The case: “The Filipino who was loyal to his friend” presents two culturally different perspectives on what is considered morally right or wrong. Firstly, we have the Filipino executive which comes from an Eastern culture which often has collectivistic values. In contrast, we have the American executive from a Western culture which tends to be characterized by individualistic values (Trompenaars, Bergh, 2016:279). They are considering whether to promote the Filipino candidate Felix whereas the two managers cultural differences creates a disagreement upon this. This happens as Felix is asked if he has broken the rules at any time. Felix had never broken any company rules, but he has once helped out his colleague and friend. To analyze this, …show more content…
(Bird & Stevens, 2003:396) However, Bird and Stevens do these assumptions based on appearance and behavior (Bird & Stevens, 2003:396), whereas they do not elaborate that the nationalities have different cultural values. Ghemawat in contrast to Bird and Stevens argue that there are differences in social norms that can create cultural distance in interaction with other cultures (Ghemawat, 2001:140). When applied to the case the American executive must understand that the company is based in Metro Manila and there are other values and norms that apply to the Filipino culture. Therefore, is it most likely impossible for the Filipino executive and Felix to abandon their culture and go with the American approach. Every culture is different and one needs to be aware of their own moral standards, but also the opposite culture they are operating in. However, Bird and Stevens say that the global culture is making national cultures irrelevant (Bird & Stevens, 2003:403). The case shows that this is false and that national cultures are still very existent and important especially in business encounters. For the American executive, promoting Felix would be corruption, whereas the Filipino sees it as a friendly act which in the long-term benefits the company. Therefore, is the American executive objecting the promotion and saying that the responsibility is on his Filipino colleague. …show more content…
If cultures, like Bird and Stevens argues, were irrelevant it would be easy for international businesses to attach to the same moral standards. However, as Ting Toomey and Chung state, it has become easier with globalization to incorporate our own culture with different cultures (Ting-Toomey, C. Chung, 2012:9). Therefore, is it more manageable to adapt to the opposite culture. However, this does not mean that every situation is the same and one can experience a dilemma in great conflict with one’s own ethics. This is argued by Donaldson as he believes that there is a set of core human values which define ethical standards for all companies (Donaldson, 1996:53). Within this I agree, that core human values as the right to good health and improved standard of living are obligatory for every human being (Donaldson, 1996:53). In this case, Felix did break the company rules, but it is a core value in the Filipino culture that rules can be broken to help out a friend. As Jackson (2002) believe that international businesses should adapt to the national cultures to achieve high business performance (Trompenaars, Bergh, 2016:272), I agree that in cases like this where Felix is helping his co-worker and it did not have any harmful effects the organization should adapt to the culture they are operating in. Hooker likewise does not believe that making standard rules
The ethical code of an organization illustrates the importance of being honest, acting with integrity, and showing fairness in decision making (Bethel, 2015). Ultimately, “laws regulating business conduct are passed because some stakeholders believe they cannot be trusted to do what is right” (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2015, p. 95). In the last couple of years, culture has become the initiator for compliance, which means from the top down there has to be a commitment to act in a way that represents the company’s core values (Verschoor, 2015).
People and individuals live in a culture that include values such as honesty, truth, and combine these values into a generally acceptable code of social conduct. Problems, difficulties and issues may arise where individuals or organizations attempt to transfer their original culture to another culture or sub culture. This might occur when an individual moves
Moral standards of behavior differ between peoples because the goals, norms, beliefs, and values upon which they depend also differ…because of variations in the religious and cultural traditions and the economic and social situations in which the individuals are immersed (p. 3).
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
The importance of culture in International business today cannot be underestimated and it is imperative that attention is paid at strategic, organizational and the individual levels. The “Blue Ridge Spain” case elucidates these at all three levels. My analysis of this case is from the perspective of the Spanish corporation, Terralumen S.A. National culture is the shared implicit beliefs and tacit values that truly differentiate one cultural group from another. I will be using Geert Hofstede’s frame work to deconstruct this case into its separate dimensions.
The first inhabitants of the Philippines arrived from the land bridge from Asia over 150,000 years ago. Throughout the years, migrants from Indonesia, Malaysia, and other parts of Asia made their way to the islands of this country. In the fourteenth century, the Arabs arrived and soon began a long tradition of Islam. Many Muslims are still living in the Philippines today.
