© 2007 Robert Sweo International Business Ethics

© 2007 Robert Sweo What is Ethics Moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct Most standards vary greatly between populations

© 2007 Robert Sweo Ethical Theories Virtue Theories – Develop good habits of Character Duty Theories – Meet obligations Consequential Theories – Seek favorable outcomes Social Contract Theory – Minimum social standards must be adhered to

© 2007 Robert Sweo Virtue Theories Develop good habits of Character Very common in Western cultures Plato's Virtues - wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. Other important virtues are fortitude, generosity, self-respect, good temper, and sincerity Vices - cowardice, insensitivity, injustice, and vanity

© 2007 Robert Sweo Duty Theories One must meet obligations Rights theories – Strong must protect the weak  we should not harm anyone's life, health, liberty or possessions Obligations of the universe  Fidelity: the duty to keep promises  Reparation: the duty to compensate others when we harm them  Gratitude: the duty to thank those who help us  Justice: the duty to recognize merit  Beneficence: the duty to improve the conditions of others  Self-improvement: the duty to improve our virtue and intelligence  Nonmaleficence: the duty to not injure others

© 2007 Robert Sweo Consequential Theories An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable Utilitarianism – the action that creates the most happiness is the moral action  Rule utilitarianism – measures rules of behavior rather than each act

© 2007 Robert Sweo Social Contract Theory The following minimum standards must be adhered to  That a productive organization should enhance the long-term welfare of employees and consumers in any society in which the organization operates.  That a productive organization should minimize the drawbacks associated with moving beyond the state of nature to a state containing productive organizations.  That a productive organization should refrain from violating minimum standards of justice and of human rights in any society in which it operates.

© 2007 Robert Sweo Applied Ethics Tries to create policies of behavior from Ethical Theory  Business Ethics  Environmental Ethics  Computer Ethics  Corporate Social Responsibility

© 2007 Robert Sweo International Applied Business Ethics Theory preference is culturally bound Companies often face conflicting government and cultural requirements World perspectives important  Multinational  Multidomestic  Global

© 2007 Robert Sweo Major Issues Environment Employee relations  Health & Safety  Pay  Interface to religion and other cultural practices Affects of business on local culture Government relations  Bribery  Corruption

© 2007 Robert Sweo Bribery Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

© 2007 Robert Sweo Corruption 2004 CPI Score: -relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by businesspeople, risk analysts, journalists, and the general public -ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt) RANK/COUNTRY SCORERANK/COUNTRY SCORE 1.Finland Botswana New Zealand South Africa Singapore Brazil United Kingdom El Salvador Canada China Germany India United States Russia Chile Bolivia Japan Nigeria 1.0 Source: Transparency International

© 2007 Robert Sweo Now What? This will be one of your biggest problems in International Business START STUDYING Golden Rule – Do onto others as you would have them do onto you Platinum Rule – Do onto others as they would have you do onto them