Doing Business in Ukraine

Although it is the second largest country in Europe, Ukraine is still at an early stage in its transition to a market economy. Given its strong long‐term potential, it is a key country to monitor on the changing global landscape. This article provides a comprehensive review of Ukraine's historical development, political structure, economy, investment and foreign trade environment. It aims at being a useful source of information for foreign businessmen and investors interested in doing business in Ukraine. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Comparing Attitudes Toward Ethical Dilemmas in Small Business

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative analysis of attitudes between Russian and U.S. undergraduate students on ethical issues in managing Russian small firms engaged in business transactions with U.S. firms. Based on the real life situations, Russian and American respondents were asked to select decision alternatives dealing with ethical dilemmas. Significant differences were found between the two groups. Russians do not recognize significant differences between various alternatives, despite the disparity in the severity of these alternatives for resolving business problems. Russians, compared to Americans, tend to prefer more forceful decision alternatives resorting to business practices that would be considered unethical in the U.S. This is attributable to differences in the countries' history, political, legal, and cultural environment. The transitional nature of the Russian economy affects decision-making and business ethics.     

Business Students' Perceptions of Potential Ethical Dilemmas Faced by Faculty

Because students' ethical behavior may be modified through socialization contact with faculty, the perspectives of students relating to faculty ethics is an important topic. Prior research on business schools and ethics has not included students' perceptions of ethical dilemmas that often confront faculties of business schools. Student questionnaire data provides two important insights into students' perceptions of the ethics of faculty behavior. In the aggregate, students viewed 29 potential ethical issues as more serious than did faculty. Based on students' perceptions, four factors of ethical dilemmas were isolated: Regulations, Academic Job Performance, Dating, and Personal Benefits.     

Corporate Governance and Corruption: Ethical Dilemmas of Asian Business Groups

This study looks at how the corporate governance of family-owned business groups, the most dominant form of private sector organising in Asia, deals with different forms of corruption during the course of common business transactions. As a part of an ethnographic study conducted in 2007 to look at the impact of corporate governance reforms in the Philippines, one of the emergent themes from the study was the presence of significant corruption in the business environment of the country. A total of 40 semi-structured interviews were conducted with board members from business groups and senior public sector officials supplemented by document analysis of media articles and other text and participant observation. Using Rose-Ackerman’s typology of petty and grand corruption, results show the dilemmas faced when trying to operate within the precepts of corporate governance whilst dealing with the practical reality of corruption in public sector institutions. The results of the study provide empirical evidence into corruption’s impact on Asian business groups and contribute to knowledge on the links between strong institutions and the efficacy of corporate governance.     

Ethical Dilemmas in Performance Measurement

In this article we discuss the ethical dilemmas facing performance evaluators and the "evaluatees" whose performances are measured in a business context. The concepts of role morality and common morality are used to develop a framework of behaviors that are normally seen as the moral responsibilities of these actors. This framework is used to analyze, based on four empirical situations, why the implementation of a performance measurement system has not been as effective as expected. It was concluded that, in these four cases, unethical behavior (i.e. deviations from the ethical behaviors identified in the framework) provided, at least to some extent, an explanation for the lower than expected effectiveness of the performance measurement procedures. At the end of the paper we present an agenda for further research through which the framework could be further developed and systematically applied to a broader set of cases.     

Doing Business in India

On its independence in 1947, India was among the two most industrialized nations in Asia. Since then it adopted a “mixed economy” approach that hindered its national growth and the optimum utilization of its immense resources (both natural and human). To re‐establish itself as an economic force in the region, India liberalized its economy in early 1990s. The adoption of the “free market economy” model has created great opportunities for foreign businesses. This article provides useful information on the complex business environment, aimed to help foreign businessmen and investors to develop a good understanding on key background knowledge for being successful in India. It reviews Indian historical development, political structure and climate, international relations, and economy and foreign trade. India's infrastructure, legal framework, socio‐cultural set‐up, competitive environment, as well as market structure and potential are also analyzed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Ethical Dilemmas for Estate Agents

Research into the work of UK estate agents reveals a love-hate attitude on the part of the public and profound ethical ambivalences. Dr Clarke is a member of the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work Studies, The University of Liverpool, POB 147, Liverpool L69 3BX. This article draws on his study Slippery Customers: Estate Agents, The Public and Regulation , Blackstone Press 1994, co-authored with D. Smith and M. McConville.     

Bribery in International Business in Post-Soviet Union Countries

Data from 1996 to 2016 on perceived levels of bribe taking in 15 post-Soviet Union countries indicate three distinct groups—Russia and seven contiguous countries are most prone to bribe taking, a set of four countries in the southwest less so, and the three Baltic nations are the least corrupt. Public officials in countries that have high economic freedom and human development, are democracies, and proactively adhere to global anti-bribery treaties are less likely to take bribes. The findings show that despite a common recent history, the countries have evolved differently following the breakup. Implications for international businesses are discussed.     

