Changing Business Environment International Trade â€Free Samples

Question: Discuss about theChanging Business Environment for International Trade. Answer: Introduction: The proliferation of international trade can be traced back to ancient times when explorers set sail for discovery of new horizons and inaccessible parts of the earth were subject to the mavericks of business. International trade flourishes on the sole proposition of improving economic as well as cultural diversity (Adeleye et al., 2015). The interaction among different cultures facilitated by international trade is an indicator of substantiating a common course of action for bringing nations close to each other. Financial benefits are not the only benefits which international trade can provide. Intercultural exchanges are beneficial for organizations to apprehend the possible opportunities and setbacks in a different cultural background and implement the observed outcomes in the context of new international markets. Despite the multitude of benefits presented by international trade, the scope of economic and cultural diversity has created barriers for managers in the form of ethical issues. Addressing the business ethics for a short period of time is generally perceived as a contributor to the rise in costs for business (Botha, Kourie Snyman, 2014). Therefore, ethical standards fail to integrate with the short term objectives of an organization. On the contrary, long term objectives of the organization such as sustainability in an international market can be realized only through compliance with ethical standard. International business managers have to face many issues related to ethical practices in international trade such as corruption, employment practices, industry espionage, moral obligation and human rights (Bennett, 2014). These issues can be found in varying intensities in different market environments and hence each of the issues has to be addressed through an appropriate understanding of the source of the issues and the role of managers as well as employees in the development as well as remedy of the issue (Chapin, Sala Huber, 2013). This objective can be derived through illustration of literature related to ethical issues in international trade and present a critical reflection on the literature to obtain realistic measures for countering the selected issues. Major Ethical Issues in International Trade: Business ethics is a wide ranging concept which includes references to the different business situations, decisions and activities which can provide an insight into the validity of certain practices (Livingstone Bovill, 2013). The concept includes organization, society, state as well as individuals and is applicable for everyone. Furthermore, business ethics is concerned with the entities in an organizations business which cannot be included in the jurisdiction of law. The outcomes of globalization have resulted in intertwining of many legal considerations with respect to disparities in legal frameworks of host and home country. Therefore, business organizations opting for globalization had to opt for a standardized guideline of determining the validity of certain activities, decisions and policies implemented by an organization in foreign jurisdictions (Keppler, Olaru Marin, 2015). Ethical issues can be considered as the first hand resultants of the conflict between an organizatio ns social performances in an international business environment and its economic performance. The three major issues identified as formidable influences on the scope of international trade have been described below in order to draw a critical evaluation (Rajendran, 2015). Corruption: The first issue which business organizations face in international trade is corruption. Corruption in international trade is directly associated with bribes, indirect payments and superfluous endowments. For example, if an international organization has to pay a certain amount of bribe to a governmental clerk for approving the documents for employing local labor force, then it faces an ethical issue (Smith, 2014). Though the organization can perceive corruption as a passive contributor to the overall growth of the host society through improvisation of organizational efficiency, the activity itself is unethical. On the contrary, it has been observed that foreign business organizations in developing or underdeveloped countries assume corruption as an integral aspect of the business cycle. Corruption is implemented by such organizations as a necessity to stay ahead of competitors. The general guidelines for validating the possibility of corruption practices in an organization specify pr ecise indicators which show that an organization has adopted illicit measures for promoting trade and thereby the organization could be accountable for penalization (Silberberg Lmmel, 2014). The foremost indicator of corruption is the provision of monetary payments to political and public service authorities, political candidates, clerks or any political party in order to gain competitive advantage. Other indications towards corruption in international trade imply the provision of monetary incentives which are intended for illegal activities or inclusion in inappropriate funds. However, the necessity of corruption in certain business environments is realized through certain legislations which allow controlled payments to people in influential positions (Smith, 2014). The monetary payments made to clerks, political parties and candidates are meant to be limited within a specified range and the consistent monitoring of the payments is ensures so that corruption can be inhibited in in ternational trade (Shah, 2013). In some cases, the multinational corporations are liable to address the financial requirements of local officials and government authorities in