Ethical Issues in Global Business

Table of Contents

IntroductionPage 3

Ethics

Corruption in the United StatesPage 3

Corruption and the OlympicsPage 6

Corruption AbroadPage 7

Affects of CorruptionPage 8

Anti-Corruption Strategies Page 10

ConclusionPage 11

Back Up Materials

Transparency International, Global Corruption Report 2001Tab 1

Time Trail Article: Italy, The Mani Pulite ScandalTab 2

Economic Perspectives 1998, View from Stuart EizenstatTab 3

Promoting the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption in a Globalized Economy

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977Tab 4

Transition: The Newsletter about Reforming EconomiesTab 5

Ethical Issues in Global Business

Navigating the boundaries between right and wrong can prove tricky for companies that operate in several nations and across cultures. Ethics is essential to economic development. The field of ethics, also called moral philosophy, involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Business ethics is the study and evaluation of decision making by businesses according to moral concepts and judgments.

Arthur Andersen witnesses testify at the Subcommit...

Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of th...

English: Enron Complex in Houston Texas

Ethical questions range from practical, narrowly defined issues, such as a company's obligation to be honest with its customers, to broader social and philosophical questions, such as a company's responsibility to preserve the environment and protect employee rights. Many ethical conflicts develop from conflicts between the differing interests of company owners and their workers, customers, and surrounding community.

Enron Corporation's fishy accounting practices, the siphoning of profits at Adelphia Communications Corp., allegations of tax fraud and lavish personal spending of company money at Tyco International and WorldCom Inc.'s bid to hide billions of dollars worth of expenses are just a few examples of unethical activities. Scandals and bankruptcies in the United States at companies like Enron and WorldCom Inc. have focused attention on the abuse of the power entrusted to executives by shareholders, employees and customers and they underscore the need for reforms to bolster business ethics. The free...