Question

Culture and Ethical Business PracticesThe business world is becoming increasingly global due to advances in technology and travel. This means that businesspeople must know how to navigate intercultural ethics, not just the ethics of their particular country. To better prepare for the ethical challenges of a global marketplace, you should broaden your cultural awareness and familiarize yourself with strategies that help you adhere to legal and ethical guidelines.Read the following passages.1. You have recently been told you are going on a business trip to Thailand. You want to schedule a meeting with your supervisor to discuss how she conducts business in an ethical manner while in Thailand. In order to prepare for the meeting, you make a list of questions you would like to ask.A. What is an example of a good question to ask in this meeting?B. What are the company policies when it comes to handling bribery?C. Is it customary in this country to take off your shoes before entering a home?D. What are the top three sights I should see?2. After solidifying an overseas deal with a large bottling company, the executive informs you that in order to expedite the signing of the materials, he will need an extra $10,000. How should you react to his request?A. Immediately judge the man as immoral and corrupt and end the business deal.B. Inform the executive that this extra $10,000 wasn’t in the original contract. Avoid assuming unethical behavior until you clarify what he is asking for in relation to the agreed-upon contract.C. Negotiate his request and offer $5,000.3. Rather than determining whether a culture has good or bad ethics, it is best to look for practical solutions to the cultural challenges of doing global business. Which of the following suggestions acknowledge different values and respect the need for moral initiative?
A. Find alternatives.B. Don’t rationalize shady decisions.C. Avoid transparency.D. Refuse business if it violates you basic values.E. Workforce Diversity: Benefits and Challenges4. As diversity in the workplace increases, interacting and communicating with your coworkers will present specific challenges and rewards. In order do successfully navigate today’s workplace, be sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of your coworkers.Read the following scenarios.5. In a company meeting on diversity in the workplace, the HR representative starts a discussion on how to be more sensitive toward the diverse backgrounds of the company’s employees. After the informative discussion, you want to know from the HR representative’s perspective why your company values diversity in its work environment. What would be the best response from the HR representative?A. Team members with different backgrounds come up with more effective problem-solving techniques, providing your company with a competitive advantage over other companies.B. Even though it is more expensive for the company to hire a diverse workforce, the people are worth it.C. The company doesn’t want to hear employees gripe about discrimination, so they hire workers with diverse backgrounds.6. As the leader of your workgroup, you want to encourage a positive working environment. You decide to make posters for the hallway with tips for improving communication between the diverse members of your group. How to always win an argument.

Answer 1

Answer: Please refer to Explanation

Explanation:

B. What are the company policies when it comes to handling bribery?

This is a good question to ask because it aims to find out how the company deals with a very important ethical issue which is that of bribery. Your supervisor needs to tell you how the company normally deals with bribery so that you can act appropriately and abide by the ethics of the company.

B. Inform the executive that this extra $10,000 wasn’t in the original contract. Avoid assuming unethical behavior until you clarify what he is asking for in relation to the agreed-upon contract.

You should tell the Executive that the sum of money he is requesting for was not in the original budget and inquire to know why he needs it so that you may know if it is something you can acquire. It is sometimes best to wait for an explanation first before rushing to conclusions and this is one of those times.

A. Find alternatives.

B. Don’t rationalize shady decisions.

D. Refuse business if it violates you basic values.

When dealing with other culture and you see that there are different values from the ones you are used to and therefore different ways of doing things, it is imperative that you find alternatives to your course if action that can still serve your purpose while not antagonizing the people.

Also very important to to avoid rationalizing shady deals because once you start you will find that UNETHICAL decisions are easy to engage in.

Also as much as you are in a different cultures, some behaviours will always be unethical, refusing business that violates your basic values shoeshowss Moral Initiative.

A. Team members with different backgrounds come up with more effective problem-solving techniques, providing your company with a competitive advantage over other companies.

As the saying goes, "two heads are better than one". This is very important in teams with diversity because different cultures and backgrounds have evolved differently and found out different ways to come up with solutions to problems with some being better than others. Having team members from various backgrounds brings that information together to chart a better path forward which can then give a Competitive Advantage.

Build on Similarities. Coexist Peacefully.

By posting this tip, you encourage team members to communicate well with each other by first finding similarities. Human beings regardless of culture can have similarities and from these we can see that we are not all that different. Once that is found out, it is easier to coexist peacefully.