Question

Are human rights and sustainable development issues relevant to the behavior of MNCs? Discuss and defend your answer by giving examples. Can someone please answer this in essay format and not in bullet points.

Answer 1

MNCs operate in different overseas markets and work among people with different social, economic and cultural background. In the light of this vast differentiation in the market place, it becomes imperative for the MNC enterprises to get involved in local issues, work towards community development and follow the best & green practices to develop local acceptability to become successful. Here, two most important aspects are care for the human rights and adopting sustainable development practices to promote the environmental conservation in the market area for the MNCs to follow and earn goodwill that translates into positive branding, high value and respect among the consumers. So, MNC enterprises do it knowingly to implement best practices related to human rights and sustainability.

The one example can be taken up of the Starbucks that follows sustainability practices as well as make it mandatory for its different value chain partners. As a part of this sustainability, different partners follow the labor laws, prohibit child labor and prevent pervasive trade practices. Besides, the initiatives are taken to preserve the environment. It is proactively done even by the farmers in Brazil, as suppliers to the Starbucks. On a similar note, Apple has suppliers and other vendors in China. These vendors and suppliers are required to follow the human rights and give adequate wages, provide safe working conditions and follow those practices that are environmental friendly in nature. So, the MNCs look after the policies very carefully as it translates into the brand equity and value proposition among the target audience. Therefore, such aspects are relevant to the behavior of the MNCs.