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Ethics are eroding as we multinationalize

There is a book out by a man who was both CEO of a local corporation (Valspar) and Minnesota Governor in which the author describes one effect of American corporations dealing extensively with corporations and organizations in other countries. He cites examples where multinationals ship people offshore for a while to work with suppliers, offshore plants, and so forth. In some of those countries those corporate people are exposed to a very different ethical standard than the ones we typically have here. Bribery, spying, lying, intimidation, extortion and worse are accepted business practices in some places. Respect for legal limits is also very lax in some other countries. The American executives who operate in those countries seem to sometimes (and often, it seems) be affected by their exposure, and lose their own sense of what is right and what is wrong. They then return to the US as they move up the corporate ladder, and continue operating with their new ethincal view. Not only do they end up doing things we find abominable, or outright illegal, but they in turn infect others with their behaviors. HP has operations all over the world, and works with suppliers and clients all over the world. While that may not explain this particular incident directly, it does seem to be part of the overall trend we have been seeing for the past few years of corporate executives who simply no longer acknowledge, or even think about, the morality of what they do.

Posted by: gardoglee   Posted on: 09/28/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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