Assignment Details:

Read and analyze a multinational corporation’s (MNC’s) list of values/ value statement/or code of ethics. Share one ethical or one legal global situation the company is currently involved in.

· Explain how corporate culture or values should have influenced its decision making.

· Submit two recommendations on how this situation could have been avoided.

· Please reply to the presented statement(s) below.

Deliverable Length: 250 words (minimum) per reply

ONE:

Walmart’s value and code are to be trusted by the customers, communities, associated and business partners in the competitive advantage. It is important to think about the behaviors and make sure that they are creating a culture that inspires trust. The founder Sam Walton started a value driven company that today should be grounded in four values: respect, service, excellence, and integrity.

According to a Washington post “Walmart Inc said it will pay millions of dollars to settle a seven-year long investigation into whether its overseas units in Mexico, Brazil, China and India violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The retailer will pay more than $144 million to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission and about $138 million to resolve parallel criminal charges by the U.S. Department of Justice, according to court and regulatory filings.

The Justice Department launched an investigation of the retailer after a series of New York Times articles described alleged bribes paid by Walmart in Mexico to obtain permits to build stores there. It is said that Walmart profited from rapid international expansion, but in doing so chose not to take necessary steps to avoid corruption. It was also disclosed that Walmart valued international growth and cost-cutting over compliance. (Charles Cain. Chief SEC Enforcement Division’s FCPA Unit).

Walmart to pay $282 million to settle seven-year global corruption probe | Reuters

TWO:

Nestle is a Swiss company is rated as the world’s largest fast moving consumer goods company based on revenue. It’s headquarters is in Vvevey, Switzerland and employs 291,1000 as of 2019. Nestle’s goal is to provide products that are not only tastier, but, healthier. Nestle believes in putting their values on principles that are clear with good management, Their core values are:

1. Full legal compliance

2. Honesty

3. Fair dealing

4. Integrity

5. Respect

Nestle’s value statement is : We believe that our company will be successful in the long term by creating value, both for our shareholders and for society. We call this approach Creating Shared Value (CSV). CSV is the principle for how we do business.

Nestle likes to call itself “World’s leading nutrition ,health and wellness company. “Although they have more than 450 manufacturing facilities in over 80 countries spread over six continents they are one of the most controversial corporations.

December 1, 2020 the supreme court heard oral arguments in Nestle’, Inc. V. Doe I ( and the companion case Cargill, Inc. V. Doe I ) to determine when a U.S. company can be sued for alleged violations of international human rights. In the case the plaintiffs are six citizens of Mali who claim they were kidnapped and sold cocoa plantations along the Ivory coast as children. They stated that Nestle USA and Cargill helped the human rights abusers by supplying cocoa beans from plantations, knowing that child slavery was happening. The case has been ongoing for more than a decade.

Corporate values of Nestle should influence decisions of this kind because nestle states they will have integrity and be in full legal compliance. A corporate culture should not allow children to be enslaved and/or abused. This does not show that a company has the best interest for the community in which it servers or human rights at all.

The recommendation that the accusations could have been avoided by using Consumers as a voice, doing research and asking for information from the company about their hiring practices and employees. Secondly, I recommend raising awareness of child labor and what it looks like and involving stakeholders in the investigative process.