Ethical Challenges in International Business

Abstract

In recent times, management has gained great importance in societies. As businesses become increasingly global where companies enter international markets with varied cultures and traditions, ethical consideration becomes difficult to control. One noteworthy reason of an organisation's decision to go internationally is to maximise their goals and objectives. Ethics is an everyday occurrence in the corporate world as it is with individuals. With increasing globalisation, businesses are competing to acquire more. Inthe process to acquire more they do things contrary to the acceptable norms of the society. This paper seeks to examine the
ethical challenges in global business management and identify the ethical influence of globalisation on international functional areas. The action of a business inregards of being ethical or unethical are determined by three models; utilitarian model (produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people), right model (maintains and protects the fundamental rights and privileges of the people) and justice model (administering fair and equitable decisions among stakeholders). The study is descriptive and data was collected through secondary sources. Major ethical challenges faced in global business management are: employment practices, time management, corruption, moral obligations, business meetings and dressing, human rights, and environmental regulations. To be ethically correct is not a simple task for global management as a result of diversity in cultural values. Global businesses are to enact, embrace and support values that include human rights, labour standards, the environment, and anti-corruption.