronic communications and electronic signatures had to be resolved when utilizing the facsimile.
When the first contract was signed and faxed it created the basis for the discussion of electronic signature validity. After all it was the first time someone could sign something, place it in a machine, send it from one phone line to another and deliver a digitally reproduced signature. The path this signature took was not controllable or traceable, and in most cases it traversed miles of wire before reaching its destination, so how could it be considered a valid signature? The intentions of the signature were clear to everyone, but businesses wanted to know they could count on the validity of the signature, and if no one actually witnessed the action of one individual or of a corporation how could a business put any faith in it? This of course caused quite a stir and in rapid fashion the courts ruled this signature carried the same validity as if the parties were standing in the room together. With this, the fax became standard operating procedure world-wide.
The courts found validity in this method of signature capturing and businesses also felt secure in this method. Quite a leap of faith considering the complications caused by fax machines early on. Many people didn’t realize that the original fax paper’s ink would vanish after a period of time and you had to make another copy of the fax using a copier if you wanted to store it permanently. Also many times the quality of the image was poor or barely legible, but businesses understood the intention and would consider it signed even if there was only a partially legible signature. So in essence you had a copy of a copy of a digital image, and even with so many loopholes for alteration and criminal malfeasance the fax still worked and business flourished.
The business logic behind this thinking was easily justifiable. Before the fax machine, the contract could have been signed verbally between the sales person and the client, and then somewhere down the road a paper copy would have been signed and mailed. Many sales before the fax machine were consummated with a simple “OK let’s do it” comment over the phone. This drive to get business and make the wheels turn demonstrates the most vital point in an electronic communications based world, or for that matter in a digital world with no physical or direct contact, is most businesses can operate on trust. They provide a service to a customer and the customer trusts they will provide that service in a satisfactory manner, while the service provider trusts that the customer will pay for services rendered.
Trust is not a new thing in business; it was often indicated by a hand-shake or “You have a deal”, and that was all you needed to get a deal done. Has that changed today? I believe the answer is no, but what about the courts, and their opinion on the validity of the electronic signature? After all the courts’ goal is not just to keep the wheels turning and generate revenue
One of my clients is in a transition stage with her business. Her practice has become so successful that she no longer has the time to do her administrative work or even the marketing work that helped her become successful. I am working with her developing a plan to hire administrative and functional staff that will allow her to continue to grow her business and enjoy her work life.One of the issues we are facing which affects many business owners is that if she doesn’t have time to do what she’s already doing, where will she get the time to hire new employees, train them and do the marketing that is needed to justify the new employees? She keeps coming home to a pile of work and it has created a huge block to her growth. We just returned from a business trip where we learned new ways to grow the business and improve operating efficiencies. During the meetings and initially afterwards my client was incredibly excited about the possibilities. But then something disconcerting happened.I’ve seen this happen before. In fact, it’s happened to me many times and probably has happened to you as well. As my client started looking at the work that she would need to do to match the new vision she had, she went from excited to overwhelmed. This was painful to witness. I want to see my clients succeed just as much as parents want their children to. Watching her, I saw the excitement fade and fear and resistance mount. As we condensed our notes from our business meetings, the resistance became stronger and stronger and I heard resignation in her voice as we talked about what was needed. The list we had created was long and contained tasks that comprised weeks of work. And in h
In the 1980’s companies and even some progressive individuals began using fax machines for high priority or time sensitive delivery of paper based documents. Today, the fax machine is a staple of the business world. Most people do not even consider the original hurdles this new medium created, nor do they consider its impact on the speed of communication and the advantages of its use. However in its infancy many of the same issues surrounding electronic communications and electronic signatures had to be resolved when utilizing the facsimile.
When the first contract was signed and faxed it created the basis for the discussion of electronic signature validity. After all it was the first time someone could sign something, place it in a machine, send it from one phone line to another and deliver a digitally reproduced signature. The path this signature took was not controllable or traceable, and in most cases it traversed miles of wire before reaching its destination, so how could it be considered a valid signature? The intentions of the signature were clear to everyone, but businesses wanted to know they could count on the validity of the signature, and if no one actually witnessed the action of one individual or of a corporation how could a business put any faith in it? This of course caused quite a stir and in rapid fashion the courts ruled this signature carried the same validity as if the parties were standing in the room together. With this, the fax became standard operating procedure world-wide.
