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Case Study on Foreign Assignments

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Read the case study entitled "Foreign Assignment" on pages 621-622 attached.

After the meeting with Sara, Tom Fried emailed you. In the email, he explained the situation and asked your advice. In your email reply back to Tom, address the following:

What obligations do you feel the bank has to ensure that its employees are not harmed, for instance, by having their chances for advancement limited by the social customs of a host country?

What international moral code, if any, is being violated by the Bank?

Has the bank made the correct decision by opting to follow the norms of the host country?

How would you recommend that Tom handle this particular situation?

What steps should the bank take to avoid and resolve situations similar to this in the future when employees are offended or harmed by host country practices?

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Solution Summary

International business assignments come with great opportunities and exciting possibilities. But sometimes, those opportunities turn sour because of existing expectations in international settings. This is an important case study with implications relevant to many. We provide a 1000 word analysis of this case study centered on the meaning of ethics in the context of morality.

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First of all, let's consider what ethics is all about. As a branch of philosophy, ethics is about morality. The only question is, whose morality? When we consider ethics, we must consider right behaviour. If we look at a system of morality that just about every rationale individual on the earth would tend to agree with, I think we could choose something quite simple. Richard Maybury put it well. He calls it The Two Laws.

1. Do not encroach on other persons or their property
2. Do all that you have agreed to do

These two great laws of society underpin ethical behaviour. So, in a sense, ethical behaviour is all about the "Golden Rule" -- doing to others what you would want them to do to you.

So, when we look at the three main people involved, we must ask ourselves the question, Are they treating others the way they would want to be treated? If not, then their behaviour is less than ethical. Simple. It's really that simple.

What obligations do you feel the bank has to ensure that its employees are not harmed, for instance, by having their chances for advancement limited by the social customs of a host country? Well, obviously, the bank has an obligation to treat its employees with respect. That would be ethical. In addition, the bank has the responsibility to inform its employees about its standard operating procedures, particularly when those operating procedures differ in different host countries. This is to say, ...

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