Discussion 200 words with 3 Responses reply

Please answer the below question 200 words and give responses 50 words for each response

Discussion Question

Read Ethical Dilemma: It’s All Chinese to Me

If you were Terry, what would you do?

Should you invest in a company that might knowingly use underage labor, ignore workers’ rights, or pay bribes to foreign governments?

Please give responses at least 50 words for each post

Post1:

If I were Terry, I would not invest $48k into Universal Autos. Investing your entire portfolio into one company is never an advisable idea, ethical considerations aside.  Diversification  is an important of every portfolio and Terry should take this into consideration when deciding where to invest her inheritance. “ Diversification  is a technique that reduces risk by allocating investments across various financial instruments, industries, and other categories. It aims to maximize  returns  by investing in different areas that would each react differently to the same event.” (Lioudis, 2021)

Taking the ethical implications into consideration, this company seems ripe for a very public scandal. Underage labor and workers’ rights violations can greatly hinder public opinion in a company. This can also limit stock growth. The same often holds true with a government bribe. If push came to shove, the Chinese government could try to distance themselves from Universal Autos, and the stock price would plummet. Terry should also consider how important these moral issues are to her on a personal level. Does she want to be giving money to a company that partakes in these kind of endeavors? I personally would not want to invest in this type of company.

Response: ?

Post 2:

If I were Terry, I would definitely not invest in Universal Autos (UA) but focus my inheritance in long-term U.S. Treasury bonds.  Investing in U.S. Treasury bonds is a safe and effective way to build your wealth and will have a wonderful payoff in the long run if kept for ten years. According to Whittaker (2020), "If an investor wants maximum safety then the place to do it is in the Treasury market" shares the chief investment officer with Treasury Partners of New York.

Terry's capitol will also be safe and secure with U.S. Treasury bonds because it is backed up by the United States government.  Treasury bonds have historically been a reserve for investors looking for safe holdings due to these fixed-income investments being backed by the world’s largest economy, the U.S government (Whittaker, 2020).  You can’t say that about a Chinese company which has different practices and laws. 

I would recommend staying far and clear from any company that performs illegal actions such as bribery and questionable labor practices.  I myself would not invest in a company that supports unfair labor practices based on my ethics and how I was raised.  I would especially not invest in a company that has fraudulent transactions, because ultimately there's no guarantee that I would even get my invested money back. It is not a good situation to get into and not worth the risk in my mind.

Response: ?

Post 3:

If I was Terry, I would have a lot of thinking to do. At this point, I’ve received advice from family and friends with multiple different points of view to consider. From an ethics standpoint, I would be hard pressed to say that investing in a company that might knowingly use underage labor, ignore workers’ rights or potentially pay bribes to foreign governments is the right choice. Business in China has always seemed to be synonymous with unethical business practices and standards at least from the United States point of view.

In trying to put myself in Terry’s shoes and make the right decision, I researched a few different articles, but the most interesting I found was a recent article about the brand Nike. A Fox Business article stated, “Nike recently came under fire in China for a comment it made raising concerns about forced labor practices in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and reassured customers that it does not source textiles or products from the region, like cotton” (De Lea, 2021). It is clear that Nike is trying to make sure people both in and outside of China see their brand as one that operates ethically in a country where unethical behavior practices happen every day.

Obviously, every country is different and being from the United States we have stricter rules and standards for how workers are treated and how business is conducted than other countries. It is clear to me there are financial advantages with investing in a Chinese company, unfortunately there are also questions about how Chinese companies operate and whether or not they operate in an ethical manner. If I was Terry, I might look for another opportunity within China to invest in a company, or more than one company, where I have a chance to increase my profits, but also for Terry to feel that she has made an ethical decision by investing in a company, or companies, that follow ethical business practices and care about its workers. I myself would not invest in a company that might operate using underage labor, etc.

Response: ?