Privatization and Ethics: The Israeli Telecommunications Company

Abstract

The move toward privatization, one of the most distinctive changes in governments in recent years, has generated some ethical problems. This study explores and discusses two sets of ethical problems that emerge during the privatization process: those generated by changes in the structure of the organization and those generated during the transition from one type of structure to another. We illustrate these problems with a case study of Bezek, the Israel Telecommunication Company. The analysis concludes that ethical problems increase as a consequence of privatization, particularly under conditions of partial and incomplete privatization.