17. Describe some of the problems that a person working in a multinational company may face.

A person working in multinational company must be ready to face different culture and ethics.

What can be the culture differences?

Different nationalities work with different speed and timing: there might be a culture of presenteism or long-hours culture. Some can be flexible, others – more permanent and less variable. Besides that there might be differencies in distance between employees and managers, who can be either remote or accessible. And even distinctions in dress-code and communication.

Why do companies become multinational?

A company becomes multinational when it opens a brunch or subsidiary abroad or because of mefgers and acquisitions of companies from different countries.

What problems may overseas postings bring to the employee and the management of a company?

A foreign employee may not find it easy to accommodate to the new conditions. He might face misunderstandings and even conflicts because of te difference between his own native culture and traditions of his new empoyer's country.

How can such problems be resolved?

Employees should be trained and taught – to know how to behave themselves properly in a new environment. And to choose them you should pick out open and flexible people.

Give examples (Nancy’s posting), provide grounds for your decision;

Even living for a period of time in a different country changes people, like it happened to Nancy. Besides that in her case there was an age distinction between her and her boss.

Unit 13, Case Study, p. 166

18. What is the purpose of business?

The main purpose of business is making a profit. But also business is a part of life of society. So it should take into consideration its needs too.

What is social responsibility?

This is responsibility for other people and even more, for the whole nature (at least because people need it to be ealthy to live normally).

What types of it do you know?

1. Principles of work – should they be the same as in private life? (e.g. a bribe to secure a contract etc)

2. Responsibility towards the employees (conditions of work)

3. A need to contribute to social and cultural activities.

4. Helping to solve society problems (e.g. pollution, discrimination even unemployment etc)

What is the difference in those approaches to responsibility?

The difference is firstly in that some approaches are ruled by law (such as responsibility towards the employees), some are ruled by opinion of people and PR (like taking care of environment). Anyway, CR can be a sort of advertisement for a company: it gives it advantage in comparison with "nonresponsible" companies.

Which is described in Discussion?

Environmental responsibility (not to use sperm-whales oil).

If you were the executive in this situation what would you do?

Either make money having less costs or invest in CR and become more popular.

What do you think most companies would do if faced with the same problem?

It depends on sort of business, especially on its correlation with PR.

Unit 14, Discussion, p. 170

19. What is the purpose of business? What is more important: to stick to ethical standards or to earn profit? Being socially responsible for a business, what does it mean? Describe at least three types. What is the difference in those approaches to responsibility? How can business show its social responsibility? What is meant by green issues? What is the difference between ‘charity’ and ‘social responsibility’? What social projects do you find most awarding? Are social projects profitable? Why may small companies be against social responsibility? Unit 14, Reading, p. 170

Thirty years ago discussions of social responsibility were of three types. Firstly there was a lot of talk about how business people should behave in their work. Should they have the same ethical standards – the same principles – as they had in their private life? Secondly, people discussed the responsibility of business towards its employees. Finally social responsibility included the idea that business people should contribute to cultural activities such as music festivals, art exhibition etc.

These days, there is a new approach to social responsibility. Many people say that a business should try to meet the needs and interests of society. It has an obligation to help solve the problems of society. For example it must take stapes to reduce pollution even if this means reduced profits. Also they must to provide safer products, to protect environment, to hire more people from minority groups, to oppose racial discrimination etc.

The new concept of social responsibility means that business people must have integrity. They must deal honestly with their employees, and with outside world. A lot of business people accept that businesses should help to solve social problems even if the social actions do not bring profits. That’s why small companies often are against social responsibility, because if they spend money on social projects, they cannot get profit.

In my opinion grants of equipment to universities, information technology projects and seminars, training programmes in universities and schools, career seminars are most awarding social projects. In the long run these activities are profitable to the organization.