Ethical Issues for Multi-National Organizations, discussion help

Ethical Issues for Multi-National Organizations, discussion help

Ethical Issues for Multi-National Organizations

Ethics is a major challenge for corporations. There have been major scandals in US Corporations and those of other countries where business leaders have engaged in unethical or illegal practices that caused serious damage to their companies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4lD9k3yFbE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e-v2h2Dy0A

One example is Enron. Enron’s downfall, and the imprisonment of several of its CEO and leadership group was one of the most shocking and widely reported ethics violations of all time. It not only bankrupted the company, and thousands of employees who lost their retirement funds, but also destroyed Arthur Andersen, one of the largest audit firms in the world.

Another example is Scott Thompson who was brought in as CEO of Yahoo in 2012 but was fired shortly thereafter for his brazen deception in embellishing his resume by claiming he had degrees he did not have.

Make sure you look at the first two Guest Lectures as preparation for this discussion.

Discussion Questions:

Is business ethics situational? Does a corporation’s ethics change when it becomes a global company (because what might be considered unethical in one country is a common practice in another country)? What does it mean for a company to be “socially responsible”? Can a company act in unethical practices and still be “socially responsible”?