order to satisfy the implications of local customs and the preservation of human rights. Industrial Espionage: Industrial espionage is another profound inclusion on the list of ethical issues prevalent in international trade. Multinational organizations prefer industrial espionage due to the minimal requirement of resources and ease of gathering information on business activities of competitors. Industrial espionage emerged as an unorthodox solution for international business managers to realize competitive advantage in a new market which is studded with formidable competition. The use of procedures which are not conclusively validated by the law for acquiring details of competitor activity accounts for industrial espionage (Taipale-Ervala, Heilmann Lampela, 2014). The ethical issue associated with industrial espionage is the unpermitted acquisition of confidential details pertaining to competitors which in turn can be accounted as stealing. The example of Procter Gambles industrial espionage incident throws adequate light on the intensity of the issue and its possible impacts on an organiz ation. The competition analysis team of PG utilized the services of external agencies to collect information related to production process of the competitor, Unilever (Shah, 2013). The activity was rebuked by the senior management of the company and the move was annulled immediately with disclosure of the issue in public by the General Manager of PG, John Pepper. The decision was also reflective of employment of an impartial auditor in order to ensure permissible collection of information. Therefore, it can be concluded that industrial espionage can appear to be providing a reasonable opportunity for business growth with the nascent implications of a maligned brand image in cases when the espionage activities are revealed (Taipale-Ervala, Heilmann Lampela, 2014). Human Rights: The conjunction of human rights and employment practices serve as the next prominent ethical issue in international trade. International trade is preceded by numerous considerations and planning for distribution and implementation of resources. Human resources are known as the foundation for an enterprise in a foreign market since an organization cannot move its workforce from home country to host country (Livingstone Bovill, 2013). The working environments, payment for employees, trade unions in host country and working hours for employees changes invariably for distinct international market environments for a specific organization. Even though the hostile workplace environments are preferred in a host country, an organization must assume it as an ethical issue of violation of employment laws. Multinational corporations also face to accommodate the scope of human rights diversely in their practices. General issues observed in human rights include limitation on free speech, movement , assembly and freedom (Rajendran, 2015). The source of human rights issues can be derived from the disparity in home and host country cultures which indicates that practices favored by an organization in its home market environment could be perceived as hostile by employees from the host nation. Therefore, managers associated with the domain of transnational business have to be fluent while apprehending the cultural background and individual necessities of employees in order to address the ethical issues well before their origin. Negligence for employment laws and human right are ethical issues which can create distinct setbacks for an organization in international trade as the sustainability of the organizations activities would be at risk due to the lower involvement of employees (Shah, 2013). Critical Reflection: The three ethical issues in industrial trade which have been illustrated above with references to literature show that ethical issues can vary in complexity and intended for the benefits of an organization to some extent. The outcomes of the unethical activities such as industrial espionage, corruption and human right and employment practice violation have also been found out to be excessively impactful on the reputation of the company as well as the costs to the organization (Smith, 2014). The effects of unethical activities can be illustrated in the form of a linear progression starting from the initiation of unethical practices in an organization. The violation of ethical principles requires the organization to invest resources in order to cover up the unethical practices. Thereafter, the organization loses its reputation in the market and subsequently valued clients and business partners (Livingstone Bovill, 2013). Addressing each of these issues through legally verified framewo rks would be minimally helpful as the necessity for introducing ethical practices has to be considered from the situational and organizational perspective. The definitions of ethical behavior in international trade have to be diversified according to the contexts of varying industries in order to obtain functional remedies to ethical dilemmas. Conclusion: The essay highlighted three major issues laid out for organizations involved in international trade. Organizations have to assume the wider concepts of ethical behavior and study the literature associated with ethical issues (Silberberg Lmmel, 2014). References to past cases of unethical behavior in multinational organizations could help in generating a comparative view and hence formulate convenient measures for addressing the issues. References Adeleye, I., White, L., Ibeh, K., Kinoti, A. (2015). The Changing Dynamics of International Business in Africa: Emerging Trends and Key Issues. InThe Changing Dynamics of International Business in Africa(pp. 1-12). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Botha, A., Kourie, D., Snyman, R. 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