ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the age of globalization, which is also a condition for business ethics. It looks at the changed situation of ethics that arises with globalization's strengths and weaknesses, as well as examining the possibility of establishing universal principles and ethical guidelines for corporate activities in global market as a condition for cosmopolitan business ethics. The current globalization process makes business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) even more relevant. Globalization means that companies are free to move beyond the nation states' borders and operate across the globe in different countries and different contexts. The necessity of the aforementioned cosmopolitan setting emphasizes globalization's cultural contradictions. The Indian economist Amartya Sen argues in Development as Freedom that people can avoid globalization problems by ensuring stable social and political institutions as a basis for free-market economy. International business ethics deals therefore with formulation of ethical standards and guidelines that may apply to international and globalized companies doing business in different countries.
