International Business Chapter 5: Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability

According to the Sullivan principles, what two conditions were GM required to fulfill in order to continue to operate in South Africa?

-GM should do everything possible to promote the abolition of apartheid laws -GM could not obey the apartheid laws in its own South African operations

What are four of the determinants of ethical behavior?

-social culture -personal ethics -leadership -organizational culture

The introduction of democratic elections in the _____ led to the eventual demise of the apartheid system in South Africa.

1990's

Which act outlaws the payment of bribes to foreign government officials to gain businesses?

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

A policy of racial segregation and political and economic discrimination against nonwhites in South Africa was known as the

apartheid system

What was taking place in South Africa when the apartheid system was dominant?

there was a mandated segregation between whites and nonwhites

What is an accurate description of developed nations in terms of the environment?

they have more substantial environmental regulations

When a company acts in its own self-interest and abuses a resource that isn't owned by anyone, such as a river, it is participating in the

tragedy of the commons

True or false: The decision-making process is one of the determinants of ethical behavior.

true

Scandinavia scores high on the individualism and uncertainty avoidance measures of societal culture. According to Hofstede's dimensions of societal culture, Scandinavia is more likely to engage in ______ business behavior than countries which score high on masculinity and power distance measures.

ethical

When the Morrison Manufacturing company was fined by the US government for the amount of carbon dioxide it released into the air, it decided to move its business to Thailand where it knew there were fewer restrictions on air emissions. Environmentalists would most likely question the ______ implications of this decision.

ethical

Sharon is visiting her company's manufacturing subcontractor in Pakistan. She is disturbed when she notices children working on the machinery with no air conditioning and little access to water, but she also knows these children are probably supporting their families. This is an example of a(n) ______.

ethical dilemma

Young children are permitted to work in the manufacturing of soccer balls in some countries, but this would not be legal in the United States. Yet, a company wants to sell these soccer balls in the United States. This is one example of a(n) ______.

ethical dilemma

______ are situations where none of the available alternatives seems morally acceptable.

ethical dilemmas

Which statement BEST explains how a manager's personal ethics might be challenged in international transactions?

expatriate managers may face more pressure to violate their personal ethics

An amendment to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act allowed for the use of ______ in which a business ensured that it will receive the standard treatment it ought to receive from a foreign government.

facilitating payments

True or false: Organizational culture refers to the system used to create job levels and hierarchies within a company.

false

After US companies objected that the FCPA would put them at a competitive disadvantage, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was eventually amended to allow for _____.

grease payments

Which of Hofstede's dimensions are likely to be found in nations where corruption is epidemic?

high power distance

Bennie is managing a call center in Italy. He is finding it difficult to motivate employees to meet their call volume using the standard tactics employed in the United States. Finally, Bennie is told that if he starts offering "daily cash bonuses" to employees, they will meet their targets. He is torn between doing what he believes is right and meeting his numbers. Bennie is facing a challenge to ______.

his personal ethics

The basic principles and values that govern interactions between individuals are known as

personal ethics

As demonstrated by the Nike example in the text, which working conditions situation is generally MOST preferred?

requiring good conditions in home and foreign operations even when this results in a smaller profit margin

How do facilitating payments benefit a company?

smooths the progress of services to which the business is entitled

What do scientists believe occurs as the result of the increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

the carbon dioxide reflects heat back to the earth's surface and the earth's temp increases

Garrett Hardin described how herders shared common land for grazing. It was advantageous to the poor to place more and more livestock on the common land because it would mean more income. Why did these actions result in ultimate tragedy?

the commons were overgrazed and eventually destroyed by the livestock

TimeTurner Corp. is a company based in the United States that manufactures luxury wrist watches. By western standards, if the company uses sweatshop labor to make these watches it is most likely to be considered

unethical

Heidi told her husband that there was no possible way she could meet her monthly sales goal now that her manager had doubled it. She decided the only way to make the new goal was to add 5% to every sales order and hide this cost under "personal needs" when she submitted her report. What is causing Heidi to act in this unethical manner?

unrealistic performance goals

The managers of ABC Manufacturing are struggling to meet their increased quota. They decide to eliminate two quality control steps in the manufacturing process. This is unethical behavior that was a result of

unrealistic performance goals

Garrett's company believes minimizing air emissions is the right thing to do, and it will not contract with a supplier who thinks otherwise. This idea about what the company believes to be right is an example of a

value

The ____ of a company reflect what the company believes to be good, right, and desirable.

values

In the 1980s, Western businesses questioned the ethics of operating in South Africa because the apartheid system in place there

violated basic human rights

Ethical issues arise in international business when

environmental regulations in host nations are less stringent than those in the home country

Rights such as freedom of association and freedom of speech are

not universally accepted

______ argued that it was ethically justified for General Motors to operate in South Africa so long as conditions of disobeying and promoting the abolition of apartheid laws were fulfilled.

Leon Sullivan

Which well-known advocate for human rights was elected president of South Africa following the apartheid movement in South Africa?

Nelson Mandela

Our personal ethics tell us it is wrong to cheat on a test. Conversely, it is right to

accept responsibility for your actions

International businesses frequently have to address ethical issues that develop because

countries have different business laws, practices and regulations

Organizational _____ is the name given to the values and norms that are shared among employees of an organization.

culture

Trevor told his foreign-born roommate that it was socially acceptable in the United States to question a professor if you believed he or she was saying something that was not true. This example of a social rule that governs behavior demonstrates the idea of a

norm

The accepted standards or ways of doing things in a particular setting are known as __________

norms