Question

How do managers decide upon an ethical course of action when confronted with decisions pertaining to working conditions, human rights, corruption, and environmental pollution? From an ethical perspective, how do managers determine the moral obligations that flow from the power of a multinational? In many cases, there are no easy answers to these questions because some are very real dilemmas with no obvious correct action. Nevertheless, managers can and should do many things to make sure that basic ethical principles are adhered to and that ethical issues are routinely inserted into international business decisions.

In addition to establishing the right kind of ethical culture in an organization, businesspeople must be able to think through the ethical implications of decisions in a systematic way. To do this, they need a moral compass, and both rights theories and Rawls's theory of justice help to provide such a compass.

Beyond these theories, some experts on ethics have proposed a straightforward practical guide—or ethical algorithm—to determine whether a decision is ethical, while others have recommended a five-step process to think through ethical problems (this is another example of an ethical algorithm). These steps involve understanding how a stakeholder would be affected by a decision, being aware of the ethical and moral implications of a decision and assessing past decisions to know if they complied with set standards.

Answer 1

Identify stakeholder's decisions - CONSIDER

Judge the ethics of strategic decisions - KNOW

Establish moral intent - DECIDE

Engage in ethical behavior - ACT

Audit decisions - ASK

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