Reflective Journal: Ethics In International Business

Reflective Journal

Initially I had very few insights to the global scene surrounding business, the articles and stories that headlined in the media concerning many multinational corporations and the business world were the extent of my knowledge. I never knew half the things that a business must comply with when expanding to become a multinational corporation. After studying global business I feel I have broader knowledge of the business world and multinational corporations. This module led to my deep interest in the broader scale business world and really made me take everything into consideration when reading about companies across the globe. After studying global business I now think about all the different layers there is to business and

Ethics is more concerned with an individual’s moral beliefs. Ethics is what is or is not morally acceptable; it is when one recognizes and accepts their own actions and how these actions would affect other people (Hurn 2007). Business ethics are regarding the conduct of business people and what they see as right or wrong (HIL 2007). The reason this topic as well as Culture drew my interest is most likely down to the fact that one is drawn from the other. In general ethical principles are devised from ‘fundamental beliefs and the value system developed within a culture, such as religious beliefs, traditions and national identity (Hurn

Culture, first off, being concerned with the norms and values of a nation enhanced by Hofestede’s theory was interesting as comparing each international culture led to many different prospects. It then made me aware of the fact that we must respect each person and each nations culture as individuals in every day life as well as businesses and multinational corporations wishing to expand into nations with these Cultures. Looking at Saudi Arabia’s vastly different culture really helped me understand the depth of the topic. Ethics in International Business was the second topic that intrigued me, it is devised from culture but focuses more on how each individual has different morals, their personal beliefs as to whether a behavior or action is right or wrong. Ethical principles and issues were tough to understand at first but after further reading and looking at case studies such as Nike it became clear what an ethical principle was and how a company can act unethically. Each of the topics in this module were new to me and by looking at examples and case studies it helped in general of my understanding of global business. Adding to that it also broadened my knowledge of the large-scale business world, expanding your business and multinational