Abstract: Ethical issues are becoming more and more important to companies every year. Consumers are increasingly concerned about what they are buying; consumers’ purchasing culture in developed countries is moving in a more ethical direction. At the same time companies are facing scandals after making unethical decisions.
The purpose of this independent study is to acquire the most comprehensive description of business ethics; in order to study different theories and definitions, understand the impact of globalization and importance of ethical legislation, as well as analyze current ethical issues in international business.
Relevant literature was revised with the aim finding solutions how a company can avoid and manage ethical issues in a multi-cultural environment. Questions are: how multinational companies should deal with regulation differences between different countries and regions, and how they can handle the competition without making any unethical decisions.
Yes, unethical behaviour can lower company´s costs (e.g. using child labour or mismanagement of safety regulations), but as societies grow richer, their willingness to pay for ethical behaviour increases. Ethical behaviour is highly important to a successful business ad that is why every employee should follow the company´s principles in ethical business. Ethical decision-making creates long-term additional value to the company and it can be measured by income or good reputation.
Keywords: Ethics, Business, Globalization, Ethical Issues.
Title: Ethical Issues in International Business Decision Making
Author: Anna-Mari Hatakko
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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