Business Ethics and Globalization Check Point
Business Ethics and Globalization Check Point:
Globalization refers to the unification of the world’s businesses which promotes economic growth on a global scale. While globalization is a good thing, there are many responsibilities and business ethics that come along with working with people of different cultures and backgrounds. The treatment of workers in regard to their cultural and religious differences is one ethical issue that can rise from globalization. One example expressed in our course material is that of the signing of Big Oil Ltd. as a business partner. In this case study Julie and a team of colleagues are signing Big Oil Ltd. on a business partnership. Headquarters for Big Oil is located in Saudi Arabia, where the customs and culture is much different than that of Americans. It is a common practice for Middle Eastern men to handle all business dealings, while women are viewed as second class citizens. Because Big Oil is reluctant to have Julie on their team the company is faced with an ethical issue that could possibly blow up to a bigger problem including lawsuits and a bad reputation. Another ethical issue resulting from globalization can be seen in the current economic situation affecting the world. Ethical failures certainly played a role. While it remains to be seen whether and how many people blatantly broke the law, there are abundant signs of various forms of potentially unethical behavior. These include greed, unreasonable amounts of leverage, subtle forms of corruption, and the use of complex financial instruments that no one really understood. In order to avoid such ethical dilemmas there needs to be greater transparency and accountability to continue with new regulations of the financial system. The third ethical issue associated with globalization is dealing with inherently discriminatory cultures. For example, it would be difficult to send the most qualified African American to work as a representative in a country that still
Globalization refers to the unification of the world’s businesses which promotes economic growth on a global scale. While globalization is a good thing, there are many responsibilities and business ethics that come along with working with people of different cultures and backgrounds. The treatment of workers in regard to their cultural and religious differences is one ethical issue that can rise from globalization. One example expressed in our course material is that of the signing of Big Oil Ltd. as a business partner. In this case study Julie and a team of colleagues are signing Big Oil Ltd. on a business partnership. Headquarters for Big Oil is located in Saudi Arabia, where the customs and culture is much different than that of Americans. It is a common practice for Middle Eastern men to handle all business dealings, while women are viewed as second class citizens. Because Big Oil is reluctant to have Julie on their team the company is faced with an ethical issue that could possibly blow up to a bigger problem including lawsuits and a bad reputation. Another ethical issue resulting from globalization can be seen in the current economic situation affecting the world. Ethical failures certainly played a role. While it remains to be seen whether and how many people blatantly broke the law, there are abundant signs of various forms of potentially unethical behavior. These include greed, unreasonable amounts of leverage, subtle forms of corruption, and the use of complex financial instruments that no one really understood. In order to avoid such ethical dilemmas there needs to be greater transparency and accountability to continue with new regulations of the financial system. The third ethical issue associated with globalization is dealing with inherently discriminatory cultures. For example, it would be difficult to send the most qualified African American to work as a representative in a country that still
References: Trevino, L., & Nelson, K. (2007). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do right (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Retrieved on July, 8th, 2011. From XMGT 216 course material.