Legal Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Legal Practices - Essay Example However, it is the responsibility of the corporate leadership to ensure that all its business practices are being conducted in accordance with the law of the land in which it operates and what is understood to be ethical. If the operations extend to multiple countries and cultures, the differences in business practices can often pose some complications. Some practices that are taken for granted as standard practices in some cultures may be viewed negatively in others. Differences in laws relating to pay, working hours, safety at work, and environmental protection etc. are normally of a minor nature, and not usually problematic, so the company can easily ‘localize’ its working and other conditions accordingly. But there are also extreme examples of multinational companies operating â€Å"in countries where bribery, sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and lack of concern for the environment are neither illegal nor unethical or unusual† (Columbia Encyclopedia) but of course are in the US. The leadership must then decide â€Å"whether to adhere to constant ethical principles or to adjust to the local rules to maximize profits† (ibid). We shall consider the differences of child labor laws. To the western mind, this would bring up images of child abuse and slavery, which these laws are designed to prevent. But in countries where children are employed in work they are often compelled to do so in order to alleviate their own conditions of family poverty, and not through working as slaves. In addition, laws and regulations can also change within the same place over time. So, this requires a leader even more to â€Å"stay aware of the constantly changing legal and illegal practices† (Workplace Moxie, 2005) and ethical standards wherever in the world it operates its business. This includes child labor laws, which were recently Although child labor