BUSINESS ETHICS IN A
GLOBAL ECONOMY
Contents
Introduction
Cross cultural ethical issues
Cross religion ethical issues
Cross racial ethical issues
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
International Business Ethics
Business ethics emerged as a field in the
1970s but international business ethics did
not emerge until the late 1990s.
Many new practical issues arose out of the
international context of business.
Theoretical issues such as cultural relativity of
ethical values receive more emphasis in this
field.
Contd.
Country differences give rise to some interesting
ethical issues. Some of them are discussed
below.
v
Ø Whether they should do business in totalitarian
countries that violates the human rights of their citizens
(e.g: China)
v
Ø Whe the r firms sho uld inve st in c o untrie s whe re the
go ve rnme nt re pre sse s its c itize ns in po litic al and/o r
e c o no mic fre e do m.
v
Ø Whether an international firm should adopt high levels of
worldwide regulations or focus only on meeting local
regulations.
v
CROSS CULTURAL ETHICAL ISSUES
What is Culture?
Culture is a system of values and norms
that are shared among a group of people
and that when taken together constitute
a design for living.
The fundamental building blocks of
culture are values and norms.
VALUES:
Values are abstract ideas about what a
society believes to be good, right, and
desirable.
Values include attitudes towards concepts like
Ø Freedom, Honesty and Loyalty
Ø Responsibility
Ø Personal relations
NORMS:
Norms are social rules and guidelines that
prescribe the appropriate behavior in
particular situations.
Norms can be divided into folkways and mores.
Ø Folkways are the routine conventions of everyday
life, but generally have little moral significance.
Ø
Ø Mores are more serious standards of behavior, the
breaking of which may be very inappropriate or
even illegal.
Social Structure
The social structure of a country can be
described along two major dimensions:
individualism vs. group.
Ø Individual: A focus on the individual and
individual achievement is common in many
Western societies.
Ø The group: In sharp contrast to the Western
emphasis on the individual, in many Asian
societies the group is the primary unit of
social organization.
Language:
The language of a society allows it to
communicate.
Helps describe how different people see the
world.
In countries with more than one language, one
also finds often more than one culture.
CROSS-RELIGIONAL ETHICAL ISSUES
Religion can be defined as a system of shared
beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the
realm of the sacred.
Religion influences behavior and shapes culture.
Four of the major religions of the world are discussed
below on ethical concepts.:
Ø Christianity is the largest religion and is common
throughout Europe, the Americas, and other countries
settled by Europeans.
Ø
Ø Islam: With 750 million followers this is the second
largest of the world’s major religions.
Contd.
Ø
Ø Hinduism: Approximately 500 million
followers making it the world’s oldest major
religion.
Ø
Buddhism: There are around 250 million
Buddhists, most of who are found in Central
and Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan.
Cross-racial ethical issues
The categorization of humans into populations
or groups .
Visual traits such as skin
colour, cranial or facial features and hair
texture.
Pre-conceived notion about a country or an
ethnicity.
Create more universal awareness of racial
equality and the need for racial unity.
Seven Moral Guidelines for MNCs
Inflict no intentional or direct harm.
Produce more good than bad for the host.
country
Contribute to host country’s
development.
Respect the human rights of their
employees.
Pay their fair share of taxes.
Respect local cultural beliefs that do not
violate moral norms.
Cooperate with the government to
develop and enforce background
institutions.
conclusion
Attention to business ethics has substantially
improved .
Maintaining a strong ethical culture is
essential .
A business that lacks ethical principles is
bound to fail sooner or later.
ANY QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU
