GB502 Week 2 Responses
Rymario1
GB502Week2Responses.docxMario Rodriguez
Business Ethics in Sub-Saharan Africa
Ethical and moral practices in Sub-Saharan African are those that value the land and people of that land. According to the Real News piece shown for the lecture, multinational companies are coming into the region and essentially looting over $100 billion worth of natural resources. The countries are not being paid the market value of these resources by companies and thus losing out on the investment. This example would not be considered ethical or moral by many Western business codes of conduct. Companies see the African nations are vulnerable and due to the lack of a strong legal framework in the region, they can commit these unethical practices without recourse by the local government. While there are unethical practices done by outside businesses, African businesses themselves are making it their main priority to end corruption. These businesses agree that less corruption and more institutional support would make them more competitive and they would grow faster (Africa Renewal, 2013).
A company can successfully carry out ethical and moral practices by paying the world market value for the goods they purchase from the nation such as diamonds, gold, copper, and many other natural resources for which the continent is rich in. The total GDP of all the nations combined in Sub-Saharan Africa is less than France. This exploitation of the region is causing the decline in countries' overall GDP and stifling growth. The lack of proper investment by companies does not allow for these countries to reinvest into infrastructure and education for its citizens.
Items to consider when entering into SSA and ensuring business is ethical is the region and resources needed. It will also be important to understand the consumer if looking to introduce a brand such as clothing or food. A company must consider population size since a growing middle class concentrated around cities or the degree of literacy may be good considerations for consumer goods companies (IESE, 2014). A company must also consider their long-run goals as many companies come into the region, use up the resources needed, and leave the nation in a worse state. Companies must also be willing to train and grow the local workforce. This aspect may be difficult as the workforce can be limited in abilities. The lower end workforce may lack training and literacy, and at the upper end there may be a shortage of managerial expertise which will create huge competition for talent and command salaries for managers even larger than that in developed economies (IESE, 2014). These recommendations are essential in ensuring a successful entry into the SSA region and allowing the workforce and region to be properly treated and compensated.
References:
Africa Renewal. (2013, February 22). For African business, ending corruption is ‘priority number one.’ https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/august-2010/african-business-ending-corruption-%E2%80%98priority-number-one%E2%80%99
IESE Business School. (2014, July 31). Doing Business In Sub-Saharan Africa: Six Aspects To Consider. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/iese/2014/07/31/doing-business-in-sub-saharan-africa-six-aspects-to-consider/?sh=14def7616d44
The Real News Network. (2018, February 11). Corporate Looting: Sub-Saharan Africa Loses $100B A Year [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jYmEzq3hLc&feature=youtu.be
Ethics and Morals - Discovery Research 2
Morals refer mainly to guiding principles, and ethics refer to specific rules and actions, or behaviors. (Dictionary, 2021) Ethics is something that adheres to the following; how to live a good life, rights and responsibilities as a citizen, the language of right and wrong and moral decisions - what is right and wrong. (BBC, 2021) Until pretty recently, businesses have kicked ethics and morality to the side. However, as society keeps changing, ethics and morals have become a very important part of running a business. Often businesses will now go to the mantra of “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” (Contributor, 2021) By a company having good ethics and morals it can attract many employees. This in turn leads to a low turnover rate for staff because they feel safe in their job. Overall ethics establishes rules and standards that govern the moral behavior of others. (Mujtaba, 2015)
Positive moves are currently being made in Africa. A lot of work has been put in to ensure that the employees are being controlled in an ethical manner. This hard work has led to a positive impact in promoting Africa as a good continent of choice for global marketing. (Africa Business Pages, 2021) Taking control of a company's ethics and morals can prove to be useful, however it may be hard to achieve. For example, although the ethics are understood in a situation it is possible for that to be ignored when other factors are involved. Africans are no strangers to corruption that takes place throughout the continent. In SSA citizens have noticed corruption between police and political people in power. They can often be bribed with cash, or a deal that suits them. This can make it extremely hard for companies to follow an ethical and moral ground as it is not shown in the higher powers. The biggest challenge with trying to fight corruption is the retaliation that may come back at you. This in itself challenges the countries involved in trying to enforce ethics and morals in companies in the various countries.
References
Africa Business Pages. (2021). The changing face of Africa. Business in Africa: Business Ethics in Africa. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.africa-business.com/features/changing.html.
BBC. (2021). Ethics - introduction to ethics: Ethics: A general introduction. BBC. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml.
Contributor. (2021, January 12). Influence of morality in business operations. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/influence-morality-business-operations-66947.html (Links to an external site.) .
Dictionary. (2021, January 19). What's the difference between "morals" vs. "ethics"? Dictionary.com. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.dictionary.com/e/moral-vs-ethical/.
Mujtaba, B. (2015, November 19). Understanding ethics and morality in business. Smart Business Magazine. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://www.sbnonline.com/article/understanding-ethics-and-morality-in-business-there-are-distinct-differences-between-ethics-and-morality/.
