Intercultural Business - Baustelle AG in Qatar - Case Study Example

Intercultural Business Case: Baustelle AG in Qatar Intercultural Business Case: Baustelle AG in Qatar Business ethics are the principles of right and wrong that govern the conduct of business. They govern the way a business relates with its employees, other business and even how the business relates with the surrounding society. However, business ethics differs from one country to another due to the difference in cultures (Carroll, & Gannon, 2007, p.178). The Baustelle AG will be working in a foreign nation and will be working in collaboration with a company from Qatar. It is expected that there will arise a number of ethical issues due to the difference in German and Qatar cultures. The laws in Qatar and formalities of doing business differ and hence Baustelle AG will have to change some of its ethics in order to do the construction effectively. On the other hand, Baustelle AG wishes to maintain its reputation and hence it will be necessary to retain some of its ethical practices. This paper will discuss the expected ethical issues that will come up in the course of the venture and how the company will address them. Qatar’s employment conditions have been globally highlighted to be subject to serious abuse and exploitation. According to the Human rights watch, the country is associated with exploiting laborers and even practicing forced labor (Human Rights Watch, 2012, Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/qatar0612webwcover_0.pdf). The state of affairs in the country might be a major confrontation to Baustelle AG reputable employee conditions record. In the past, many companies working in Qatar have been associated with exorbitant recruitment fees. Baustelle AG does not intend to charge any recruitment fees to any employees. This will attract many people to the company, and hence chances of labor shortage will be. Other companies have confiscated the passports of their workers so that the can fail to return to their countries and forcefully work for them. The Baustelle AG company will only require the passports of the employees during hiring and will return the immediately after. Copies will be for documentation purposes. Returning the passport to the employees will guarantee their freedom if they by any chance need to change employment. According to the company’s ethics, an employee should only work if they are willing and should not be coerced to work if they do not wish to. This ethical practice will be extended to Qatar and will be against the practice of most companies in that region. Most Qatar companies practice restrictive sponsorship systems, which indirectly give the employers, power over their employees (Crocombe, 2010, retrieved from https://www.suffolk.edu/documents/LawJournals/TLR_V37_1_Crocombe.pdf). Baustelle AG will convince the local Qatar Company that it will work with over the issue. Baustelle AG has not implemented any sponsorship citizens and will not implement any while working in Qatar. Employees will be at their will, and they will be free to leave the company at their wish. This act will be in correspondence to the company’s ISO 26000 management system. Workers who will feel uncomfortable with our working conditions will not have any restraining factors that may have otherwise pinned them to the accepting unfavorable conditions. While working in a foreign nation, the company will be required to follow the laws of the country. However, the company will negotiate with the government over certain employment rules so that employees will have the freedom of leaving or staying in the job. This will help in maintaining the company’s reputation on employee freedom. The time allocated by the country for us to complete the project is limited. It has been that employees will be overworked for them to complete the project in time. Overworking employees is unethical and is a practice that has never been with Baustelle AG. The company will adopt the working hours regulation stipulated by the Qatar government. Any additional hours will be at higher rates and will be at the will of the employee. The company will have day and night operation to speed up the project, and it will ensure that no workers work in both shifts. This strategy will eliminate any chances of the unethical act of overworking employees. The company will employ the workers either on short-term contracts, long-term contracts or one-day contracts. The employee will be given the option to select the kind of contract that suits them best. This system will clear the company from the claims that companies operating in Qatar have the tendency to restrict workers from changing jobs. However, to prevent the company from uncertainties, all employees will be required to respect their contracts. Free choice of contract and respect for the contract will place the company and the employees at an advantageous position and will be favorable to both (Crocombe, 2010, retrieved from https://www.suffolk.edu/documents/LawJournals/TLR_V37_1_Crocombe.pdf). Baustelle AG values its employees and will ensure that all their needs are catered for. Many contractors in Qatar have been associated with failing to maintain sanitation in the labor camps. Baustelle AG will develop healthy labor camps before commencing the construction of the stadium. Good living conditions will translate into motivation for work by the employees. The company will pay its wages after every week. This is because the foreign workers will need money to settle and survive in the new environment. The company will establish easy systems of claiming unpaid wages if such cases arise. Many companies have previously hired employees without disclosing all the salary deductions which later frustrates the employee. Baustelle AG will publicize their payment system and make known any deductions on salaries so that employees will have all the details regarding salaries. Workers will not be penalized for request to quit jobs but will be required to make advance notifications for the company to prepare adequately. Foreign workers will have the freedom to visit their nations while not at work and will also be allowed to quit their jobs and return to their countries if they demand to. The freedom that will be given to the employees with regard to their jobs will eliminate any claims of forced labor or unfair employee treatment. Ethically, every company should