Course:
Tutor:
Date:
QUESTION: Critically examine the ethical and social concerns in global business and their relevance in the Kenyan economic situation.
Introduction
Ethics are defined as the process of distinguishing the right and good from the wrong and bad and they call for a moral responsibility to pursue the good and right. Business ethics are concerned with the good or right and the bad or wrong behavior in the business organization context. Social responsibility on the other hand goes hand in hand with business ethics. It advocates that a business should act more responsibly beyond the pure profit or economic motive. The expectations of both ethical conduct and socially responsible conduct can vary in cultures of different countries. Globalization on the other hand is an umbrella term which can be related to every field of our daily life. According to Friedman (1999), Globalization is: “The inexorable integration of markets, nation states, and technologies to a degree never witnessed before- in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than before, the spread of free-market capitalism to virtually every country in the world.” Global business therefore consist the transactions
That are devised and carried out across national borders to quench the needs of individuals, companies and organizations. The scope and content of ethical issues in business have been fast evolving, due to the deregulation of markets and globalization. The Kenyan economy has both had both desirable and undesirable changes in both the ethical and social arenas owing to globalization.
ETHICAL CONCERNS
The need of ethics in the business world is superlative and global as new trends and issues arise daily which may create an important burden to business entities and end-consumers. There is therefore a need for proper ethical behavior in organizations for
References: 1. Armstrong, R. W. (1992), “An Empirical Investigation of International Marketing Ethics: Problems Encountered by Australian Firms, Journal of Business Ethics, 11:165. 2. DeGeorge, R. T. (2000), “Ethics in International Business- A Contradiction in terms?”, Business Credit, September 1, 2000. Vol: 102, Issue: 8, Page.50. 3. Mahdavi, I. (2003), “Ethical growth: Do business Ethical attitudes mature as individuals get Older?” Proceedings of the International Business Association, Conference, 2003. 4. Morf, D.A., Schumacher, Michael G., and Vitell, S.J.: “A survey of Ethics Officers in Large Organizations”, Journal of Business Ethics 20, 265-271: 1999.