The courts found validity in this method of signature capturing and businesses also felt secure in this method. Quite a leap of faith considering the complications caused by fax machines early on. Many people didn’t realize that the original fax paper’s ink would vanish after a period of time and you had to make another copy of the fax using a copier if you wanted to store it permanently. Also many times the quality of the image was poor or barely legible, but businesses understood the intention and would consider it signed even if there was only a partially legible signature. So in essence you had a copy of a copy of a digital image, and even with so many loopholes for alteration and criminal malfeasance the fax still worked and business flourished.
The business logic behind this thinking was easily justifiable. Before the fax machine, the contract could have been signed verbally between the sales person and the client, and then somewhere down the road a paper copy would have been signed and mailed. Many sales before the fax machine were consummated with a simple “OK let’s do it” comment over the phone. This drive to get business and make the wheels turn demonstrates the most vital point in an electronic communications based world, or for that matter in a digital world with no physical or direct contact, is most businesses can operate on trust. They provide a service to a customer and the customer trusts they will provide that service in a satisfactory manner, while the service provider trusts that the customer will pay for services rendered.
Trust is not a new thing in business; it was often indicated by a hand-shake or “You have a deal”, and that was all you needed to get a deal done. Has that changed today? I believe the answer is no, but what about the courts, and their opinion on the validity of the electronic signature? After all the courts’ goal is not just to keep the wheels turning and generate revenu
Focus on fewer people AND make more money?This doesn't seem logical. However, it's true. If you dare to focus your efforts on a select group of people you will enjoy more success and it will be easier and more fun!The key is to claim a niche -a select group of people whom you serve to the point where you become an expert. This results in being better known, getting great referrals, having greater success and making more money!Just think for a moment about a favorite article. The one where you would swear the author was writing directly to you, as if he had a video camera into your world. That's what it's like having a niche.Imagine the energy you'll have by only working with those ideal clients that make your heart sing!Claiming who is your ideal client is easier than it might sound.============================================== Step One: Do the “internal research.” ==============================================Discover your gifts. Know that you are a consultant with unique professional and life experiences and a way of being in the world that is unlike anyone else. And there are people out there who want it just the way you serve it!Ask yourself:What am I passionate about? What do people say they love about me? When does it feel like I am playing?Build your business around these strengths and passions, and leave behind those areas you don't love (but think you “should” offer). Build your business around what you love. It takes courage to focus only on the areas you are great at!============================================== Step Two: Imagine your calendar i
The courts found validity in this method of signature capturing and businesses also felt secure in this method. Quite a leap of faith considering the complications caused by fax machines early on. Many people didn’t realize that the original fax paper’s ink would vanish after a period of time and you had to make another copy of the fax using a copier if you wanted to store it permanently. Also many times the quality of the image was poor or barely legible, but businesses understood the intention and would consider it signed even if there was only a partially legible signature. So in essence you had a copy of a copy of a digital image, and even with so many loopholes for alteration and criminal malfeasance the fax still worked and business flourished.
The business logic behind this thinking was easily justifiable. Before the fax machine, the contract could have been signed verbally between the sales person and the client, and then somewhere down the road a paper copy would have been signed and mailed. Many sales before the fax machine were consummated with a simple “OK let’s do it” comment over the phone. This drive to get business and make the wheels turn demonstrates the most vital point in an electronic communications based world, or for that matter in a digital world with no physical or direct contact, is most businesses can operate on trust. They provide a service to a customer and the customer trusts they will provide that service in a satisfactory manner, while the service provider trusts that the customer will pay for services rendered.
Trust is not a new thing in business; it was often indicated by a hand-shake or “You have a deal”, and that was all you needed to get a deal done. Has that changed today? I believe the answer is no, but what about the courts, and their opinion on the validity of the electronic signature? After all the courts’ goal is not just to keep the wheels turning and generate revenu
Why does your business need to be in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS)?Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing both have the same goal, which is to help visitors find your website. Ten years ago there was probably nobody searching online for your product or service. Five years ago, there may have been a couple of dozen people looking for it in any given week or month. Today, in 2005, you can be sure that there are many people actively seeking your products or services each and every day through the search engines. Can they find you there?According to a Fall 2004 report by http://www.comscore.com/ nearly 40% of all internet connections in the United States are now broadband, "always on", high speed internet access. As this becomes the norm, there is also a steady merging or "convergence” going on between our computers, our cel phones, and even our television sets. Pretty soon, we'll all have access to worldwide information in the palm of our hands at any given moment. Do you think that might affect how customers are going to look for you?It's never been more important to be listed in the Internet search engines and directories than it is right now. I see websites that have been around for years and never even been submitted to any search engines. (I've also seen sites get penalized by the search engines for improper or "over submission", so don't rush out and do it!).Yet some of these same businesses will pour hundreds or thousands of dollars each month into local Yellow page advertising because they believe it to be the most effective form of advertising. Well, phone book use has been steadily declining over the past 10 years, and i
The business logic behind this thinking was easily justifiable. Before the fax machine, the contract could have been signed verbally between the sales person and the client, and then somewhere down the road a paper copy would have been signed and mailed. Many sales before the fax machine were consummated with a simple “OK let’s do it” comment over the phone. This drive to get business and make the wheels turn demonstrates the most vital point in an electronic communications based world, or for that matter in a digital world with no physical or direct contact, is most businesses can operate on trust. They provide a service to a customer and the customer trusts they will provide that service in a satisfactory manner, while the service provider trusts that the customer will pay for services rendered.
