Globalization Case

compromised.

A recent study found that individuals are more likely to say that their firm is

involved in bribery when they perceive financial constraints and an intensely competitive

business environment.61 In such environments, it is even more important for the

organization to recognize the ethical dilemmas employees are likely to face, openly

acknowledge that lost business is a possibility if the employee rejects bribery

requests, and reward employees for conducting business within ethical guidelines (or

at least not punish them for doing so). Such a message was sent loudly and clearly in

the case of the Lockheed Martin manager who received the first annual Chairman's

Award for exemplary integrity. As you will recall from Chapter 6, a manager who

received an inappropriate ''request for payment'' from a foreign official not only

rejected the request, but removed Lockheed Martin from the bidding process (walking

away from an important contract), reported the problem to senior officials, and

worked with both U.S. government officials and the foreign government to have the

foreign official removed from the decision-making process. Instead of being punished

for potentially losing an important contract, this manager was rewarded publicly

by the chairman of the board.

By talking about aligning global codes and reward systems, we are essentially

recommending that companies develop a global ethical culture that will guide

employee behavior. They should first establish their core values and then takeDescribe at least three ethical issues resulting from globalization.