Ethical & Cultural Issues in Business Continuity Planning

by Eric Feigenbaum, Demand Media

Over the years, business leaders have had to become more aware and thoughtful. American and international populations have increasingly held business leaders to higher moral and ethical standards. Today's social and business environment requires companies to consider their impact on the environments and communities in which they exist. When companies look at their long-term plans and strategies, they have new and very serious considerations.

Sustainable Resources
Business that consume natural and environmental resources have a concern in common with environmentalists. Sources of water, oil, fish in a body of water, and even farm land fertility can be depleted. Business which rely on these non-renewable resources need to consider how they will continue on as well as the ethical impact of how they operate.

Outsourcing
The low price of foreign labor -- including skilled labor -- in other countries has tempted many companies and industries to outsource pieces of their operations. These decisions come with serious ethical dilemmas. In one sense, the increased profit margins of the cost savings help business sustain in hard times and grow in better ones. In addition , many economists and politicians argue that bringing jobs to third world countries helps them develop and creates an overall benefit to the foreign employees. At the same time, others raise concerns that the exodus of jobs from the American economy will only shrink companies' customer bases as Americans are less able to afford products and services. Customers may also come to resent companies which outsource jobs. Another serious concern involves exploitation of foreign labor. The fact that people work for less and often under unregulated and questionably safe working conditions concerns many humanitarians, academics and world leaders.

Changing Demographics
Community populations and demographics change periodically. Many businesses, particularly retail chains face the fact that while their stores haven't moved -- their customer base has become completely different. A neighborhood that may have at one time been primarily Caucasian becomes predominately Hispanic. An area that was once primarily African-American. Or an inner-city area which was lowerincome has become gentrified through redevelopment programs and fills with a higher-end clientele. To keep business afloat and successful, companies have to adapt their product lines and marketing strategies to meet the cultural interests, and purchasing habits of their customer bases. For many retail and department stores, this means continual demographic monitoring of their stores followed by marketing changes and product variation strategies.