Trust is not a new thing in business; it was often indicated by a hand-shake or “You have a deal”, and that was all you needed to get a deal done. Has that changed today? I believe the answer is no, but what about the courts, and their opinion on the validity of the electronic signature? After all the courts’ goal is not just to keep the wheels turning and generate revenu
I love foreign delicasies. Those oriental delights are some of the tastiest snacks I have ever eaten here in North America.Imagine the peanuts and chips you find at restaurant and bar scenes. Now what if you discover the joys of your local restaurant and bar are no longer restricted to the consumption of alcohol.North America is growing and so too are the ethnic communities within it. Visit any Chinatown, Little Italy or India etc. and the sight of exotic snacks becomes just as common as the familiar beer and peanuts in your local restaurant and bar.The restaurant and bar scene is hot in immigrant neighbourhoods and is expanding to include every exotic cuisine that visitors could ever dream of.The sushi restaurant and bar is a great example of how the most successful restaurant and bar entrepreneurs incorporate traditional Eastern and Western cuisine in their menus. It often proves to be quite lucrative for their restaurant and bar business.Opening a restaurant and bar is a giant financial risk. However, the chances of your success can greatly improve with the introduction of a few exotic delicacies. In fact, this single act may be the difference between an early retirement or having to declare bankruptcy on your restaurant and bar.
Trust is not a new thing in business; it was often indicated by a hand-shake or “You have a deal”, and that was all you needed to get a deal done. Has that changed today? I believe the answer is no, but what about the courts, and their opinion on the validity of the electronic signature? After all the courts’ goal is not just to keep the wheels turning and generate revenue, so why did they trust this type of signature and what was the legal question this signature answered? This line of thinking brings us back to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act or as it is more commonly known, the (“ESIGN”) Act.
Electronic Signatures, the Courts and the Government
The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (“GPEA”), Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (“UETA”), Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (“e-CFR”), as well as the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (“ESIGN”) are all attempts by Congress, federal departments and the states to define the liability and validity of an electronic signature, and help the courts answer the questions about enforceability. These efforts all center around three primary concepts authentication, integrity and non-repudiation.
Authentication
Authentication is the reasonable basis on which to believe that the entity electronically signing the file is who they say they are. This can be accomplished in many ways. In the traditional world it might be done by checking a driver’s license or other form of identification, but in the electronic world this is not always an option, so other methods must be used.
The most common and popular way of accomplishing this identity check is to use an e-mail based identifier. This is a process most people have experienced at some point while using the Internet. If you signup for a web based service you generally need to create a user name and password. When you create this account many systems will send a verification e-mail to the e-mail address you entered for your record, thus proving that you own this e-mail address. You then copy and paste this verification information into the confirmation system provided by the web site and you become a verified member. That process and most processes that use your e-mail address are known as e-mail based ID systems.
Another way to verify an identity is to use a known third party validation mechanism. In other words, use something that presumably has already verified the entity in question. There are several common methods for achieving this type of authentication. You may have experienced it with a web site requiring you enter in your home zip code, an account number or in some cases a credit card number. Many web sites will have you enter your credit card information into a form, allowing them to cross reference the information you provide them with a credit card merchant. Presumably if you told the credit card company the truth about you, then it will match with the information you provided the website.
The methods available and in use for identifying and authenticating individuals are countless, and presumably the higher the value of the transaction the more authentication methods should be implemented.
Integrity
Integrity simply means providing a reasonable belief that any file electronically signed on a system cannot and has not been tampered with by anyone or anything. The concept is easy to understand and the requirement for it is certainly justified. When you are dealing with paper it is easy to give everyone a copy, and any discrepancies are easily found, but with electronic records it can be difficult to manually or even visually tell if the file has been altered. To demonstrate integrity electronic signature capture services generally use an encryption algo
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