Nestle Ethical Dilemma

Nestle Ethical Dilemma

Nestle Ethical Dilemma
Diane Day
MGT216
March 9, 2010
Dr. Robert Grauer

Nestle Ethical Dilemma
One of the world’s largest food companies is the Swiss conglomerate Nestle.   The biggest and most publicized ethical controversy was with the sale of Nestle baby formula in Third World countries during the 1970’s. Nestle is still feeling the repercussions of the bad choices made regarding the sale. In this paper, I will describe ethical issues that became evident because of the Swiss conglomerate Nestle baby formula controversy. I will compare ethical perceptions across cultures in regards to the baby formula disaster, and I will try to determine which risks and consequences were associated with the dilemma.
Globalization Ethical Issues
U.S. companies continue to expand overseas collaborating with international businesses, causing global management to cope with increased challenges regarding ethical and cultural issues. Once a firm decides to do business in a developing country, human rights issues should be addressed (Trevino & Nelson, 2006). Given the different cultures, any effort to meet every cultural issue increases the difficulty of deciding ethical rights for everyone.
A number of intergovernmental agreements reached during the last 50 years have combined to normative guidelines for the business conduct of multinational corporations. Some guidelines covered are employment practices, environmental protection, consumer protection, and basic human rights and fundamental freedoms. The guidelines are based on four principles:
1. The inviolability of national sovereignty
2. Social equity; pay scales, gender, racial, and ethnic treatment.
3. Market integrity in business transactions; restrictions on bribes and political transactions
4. Human rights and essential freedoms, based on the equality of rights of all human beings.
The Nestle ethical issue began when they promoted their baby formula as a viable breast-feeding alternative. Several items...