International Ethics Paper

Riordan Manufacturing is an industry leader in the manufacturing of plastic injection molding. Currently, Riordan Manufacturing employs 550 people and has annual earnings of nearly $46 million. Their parent company, Riordan Industries, exceeds $1 billion dollars per year in revenue. Currently, Riordan markets their products predominately in the United States but are in the process of developing an International marketing campaign for several countries in Europe with an emphasis on Germany. Ethical business practices need to be a part of the marketing strategy implemented. According to Lizabeth England, of the English Teaching Forum, there are 3 groups of people whose viewpoints need to be considered for the marketing campaign: the company, the industry, and society. (England)

The first group people to consider are the employees of Riordan Manufacturing. It is very important that decisions made within the company are done in a manor that is fair and have a positive impact on the employees of the company. For example, compensation packages should coincide with workers skill levels and experience. It could be considered unethical for Riordan to pay higher wages to workers in one section of the company and lower wages to employees that have equal work skills but work in another department. Discrimination is another issue that would raise questions on ethical business practices. Riordan needs to be aware of the employment laws in Germany to avoid unethical hiring practices.

The German plastics industry as a whole is the next group that could be affected by unethical business practices. One way that the industry or particular company could be affected by unethical practices would be through the use of false or misleading advertising. If Riordan developed advertising pieces that depicted the competition in a false or negative way would be a major ethical violation and probably have a negative impact of Riordan Manufacturing. This type of violation could also impact Riordan’s acceptance into other global markets if they create a reputation of being unethical. Major product suppliers and vendors may be unwilling to do business with Riordan if they are perceived as unethical.

The final group that is greatly impacted by unethical business practices is society. This includes consumers and everyone else that either buys or uses Riordan products. An example of questionable ethics could be selling products in Germany that are made with less quality materials, degrading the quality and trying to sell for the same or greater price in order to reach higher profit margins. Environmental issues also typically play on ethics. Problems could arise if Riordan were purposely or incidentally polluting the environment, therefore it is important the Riordan is aware and follow environmental laws in Germany and other global markets. Riordan marketers must also be sensitive to the differences that exist between the cultures in the US and Germany. Advertising campaigns that are successful in the US may not have the