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What are the strengths and weaknesses of cultural ethical relativism
bribery and ethics
ethical and cultural relativism
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Sometimes, businesspeople may engage in cultural relativism: When in Rome, do as the Romans do or you must adapt to the cultural practices of the country in which you are operating. Hence, such businesspeople may assume that “morality varies from one culture to another and that business practices are therefore differentially defined as right or wrong by particular cultures,” which creates ethical issues in business.
In the 2008 Transparency International Corruptions Index, it was determined that Somalia is the most corrupt country in the world. If a business person were to engage in cultural relativism, such person may engage in unethical behavior – exchange bribes for contracts, for example – given that Somalia is a corrupt country. Although bribery may be common, there are other critical – yet sometimes overlooked – ethical issues that arise due to culture.
For example, in a hypothetical case study on Chapter 10 of Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making & Cases, Sid, a Japanese stock analyst for Dun & Ready, put his interests before the company by using his skills and language to entice investors.” Although he wants to be respectful in his culture, he engages in conflicts of interest by taking wealthy clients to exclusive U.S. golf courses, by working with Glenna to engage in “creative bookkeeping,” and even churning his accounts – despite the fact that all of these things are unethical in the US. In addition, Sid deceives his supervisor, an American named Ron, into signing an agreement that would grant him and his associates the ability to use company funds to pay for losses incurred by investors. In the US, if the stock market endures hardships, investors may lose – there is no refund. Sid is aware of this, but be...
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... it brings down the moral of the employees that stay with a company. Such employees may be reluctant to perform efficiently if they sense that they will be fired anyway. Instead, Berle Inc. can shut down the plastics business and use the land, labor, capital, and its finances to expand the profitable aluminum operations.
However, it may not be ethical to keep the plastics plant operating indefinitely just for the sake of preserving the employees’ jobs. Sometimes, managers may engage in unethical behavior just to preserve jobs. In Chapter 10’s Ethical Challenge, a manager was being pressured to manufacture chips with corn that were contaminated with aflatoxin and sell them to countries abroad just to save the company’s employees. Managers in Berle Inc. must assess how their actions will affect all stakeholders and whether the ultimate decision is rooted in ethics.
Do you agree with Schmeltekopf that business schools are not preparing students well for the for the ethical challenges they will face in the workplace? Why or why not?
The movie “Glengarry Glen Ross” presented a series of ethical dilemmas that surround a group of salesmen working for a real estate company. The value of business ethics was clearly undermined and ignored in the movie as the salesmen find alternatives to keep their jobs. The movie is very effective in illustrating how unethical business practices can easily exist in the business world. Most of the time, unethical business practices remain strong in the business world because of the culture that exists within companies. In this film, the sudden demands from management forced employees to become irrational and commit unethical business practices. In fear of losing their jobs, employees were pressured to increase sales despite possible ethical ramifications. From the film, it is right to conclude that a business transaction should only be executed after all legal and ethical ramifications have been considered; and also if it will be determined legal and ethical to society.
Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2009). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases (7th ed.). South-Western College Pub;
When operating in a different country/culture businesses should refrain from making any definite assumptions or judgements. The issue is that is it easy to make assumptions/judgements about countries whose livelihoods that business is not even familiar with. Then when the business actually gets to that country, they will find that their assumptions/judgements fail to live up to the complexity of that country/culture. For example, in the case of bribery that occurs in certain countries, a company may mistakenly assume that because officials partake in this act that this act is thereby morally permissible. If anything that is far from the truth. Historically, bribery has often been considered wrong in many countries worldwide. When that company
Many companies are now looking into their business practices and how it benefits society. Corporate responsibility continues to be impacted as consumer awareness to global issues grows. For example, a small locally owned grocery store located in a metropolitan area just closed the doors to two stores located in high-crime-rated areas of the city due to no financial gains. The store just added a health conscious section for consumers that requested a need for it in the store, even though the cost and marginal is higher than most options in the store. With all of that going on the owner of the store was approached by a local food bank for one day old products that can be donated to them to help the community. The owner declined to help by citing that he feels by help he is opening a chance for loss of revenues due to employees not being honest. He thinks that his employees will just say that products are being donated when they are stealing.
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).
Incorporating ethics into everyday decisions in the business world can greatly reduce the scandalous behavior that has as of late has run ramped. Obviously, we have seen the results and consequences of business conducted absent any moral or ethical boundaries. When decisions are made without the consultation of ethics there is no direction from the moral compass and surely consequences will follow. Choices contemplated by managers may often seem difficult, but assessing the options against ethics can assist the manager in making the best decision.
In the business industry, there are ethical dilemmas that occur on a daily basis. Some ethical dilemma can include stealing or even having fraudulent documents in order to get an unfair advantage within the organization. Another ethical dilemma that has been brought into the light is bribery. What makes bribery unique is that in various parts of the world, bribery has become an acceptable behavior whereas other parts of the world people would consider that as unethical behavior. In order to understand what is acceptable or not when trying to bribe public officials, we must understand the principles of what is considered to be ethical or unethical.
Explain the connection between the economic model of corporate social responsibility and “free market” or “neoclassical” economic theory.
Ethical wrongdoing is a problem in the real world wherein the rules can be bent to manipulate financial standing. In some organizations such as Lehman Brothers, we will take a look at how they were able to alter real information that was damaging to the company in such a way to make it look more secure. Before these things can happen the upper management must discontinue listening to their employees and even punish the ones that speak up about issues in the workplace. Slowly an organization can slip into a level of deception and manipulation that can only be alleviated by the eventual bankruptcy of the organization.
Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2011). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Introduction The situation currently inside Eclipse Airline is one that involves the absence of ethics. There is no ethics program of any type in line with the daily functions or the future progression of Eclipse Airline. As so, “ethics” is defined by the employees and is passed on under management from employee to employee via verbatim. The CEO of Eclipse Airline further recognizes possible problems that may arise in the absence of an ethics program, one that recognizes the safety of the employees and also of their client passengers. The problems are compounded by the duality of unrefined form of ethical culture in the company and the economic pressure which is at the face of any business progression. Further note, because the airline conducts business outside of the U.S., to define ethics is another hurdle due to the differences in culture in foreign soils. From the top down perspective, there is no one to be identified who models exquisite behavior for which others can follow in foot step.
While on exchange in Australia, I was employed as a part-time waitress at a chocolate café. My duties included taking orders, washing dishes, and making and serving food and beverages. I was lucky to be hired, as it was difficult for students and backpackers to find part time work in the city I was living in. The café was a part of a larger franchise, where the owners were rarely present. At the site, constraints included a lack of resources and attention.
Rashid, M, & Ibrahim, S 2008, 'the Effect of Culture and Religiosity on Business Ethics: A Cross-cultural Comparison', Journal of Business Ethics, 82, 4, pp. 907-917, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost. Retrieved: 4th, April, 2014.
The Facts: Kermit Vandivier works for B.F. Goodrich. His job assignment was to write the qualifying report on the four disk brakes for LTV Aerospace Corporation. LTV purchased aircraft brakes from B.F. Goodrich for the Air Force. Goodrich desperately wanted the contract because it guaranteed a commitment from the Air Force on future brake purchases for the A7D from them, even if they lost money on the initial contract.