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To What Extent Is It Important for a Multi-National Business to Behave Ethically in Order to Succeed?

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Submitted By Jodie665909
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Many of the ethical issues and dilemmas in international business are rooted in the fact that political systems, law, economic development, and culture vary significantly from nation to nation. Consequently, what is considered normal practice in one nation may be considered unethical in others, resulting in bad reputations for UK businesses if found to be linked to business that would be reflected as unethical in the UK.
It is important for a multi-national business to behave ethically in order to succeed because the long-term implications of being unethical could result in the business having a negative image. Unethical is considered to be lacking moral principles; unwilling to adhere to proper rules of conduct. If a business is unethical consumers are less likely to buy from the business if their products come from a business whose factories, for example, use child labour or providing misleading information. As a result of this a negative image is developed and the businesses sales will decrease, as the consumers will purchase their products from other businesses whose products are produced in a more ethical way. The decrease in sales will mean that the businesses profitability will also fall. Moreover, due to the negative image the business will also struggle employing workers, as people may not want to work for a business that has an unethical image. One example of a business that has been affected due to being unethical is Nestlé, as in the 1970’s they were causing infant illness and death in poor communities by promoting bottle feeding and discouraging breast feeding. This has lead to Nestle still being the target of a boycotts because of the contribution to the unnecessary death and suffering of infants around the world by aggressively marketing baby foods in breach of international marketing standards. This has lead to slowing sales growth from 5.9% in

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