Chapter 4: Ethics in International Business

The naïve immoralist

* 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 -Actions are ethically justified if everyone else is doing the same thing

Cultural relativism

*Ethics are culturally determined and that firms should adopt the ethics of the cultures which they operate -"When in Rome, do as the Romans do

The Friedman doctrine

*Only social responsibility of business is to increase profits, so as long as the company stays within the rules of law. *Friedman doesn't believe that companies should undertake expenditures beyond those mandated by law and those required for the efficient running of a business

Righteous moralist

*Opposite of Cultural Relativsm, * Multinational's home country standard of ethics are the appropriate ones for companies to follow in foreign countries. -This approach is common among managers from developed countries

ethical decision making in a multinational enterprise

Friedman doctrine, Cultural relativism, righteous moralist, naïve immoralist

Straw Men approaches to business ethics

Raised by business ethics scholars primarily for the purpose of demonstrating that they offer inappropriate guidelines for ethical decision making in a multinational enterprise