Case Study Unit VIII Alfred Elvins Columbia Southern University
The article, “Foreign Assignment” (Beauchamp, T. L., Bowie, N. E., & Arnold, D. G., 2009) is a writing that addresses the issues and outcomes of accepting the cultural and institutional norms in a foreign land by a large multinational bank. The bank has several branches in all parts of the world. They employed a young college graduate that was rising through the ranks. She took a promotion and was assigned to a branch in Mexico. The Mexican norms were allowed to dictate what level of responsibility the female employee was provided. The resulting destruction caused the residents to experience medical and environmental issues.
The article indicated that the firm was acting within the customary cultural norms of Mexico. The bank was not offering equal opportunity to all the employees. The female was treated differently when the nationals came into the bank for business. (Beauchamp, et.al. 2009) The article is clear and concise. The reader is able to understand the major issues that faced the employee as well as the bank.
CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
1. What obligations does an international company have 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?
It is important to allow the employees that are working on a foreign assignment the same benefits and policies if they were still on American soil. The courts have ruled in past decisions that the United States companies that had business in other countries were still subjected to the laws and rules of the United States. (Beauchamp, et.al. 2009) The employees are still protected by the U.S. Constitution even though they are on an assignment.
The bank should have taken a clearer approach to protecting and fulfilling the obligation of equal opportunity. There is no reason that the female employees should have been forced to wear sexy uniforms. They should have been afforded the same opportunity as the male counterparts.
The company was allowing a very difficult situation to continue based solely on the existence of cultural relativism. (Beauchamp, et.al. 2009) This means that the firm fell into the accepted practices of the host country and US law and the policies of the company were not adhered to. There are a lot of reasons why this could have occurred. The fact that companies are involved in global partnerships makes one set of policies very difficult o enforce. (Beauchamp, et.al. 2009)
2. What international moral code, if any, is being violated by Security Bank of the American Continent?
The bank appears to be violating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is based on the assumption that they are not providing the female employees with equal pay for equal work. (Beauchamp, et.al. 2009) They are further limiting the female employee’s rights to promote. They are not giving the female employees the same level of authority that they give to the male employees in the same position. This level of control is not given to all employees equally.
3. Has the bank made the correct decision by opting to follow the norms of the host country? I believe the bank has not made the proper decision. They should enter the market and conduct themselves in a way that breeds respect. (Beauchamp, et.al. 2009) The employees are the greatest asset that the bank has. They should take every step possible to protect the employees from intentional or accidental discrimination. They should develop a comprehensive plan to address the discriminatory practices that occur in each branch. Failing to plan can create a legal issue
