Global Business Ethics

Global Business Ethics

The field of ethics is a section of philosophy which aims to address the issue of which is considered right or wrong. These are the principles of behavior which determine how individuals should act. When the question of how ethics affects global business is raised, a lot of individuals tend to think about corruption quickly (Beer, 15). However, global business ethic covers a much broader spectrum, including management and corporate social responsibility.

Culture has an immense influence on how individuals view each other in the workplace. A good example is the gender issue, most specifically perceptions of women. In most cases, managers will choose men to carry out negotiations in Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia instead of women (Syed, 267). Most companies have a system of determining whether an individual based on their ethnicity, gender, or race will carry out particular objectives depending on the common values in a specific culture. Large businesses, however, make their employment and management decisions regardless of the prevailing culture since most people want to work with them. In the recent past, global firms have now put more effort to market their products based on their environmental and social merits alongside the desirability of the products.

Corruption is a vice that has affected businesses for a long time now. In some cultures, conflicts with global business activities may arise on matters of like that of gift-giving which has turned into bribery (a form of corruption). For instance, in Japan, gift-giving has been a part of the culture for centuries such that it has been structured and formalized. Connections are considered a road map for success. In contrast, most western countries view connections informally and even at times with a negative connotation. Here individuals love to state that they achieved success by their sweat (Wood, 254). Different laws, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the USA have been set to prevent any form of corruption. CSR deals with how companies manage their social, economic, and environmental influences as well as their relationships in the primary areas of influence such as the community.