The globalization of business has led to the interdependence of economies and companies, but in doing so there can be a conflict of cultures based on very different values, beliefs, and traditions. Executives trying to operate in several different cultures often confront irreconcilable courses of action. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act makes such situations even more complex as U.S. nationals could face jail time for doing business in ways that are readily accepted and expected in other countries.
As demonstrated by the videos in this section and documents in the EBL Resource Library, companies are well aware of these conflicts and resolve them by stating clearly that they will abide by their company’s ethical compass. It is not that they are imposing U.S. or western values on other societies, but rather the company’s chosen policies are being upheld, and they are willing to walk away from business rather than compromise these policies. Nonetheless, imagine an employee located thousands of miles away from headquarters and being faced with significant pressure from a business partner who wants to do business in a different and unacceptable way but from which the parent company will gain significantly.
Good insights are provided about how companies confront this uncomfortable conflict. Still as with all of the conversations on the EBL website, leadership needs to decide how it wishes to respond and then provide detailed direction to its employees so that they know that their loyalty to policy will be uncompromisingly supported and rewarded.