Essay Sample on Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Global Business: Finding Common Ground

Introduction

Different countries globally have different cultures. In global business interactions, several ethical dilemmas arise regarding the right way to do things. One country's code of ethics prohibits what the other country does. Should the country compromise its standards for the gain of the business? Is there a common ground that can be reached regarding these ethical dilemmas? These are some of the questions that countries have to consider. Some of the difficulties facing global business ventures include child labor, corruption, environmental conservation, and human rights (Wempe, 2019). This paper explores environmental concerns as an ethical dilemma in businesses. A comparison between Iceland and USA regarding environmental conservation is presented.

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Iceland and the USA are the countries that have become increasingly concerned about environmental issues, which can cause an ethical dilemma. These environmental issues include the emission of greenhouse gases, clean water and the use of clean energy. For instance, many Icelanders believe that the government is not working towards limiting the emission of greenhouse gases while the USA is emitting a lot of greenhouse gases. As an open economy which is rising due to import and exports from and to the USA, Iceland's conducive environment has attracted many tourists from the USA. However, Icelanders consider the environment as the foremost problem challenge facing the nation, but they have not ranked it as the country's top five challenges (Iceland Review, 2018).

The United States is ranked the second largest contributor to greenhouse gases emission, especially carbon dioxide. The United States' per capita is at 16.49 tons as of 2014 (Thomas, 2019). Also, the USA is not endorsing the Kyoto protocol which aims at fighting climate change. Some of the issues contributing to global warming is the release of greenhouse gases through the use of non-renewable energy and industrial production. The rules on energy use differ between Iceland and USA. Global environmental issues can cause ethical problems between the United States of America and Iceland because both countries treat environmental concerns differently, and their actions can pose an ethical dilemma (Allred, 2017).

Iceland has a small and open economy that is built on cheap and adequate renewable energy. The renewable energy in Iceland can be described as super-resourceful. Geothermal power and water flowing naturally from the volcanoes, is used to generate abundant renewable energy for the industries (Lane, 2018). On the contrary, most of the energy resources in the US are non-renewable. This contributes to environmental pollution which is a global issue. Although the US government is making efforts to facilitate the reduction of green-house gases released to the environment, the efforts have not been completely successful. There is still a concern over the pollution caused by these non-renewable energy sources, causing a global ethical dilemma.

The Impact of Environmental Concerns on Global Business Operations

Business relations between the US and Iceland could be impacted by these different perspectives on environmental conservation. Some of industries in Iceland such as the aluminum industry, fishing, and tourism are beneficiaries of the healthy environmental practices Icelanders enjoy a high living standard and pleasant environment (OECD.org. 2014). The friendly environment has increased the number of USA tourists who tour Iceland. The thriving tourism industry is the main contributor to Iceland's economy. Also, the United States of America is Iceland's major trading partner in terms of imports and exports due to the pleasant environment, clean energy, and the aluminum industry (Export.gov. 2019).

Many tourists in Iceland are Americans. The American's perspective of environmental conservation issues is different from that of Icelanders (Reynolds, 2018). American tourist in Iceland demand products from the US. These products may not necessarily meet the requirements of Iceland on environmental concern. On the other hand, these Americans may have high preference for products from the US making it necessary for the goods to be imported. The ethical concern here is that while Icelanders have their standards regarding these products, they cannot prohibit tourists from bringing them into the country. Should the welfare of the tourists come before the environmental concern? This is an n ethical dilemma facing Iceland.

Conclusion

In summing up, the USA and Iceland attract the highest number of tourists that have maintained a steady trade relationship between the two countries. However, the two countries have different standards regarding environmental concerns. While Iceland has shown unrelenting commitment towards clean energy and environmentally healthy production, the US is still struggling with non-renewable energy and issues of pollution. While tourism generates a high income for Iceland, there is an ethical issues as to the environmental concerns that come with it. What is the right way to handle such concerns? (Hanson, 2014). This is the ethical dilemma Iceland finds itself in

Looking into the future, we can see potential challenges raised by the different perspectives from which different countries deal with ethical issues in business. The failure of the US to subscribe to the Kyoto Protocol leaves room for many unhealthy practices which have the potential for environmental degradation (Thakkar& Ghenai, (2012). With the rise in globalization, the ethical dilemmas are set to continue.

References

Export.gov. (2019). Iceland - Market Overview Iceland - Market Overview. Retrieved from https://www.export.gov/article?id=Iceland-Market-Overview.

Iceland Review. (2018, January 12). Environmental Issues Among Iceland's Top Five Challenges. Retrieved from https://www.icelandreview.com/news/environmental-issues-among-icelands-top-five-challenges/.

OECD.org. (2014). Environmental performance review: Iceland 2014. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/env/country-reviews/iceland2014.htm.

Thomas, G. P. (2019, August 8). USA: Environmental Issues, Policies, and Clean Technology. Retrieved from https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=259.

Hanson, K. O. (2014). Six Unavoidable Ethical Dilemmas Every Professional Face. Business and Society Review, 119(4), 537-552. doi:10.1111/basr.12045

Wempe, J. (2019). Ethical Dilemmas. Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics, 1-5. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_73-1

Lane, J. (2018). Aluminium and the environment. Aluminium in Building, 67-70. doi:10.4324/9780429463372-7

Reynolds, R. (2018). Food from the Water: Fishing. Water and the Environment in the Anglo-Saxon World. doi:10.5949/Liverpool/9781786940285.003.0007

Thakkar, K., & Ghenai, C. (2012). Wind Energy Project Analysis in Gujarat India: Energy Production, Green House Emissions Reductions and Life Cycle Costs. Sustainable Energy - Recent Studies. doi:10.5772/51674

Allred, K. (2017). GEOTHERMAL ENERGY POTENTIAL: COMPARE AND CONTRAST CANADA, ICELAND, AND USA. FROM POLICY TO GEOLOGY. doi:10.1130/abs/2017rm-293180