I need powerpoint slides for ready work

User Generated

nfzn1989

Business Finance

Description

I need professional powerpiont slides for this 25 pages project.. please make sure that you include the main points on that presentation.. Please make sure you attach photos and if you can find videos that are related to the main ideas I will add a very good tip.. Please don't forget to do nice designing as well. 

MNGT482- Business Ethics Paper FInal.docx 

Unformatted Attachment Preview

Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 1 MNGT 482 5/4/15 Professor Sapp Lindsay Berk Bradley Palmatary Byung Park Nicholas Rice Brandon Snyder Asma Alfandi Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 2 When considering the type of ethical problem our group would choose to focus on when observing a company or country, we realized that there was ethics behind every decision that is made in the business world. We chose to talk about international business as a whole rather than an overview of a particular corporation and the decisions that they had to make. While it can prove to be very beneficial in expansion of a company both from a size and financial standpoint, there is also harm behind the decisions made in broadening your business and taking it beyond domestic markets. We reference China frequently as a great example as to how expansion into international markets can have negative affects on the environment and economy as a whole. As a business, intervening in foreign markets is not an easy thing to do. A lot of different factors and their long-term effects must be taken into consideration before making any decisions. We evaluated the decisions and steps necessary to expand a company internationally and realized who and what would be affected. First and foremost, we researched the growth of a business going international. Opening it to new markets where demanded can prove rapid success and profits, however we must take into account how this is harming the smaller businesses. These larger corporations are building factories, etc. in other countries creating jobs elsewhere, although they are needed domestically. This raises the ethical question as to if it is right to create jobs overseas and support their citizens before we help our small businesses and ourselves. The next main problem that we must consider in moving our business internationally is how it will affect human rights. Outsourcing our work creates many problems for the international citizen’s rights. We move our manufacturing plants overseas because Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 3 production costs are much lower and we can pay those in sweatshops, etc. much lower wages than we would be forced to domestically. Foreign countries tend to have different laws and regulations that we must take into account before expanding internationally. This plays a big role with pollution and the environment as a whole. As an example, it was statistically proven that the US is responsible for 20% of China’s air pollution, which was caused from our production plants. They are less proactive with the prevention of this type of pollution and we take advantage of it. This is one of the ethical decisions we must make in deciding if it is right or wrong to pollute foreign grounds for our financial gain. We, as businessmen, must decide what is morally right or wrong while intervening into foreign markets. Small businesses, the environment, human rights, and the economy as a whole are all important factors we must consider before any final decisions are made. International business has triggered much success throughout the years, while also becoming a threat to many businesses in the United States. A major sector that needs to be addressed would be the changes happening to small businesses across the United States due to international business. Data collected in 2011 stated that there was an estimated 28.2 million small businesses in the United States, as well as 17,7000 companies with 500 employees or more (Advocacy, 2014). A frequently asked question is what percentage of these small businesses is actually affected by international business? Is it ethical for businesses to order goods from foreign countries instead of creating jobs in the United States by building factories on domestic grounds? Another important topic here is should we really support other countries before we support ourselves and crush small businesses domestically. Small businesses in the United States Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 4 make up a larger percent than one would think. These companies are closing down daily due to larger global companies opening up around them. A great example of this would be Wal-Mart. An image shown below captures a picture from a protest with citizens claiming that Walmart is in fact destroying local businesses, and supporting Chinese markets instead of domestic factories: Wal-Mart is an enormous, growing company that has gone international since 1991. With over 4,000 store locations in the United States alone, Wal-Mart has dominated the market essentially taking out any small businesses that is within its proximity. Large national companies such as Wal-Mart are very well connected and take full advantage of the added benefits that come along with being a global company. Some bonuses that companies who have gone international are able to benefit from are lower exchange rates, outsourcing, and low margin volume sales, which makes it very hard for small businesses to compete with (Sun, 2015). Outsourcing can be defined as obtaining goods from a foreign market and bringing these goods into the United States, attempting Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 5 to reduce costs for some companies. This practice could be considered unethical to some individuals because we are essentially supporting foreign business over domestic business. Many individuals would say that it is not ethical to give business to foreign markets. The compelling argument in favor of outsourcing would simply state that it saves money for companies regarding labor and operational costs. When discussing international labor markets and how the United States benefits from them, it is very obvious that most of our products are manufactured from foreign countries. For example, many products that consumers purchase are stamped with the logo “Made in China,” or another credible country. It is very uncommon for a product to say “Made in the United States.” Due to the fact that purchasing products and materials from a foreign country has remained cheaper, businesses have favored importing goods from foreign markets in order to save money and make increasingly more amounts of profit. The question might also be what steps small businesses have to take in order to stay alive in today’s market? An option being businesses could choose to form alliances with other competitors so they can all stay alive together. While it is true in some situations that small businesses have to shut their doors after a well known, large, successful corporation opens up around them. It is also likely that a small business could benefit from when an international or larger company enters their area. Situations can indeed arise if a neighboring larger company decides to close their doors. For example, an article published in 2014 provided an example of how large international businesses can both positively and negatively affect business. A small thrift shop in Minnesota called “Nancy’s Nifty Thrifty” had reported higher sales and an increase in customers once a Wal-Mart opened up in the nearby Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 6 shopping center (Shaw, 2014). Nancy’s Nifty Thrifty retail shop experienced higher volume and a variety of different clients that they had not been exposed to in the past. The Wal-Mart had to unfortunately close its doors last April, which in effect forced Nancy’s thrift shop to also have to close its doors shortly after. Nancy could no longer bring in business even though she increased her efforts to gain customers and lowered her prices on products in hopes to stay alive as a business. While Wal-Mart is perceived to be a large threat to small businesses, it can sometimes help these small companies as well. There are many stories such as Nancy’s where multinational companies can actually help local businesses and contribute to their continued success. Some people do not realize the impact that small business such as Nancy’s thrift shop play in today’s economy. Small businesses are often said to be the “engines of job creation” here in the United Sates (Bagley, 2012). Since unemployment rates have been at a steady percentage of 5.5, it is our duty as Americans to help out this situation. While unemployment rates have successfully decreased from 6.3% to 5.5% in the last year and a half, we are still determined to condense that rate to an even lower percentage (United States Unemployment Rate, 2015). First step to reducing the unemployment rate is to keep small businesses alive and running so they can continue to provide jobs. In essence, the more small businesses continuing to operate and open each year means that more jobs will continue to be offered to qualified individuals. There have been thousands of programs implemented all over the world in order to support small businesses. The decision to support small businesses by creating these programs is a very smart ethical endeavor. With this being said, since small businesses employees account for about 60% to 80% of all United States jobs, it is very important that we care and do whatever is Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 7 possible to support these businesses so that the citizens of the United States remain employed (Bagley, 2012). One action that we could take in order to remain loyal to United States small businesses would be to buy from local stores and companies instead of shopping internationally which many people do. Most international companies are available to United States consumers through ecommerce shopping websites. Shopping online has become very popular for consumers, it is nearly impossible to avoid advertisements from foreign markets trying to persuade us to purchase from their businesses. While some consumers might not trust international companies with their money, there are still people who do place online orders and give their business to foreign markets. It is simply impossible to control where people wish to spend their money, but it would be more beneficial to shop domestically instead of internationally in order to continue to support United States businesses. If you are a small business anywhere in the world, having an online presence is very crucial in staying alive since the Internet has become more and more popular each year. E-commerce is not the only section of business that has been more heavily affected as time goes on, but there are other areas in business that are impacted by larger corporations. Some examples of various areas in business that are impacted would be employees and other staff members, which can be heavily meddled with once a larger business has opened. Meaning that if a larger, well-known company opens up, one might find it harder to find candidates that would be willing to work for you (Johnston, 2015). This would require you to possibly have to increase the wages for your employees. You