College of
Business
Administration
College of
Business
Administration
Questions for Seminar Presentation on International Perspectives
(French/Granrose Ch 7-9)Submitted by: Sock Tan and Tolga Ulutas
1. Frame some ethical questions in international business.
2. In Greece, Belgium, and France foreign-paid bribe is a legal business expense and is fully tax-deductible. However, the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Policy Act prohibits an American businessman from bribing foreign officials. In an imperfect world , isn't it necessary to break the rules just to keep up with other rule-breakers?
3. Considering the Bhopal disaster in India, do you think regulations alone are satisfactory to answer ethical problems in such cases? What can we do in a situation like this?
4. In 1988, Guinea Bissau, one of the world's poorest nations, agreed to bury 15 million tons of toxic waste of European pharmaceutical companies for a fee of $120 million, which is only slightly less than the country's entire gross product. What are the ethical issues in this case, if any?
5. Common business belief suggests that investors (shareholders) have a right to expect that their agents (managers) make decisions based solely on the investors interest, which is maximizing the profit. Do you think managers have more responsibilities towards shareholders than to other stakeholders?
6. Can a shareholder ethically hire someone to do for him/her what he/she could not ethically do himself/herself?
7. Cultural relativism asserts that "words such as right/wrong, justice, injustice derive their meaning and truth value from the attitudes of a given culture." Not only do our values differ from those of other cultures, but we differ among ourselves. So when integrating values with foreign policy whose values should be integrated? Can a universal morality work on the multinational stage?
8. Do you think a universal code of ethics is necessary? Why, or why not?
9. Management of multinationals export jobs to the third world countries to save labor costs at the expense of the domestic labor force. Is there a presumed moral obligation to favor home country over foreign workers?
10. What do you think of some countries seeking to conduct foreign policy by imposing economic sanctions on another country? What are the pros and cons of economic sanctions? Consider the case in South Africa (Royal Dutch/Shell, case 8-3, p. 181).
11. Please read the Chiquita Brands case on page 178.
12. Would you think it fair, just, or equitable if someone made money at your expense by using information that you were prohibited from obtaining?
13. Does an effective business system require total honesty or trust between buyers and sellers?
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