In Donaldson’s Values in Tension: Ethics Away From Home, he describes a policy
that was standard at home, but unsuccessful elsewhere. In one example, the manager of a
U.S. company in China caught one of the employees stealing. By following the company’s
practice and turning the employee over to the authorities, which was the right thing
to do according to our values. The employee was executed because he was
judged based on China’s political, legal, and ethical codes, while to us (Americans)
the punishment did not fit the crime.
While many cultures believe in some variation of “The Golden Rule”, there really is
no detailed international standard of business conduct. U.S. firms should, at the very least
establish company policies that take into consideration the principles of different cultures.
There is clearly a balancing act to develop policies that define the ethics of the
corporation, while understanding that codes of conduct vary greatly around the world. Firms
like Levi Strauss and Motorola, not only define their policies, they understand that their
managers must be able to adapt to a great deal of moral uncertainty in international
assignments.
Many business practices are neither black nor white but exist in a gray zone, a moral
free space through which businesses and their managers must find away to deal with. Levi
Strauss and Motorola seemed to have helped managers by treating company values as absolute
and insisting that their suppliers and customers do the same. How this was addressed by
these companies, was the development of detailed codes of conduct that provides clear
direction on ethical behavior, but leaves room for managers of these companies to use moral
imagination that allows them to resolve ethical problems appropriately.
Donaldson argues that companies must be guided by three principles in the shaping of
ethical behavior: respect for core human value, respect for local traditions, and the belief that
context matters when deciding what is right and wrong. These principles help in establishing
a moral guide for business practice.
James Rachel’s The Challenge of Cultural Relativism, argues that different cultures
have different moral codes. He is obviously taking the opposite approach to Donaldson’s
absolute approach, that of a relativist approach. The relativist concludes that there is no
objective “truth” in morality, therefore right and wrong are merely matters of opinion that
can vary from culture to culture. The problem with this argument is that the stated con-
clusion does not necessarily need to be the case if the premise is given.
In today’s global society, a Code of Ethics policy is used to label established, acceptable behaviors among that industry’s business associates, potential investors, and the corporation’s executive officers and employees, and most important, the consumer (Ethics Resource Center, 2003). In an attempt to promote an increased efficiency and productivity potential level, among employees and prospective clients, a corporation’s standard Code of Ethics should guide its members toward a more in-depth examination of their personal moral activity, and how these actions affect the people or acquaintances they encounter. A company should utilize this strategy as a model for the professional behaviors and responsibilities of its constituents, and proves the occupational advancement of that business. Ethics are important in every level of a corporation, but specifically in the day-to-day actions of its members, and the image the company broadcasts to its associates is fundamental in building a stable business foundation. These pledges are a vital communication tool used to covey the firm’s standards for business operations, and predominantly, its relationships with the surrounding communities (Ethics Resource Center, 2003).
The question of ethical behavior is an age-old conundrum. The prevailing issue with ethics is that it is extremely difficult to measure. A person’s moral fabric is largely based on their particular personality traits, as well as, their psychological state and environmental influences. Many believe that ethics are tied to a person’s conscience, and that good morals are often facilitated by a strong religious background. Furthermore, a person’s moral development can be linked to their economic situation and cultural differences. Interestingly, even while examining the status of one’s moral code is challenging; everyone seems to have their own unique array of ethics.
Each of us has a personal code of ethics, or system of moral principles and values (Ober, 2009). Our personal ethics represents our personal beliefs about wh...
Jennings, M. (2009). Business ethics: Case studies and selected readings (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
An organization needs to adhere to ethics in order to effectively implement its mission, vision, and objectives in a way in which offers a solid foundation to management and their subordinates to properly develop and implement its strategies. By doing so, the organization as a whole is essentially subscribing to one commonality that directs all of the actions of the employees of the organization. Additionally, it assists in preventing such employees from divergence in regard to the proposed strategic guideline. Ethics additionally ensures that a strategic plan is developed in accordance to the interests of the appropriate stakeholders of the organization, both internal and external (Jin & Drozdenko, 2010). Likewise, corporate governance that stems from various regulatory parties makes it necessary for organizations to maintain a high degree of ethical standards; this is done by incorporating ethics within the organization’s strategic plan so as to foster a positive corporate image for the stakeholders and general public (Min-Dong Paul, 2009).
