The issue of third world poverty is one which is rarely far from Western headlines, sometimes as the result of a particular humanitarian crisis or natural disaster, but often in association with debates about the effects of globalisation, and in particular the impact of global business activities on individuals and communities in poor countries. It is an issue which inspires heated argument, as well as demands for money, or action, or both. A comparison between the agendas of Live Aid and Live 8, for example, show a shift from demands for charity (in Sir Bob Geldof ’s famously exasperated plea to ‘Give us your f***ing money!’ at Live Aid) to concern about the trading position of third world countries in a global context; hence the lobbying of the G8 leaders at the 2009 summit to maintain levels of aid to poorer countries despite the global recession. Discussion of the topic often tends to focus on the behaviour of specific business organisations and the ‘ethical’ status of their activities in poorer parts of the world. Some participants in the debate question whether business can ever truly be ‘ethical’ because its very existence depends upon acts of exploitation. So can business ever really help improve the condition of poor people in developing countries?

Your tasks

1. How would you classify an organisation such as the Grameen Bank? Which of the approaches (classification by purpose, by prime beneficiary, by primary activity) do you think provides the most accurate description of the Grameen Bank, and why?

2. How far can the concepts of the ‘formal’ and the ‘informal’ organisation apply to this case?

3. Two of the significant features of the Grameen Bank are its focus on helping individuals to achieve independence, and its strong preference for loans to women. What problems might this cause, and what risks do they take, in the communities and societies (mainly Islamic) where they operate? Can their continued operation be ethically justified if they create serious social disruption?

4. Find out what you can about ‘debt bondage’ or ‘debt peonage’. Contrast this system of work organisation with the way in which a Western multinational organisation (such as a manufacturing organisation or a traditional bank) operates in a developing country. Critically evaluate each system of work organisation in ethical terms.