might also have to offer greater benefits that are now being offered to other employees through larger companies that can afford to provide such benefits. Most small businesses Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 8 do not have the capital to offer benefits, which could possibly cost them their best employees. Most employees would rather work for a company that offers benefits to secure them financially in the future. Another business category that could be affected would be inventory. Multinational businesses are able to order in bulk because they have more capital to do so. Small businesses might not order in bulk because they do not need the added inventory and are more customized in their consumer’s needs. Larger businesses are simply complying with generic tastes when placing product orders. Since these larger companies are able to order in bulk, they can essentially afford to lower their prices for their consumers and offer discounts. Most of the time smaller companies cannot afford to lower their prices or offer discounts since they do not have as many sales. Small businesses order their products based on each consumers needs and not the general population. Some advice would be for companies to express to the community that they are running their business because they care about local market needs. Larger businesses might not be interested in tailoring their business to individual consumers but more or less trying to keep up with the franchises and standards expected of them. One other subject that is commonly talked about in business is the working conditions. Larger businesses are able to provide better working conditions for their employees simply because they have the power to do so. For instance they might have a nicer office building, break rooms, air conditioning and lighting, and updated technology available for their employees. While small businesses might also have nice working conditions for their employees, their buildings might not be as updated or cared for when compared to larger companies. Small businesses need to make sure that they are providing safe and Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 9 well-maintained working conditions for their employees to avoid their staff leaving them for a more cared for environment. Businesses need to stay up to date on the latest technology for their employees so that they can keep up with the ongoing shift in technology (Johnston, 2015). It can be viewed as unethical for a multinational company to open up next door to a smaller company that has been doing business in a specific area for many years. These companies might not be able to compete with the innovation of the larger newer companies. While it would be nice to have the authority to stop these companies from entering into your market, such actions are not possible. The best a small company can do is to try and either benefit from the increased customer base that is about to enter into the area, or increase efforts to stay alive by offering better benefits, forming alliances, or expanding their products and lowering prices if possible. In the end, a company might come to realize that international business is not necessarily a threat towards their business, but can in some circumstances help them to become a more successful company. Nowadays, U.S. businesses are faced with the ethical dilemma of whether or not to outsource the production of their goods to foreign countries that can produce them at a cheaper price. One might ask why corporations in the U.S wouldn’t make their products domestically and help support the U.S economy? The answer is quite simple: It costs less to employ sweatshop workers in foreign countries than it does to employ U.S. citizens earning at least minimum wage. Of course, when people hear the word sweatshop they immediately think of workers being abused and underpaid. But, are sweatshops really as bad as people commonly perceive them to be? Are they really that toxic to society or are Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 10 they actually a benefit to society? Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion but the surprising truth is that sweatshops tend to benefit all parties involved. At the present times, companies use sweatshops as a means of increasing profitability. The criterion that makes a factory a sweatshop is that the employees work long hours and receive low compensation. While this is true, it is important to note that all environments are different, therefore, working conditions/hours and compensation are all relative to each environment. For example, minimum wage in the U.S is $7.50 so if someone offered to pay a U.S. citizen $20 to do five hours of yard work, then that would be considered menial pay. This is an acceptable belief to have in the U.S. since $4 an hour is below the legal minimum wage laws and there are an abundance of opportunities to do a job paying minimum wage. Let’s say hypothetically that Tanzania has a minimum wage law of the equivalent to $3 an hour. Citizens of Tanzania would look at the previous offer of $20 for five hours of work as a fair proposal. In addition, there are some countries that don’t even have a minimum wage law. In a lot of these countries, mainly countries in Asia, including China and Taiwan, there are very few job opportunities that provide a steady income (Rivoli, 2005). Working in a sweatshop producing electronics or clothing for 12 hours a day and earning 25 cents is not frowned upon by Chinese sweatshop workers. The fact is that they have the option to either work in sweatshops or live hundreds of miles in the countryside away from civilization and produce a cash crop that will most likely