1) Some Ethical Issues Confronting MNCs
 Child and/or Forced Labor
 Safety and Security Concerns

Duration of Work Week
Child and/or Forced Labor
 "MNCs may directly employ children (legally or illegally) and they
are usually employed in labor-intensive low-skill jobs.

Source of cheap, unskilled, and not-demanding labor.

Companies may buy products from factories employing children.
Eg. Nike
Safety and Security Concerns
 Major problem - because standards differ from country to country and
in some countries there are no clearly written standards.
 However in the United States, there are strict laws for safety and
security and companies try to respect them.
 For instance, Ames Laboratory fosters an environment in which
employees are encouraged to bring concerns to the attention of
their immediate supervisor. Resolution of concerns should occur at
the lowest management level possible. However, if the issue cannot be
resolved at this level, the employee has the opportunity to proceed
within his/her management chain
Duration of Work Week
 MNCs have been accused of allowing or even forcing their
employees, especially in less developed countries (LDCs), to work
very long hours.
 Lehmkuhl (1999) has explained that organizational culture can
contribute to long hours as this behavior is often valued and
expected in an MNC.
Solution
 Advisable that MNCs establish clear roles for ethical practices in their
host countries.
 To do that, MNCs must first study the laws of both the domestic and
host countries.
 They must draft a moral code of conduct with a well-defined
company’s standpoint in the event of certain ethics-related situations.
2) Corporate social responsibility in a globalizing
market.
 CSR can be defined as the duty of organizations to conduct their
business in a manner that respects the rights of individuals and
promotes human welfare.
 Expectation is so high that it has become an issue/challenge in itself
for these MNCs.
 important decisions that often result in a major trade-off: increased
profits or good corporate citizenship.
 MNCs have been found to be "chasing the buck" without sufficient
regard for society.
3)Competition as challenge to MNCs:-
 Indians are not Inferior (The Times of India, October 26, 1997):-
 false notions that Indian companies are incapable of standing up to
competition from multinationals.
 For e.g. Kwality ice-cream has been bought by Hindustan Liver,
 Reliance is already among the top five producers in the world of
polyester and chemicals like PTA. It is setting up a giant 22 million
tonne refinery, world’s biggest.
 The late Aditya Vikram Biria was once asked whether he was afraid of
multinationals. "No" he replied, "they should be afraid of me".

Mnc challenges ppt

  • 1.
    1) Some EthicalIssues Confronting MNCs  Child and/or Forced Labor  Safety and Security Concerns  Duration of Work Week
  • 2.
    Child and/or ForcedLabor  "MNCs may directly employ children (legally or illegally) and they are usually employed in labor-intensive low-skill jobs.  Source of cheap, unskilled, and not-demanding labor.  Companies may buy products from factories employing children. Eg. Nike
  • 3.
    Safety and SecurityConcerns  Major problem - because standards differ from country to country and in some countries there are no clearly written standards.  However in the United States, there are strict laws for safety and security and companies try to respect them.  For instance, Ames Laboratory fosters an environment in which employees are encouraged to bring concerns to the attention of their immediate supervisor. Resolution of concerns should occur at the lowest management level possible. However, if the issue cannot be resolved at this level, the employee has the opportunity to proceed within his/her management chain
  • 4.
    Duration of WorkWeek  MNCs have been accused of allowing or even forcing their employees, especially in less developed countries (LDCs), to work very long hours.  Lehmkuhl (1999) has explained that organizational culture can contribute to long hours as this behavior is often valued and expected in an MNC.
  • 5.
    Solution  Advisable thatMNCs establish clear roles for ethical practices in their host countries.  To do that, MNCs must first study the laws of both the domestic and host countries.  They must draft a moral code of conduct with a well-defined company’s standpoint in the event of certain ethics-related situations.
  • 6.
    2) Corporate socialresponsibility in a globalizing market.  CSR can be defined as the duty of organizations to conduct their business in a manner that respects the rights of individuals and promotes human welfare.  Expectation is so high that it has become an issue/challenge in itself for these MNCs.  important decisions that often result in a major trade-off: increased profits or good corporate citizenship.  MNCs have been found to be "chasing the buck" without sufficient regard for society.
  • 7.
    3)Competition as challengeto MNCs:-  Indians are not Inferior (The Times of India, October 26, 1997):-  false notions that Indian companies are incapable of standing up to competition from multinationals.  For e.g. Kwality ice-cream has been bought by Hindustan Liver,  Reliance is already among the top five producers in the world of polyester and chemicals like PTA. It is setting up a giant 22 million tonne refinery, world’s biggest.  The late Aditya Vikram Biria was once asked whether he was afraid of multinationals. "No" he replied, "they should be afraid of me".