Where should companies draw the line in their activities abroad?

It all depends on where the activities are being held. There are a block of countries where laws and regulations are taking seriously such as the US, some countries in Europe and Australia. Countries from South America are more corrupted and it’s very hard to comply with the law and still have a profit. Africa still has a lot of turmoil – wars – and it makes even harder to comply with ethical and moral values.

A US company operating in Asia, may adopt the same guidelines as it would domestically in US, with some adjustments to local context. For example, installing filters to avoid air pollution should be a standard procedure regardless of the country minimum requirement. In case the US requirements are more stringent, then it should follow this level, or be very close to it. Working conditions also should be of higher standards, even if local practices are at low levels. Wages should be accessed according to the local context, but in case the local wages are too low, companies should offer minimum wages compatible with a decent living condition.

For each scenario, companies need to mold to the culture and values of the specific place. We tend to believe that corporations have an obligation to do more for society. So, corporations should not engage in illegal activities such as bribery. However, if they don’t do it, they won’t be able to operate and survive in certain countries. Therefore, the right thing to do is to close the operations and layoff thousands of people.

Unfortunately, we need to understand that sometimes is better to have a little wrong to produce a greater good for a large number of people. According to the principle of utilitarianism, the right way to behave in a given situation is to choose the alternative that is likely to produce the greatest overall good. The positives and negatives must be weighted from the situation at hand and how they will affect both parties, the business and its employers. Cultural norms and practices in ethics should be researched for the country by the company so they are not pushing any of these limits

But, we can draw the line where the basic human rights are violated. We should not tolerate slavery, torture, and distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion.