GLOBAL ETHICS:
The growing trend of globalization and liberalization of world trade has resulted in emergence of many Multinational Corporations that seek to explore new markets, increase sales and profits. Expanding to overseas markets is every home-based business’ desire in the long run; most companies pounce on the opportunity as soon as it presents itself. Internationalization however poses business challenges in product selection, marketing and ethical issues. Companies e.g. Daewoo that expanded rapidly into international fora oblivious of these challenges lost not only their business in the host countries but also valuable capital investments.
Ethical challenges are however the most common and contentious. This is occasioned by differences in the requirements of home and host countries (DeGeorge, R.T. (15). For instance, friendly payments are called gift-giving in China while as in USA it is considered bribery. In addition, the religious beliefs of the majority in a country also influence its perception of business ethics. In India, for instance, it is unethical to eat beef; in Pakistan, it is abominable to eat pork. As such, companies must adhere to both the legal ethical requirements as well as societal ethical requirements to succeed in international markets.
One major ethical difficulty is questionable payments. In many countries, especially in the East and in Africa, bribes and gift-giving are a social norm, especially for large value business deals. The Lockheed Corporation was locked in a devastating international corruption scandal in 1975-1977. The company had given millions of dollars in gifts to foreign government officials, including Japan and Holland, so as to secure an aircraft contract. While this may have been done in good faith, the USA viewed such an act in light of grave corruption. In the investigation by the Securities Exchange Commission, Lockheed Corporation declined to reveal the beneficiaries of these payments and was non-committal as to whether such payments would be made in future. The company stated these payments as normal in the negotiation and deal cutting process.
In 1977, the US government enacted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in response to this scandal. This act prohibits any payments to foreign government officials to aid in securing business. This scenario reveals the dilemma Lockheed Corporation found itself in while trying to secure international business. While it was unlawful in the USA to give gifts during negotiation of a deal, it is perfectly normal to do so in Asia and East Europe. Lockheed is thus bound by the laws of its home country but attracted to the norms of the host country.
Another ethical challenge is the differential wage rates and working conditions employed by multinationals. Some labor activists argue that multinationals should pay the employees in host countries the same wage rates as those in their home countries. Besides, activists argue they should work under the same conditions (Donaldson, T. (18). This debate especially affects USA corporations venturing in developing nations or the Far East. Apple Inc. for instance has struggled with employee wage and working conditions activism in its China manufacturing subsidiary Foxconn. In 2011, Foxconn hit the headlines for mass suicides by its employees. This is however ironical, since Apple is famed to be one of the best employers in its home country, USA. A report by the Center for Research on Multinational Corporations revealed that despite the suicide protest, workers are still routinely overworked. While the legal overtime limit is 36 hours, workers at Foxconn work 80-100 overtime hours every month. This is amidst scarce breaks for meals and deplorable living conditions.
In defense, the company outlined that its rates and conditions are within the allowed minimums. This incidence created a season of bad public image for Foxconn in China and by extension, Apple Inc. in its home country. Nonetheless, Apple still recorded high sales for all varieties of its gadgets.
A company expanding globally must hence be aware of the social norms of the intended host country so as to better strategize its entry into these fora.

Works Cited:
DeGeorge, R.T. (15). Business Ethics, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall, Eaglewood Cliffs, New Jersey. DesJardins, J.R. and McCall, J.J. (16). Contemporary Issues in Business Ethics, 3rd Edition, Wadsworth Publishing Company, Belmont. Donaldson, T. (18). The Ethics of International Business, Oxford University Press, NY, p.81 Donaldson,T. and Preston, L. E. (15). The Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation Concepts, Evidence, and Implications, Academy of Management Review, 0 (15), p.6
Fadiman, J. (001). “Foreign Corrupt Practices How To Deal With Foreign Forms of Bribery”, in Shaw, W.H. and Barry, V. (001), Moral Issues in Business, Eighth Edition, Wadsworth, Australia. Mahoney, Jack (15). “Gifts, Grease and Graft Business Ethics”, Financial Times, December 8, 15. Pincus, L.B. (00). “A Free Market Approach to Comparable Worth”, in Hartman, L.P. (00), Perspectives in Business Ethics, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, Boston, pp. 45-456.
Pukhan, S. and Dhillon, G. (001). “Ethical and Intellectual Property Concerns in A Multicultural Global Economy”, presented at BITWORLD 001, Cairo, Egypt, June 001.
Shaw, W.H. and Barry, V. (001). Moral Issues in Business, Eighth Edition, Wadsworth, Australia. White, T.I. (1). Right or Wrong a brief guide to understanding ethics, Prentice Hall, New York, pp. 41-56.