Influences in Ethical Dilemmas of Increasing Intensity

This study attempts to extend the literature in ethics research by developing and testing a model of an individual's ethical system which identifies the sources of influence on the decision process. The model is developed from an interdisciplinary literature review and includes six subsystems or spheres that exert influence on an individual: the workplace, family, religion, legal system, community, and profession. The study also examines the role of materiality in the decision-making process.Using this model, empirical tests identify the spheres that exert the most influence on the decision-maker facing an ethical dilemma. In addition, the relative importance of the spheres and the interaction among the spheres is examined. Findings show that: (1) individuals rate variables at different levels of importance as the materiality of the breach changes and (2) the spheres that are considered most important for minor ethical breaches are different than the spheres considered most influential in a major ethical situation.Exploratory factor analysis suggests that the variables representing the spheres can be summarized by three factors. Further, it indicates that these factors change with materiality.     

Gender Differences in Ethical Frameworks and Evaluation of Others' Choices in Ethical Dilemmas

This paper examines the relationship between gender and ethical decision models employed by managers. Subjects completed a survey that measured the extent to which they focused on actions or the outcomes of those actions in determining whether a behavior was ethical or not. The study also examined subjects' reactions to other managers' responses to ethical dilemmas. Results suggest that men and women do not differ in their underlying ethical models, that they do differ in the way in which they evaluate others in ethical situations, and that ethical predispositions play an important role in those evaluations.     

Doing Business in Global Markets:

A frequently overlooked component of succesful international trade involves the efficient distribution of products. The present paper looked at international freight forwarder perceptions of the easiest and most difficult countries for arranging international freight operations. The forwarders overwhelmingly indicated that Great Britain was the easiest country for arranging international freight operations, which China emerged as the most difficult. Study results could be helpful both as competitive benchmarks and in formulating public policy.     

Staff Attitudes to Talking Openly About Ethical Dilemmas: The Role of Business Ethics Conceptions and Trust

To ensure ethical employee behavior, companies often utilize several forms of mostly one-way communication such as codes of conduct. The extent to which these efforts, in addition to informing about the company stance on ethics, are able to positively influence behavior is disputed. In contrast, research on business ethics communication and behavior indicates a relatively clear, positive link between open workplace dialogue about ethical issues and ethical conduct. In this article, I therefore address the question: What influences employee attitudes to talking openly about ethical issues? Answers are proposed on the basis of focus group interviews with staff at the Denmark and Brazil affiliates of the global healthcare company Novo Nordisk. It was found that interest in discussing ethical issues was influenced by two main factors: employee conceptualizations of business ethics and the level of inter-collegial trust, credibility, and confidence. In this article, by examining these phenomena, I aim at providing insight that can both inform scholars in these fields as well as help managers in their attempts to promote open workplace dialogue about ethical issues.     

Ethical Dilemmas In The Global Telecommunications Revolution

A revolution is under way in telecommunications technology, and this is generating a new approach to governance in the field as well as new ethical dielmmas which are challenging the core values of the industry's traditional approach. The author served in the Canadian Department of Communications before founding his own consultancy in communications and information technology. For the past five years he has been chief of the Strategic Planning Unit of the General Secretariat of the International Telecommunication Union, Place des Nations, CH–1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.     

Doing Real Estate Business Overseas

When we saw the amount of foreign capital currently being invested in China's real estate market, we realized that much like its foreign counterparts, China has been very active overseas as well. With encouragement from the "walking out" strategy, more and more Chinese investors have begun to focus on overseas real estate developments. There have been a variety of investments.     

让联合国成为你的客户--论中国企业如何进入联合国采购体系

在人们的印象中，联合国是个开会的地方，实际上，联合国也是个大市场。联合国采购蕴涵着巨大的商机，但中国企业在抓住这个商机方面，却远远落后于其他国家。一旦成为联合国指定供应商，意味着企业诚信俱佳和有完善的电子商务系统，由此可获得长期稳定的订单，还能获其金融支持，无论在国内外生意场上，“联合国指定供应商”都是“特别通行证”。对于入世后的中国企业，特别是广大中小型企业来说，是一条尽快登上国际舞台的捷径。     

The Ability of Internal Auditors to Identify Ethical Dilemmas

This study surveys the internal audit department of a large financial services organization. Respondents were challenged to recognize and evaluate ethical and unethical situations often encountered in practice. Four key demographic variables were investigated: gender, age, years of employment and peer group influence. For the most part, respondents view themselves as more ethical than their peers. There does appear to be a gender effect suggesting females' ability to identify ethical behavior better than their male counterparts. This study contributes to the extant literature in that it has explored a previously unexplored profession, namely, the internal auditing profession.