In particular, public pension funds may have statutory or regulatory obligations to consider particular social issues in their selection of securities. The Conference Board report notes two instances where investors demanded that corporate directors adopt nondiscriminatory employment policies and provide reports on the composition and status of its workforce. The pension fund adopted a formal policy statement on social responsibility that covers the environment, equal opportunity, open communication with various stakeholders, employee training and development, the common good of communities, and a prohibition on exploitation of nonshareholder constituencies. Ethical dilemmas and global competition. The increasing global span of operations even for relatively small companies raises profound ethical dilemmas.
Cultures differ markedly in treatment of women and ethnic, racial, and religious minorities.
Routine business practices and standards vary dramatically. Products banned in one country may be unregulated in another. Management and directors are forced to make hard choices, balancing conflicting values and economic objectives across diverse cultures, and often these choices invite public debate and scrutiny. Nestle's sale of infant formula in the Third World set off highly publicized international boycotts. Although businesses usually line up against government proposals to impose a human-rights test in foreign trade policy, sensitivity to the issue is evident in corporate decisions.