Business

Ethics refers to the morals that people have about a particular aspect. Ethics in business are determined by the legal systems as well as the participants in the business activity. Globalization is the aspect of integrating different economies all over the world through communication and access to other markets in the world. Business activities have increased since the era of globalization started (Buchholz  Rosenthal, 2000). Globalization has brought both advantages and disadvantages to the business sector. Ethics concerning global business activities have been established to regulate the activities which may lead to harmful effects. Globalization of business ethics has increased the performance of businesses and has enabled the expansion of the technological world (Hoffman et al. 1994).

Globalization has increased competition in the business sector (Dunning, 2003). Competition in the international market has caused the ethics in business operations to be established. Competition encourages business people to come up with the best strategy to stay in the market. Competition has resulted to bad business practices which have raised concern about the establishment of ethics. The business ethics regulate the activities of all stakeholders in the global market (Jain, 2003).

Ethical issues that became evident as a result of globalization
The international community has become concerned about the activities of industries which impose a great harm to the environment. Ethics have been established to ensure no business activities create harm to the environment. Globalization has caused companies increase production so as to cater for the increasing global market demand. This has resulted to increased production which has created harm to the environment. Governments and nongovernmental organizations have become concerned about the increasing damage to the environment. The Copenhagen meeting that was held last year was discussing how to reduce the greenhouse gases which are causing global warming. The industries in the global market are releasing toxic gases which cause depletion of the ozone layer. Restrictions have been placed to reduce these activities so as to create a safer environment (Stahl, Kuhlmann  Mendenhall, 2001).

Globalization has led to increased child labour. Industries are employing the children so as to reduce the cost of production as well as increase the production capacity. Children are easily influenced and require small pay to work for long hours. They have no power to resist the oppression from their employers. Some economic sectors have employed children to cater for the increasing demand for goods in the international market. The agricultural sector is the leading sector in child labour.

Children are also employed in factories, mines, homes and other places. Organizations have raised concern to reduce the effect of child labour. Children are entitled to education, health and protection from harmful activities. Globalization has increased the concern for the safety of children employed in factories. Ethics have been established to protect children from exploitation (Fleisher  Blenkhorn, 2005).

Consumers in the international market have become more concerned about the safety of the products they consume (Dunning, 2003). Production processes require to be monitored to ensure safety standards are adhered to so as to secure the health of the consumers. The international market has put some ethics concerning the production of products that are consumed by the people and that may create health risks. The production of agricultural products has been regulated to avoid intoxication of the consumers with harmful pesticides and other chemicals that may create health risks to the consumers. Industries have been regulated to avoid the misuse and bad application of chemicals to the products that are consumed by the international markets (Fleisher  Blenkhorn, 2005).

Human resources management ethics have been introduced due to globalization. Organizations have been given the mandate to protect their employees and ensure their rights are not neglected. The international community has established ethics concerning the conduct of businesses in regard to the employees. Governments have introduced standards which ensure the safety of employees. Organizations have been required to adhere to the needs of their employees so as to achieve international authentication (Jain, 2003).

Copyrights protection has increased after the international markets were opened. Copyrights protection gives exclusive rights to the producers of books, movies and other literature materials. No person should reproduce these materials or benefit directly from the work of other people. The protection of copyrights enables the producer to enjoy the benefits without theft from other people. The globalization of business activities has brought about the ethics in copyright protection. Business people are regulated by the ethics and international legal systems have been established to deal with matters concerning the rights (Stahl, Kuhlmann  Mendenhall, 2001).

Globalization has brought about technological advancement in the business activities. Businesses have adopted the ethics of innovation as a means of improving competition in the international market. Innovation is being encouraged by many organizations as a means of obtaining technologies which are innovative (Buchholz  Rosenthal, 2000). Companies have used the strategy of leadership within the organization to enable the employees contribute willingly to the development of new products. Many organizations have encouraged the idea of product diversity as the best solution to reduce competition. Business ethics are focusing on innovative products which will attract customers in a competitive market environment. Globalization has increased competition and this has created a demand for better products. Innovation is the only method to encourage employees to come up with better products which will compete successfully in the market (Hoffman et al. 1994).

Conclusion
Countries have established ethics to protect their industries. Regulations have been placed to protect the domestic companies as well as the citizens of the country. The safety standards ensure that the citizens do not suffer from products being marketed in the global market. Different communities have different cultures which dictate the type of products to consume and the acceptable production conditions. Different cultures in the international market have established standards which lead to the ethics which regulate the business activities all over the world.

The risks that resulted to the creation of ethics in the business activities are the increasing depletion of the environment. People have become concerned about the increasing effects of global warming. Child labour has become an issue that requires attention due to the risk of exposing the children to harmful activities. Health safety risks have increased the need for ethics to regulate the activities of the international business. The ethics have been established to control the scrupulous business people in the international market who do not care about the interests of the consumers but are concerned about the profits they gain from exploiting people.