d its use has reflectedconflicting perspectives in terms of business ethics in themultinational firm. Is it more unethical to use childlaborers in countries where this is expected and acceptedpractice, and where children can assist in feeding theirfamilies, or is it more unethical to deny them employmentfrom the application of American visions of morality andstandards for ethics. As more and more companies pursuemultinational expansion as a means of reducing their overallcosts, utilizing cheap labor forces and less stringent legalrequirements, the question of the decline of business ethicsand the application of an American notion of morality isclearly problematic to the argument at hand.Multinational corporations often make the determinationfor expansion into other countries because they can takeadvantage of lower taxes, fewer legal and socialconstraints, and favorable environments, companies oftenenter international development without a concern forethical determinations in their business operations. It hasbeen argued that the moral difference between countriesinherently maintains the ethical process for companies asthey relate to the ethics of each society they enter (forexample, child labor, cheap labor, subjugation of workers,are all elements that might be accepted in the workforce ofArab nations, for example, and might direct expansion intothis area). But it has also been argued that businessethics are not driven by relativism to the community inwhich the business expands, and that multinationalcorporations cannot look to the individual characteristicsof the communities they expand into to drive their ethicalchoices (24).Business theorists often argue that there is not placefor ethics in business decisions, based on the perspectivethat ethical choices often reflect little consideration forwhat is in the best economic interest of a company. But tosay that there is no means of bringing together ethicalchoice and business efficacy is ...
