Ethics in International

Business
Ali Zohery, Ph.D.
Founder
World Assembly for Ethics

www.worldassemblyforethics.org

As

Multiethics

we are Multilingual,
So we are multiethnic
And as we are
Multiethnic, so we are
multiethical.
www.worldassemblyforethics.org

Ethical Issues in International

Business
EMPLOYMENT

PRACTICES

Work conditions: hot weather around toxic

chemicals - # of hours and pay salaries in
developing countries.

HUMAN

RIGHTS

Freedom is not universally accepted.

South Africa white rule until 1994
investment in China Nigeria and
Shell
www.worldassemblyforethics.org

Ethical Issues in International

Business
ENVIRONMENTAL
POLLUTION

The emission of pollutants, the dumping of

toxic chemicals
Amoral management might move production
to a developing nation precisely because
costly pollution controls are not required.
No one owns the atmosphere or the oceans,
but polluting both, no matter where the
pollution originates, harms all.

www.worldassemblyforethics.org

Ethical Issues in International

Business
CORRUPTION

Economic advantages by making payments to

corrupted government officials.
$12.5 million payment to Japanese agents and
government officials

MORAL

BP, one of oil companies, has made social investments in

Algeria, the desert town of Salah. it built two desalination
plants to provide drinking water for the local

Ethical

OBLIGATIONS

Dilemmas

in a poor nation, a 12-yearold girl works in a factory.

www.worldassemblyforethics.org

Philosophical Approaches to
Ethics
STRAW MEN
The Friedman Doctrine
Cultural Relativism
The Righteous Moralist
The Naive Immoralist
asserts that if a manager of a multinational sees
that firms from other nations are not following
ethical norms in a host nation, that manager
should not either.

www.worldassemblyforethics.org

Philosophical Approaches to
Ethics
UTILITARIAN AND KANTIAN ETHICS
Utilitarian approaches to ethics: the moral worth
of actions or practices is determined by their
consequences. Utilitarianism is committed to the
maximization of good and the minimization of
harm.
Kantian ethics are based on the philosophy of
Immanuel Kant (17241804). Kantian ethics hold
that people should be treated as ends and never
purely as means to the ends of others. People are
not instruments, like a machine. People have
dignity and need to be respected as such

www.worldassemblyforethics.org

Philosophical Approaches to
Ethics
RIGHTS THEORIES
Developed in the 20th century, rights theories recognize
that human beings have fundamental rights and
privileges that transcend national boundaries and
cultures
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

JUSTICE THEORIES
Justice theories focus on the attainment of a just
distribution of economic goods and services. A
just distribution is one that is considered fair and
equitable.

www.worldassemblyforethics.org

Ethical Decision Making

HIRING

AND PROMOTION
ORGANIZATION CULTURE AND
LEADERSHIP
DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES
ETHICS OFFICERS
MORAL COURAGE

www.worldassemblyforethics.org

10

Nike code of ethics with

subcontractors
behaving ethically required going
beyond the requirements of the law.
establishment

and enforcement of
rules that adhere to accepted moral
principles of right and wrong.

www.worldassemblyforethics.org

11

Recommendations
Courses

in ethics
should be
required for
graduation for all
levels of school.
www.worldassemblyforethics.org

12

Recommendations
We have to find effective policies to:
counter corruption,
reduce greed and self-centeredness,
encourage honor and honesty,
promote parental guidance to establish a sense of
values,
reduce the barriers to the freedom of inquiry,
encourage respect for legitimate authority,
support the identification and success of the
influence of role models,
implement cost-effective strategies for global
education for a more enlightened world,
and find ways to make behavior match the values
people say they believe in.

www.worldassemblyforethics.org

13

www.worldassemblyforethics.org

14