Download Business Values Away From Home

International Business Ethics and
Incipient Capitalism: A Double Standard
Richard De George
• If ethical mores differ
from society to society
what rules do you follow?
– Business ethics depend
on the structure of a
society
– Business ethics is
socioeconomic
– Business ethics must
take into account
existing infrastructure
BUSINESS IN RUSSIA
•
Translating from
communism/socialism to
capitalism
– Legal system in flux
– Basic norms should be
honored (murder,
extortion)
– No need to reinvent just
modify ethical norms
– Corruption should be
stopped now
– Transition will be difficult
– Some unethical acts may
need to continue (bribery)
Values in Tension: Ethics Away From
Home
Thomas Donaldson
• CULTURAL RELATIVIST
– Country has the right to establish it own health
and safety regulations
• ETHICAL IMPERIALISM
– Do everything exactly the same as in their
home country
– Absolutists
PROBLEMS WITH IMPERIALISM
• Different cultural
traditions must be
respected
• There is more than one
set of concepts to
define moral truth
• Context helps shape
ethical practices
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
• Respect for Core Human
Values
– Good Health
– Right to Economic
Advancement
– Must not treat people
as tools
• Respect for Local
Traditions
• Context Matters
STAGE OF ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
• CONFLICT OF
RELATIVE
DEVELOPMENT
• CONFLICT OF
CULTURAL
TRADITIONS
CORPORATE GUIDELINES
• Treat Corporate Values and Formal
Standards of Conduct as Absolutes
• Control Relationships with Suppliers and
Customers
• Allow Foreign Business Units to Formulate
Ethical Standards
• Support Efforts to Decrease Institutional
Corruption
• Exercise Moral Imagination