Fairness in employment:

U.S. law promotes fairness in employment and contracts. While there is continuing discussion on how to reconcile the apparently conflicting mandates of affirmative action and non-discrimination, our society strives to treat all people fairly. This is not necessarily the case in other countries, however. If an American company operates overseas, should the standards for fairness be those of the U.S. or of the host country? The Malpractice Model would require you to obey whatever laws apply. This might require that management clearly state company obligations both to its home office and to the host country, its local employees and its contractors. A Good Works Model would ask what actions produce the most desirable outcome. For example, a major U.S.-based company operating in South Africa in the days of apartheid paid all of its employees on the same scale, regardless of race. Although this practice ran counter to South African policy and probably created some discomfort, it also exemplified a standard of fairness promoted by the U.S.