Power Point

Huawei legal and Ethical Issues

The ethical and legal elements of the business environment are the key to the success of the business and this, therefore, means that decisions must be based on careful consideration of the impact they may have on these components. For my course project, I have chosen to use Huawei technologies. Huawei is a Chinese multinational company which provides various telecommunication equipment as well as consumer electronics to the global market. The company has a presence in the United States and is one of the major players in the industry. Owing to its success in the industry, the company has faced several legal and ethical issues some of which are still in courts in various countries and others that were settled out of court. As part of the business environment, a company should be fully aware of the legal and ethical impacts that its operations are likely to have.

I came across a news article published in the Wall Street Journal which captures a comprehensive description of allegations that the company has benefited from the theft of intellectual property and copying of vital parts of various equipment designs. The article which is titled, “Huawei’s Years long Rise Is Littered with Accusations of Theft and Dubious Ethics”. This has been labelled as ‘dubious ethics’ because according to its accusers, the company has been riding on such Illegalities over the years and it has managed to grow from a small company to a respected multinational with over 188,000 workers and operates in 170 countries. According to Chuin-Wei and Strumpf 2019, most of the accusations against the company have been brought forward by competitors, US government officials as well as former employees. All of them agree that Huawei is actively involved in opportunistic activities that are majorly linked to the theft of technology from competitors a process which culminates in the manufacture or fabrication of various consumer electronics in a way that may make it hard for one to detect.

I have chosen this article because it provides an ethical issue facing Huawei has been pursued by the court. This, therefore, means that the issue is both ethical and legal and therefore makes the company a perfect fit for the course project. Another key reason why I chose to use Huawei is that the company is at the middle of the China-US trade wars and this, therefore, means that the company’s conduct and alleged involvement in various malpractices may decide how long the trade war lasts and how the two world economic giants policies on trade tariffs will be affected. In the past, we have seen various executive orders which alternate between China and the US trying to make a trade for each other difficult culminating in the ban which prevents USA companies from engaging in any trade with Huawei. It would be interesting to review these ethical and legal issues affecting Huawei and see how the trade war and allegations will play out especially now that the issue is in court in the US.

Huawei is currently the leader in the supply and installation of a 5G network and this has placed it in top demand across the Globe. This is because many companies believe that the company has reliable technology and its equipment has stood the test of time and efficiency. The company is progressively thriving to dominance despite the accusations on cyber espionage. I believe this company is a perfect choice for the course project with all the issues that surround its operations in the US. The company faces 10 cases all in US courts.

References

Chuin-Wei and Strumpf, (May25, 2019). Huawei’s Years long Rise Is Littered with