Case study:
Recently, the Chinese government launched crackdowns and investigations into foreign multi-national corporations (MNCs) facilitating bribery and other corrupt practices in China. The most prominent MNC caught up in this investigation so far has been GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). This issue has been widely reported in the global media, and the reporting is interesting for the variety of ethical issues they cover, from increasing compliance costs, economic pressures, aging patents on products, and the "cost of doing business" in emerging economies.
You are required to do some research into this developing case involving GSK. Some reports are provided for you below, and these reports also point to other articles that you can read. Make sure that you reference all sources of your research, and use the appropriate citation methods for your sources.
At the conclusion of your research, answer these two questions.
1. Why is bribery an ethical issue, particularly for companies undertaking international business? To answer this question, you will have to investigate the ethical and moral issues of bribery, and you will have to show the difficulties that cultural relativism introduce to business ethics.
2. What can GSK do to prevent future ethical dilemmas and reputational damage from perceived failures of ethical and moral conduct?