{"id":268,"date":"2022-06-01T00:31:16","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T22:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/urs-mueller.com\/?p=268"},"modified":"2022-06-01T00:33:34","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T22:33:34","slug":"268-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urs-mueller.com\/de\/268-2","title":{"rendered":"When not doing international business might be a moral imperative"},"content":{"rendered":"

Should Western firms remain operating in or selling to Russia<\/a>? Can Greek shipping companies<\/a> continue to transport Russian oil with good conscience after the EU\u2019s decision on an oil embargo? Should Siemens have moral concerns about selling high-speed trains to Egypt<\/a>? How to deal with the reports around the Xinjiang police files; would Novartis have to close its pharmaceutical office in Urumqi<\/a>? Is it morally acceptable for tourism companies such as booking.com to continue offering hotels in Myanmar<\/a> after the 2021 coup d\u2019\u00e9tat?<\/p>\n

As soon as firms engage in international business things quickly get morally less clear compared to a completely domestic business model. Often this relates to corruption, but also other questions will appear on the radar screen: How many vacation days should a Danish company (minimum of 25 paid vacation days) offer to local employees when opening an office in Thailand (minimum of 6 paid vacation days)? Can a French automotive company continue to offer Wine at supplier events? Will you send a gay or female sales representative to Saudi Arabia?<\/p>\n

Most companies quickly develop coping strategies to balance different moral values and priorities across their different locations. But as soon as fundamental questions around live and death (war!) or human rights are involved, most people intuitively hesitate to just recommend the good old: \u201cwhen in Rome do as the Romans do.\u201d What to do in such cases? When might it be morally necessary to discontinue international business?<\/p>\n

In such situations, two key phases need to be differentiated:<\/p>\n

Phase 1 Decision:<\/u><\/strong> Is it morally acceptable for you to continue doing business with\/in a country with which you disagree morally about fundamental values such as human rights?<\/p>\n

To take the decision about dis-\/continuation, managers should ask and answer five key questions:<\/p>\n

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  1. Do the delivered products\/services contribute significantly to an improvement of the local living conditions? (Example: Do you sell snacks or essential pharmaceutical products?)<\/li>\n
  2. Can you ensure that the delivered products\/services cannot be (mis-)used for a violation of human rights? (Example: Can your machinery be misused to produce chemical weapons?)<\/li>\n
  3. Can you achieve your value creation on site without major moral compromises? (Example: Would you need to engage in major corruption?)<\/li>\n
  4. Can you prevent that your business relationship\/transaction is (easily) mis-used for propaganda purposes? (Example: Would you have to take a picture with a dictator to close the deal?)<\/li>\n
  5. Are you willing to stand up for your own values abroad (which might require to openly call out disagreements)?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    If the answer to one of these questions is \u201cno\u201d you would either have to discontinue your operation or at least be very clear to yourself and your key stakeholders that you are violating your own moral standards. So better be ready to face legitimate stakeholder criticism and constantly ask yourself if there is anything you can do to reduce harm to those most negatively affected.<\/p>\n

    Phase 2 Execution:<\/u><\/strong> Once you have taken the decision about dis-\/continuing on basis of the five questions above: How should you implement your decision? Here are six recommendations for the implementation:<\/p>\n

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    1. Be fast:<\/strong> Especially when dealing with a large-scale and publicly visible issue: Don\u2019t procrastinate with your action \u2013 otherwise you might be moved to a merely reactive position and lose credibility with your stakeholders.<\/li>\n
    2. Think long-term:<\/strong> Can\/will you stick to your decision in the long run? How can you implement your decision so that you don\u2019t have to reverse your course soon?<\/li>\n
    3. Avoid rotten compromises:<\/strong> Try to be as consistent as possible, e.g. don\u2019t leave a country officially just to continue selling through agents and intermediaries.<\/li>\n
    4. Conduct rationalization checks:<\/strong> Avoid using moral reasoning that is self-serving, by challenging your argumentation through these three tests:\n
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      1. Publicity test:<\/u>\n