Ethical issues follow managers overseas. Consider the following passage from Fortune Magazine, a U.S. business magazine that is not usually sympathetic to the victims of free markets. The article relates the story of Mary who works for a Taiwanese company which has a contract to make components for Motorola (the factory does not belong to Motorola):

For the privilege of working 12-hour shifts seven days a week in a factory where she makes plastic casings for Motorola cell phones, Mary, 30, will be in debt for years to come. To secure work at the Motorola subcontractor which is in Taiwan, Mary had to pay $2.400 to a labor broker in her native Philippines. She didn\'t have that kind of money, so she borrowed from a local money lender at an interest rate of 10% per MONTH. That payment, however, only got her as far as Taiwan. A second labor broker met Mary at the Taipei airport and informed her of his separate $3,900 fee before delivering her to her new job.

Before she left the Philippines, Mary rejoiced at the $460 she would earning in Taiwan; it was more than five times what she could make doing similar work, if she could find it, in her own country. But once in Taiwan she began to realize that after the brokers\' fees and other deductions, she would be left with almost nothing.

Out of her monthly check came $215 to pay th3e Taiwanese broker, $91 for Taiwanese income tax, $72 for her room and board at the factory dorm, and $86 for a compulsory contribution to a savings bond she will get only if she completes her three-year contract. After 18months, she will have repaid the Taiwanese labor broker. But she still must contend with her Philippine debt and its rapidly compounding interest.

In response to the inquiries of Fortune\'s reporter, Motorola issued a statement saying it "has a strict policy of adherence to the laws and labor practices in the countries where it operates, in addition to a rigorous code of conduct." Is this an adequate response? In your opinion, what responsibility (if any) does Motorola have to workers like Mary? Defend your answer.

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Ethics are basically the moral guidelines and the code of conduct that a business follows during a decision making process It is basically the way bus... View the full answer