Business owners and managers should realize that a business
corporation ultimately exists through the endorsement of
the society in which it operates. Although it is hard to
tell what is considered socially responsible behavior, because
it varies so tremendously from society to society and from
continent to continent; the company should always try to
engage in this behavior to a satisfactory level of the society
in which it operates.
It is an established truth that business changes rules
and trends in the world, determines the speed and standard
of life in various continents, and influences the level
of development of countries it operates in. Is it therefore
difficult to figure out who carries the ultimate responsibility
for instigating and executing a change in the inequality
between various nations of the world?
Business owners should be aware that business, as a phenomenon,
will always be the centerpoint of criticism, be it for obviously
bad or essentially good reasons. When a business corporation
is merely draining a society from its resources without
giving back, criticism will emerge, and for the right reasons.
However, when a business corporation, by its very establishment
in a city or country, causes accelerated development, there
will also be criticism, especially from those who are change-averse.
However, this form of criticism will ultimately fade away
as soon as the benefits of this change start surfacing.
Depending on the country in which a business is established,
there will be more or less governmental regulations to deal
with. Although governments generally have good intentions
with business regulations, in favor of protection of society,
some administrations are so rigorous in their rule-settings
that businesses consider these locations unattractive to
establish themselves. Logical consequence: flight of business
corporations to more receptive environments, and inevitably,
flight of jobs to these oftentimes cheaper labor markets.
If globalization (which is predominantly executed as
the establishment of multinational corporations coming from
wealthy countries with specific exertion of their principles,
customs, and work formats into the host countries) can be
transformed into localization (which is the establishment
of multinational corporations in host countries with adoption
of local ways of operating, in order to benefit from resources,
procedures, and methods available in the host country, while,
at the same time, elevating the quality of life in the local
community, and expanding the corporation™s horizons
by learning new ways of executing operations), the gratification
level of all parties involved could improve: business corporations,
the corporation™s employees in the host country, the
corporation™s employees in the home country, societies
on both ends, and ultimately, the entire world.
Joan Marques emigrated from Suriname, South America,
to California, U.S., in 1998. She holds a doctorate in Organizational
Leadership, a Master's in Business Administration, and is
currently a university instructor in Business and Management
in Burbank, California. Look for her books "Empower the
Leader in You" and "The Global Village" in
bookstores online or on her website:http://www.joanmarques.com
