Ethics in Vietnam

In order to be successful with business practices in Vietnam, you must be aware of the ethics in that particular country. “Transparency International, a global counter-corruption watchdog, ranks Vietnam as the second most corrupt country in South-East Asia, based on a survey of international businessmen” (economist.com). The corruption is very much widespread and must be taken into account when doing business in the country. Aside from being a very corrupt nation, the workforce struggles with conditions in the factories they work in. As an international manager we must be able to deal with these situations. For the most part, the workers suffer from conditions like long hours with little to no breaks, unsanitary environments, and lack of appropriate gear/equipment. Workers at times even come to work sick just to prevent from losing a job.

Women also have little role in the workforce. They are usually raised up to be strictly a wife and mother and only recently have started working in the factories. “Women often accept the poor working conditions and work in these factories because of their poor economic situation that often result in poor health” (unc.edu). These types of work conditions are definitely a significant factor in doing business in this country. We don’t see these harsh conditions in the U.S. and being in a company that is globally competitive we’d have to deal with such things; however, in order to make our business successful and stay competitive we would have to adhere to these conditions as much as we’d hate to see them.

Ethics and human rights such as these can affect the way we run business. If we work people in these conditions, this bad image can reflect on us back at home. We can regulate something simple like more breaks and a cleaner environment for them to work in. As human rights continue to improve in Vietnam, the workers are more aware of the unethical conditions also and are starting to speak out. “It’s not only America or the international community that are pushing Vietnam towards greater respect for human rights, it’s their own citizens” (boston.com).

Vietnam also suffers from issues such as piracy which is a huge problem in multiple Asian countries. “Vietnam is rated by the Business Software Association as having one of the worst piracy records in the world and for each legitimately bought package, on average 20 illegal copies are made” (infoworld.com). As a business, this can be a huge problem especially if we are a software company. As far as taking measures to defend a product in Vietnam, the best we can do is just to work with the government with these types of issues as they are working towards solutions. Measures are being taken