Austin Nguyen

PHIL 322

Joel Chow

10 October 2016

Team Writing Assignment: Ethical Challenges in Global Business

Working in a global business environment means facing different cultures, norms, legal

frameworks, environmental regulations, and personal ethics. These differences generate huge

grey areas that could breed unethical practices such as child labor, fraud, insider trading,

environmental pollution, and bribery. As profits and ethics go together, it is particularly

important for business leaders to deal with ethical issues in cross-cultural settings. Bribery, for

example, is one of the most common ethical challenges a global business will face. It is under the

grey area and more difficult to prevent. To address the issue, business leaders should not only

set strict companys code of ethics but to serve as role models.

In the article The Promise and Peril of Global Business Ethics, Donaldson and Dunfee

claimed that many consider bribery to be similar to tipping (45). It could be that you are tipping

for the service or that you are bribing for better treatment of delivered goods. Bribery occurs

when the dilemmas of ethics and pursuit expected results exit. They could be the responsibility

of driving a companys growth in a particular region, the opportunity of developing new markets,

or the competition among competitors. In the short run, bribery seems no harm but helping a

company achieve its desired outcomes. However, if a business wants to stay alive in the long

run, doing the right thing is the only way to achieve the ultimate goal. When bribery conduct is

discovered, leaders need to demonstrate a visible and active commitment to address this issue. It

set an example for employees to behave ethically as well as prevent future unethical conducts.
 According to Donaldson and Dunfee, there are four different types of cultures companies

adopt to their system. They listed these categories to be the Foreign Country type, Empire type,

Interconnection type as well as the Global type (49). In regards to a company that follows local

guidelines instead of their own are referred to as the Foreign Type. This is one of the the types

that companies should follow to an extent when they plan to expand their businesses outside of

their domestic domain. The problem with this approach is that it allows local customs to have too

much power over the company and have a higher chance for foreigners to bribe the locals in

gaining high advantages. For example, the company can bribe the locals to work extra for them

or use an area for dumping toxic waste if they do follow certain customs. The Empire Type, the

one that companies should try to avoid to make ethical decisions, usually adhere their own

standards everywhere with minimal changes overseas. This route can be perceived as dangerous

because locals can view that business to resemble a dictatorship and a symbol of oppression.

Most notably, the majority of local Indians found themselves maltreated by the East India

Company in India prior independence from Great Britain. For the Interconnection type, these

companies do not endorse any national interest and tend to engage in commercial relations in

the EU or NAFTA. This approach is effective in avoiding siding with a specific party that might

give a portrayal of something similar to the Empire type. Lastly is the Global type, where

companies follow rule that are commonly set for all nations. Like the Interconnection type, these

companies follow neither domestic nor local norms, however they do have problems that often

builds issues with the locals.

In addition to the issues listed, Donaldson and Dunfee claimed that Western companies

are findingand stumbling overethics issues abroad as never before (46). Companies are

having complications with adjusting to other global customs that are different compared to their
own. Business leaders should have the responsibility to overlook foreign laws regarding what

they can and cannot do in that country in order to uphold ethical values and respect for that area.

To support this, it is possible for there to be the creation of more global guidelines that

businesses must acknowledge going to any part of the world. It is a necessity to hire individuals

with both the western and indigenous perspectives to schedule frequent visits to these companies

on foreign soil in order to keep in check that following the rules in place. The Integrative Social

Contracts Theory (ISCT) helps administer rules that businesses can follow globally. With this

guide, business leaders can find the best alternative from the other listed approaches.