Assignment #3 September 26, 2017 Managing Ethical and Social Responsibility Challenges in Multinational Companies Assignment #3 September 26, 2017

Ethics Case Part 1 Rex Lewis is a 25 year-old manager for ICS Corp., a small U.S. manufacturer of dietary supplements. After graduation, Mr. Lewis worked at company headquarters in Lexington, Nebraska in a variety of positions. As an international business major, Mr. Lewis jumped at the chance to take a position as country manager in Matinea. Mr. Lewis studied the Matinean language for four years and visited the country for a summer while an undergraduate. He feels confident that he can handle this position because he has both the managerial and cultural experience.

Ethics Case Part 2 ICS’s major product is SUPALL, a dietary supplement that is inexpensive to produce and that can provide children with all of their basic nutritional needs. This product is very attractive to poor countries such as Matinea, where agricultural production is not sufficient to feed the population and recent droughts have made the situation even worse. Although cheaper than a well- rounded basic diet, one child’s monthly supply of SUPALL costs about one- quarter of an average worker’s salary at current prices, and most families are quite large.

Ethics Case Part 3 In his first week in Matinea, Mr. Lewis makes a variety of startling discoveries. In spite of the relatively high price of SUPALL, demand in the Matinean market is strong. Moreover, ICS is making a 50% return on the product. Now, Mr. Lewis realizes why the revenues from SUPALL have been able to support his company’s crucial R&D research on other products. When he worked back in the United States, the CEO told him personally that if ICS doesn’t come up with new products soon, the big companies will soon have a SUPALL-type product, and the price will fall drastically.

Ethics Case Part 4 Mr. Lewis begins to wonder whether the price is fair for the Matineans. The price of SUPALL is cheaper than food, but it takes virtually all of a family’s income to buy it. Yet ICS needs the profits to survive. Mr. Lewis has the authority to set prices in the country, but he must justify his decision to headquarters back in the United States.

Questions What should Mr. Lewis do if he is obligated to follow the moral language assigned to you on the next slide? What moral language would you personally adopt in this situation and why? If what you prescribed in question #1 is the moral language of ICS Corp., can you reconcile this with your answer to #2? If so, how? If not, what would you do?

Moral Language Assignment Student Numbers Virtue and vice 35, 23, 17, 11, 5, 41 Self-control 21, 2, 15, 29, 16, 33 Maximizing human welfare 22, 36, 13, 37, 12, 8, 24 Avoiding harm 25, 27, 30, 31, 28, 40, 9 Rights and duties 39, 18, 20, 10, 26, 19, 1 Social contract 32, 4, 6, 14, 34, 7, 38