provide even less income. Most citizens say that they would prefer to work in the factory because it is more comfortable than most other jobs (Powell, 2008). Working inside in a factory is more appealing to them than working outside in the heat of the day. Would this opinion hold true in the Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 11 U.S.? More than likely, it wouldn’t. But, these are two completely different cultures and economies. China’s population is over 5 times the population of the U.S. There just aren’t enough jobs to go around without sweatshops in China. Unbeknownst to most naysayers, the sweatshop industry in China is a primary source for economic stimulation as well as a dominant source of jobs for china’s citizens. For the amount of people that populate the cities of China, it would be impossible to find a desk job in the corporate world for all of them. And while no one forces these people to live in the congested cities, most Chinese sweatshop workers prefer it to the alternative. The alternative is to live in the rural countryside in severe isolation producing cash crops (Nicholas, 2000). The opportunity cost of this is obviously being able to make your own hours and work as much and as hard as you want. However, rural workers lose the amenities of the big city life where everything they could want or need is within a couple of city blocks. To stay and work in the factories has its positives as well as the over exaggerated negatives. From a macro level, the world needs sweatshops now more than ever. Apple, one of the most valuable and arguably most powerful companies in the world, has recently switched all of its manufacturing into foreign sweatshops. The main reason: Apple can’t produce enough of its products domestically in a given time frame. A few years ago, the Apple board of executives decided it was time to outsource their labor in order to be more efficient and be able to supply their customers’ demand for goods such as iPads, iPhones and Macintosh products (Arica, 2012). Foxconn Technology Group is one of Apple’s largest manufacturers (Zhang, 2012). Located in near Chengdu, China, the factory employs a large number of Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 12 employees. This company’s CEO claims that China employs about 1.2 million people to work in these sweatshop factories. He firmly states that employees are allowed to come and go as they please and are not subject to military like conditions, although certain Hong Kong human rights groups have denied the truth to those statements. The truth is that they will never know for sure, as with most people whom speculative on this subject. People are not allowed to go into the factories except for very rare interviews that seem to always display these factories in a “staged” light. It is equally important to understand that this factory attracts regular college students who need extra money. Much like someone getting a job working at McDonalds’ while being a full-time college student, these jobs offer a fairly low wage in return for very elementary labor. For those who wish they hadn’t stopped producing domestically, consider the effects. For one, Apple wouldn’t be able to supply nearly the amount of goods that they do now. In the first quarter of 2012, Apple sold three million iPads. They had no choice in using sweatshops if they were going to be able to produce such a massive supply. In addition, it is much cheaper for Apple to make these products in China and thus they are sold for less, as well. Imagine an iPad costing $1,000. With the type of margins that domestic production creates, that is approximately what the consumer would be paying. People must understand that the consumer is the direct cause that Apple has moved it operations to factories like Foxconn. The demand for products as lower costs has a direct relationship with the creating of sweatshops. How can corporations be blamed for this race to the bottom? With its 430,000 employees, Foxconn can produce an outstanding number of Apple products. Do they work long days, yes? Are there few a employees that are underage, most likely? The consumers are the ones to blame for this. Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 13 As consumers, we demand Apple products more than any other products in the world. People wait in the lines for hours in order to purchase the newest Apple devices. Foxconn factory is only a product of the consumer frenzy Apple has ignited. It is hypocritical to say that the Foxconn is bad and needs to be shut down. We, the consumer, need places like this in order to fulfill our want for Apple products. Similarly, apparel companies such as Nike have also switched to the sweatshop manufacturing (Keady, 2009). Nike, just like Apple, has a tremendously loyal consumer fan base that expects a plethora of products. Also, like Apple, Nikes is a worldwide brand. Why would worldwide company make its good in the least cost-effective place? Especially, when there are countries that literally court Nike to open up factories and offer much cheaper costs for production. The fact that they choose places like China and Taiwan to produce their goods is nothing more than a prudent business decision. In this day and age, the most important corporate goal is maximizing shareholder wealth. It simply isn’t fair to make judgments about sweatshops without knowing all of the facts and actually seeing the point of view of various parties. There is no doubt that the working conditions would not be acceptable in the U.S. but that is not a fair argument. Sweatshops provide jobs for people that would otherwise essentially be subsistence farmers. The growth in countries such as China and Taiwan has been heavily influenced by the emergence of sweatshops. And, the number one reason that U.S. consumers can’t argue against the use of sweatshops is because that would be one of the most hypocritical stances that a consumer could make. Consumers love cheap products made from foreign countries like China. Otherwise, Wal-Mart wouldn’t exist and Apple products would be reserved for only affluent consumers. Are sweatshops a ethical? Yes. Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 14 They provide a benefit to all parties and are a necessity for global economic growth. Sweatshops epitomize the definition of international business and that isn’t such a bad thing, after all. International businesses have a huge effect on the United States economy. These businesses that specialize in specific goods or services create huge value for companies in the United States. Due to this value creation, United States businesses must remain a huge participant in global trade in order to keep their products competitively priced. Trading internationally with these businesses has its pros and cons and the way some nations go about gaining an edge with regards to trading globally is ethically questionable. Concerns that arise with regards to the effect of international businesses on the domestic economy include trade deficit, loss of jobs, and overall loss of national sovereignty. A trade deficit can be defined as how much costs of a country’s imports surpass the worth of its exports. With the rise in globalization it seems as if we are needing more and more from foreign countries and foreign countries are needing less and less from us. If this trend continues to hold true, the current trade deficit may become insurmountable for the United States, which is a very bad for the domestic economy. A good example of this is the United States and the trade deficit they have with China. Figure 1 displays the trade statistics from 2001-present. At first glance it doesn’t seem too alarming. U.S exports to China are increasing at a substantial rate of 534.9% compared to China’s export growth rate of 329.3%. Both of these statistics are positive numbers for both countries. The flipside is when you take a look at difference in the totals for exports and imports for each country. Since 2001 China’s change in exports versus imports is more Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 15 than double the United States. This figure of 100.7 billion compared the United States 46.9 billion is what should raise a few red flags. This huge deficit puts the United States economy at a disadvantage. Figure 1 Source: Authors' analysis of U.S. Census Bureau (2013), U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC 2014), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS 2014b), and BLS Employment Projections program (BLS-EP 2014a and 2014b). Where this ties in ethically is how countries such as China go about gaining such a competitive advantage in the global economy. It is well-known that the working conditions in many ways are very poor in the Chinese factories that the United States does so much business with. According to CBS news, the highest minimum wage is held in Shanghai at $293.00 a month. This is by no means a figure that is easy to live off of. It is believed that many factories that supply large organizations in the United States even work around the minimum wage and pay employees less. These workers would likely not be able to find work anywhere else and so they really don’t have much of a choice Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 16 when it comes to working in these conditions. The benefit for Chinese businesses themselves is that the extremely low labor costs, prolific efficiency, and abundance of employees allow for organizations to charge United States organizations a price that they can’t resist. It is impossible for United States businesses to not participate in this trade because in order to stay competitive within the industry, they must. The only way these domestic businesses could pull out of trading with the ethically questionable organizations of China would be for all of the domestic businesses to do so at once. However, this would cause prices of domestic goods to rise substantially and it is likely that a large portion of the consumer base would be lost due to the increase. So who is ethically wrong here? The Chinese government and businesses executives who allow for the harsh labor conditions to continue in order for the trade benefits of China or the United States domestic organizations that willingly import from the factories with harsh conditions in order maintain a competitive advantage knowing full well what is going on in these factories. There are many questionable actions going on but it is very clear that the workers in these factories are in an unfortunate situation and something needs to change. With the United States suffering a trade deficit this also leads to more problems. One of the consequences to having this trade deficit is a loss of domestic jobs. With so many imports there becomes less of a need to have jobs in the United States that would otherwise produce these imports. In order to avoid confusion, China is yet again a great example to show the impact of the deficit on job loss within the domestic economy. Figure 2 shows how job displacement has substantially rose over the last decade. Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 17 Figure 2 Source: Authors' analysis of U.S. Census Bureau (2013), U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC 2014), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS 2014b), and BLS Employment Projections program (BLS-EP 2014a and 2014b). This is also due to China’s organizations ability to achieve such low cost on the making of their exports. As I said before, these low cost tactics are very ethically questionable but domestic United States organizations are contributing by participating in trade with these organizations. The loss of these jobs due to this ethically questionable behavior raises huge question marks for what the United States should do in regards to dealing with international businesses that participate in ethically questionable behavior. These ethical issues have a snowball effect. Once they start and gain traction and momentum, they can be very hard to deal with especially when the concepts benefit certain entities so greatly. This irresistible benefit along with the lack of repercussion for Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 18 participating in such ethically frowned upon action makes for a dangerous situation. Another negative affect of that ethically questionable international businesses have on the domestic economy or United States in general, rather, is the loss of popular sovereignty. With the increase in foreign jobs and foreign trade at a much higher rate than the domestic economy, international businesses gain power and with power come a certain degree of control. For example, our huge investment into China’s businesses due to their specialization and low costs allows for China to have substantial leverage with regards to our domestic economy. In reality, China has substantial control over certain portions of the United States economy. This loss of popular sovereignty is a major concern for the domestic economy. If these international businesses were to cease doing business with our domestic organizations, the impact on our economy could be disastrous. Prices for domestic goods would skyrocket. This could lead to multiple other problems, which could be another discussion in itself. The entire situation is unfortunate due to the circumstances that don’t leave domestic businesses with much ability to be able to make a difference in the ethical issues that exist in many organizations in China. Also, China is a small fraction of the cases where ethical issues exist with regards to labor. This is a major ethical issue that has a direct tie to the domestic economy in the United States. Whether these ethical issues will be addressed and can be resolved in the near future is unclear. After a lot of research and reviews of company’s attempts to globalize their brand, we have come to the conclusion that there are four main things to look at and consider ethically, before any expansion can take place. The four things that we feel are affected by major businesses going international, are small businesses, the environment due to Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 19 pollution, human rights, and the domestic economies. The goal of a company expanding into foreign markets is to try to create a global brand image that can be recognized across the world. In doing so you must maintain a positive relationship with the countries in which you are intervening and prove your worth to the consumers within your target market. The citizen’s human rights as well as the environment must not be taken advantage of at any time otherwise it can put your brand in bad light. Respecting these factors as well as their economy as a whole and its restraints is essential in earning the following of the masses. In order to be successful as a business wishing to expand globally, you must take these four factors into account and promote positive social responsibility and ethics within your company. Ethical Dilemmas in International Business 20 References "Advocacy: The Voice of Small Business in Government." Frequently Asked Questions. SBA Office of Advocacy, Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. Bagley, Rebecca O. "Small Businesses = Big Impact." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 15 May 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. Johnston, Kevin. "How Do Multinational Companies Affect Local Businesses?" Small Business. Chron, 2015. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. Shaw, Bob. "When Walmart Leaves, There Go the Shops in the Neighborhood." TwinCities.com. Pioneer Press, 19 May 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. Sun, Leo. "Impact of Globalization on Small Businesses." Business Dictionary Articles. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. "United States Unemployment Rate | 1948-2015 | Data | Chart | Calendar." United States Unemployment Rate | 1948-2015 | Data | Chart | Calendar. N.p., 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. Arica, J. (2012, March 30). Apple: No more sweatshops, but it’ll cost you. Retrieved from http://www.mobiledia.com/news/135758.html Nicholas, S. & Kristof, W. (2000, September 24). Two cheers for sweatshops. Retrieved from http://www. Nytimes.com/2000/09/24/magazine/twofor-sweatshops.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm cheers- Powell, B. (2008, June 2). Library of economics and liberty. Rivoli, P. (2005). The travels of a t-shirt in the global economy, an economist examines the markets, power and politics of world trade. Wiley. Scott, Robert E., and Will Kimball. "China Trade, Outsourcing and Jobs." Economic Policy Institute. 11 Dec. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. Zhang, C. (2012, February 6) www.cnn.com. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/world/asia/china-apple-foxconnworker/index.html
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

This question has not been answered.

Create a free account to get help with this and any other question!

Similar Content

Related Tags