Can the effects of cultural misunderstandings can be painful for the individuals, but also for the organization as a whole. Embarrassing situations and inadvertently insults, offenses and failure to achieve individual and organizational goals are among the consequences of the joint. Experience of many managers and researchers in the field of strategy, organization, and the development of the theory of the organization suggests all this ", the study of cultural issues at the organizational level is absolutely essential to a basic understanding of what goes on in organizations, and how it works, and how to improve" (Shin 1990).
In conclusion, companies that seek to integrate into global markets usually encounter several problems because of the effect of globalization on business practices. The challenges originating from such integration is attributed to the differences in cultures in various societies across the globe. As evident in Google’s dilemma in China, there is no single set of universal ethics that are applicable to all settings and societies across the globe. Companies such as Google need to develop varying ethical standards that are relevant and appropriate to various nations and cultures in the world. This would enable the companies that are integrating into global markets to avoid ethical issues while maintaining effective business practices.
In this paper I will argue that cultural relativism is a weak argument. Cultural relativism is the theory that all ethical and moral claims are relative to culture and custom (Rachels, 56). Pertaining to that definition, I will present the idea that cultural relativism is flawed in the sense that it states that there is no universal standard of moral and ethical values. First, I will suggest that cultural relativism underestimates similarities between cultures. Second, I will use the overestimating differences perspective to explain the importance of understanding context, intention and purpose behind an act. Finally, referring to James Rachels’ “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism” I will solidify my argument further using his theory that
How do you determine what is right or what is wrong? Personally, I feel that from within ourselves, we know when we have done right and when we have done wrong. This may not stop someone from doing wrong, but, within themselves, I believe that they know they are doing wrong. I believe that someone knows when they have hurt someone else feelings or caused harm to someone. Consequently, I do not make up a culture, which has merits on determining right or wrong. Within this report, ethical relativism will be define and discussed how it relates to right and wrong as well as the corruption that I discussed in the previous assignment.
The differences in other cultures vary from beliefs to ways of life, or norms, of the different societies. The importance of understanding and sensitivity to other countries’ differences is crucial to a business’ success. “Lack of familiarity with the business practices, social customs, and etiquette of a country can weaken a co...
Our world is becoming increasingly connected and global and the role of international business is increasing. Each country has its own set of unique customs and traditions. Each citizen's beliefs define the cultures by which each citizen abides by in normal everyday life, thus serving as the very foundation of the country. For example, in Saudi Arabia a citizen convicted of stealing will have his hand cutoff. In the United States, a citizen convicted of stealing would possibly receive only short term probation. The American Heritage Dictionary defines culture as, "The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought characteristic of a community or population." Seemingly minuet gestures or situations which carry different meanings in particular cultures can make or break business deals. Global managers from the United States or from any other nation have to be aware of the various cultural differences. Injecting certain specific skills, such as diversity training for expatriate managers, will bridge the gap between cultural differences such as language, religion, and values.
The Philippines has long been a country with a struggling economy. Ever since World War II, they have struggled to have a steady government and labor system. Independence did not bring any social changes to the country. The hacienda system still persists in the country, where large estates are farmed by sharecroppers. More the half the population are peasants and 20 percent of the population owns 60 percent of the land. Although the sharecropper is supposed to receive half of the harvest, most of the peasant's actual income goes to paying off debts to the landowner. Poverty and conflict strained the industrial growth of the country with many Presidents trying to fix the problems, but failing to do so. Factors that have faced the country are there is almost 9 percent unemployment, and the country suffers from the consequences of a balance of trade deficit. With the resources that the Philippines have, they are capable of pulling themselves out of the economical hole they are in and being up to par with their successful neighboring countries.
Philippine politics is the birthplace of promises of great guarantees and additionally the reason for huge dissatisfactions gainful of poverty, poor justice system and low quality of education, agriculture and economic rate.
When a typical Filipino thinks about the influences of the Spaniards, Religion and Christianity would immediately come to mine. Since without a doubt, the spreading of Christianity was their main priority of coming in the Philippines. However, often shadowed are the contributions of the Spaniards in other aspects in Philippine culture. Specifically, the idea that the Spaniards; particularly, the friars brought the natives the whole new world of “culture”. Hence their name culture heroes of the Filipinos.