Multinational Ethical Dilemmas

Multinational Corporation - business enterprise with manufacturing, sales, or service subsidiaries in one or more foreign countries, also known as a transnational or international corporation. These corporations originated early in the 20th century and proliferated after World War II.

Critics of TNCs argue that this ripple effect is a myth. Rather than benefitting those in the local economy, critics contend that the beneficial effects “leak out” of the local economy to benefit other places, chiefly back to the home nation (Shepard, Porter, Faust, & Nagar, 2009, p. 519). In addition, local firms may find it impossible to compete with the goods produced by the TNC due to beneficial tax breaks and the alleviation of labor restrictions that many TNCs enjoy in host nations (Shepard, Porter, Faust, & Nagar, 2009, p. 525). Employment by TNCs may also not benefit a host nation’s economy or people in a significant way. Wages for workers at many TNCs are low due to removal of employment regulations in places

While I'm no fan of multinationals in general, there are exceptions that need to be considered. One example of a multinational entity that truly benefits a peripheral nation is the luthier Robert Rey of Olympia, Washington (Luthiers are instrument builders, in this case Rob focuses on making violins and bows). Rather than having goods made in sweatshops, he has developed a relationship with luthiers in Beijing that run shoppes similar to his. He pays them to make celli and bows for him (Rey, Rob. personal communication 2016); which he can sell at low prices due to the disparity of the economies of China

Multinational Corporations (or MNC’s) are businesses with operations placed in various countries other than the home country where all functions are managed. Traditionally, it is up to the federal government to prevent these entities from abusing their power and violating International Law by implementing regulations. However, because of their transnational status, MNC’s are separate from the government, the state, and society; giving them the ability to act outside of public standards. This has caused problems in the international realm as it frees up opportunity for corporations to abuse their power due to a serious

In the past decade, a pattern has emerged of large corporations choosing to contract their labour to foreign countries in order to remain competitive. However, companies tend to relocate production to the poorest nations where labour is cheap and output is chief. As a result, outsourcing labour has made multinational companies subject to criticism for their immoral practices. This has created the classic ethical debate as to whether it is possible for multinationals to engage in developing nations in both an ethical and lucrative manner. For businesses, the difficulty is if one of these values should be favoured over the other.

Among many of the multi-national corporations, IBM has been one of the pioneers of outsourcing in the IT industry. William M. Bulkeley (2004) explains in the article "New IBM Jobs Can Mean Fewer Jobs Elsewhere," that IBM purchased Daksh eService in 2004 to absorb 6,000 Daksh employees to expand IBM's India-based workforce. Truthfully speaking, the primary goal of most multi-national corporations is to acquire financial benefit. For that matter, thousands of US workers replaced to cheaper laborers in China or India help the outsourcers to reduce the manufacturing costs. However, the ethical issue springs from the fact that not everybody benefits from the offshore outsourcing. The estimated 200,000 service jobs shipped abroad means the extensive number of US workers who lost their livelihood. Although outsourcing has become a fast developed trend around the world, it became a threat to American workers.

Yet as Velasquez (2002) points out, these corporations are faced with many more ethical conundrums than are single-nation corporations. In particular, he notes that multinationals, because of their ability to shift operations, can avoid taxes and other fiscal obligations. Thus they are faced with choices between maximizing the economic basis of their company and helping to meet the local needs of their home and host countries (Zalewski, 2003).

A lot of American companies have invested large amounts of money in foreign countries in order to obtain lands, natural resources, and cheap labor. With these large sums of money large corporations have indirectly gained a lot of influence in the economy of other countries. Large corporations make a lot of money investing in foreign countries but they also bring jobs and capital to these countries that so desperately need them.

Globalism has resulted in a number of changes for the economic viability of the modern corporation. As both the developed world evolves in their new market structure, the developing world adds to the pressures and changes necessary to do business in the contemporary environment. Doing business is not the same worldwide, and the citizens of the global village realize that there are different cultural norms, behaviors, and expectations that stakeholders of all types have when thinking about the modern corporation. Business ethics sets up standards for organizations to act in a way that may be considered right or wrong, or at the very least acceptable or unacceptable. As trade barriers are falling around the globe, differences in morality are gaining more interest regarding such issues as human rights, political behavior or even environmental conservation. The core purpose of a multinational business is to continue to grow the organization, find more resources, develop more product and convert new customers. Without fiscal advantages, organizations would not have the impetus to expand globaly greater profits, less regulation expense, tax incentives, larger universe of workers, etc. Multinational corporations do, however, need to keep in mind that customs, laws, and expectations may very well change by country, but that there are still remaining overall global moral standards of behavior (Mayfield, 2003).

Multinational corporations are business entities that operate in more than one country. The typical multinational corporation or MNC normally functions with a headquarters that is based in one country, while other facilities are based in locations in other countries. In some circles, a multinational corporation is referred to as a multinational enterprise or a transnational corporation .

These companies have been responsible for creating job opportunites, boosting the economy and creating a better soucer of living for the citizens of these countries. “The vast numbers of MNCs are located all around the world; they vary widely in size and interest. Their intention is to take a package of capital, technology, managerial know-how, or marketing skills to carry out production or business services abroad. Their effects are far reaching, affecting the daily lifestyle of the average consumer. Partly because of their size, MNCs tend to dominate the sectors in which they specialize. As a result, their transnational business ventures offer much debate about their impact on developing countries; many arguments have been proposed on this subject alone” ( ).

Over the years, Multinational enterprise have matured and developed into large companies that they are now part of our everyday lives. Form the use of mobile phones to the cars, personal computers and their software and even the beverage we drink, most of these products are supplied by Multinational companies. Their existence has great impact on our lives. In the world today, Multinational enterprises are powerful companies and they own resources in excess that most host countries possess. These companies are so powerful that they turn out to be power centers that can manipulate the host countries and even international organizations and at times the affairs in its home country.

International business ethics challenges the corporate world to deal with questions of what to do in situations where ethical standards come into conflict as a result of the different cultural practices in the nation. Since, there is this dilemma that has progressively troubled the large multinational corporations, international business ethics has arisen to help address these adhesive subject matters. There are several international business ethics discussions on the question of how to act in the home country as opposed to the host country is at the central point of most international corporations. The argument in question is how companies should practice their business according

A multinational corporation (MNC) is a business firm incorporated in one country that has production and sales operations in several other countries.

1. Definition of multinational company which says that a company which serves more than one country at a time and small description about its background.