benefit the people in the surrounding area. The company will give priority of employment to the residents of Qatar so that they become the first beneficially of the project. The company will also support the development of the surrounding communities. Based on the condition of the surrounding environment, the company will make improvements that will benefit the community around and hence increase acceptability of the company in the area. Many companies have been accused of taking back all the profits to their nations (Human Rights Watch, 2012, 2014Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/qatar0612webwcover_0.pdf). To avoid such claims, the company will help the neighboring communities in activities such as tree planting, road development or water supply. Preparation for the world cup will attract many construction workers since construction activities are expected to rise. This will bring together many people of different cultures. While working with people of dissimilar cultures, it is expected that some actions and decisions might violate the cultures of some people. The religions of some people might also be in the course of doing the project. The company intends to do a survey on the people that will be working in the sites and establish a certain uniform culture that will not humiliate certain religions or cultures. However, the larger percentage of employees is expected to be from the region and hence Arabian cultures and Islamic religion will have preference. The working days for the project will, therefore, respect the worship day of Islam’s. People of other religions will be given the freedom not to work on their worship days so that all the employees will feel that their religions are respected. Respecting the religion of the employees has been the culture of Baustelle AG and it intends to extend the respect even while working in this foreign nation. Respect for religion will help in maintaining the reputation of the company and increase its probability of being assigned other projects in the region (Dienhart, & Curnutt, 2008, p.131). According to the Hofstede model, the cultures of people in the environment that a company operates have a great influence on its management process (Ajami, 2006, p. 24). The culture of people combines factors such as their religion, their sexes, their ethnicity and ages. The cultures of the people in Qatar are likely to influence the functioning of the company. According to Hofstede, there are five dimensions in national culture and they affect a company in varying ways. Power distance is the degree of inequality of people in their job positions. The project will bring in different people, and all of them will have different perceptions on power distance. In the construction environment, there must be different ranks of people and a high degree of power distance so that professionalism is maintained. The company will give insights to the employees regarding the various ranks in the company, and this will bring forth respect while working. However, teamwork will be encouraged so that everybody will feel like part of the project. The construction business has numerous uncertainties and hence the company will enforce structured situation. The venture will bring together professional from many countries, and it is prognosticated that they will have a varying perception on uncertainty avoidance (Dienhart, & Curnutt, 2008, p.254). The company will embark on training the employees on the importance of structured situations and how it will benefit the project. According to Hofstede, some people prefer to act individually while others prefer to act as groups. The Baustelle AG has always advocated for teamwork since it is fosters other elements such as creativity and innovation. The workers hired will be enlightened in the importance of collectivism since the project cannot be completed on an individual basis. Educating the employees on advantages of collectivism will be ethical as opposed to forcing them to accepting it. The company will also appreciate individualism when need for individualism arises. Many cultures have different perceptions on how males and females should be (Sharan, 2011, p.67). Cultures also vary on the roles that should be played by males and females. The company will adopt the cultures in Qatar on gender since most of the workers will be from the region. The Arabian cultures have little respect for the female gender and men do not believe that they can be led by women. To avoid cases of cultural conflicts, the company will try as much as possible to hire many male employees. However, the company will also respect its culture of gender equality and will hire a few female professionals. The Arabian countries are preservative on their cultures, and they focus fulfilling their religious and social obligation. The company will ensure that their operations respect the cultures of the communities, and all its operation will be culture sensitive. The imported laborers will be educated on the importance of respecting the cultures of the locals and in the end a good working environment will be achieved. In conclusion, the Baustelle AG Company will not ruin its reputation while taking on the project in Qatar. The company is aware of all the ethical issues that have been raised and will follow its strategies to ensure that is practices are ethical. The company will appreciate the Arabian cultures, and this will be beneficial towards ease flow of the contract. Bibliography Ajami, R. A. 2006. International business: Theory and practice. M.E. Sharpe. Armonk, NY. Carroll, S. J., & Gannon, M. J. 2007. Ethical dimensions of international management. Sage Publications. Thousand Oaks, CA Crocombe, N. G. (2010, December 2). Building A New Future: The 2022 FIFA World Cup As A Potential Catalyst For Labor Reform In Qatar. Accessed November 4th 2014. Retrieved from https://www.suffolk.edu/documents/LawJournals/TLR_V37_1_Crocombe.pdf Dienhart, J. W., & Curnutt, J. 2008. Business ethics: A reference handbook. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara, CA Human Rights Watch. (2012, June). Building a Better World Cup Protecting Migrant Workers in Qatar Ahead of FIFA 2022. Accessed November 4, 2014Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/qatar0612webwcover_0.pdf Sharan, V. 2011. International business: Concept, environment and strategy. Dorling Kindersley (India)/Pearson. Delhi. Read More