Legal and Ethical Challenges - Essay Example

In the previous paper, it has been discussed that Costa Rica has been able to avoid political unrest of neighboring countries, which is one of the significant strengths of the country. In addition, it was also discussed that the legal law system of the country treats nationals and foreign companies equally, which is one of the most effective factors that support the companies in confronting challenges. Legally, a joint venture, branch, or subsidiary can be operated by the incorporation of a local and a foreign-owned company. Moreover, a partnership, a stock or charter, or enterprises of limited liability can be operated and owned by foreign individuals. (Brooks, pp. 23-25) All such legal issues were discussed earlier in the paper; however, further investigation has allowed the identification of a new legal challenge, which is very much related to the venture of Mercado Mas in Costa Rica.

            It was earlier discussed in the risk and strategic analysis paper that a computer system to track and monitor real-time store inventory was a major requirement of the company, which allows the organization to keep track of food and non-food products in its inventory. In this regard, the whole record of the company will be based on e-commerce. This practice will result in the confrontation of a legal challenge that is quite common in Latin American countries. In the United States, rapid implementation of legal changes that support e-commerce has been adopted and embraced; however, Latin American countries, and specifically, Costa Rica have been quite slow in this regard. In addition, such a gradual legal system of the law limits the decisions of judges in Costa Rica, (Brooks, pp. 48-51) which will hinder and obstruct the e-commerce practice at Mercado Mas.

            In this regard, it is very imperative that a proper legal framework should be addressed effectively by legislators governing e-commerce in Costa Rica, as they play a vital and crucial role in the development of electronic markets in the country. Network and internet infrastructure are evolving rapidly around the globe; however, legal changes in Costa Rica are gradual, and therefore, it will take years to diminish the dominance of the government from the legislation framework, which is another major legal challenge that can be confronted by the organization. In this regard, it is very significant that a foreign company should study the legal system of Costa Rica for starting and running the new supermarket venture, Mercado Mas, as it will help the management of the company to run and manage the different processes and e-procedures in an effective manner. (Edwards, pp. 33-34)

            The utilization of different management and marketing strategies in business ventures plays a vital role in the success of an organization, and therefore, it is very imperative that ethical issues and challenges should be identified for the effective running of business processes in Costa Rica. Every country portrays a different and diversified culture, even if there are standards related to business ethics, but every country implements it according to its traditions and culture. For instance, the ethical framework of the United States allows the organizations to market each other in a fervent environment. (Edwards, pp. 66-68) On the other hand, the ethical structure of Latin American countries requires companies to manage and market each other in a mediocre environment.

Thus, it is very important that the management should understand the cultural factor of Costa Rica, in order to run the business processes in an ethical manner. As it was earlier discussed in the previous paper that Indians, Chinese, Jews, and Blacks are some of the minority groups in Costa Rica, which are dominated by Ticos, it is very important that Mercado Mas should manage and market the venture through middle-of-the-road strategies, rather than focusing on one major or minor group. It would be very unethical if only a major group of Ticos will be focused on by the company, which will create nervousness in the business environment, and may be challenging for the company.

One of the major reasons for such nervousness is that besides consumers, employees must be focused by the company, and it is quite common that individuals from minority groups will be a part of the company. Therefore, the company should be careful in the provision of working conditions, employment procedures, health issues, and most importantly, the individuality that is considered an essential domain in Costa Rica. Conclusively, the paper has discussed and analyzed some of the legal and ethical challenges that will be confronted during the introduction of Mercado Mas in Costa Rica. It is hoped that the paper will be beneficial for the students, teachers, experts, and nonprofessionals in better understanding of the topic.