I discovered how sticking to one’s morals should be the topmost priority for everyone involved in business, whether personal or professional. Regardless of what the consequences may be, the intensity of the problem, and the complexities it may bring, sacrificing one’s integrity should never be an option, as integrity goes hand-in-hand with the morals of an individual (Duggan & Woodhouse, 2011). They further go on to say that having individuals take part in building a code of ethics that supports employee integrity, they will act ethically. Also, I believe that companies should place more emphasis on the moral behavior of their employees, and clear-cut policies should be set regarding such ethical situations. Furthermore, I realized how serving justice while making decisions really helps in the long run, and that opting to go for the ideal rather than they deserved is not always the best option, and could hurt a company in more than one
In general, most people practice utilitarian ethics and hold themselves accountable for doing the right thing as well as does corporations, businesses, medical facilities, and Public Health service. Therefore, these companies put in writing their company ethics policies and
Ethics is defined as values relating to human conduct with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. It represents the core value system and the moral precepts held, or rules of conduct followed by individuals, institutions, or societies while making choices in the course of everyday problem solving. They create a framework for determining “right” versus “wrong”. (Journal, n.d.)
The behaviors addressed in this article are essential in the aspect of ethical decision making in management area.
Ethical standards that evolved over the history of Western civilization deal with interpersonal relationships. What is right or wrong? What one should do and not do when dealing with other people. Ethical behavior in a business environment has not been as clearly defined. When businesses were small and the property of a few individuals, traditional ethical standards were applied to meet different situations. However, as businesses became larger, the interpersonal ethical relations did not provide any clear behavioral guidelines. Likewise, the principles of ethical relationships were even less pertinent to the corporate environments.
Every individual is taught what is right and what is wrong from a young age. It becomes innate of people to know how to react in situations of killings, injuries, sicknesses, and more. Humans have naturally developed a sense of morality, the “beliefs about right and wrong actions and good and bad persons or character,” (Vaughn 123). There are general issues such as genocide, which is deemed immoral by all; however, there are other issues as simple as etiquette, which are seen as right by one culture, but wrong and offense by another. Thus, morals and ethics can vary among regions and cultures known as cultural relativism.
In business usually people make decisions based on what they believe is moral. For example, some people might believe it is ethical to commit fraudulent accounting information to benefit a company, but most people would disagree. Interpretations of what is moral depends on one’s culture, making it that what is ethical to one group will not be considered so by someone living in a different culture. This can make drawing the line between what is ethical and unethical in business difficult. Business etiquette, standards, and practices differ between different firms and even countries. One approach to the same situation may significantly differ from another company, and especially in other countries depending on the top managements culture. Approaches to draw this line have been made to further the success and development of
There are a number of issues that affect international business ethics. They include employment practices, human rights, environmental regulations, corruption, and moral obligation of multinational companies. Employment practice refers to the working conditions an employee must work under. This can be very difficult to gauge, because many times the working conditions of a host nation are inferior to those in an organizations home nation. Many organizations have had to fight with these regulations. A good example of this in the trouble Nike found themselves in during the 1990s. There were a number of news reports released about the working conditions of most of its subcontractors were very poor . The Nike Company was not breaking any laws but it did bring into question the ethics of using a sweatshop. After this incident it left a number of questions for the international marketplace. In recent years many companies have cut ties with organizations that use unsafe and unfair labor practice.
Business nowadays encounter with a lot of moral challenges in today’s global economy. Everyone is thriving to be more successful than their competitors, to make their next profits, to keep their job, to earn a big bonus, or to compete effectively. There exists temptation to bend lines, omit information, and do whatever it takes to get ahead of their competition. Many business employees and executives succumb. Sadly, the theme becomes...
Business ethics are a set of moral rules that govern how a business operates, how people should be treated within an organization, and how business decisions are made. They are a crucial part of employment and in managing a sustainable business, mainly because of the serious consequences that can result from decisions made with a lack of regard to ethics. Even if you don’t believe that good ethics don’t contribute to profit levels, you should realize those poor ethics have a negative effect on your bottom line in the long-run. Every business in every industry has certain guidelines to which its employees must stick to, and regularly outline such aspects in employee handbooks.