Foreign Assignment

What obligations do you feel the bank has 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?

Sara Strong did the right thing and followed orders and tried to comply to the best of her ability with no success. Because of Security Bank of the American Continent’s actions Sara Strong suffered and the Bank had an obligation to her and their employees but failed. Security Bank of the American Continent had an obligation to all employees to make sure that everyone was receiving fair treatment and their employees were not being subjected to the culture down falls of Mexico.

Sara Strong had her rights protected under the Title VII of the Civil Act of 1964, which states that, no discrimination from any business pertaining to race, color, religion, sex and national origin. The civil act of 1964 also protects any employee who opposes unlawful discrimination acts from employer retaliation.

What international moral code, if any, is being violated by the bank?

The U.N. has a declaration on human rights and almost every country belongs to the U. N. United states and Mexico is members of the U. N. and knows regardless of any interpretation what the human rights are. The first one clearly states that a business will try and avoid depriving a human, and secondly the business will look at ways to prevent from depriving a human, and finally businesses will aid any human that is deprived. Sara Strong is protected by the United Nation’s declarations for human rights.

The Security Bank of the American Continent is in danger of being sued for engaging with the Mexican government in the violations of human rights.

The Security Bank of the American Continent knew what the Mexican government and the Mexican culture was all about before they decided to open up their branch in Mexico. The Security Bank of the American Continent should have had company guidelines to ensure that their employees would not suffer discrimination prior to the opening of the business in Mexico.

Has the bank made the correct decision by opting to follow the norms of the host country?

What is considered normal in one country may not be considered normal in another country. The Bank has several issues to consider according to (Beauchamp & Bowie) that states that a business conducting business in another country can follow the norms of their country, follow the norms of the country they are conducting business in, follow which ever norm that maximizes the profitability of their business or to follow which norm that is morally right. The bank needed to follow a norm that is best suited for their business and their employees. In my opinion none of these four norm’s stand out and the Bank needs to meet the needs of the host country and take care of their employees right’s at the same time.

How would you recommend that Tom handle this particular situation?

Tom is going to have his hands full in deciding which norm to follow when he already knows that by following the Mexican norm he is keeping the bank profitable. Sara Strong should have investigated the position she was applying for in Mexico before she decided to move into an uncomfortable position.

Tom needs to offer Sara Strong a position with the bank in a different location that is comparative in wage and similar to what she is currently doing. Tom will help Sara by taking her out of the demeaning country and putting her in a country where she can operate effectively.

What steps should the bank take to avoid and resolve situations similar to this in the future when employees are offended or harmed by host country practices?

The Security Bank of the American Continent needs to have ethical and moral guidelines for all it’s branches in United States and as well as abroad. The bank needs to have training for all employees that are thinking about going to work in a host country. Every bank in a host country knows what the customers and the cultures are like and employees need to know this up front before they apply for a position with the branch. Employees can travel to a host country and do business from time to time however it is not the same as going to work there everyday. The Security Bank of the American Continent needs to educate its employees on every culture where they have a branch located to ensure that the bank can avoid un-comfortable situations like Sara Strong’s. The bank cannot change every culture that they encounter however they can educate the different culture’s that women are important authority figures and they are highly respected by Security Bank of the American Continent.

References:

Tom L. Beauchamp & Norman E. Bowie, (2004) Ethical Theory and Bus

Edition, Prentice hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