BUSINESS ETHICS

BUSN210
Fall 2015/2016
Assignment

Submitted to
Dr. Basma Kashmoula
Submitted by
Abdul Rahman Al Messabi
S0000001365
Section 1

What are the differences in shareholder roles and

corporate governance in various parts of the world?

Ownership
structure

AngloAmerican
model
Dispersed

Rhenish
Capitalism

Russia

India

China

Brazil

Concentrated,
interlocking
pattern of
ownership
between
banks,
insurance
companies,
and
corporations

Concentrated
in either the
hands of
ownermangers or
the wider
circle of
employees in
joint-stock
corporations

Highly
concentrated;
recent
tendency to
more
dispersed
ownership

Highly
concentrated
in stateowned
companies;
fairly
concentrated
in private
enterprises

Highly
concentrated
ownership by
family
owned
business
groups; wave
of
privatization
since 1990
has reduced
state
ownership
Family
owned
business
groups
State
Rare
Increasing
influence of
foreign
investors
Long term
ownership
Profit for
owners

Ownership
identity

Individuals
Pension and
mutual funds

Banks
Corporations
State

Ownermanagers
Employees
State

Families
Foreign
investors
Banks

State
Families
Corporations

Changes in
ownership

Frequent

Rare

Frequent, but
decreasing
tendency

Traditionally
extreme rare,
but recently
changing

Rare, but
increasingly
dynamic

Goals of
ownership

Shareholder
value
Short term
profits

Profit for
owners
Long term
ownership

Long term
ownership
Growth of
market shares

Long term
ownership
Sales,
market share

Board
controlled by

Executives
Shareholders

Sales, market
share,
headcount
Long term
ownership
Shareholders
Employees

Owners
Other
insiders

Owners
Party/the
state

Owners/
shareholders

Key
stakeholders

Shareholder

Ownermanagers
Other
insiders
Owners
State

Owners
Customers in
overseas
markets

Owners
Guanxinetwork of
suppliers,
competitors
and
customers
(mostly) in
overseas
markets

Owners
Customers
in overseas
markets

Owners
Employees
(trade unions,
works
councils)

Discuss the importance of differences between individuals

in shaping ethical decision-making

Significant individual factors that affect the ethical decision-making process

include personal moral philosophy, stage of moral development, motivation,
and other personal factors such as gender, age, and experience. Moral
philosophies are the principles or rules that individuals apply in deciding
what is right or wrong. Most moral philosophies can be classified as
consequentialism, ethical formalism, or justice.

Age and gender: Very mixed evidence leading to unclear associations

with ethical decision-making.

National and cultural characteristics: Appear to have a significant

effect on ethical beliefs, as well as views of what is deemed an
acceptable approach to certain business issues.

Education and employment: Somewhat unclear, although some clear

differences in ethical decision-making between those with different
educational and professional experience seem to be present.

Psychological factors:
o Cognitive moral development: Small but significant effect on
ethical decision-making.
o Locus of control: At most a limited effect on decision-making, but
can be important in predicting the apportioning of
blame/approbation.

Personal Values: Significant influence some empirical evidence citing

positive relationship.

Personal integrity: Significant influence likely, but lack of inclusion in

models and empirical tests.

Moral imagination: A new issue for inclusion with considerable

explanatory potential.

What are the main ethical challenges face companies in

the global market?

Relation with the environment: Is the organizational behaviour ethical,

though it has the possibility to go over the environment standards
imposed by the legislation, staying competitive, is satisfied to respect
them?

Relation with the employees: Is it an ethical behaviour for the

organization to apply different personnel policies regarding
employment, promotion and remuneration of the employees on
different markets where it acts?

Relation with the consumers: Is it ethical for the behaviour of an

organization which does not completely inform its target consumers
about the features of the offered product and which has big prices for
the key products in order to maintain the consumers health and life,
even though the legislation in the host country allows it?

Industrial espionage: Is it ethical to use some information about the

competitors activity, obtained through methods that are at the edge of
the law?

Corruption: Is it ethical to make a payment to a governmental clerk

providing it depends on succeeding in a business?