Ethics Across Culture Domestic International Global ALTERNATIVE ENTITIES

Ethics Across Culture è è è Domestic International Global ALTERNATIVE ENTITIES FOR CULTURAL DIRECTION u Affiliative groups e. g. , ethnic groups u Nongovernmental organizations, e. g. , the Women’s League for Peace and Freedom u Religious groups u Regional associations, e. g. , Economic Union u Business organizations 1

Group Two or more interacting individuals who come together to achieve some objectives. Either formal or informal, and further sub classified into command, task, interest, or friendship categories. Team • All teams are groups • Some groups are just people assembled together • Teams have task interdependence whereas some groups do not (e. g. , group of employees enjoying lunch together) 2

Reasons for Team Popularity u Outperform u Better utilization u More flexible and responsive u Facilitate employee participation u Increasing employee involvement and motivation 3

Cohesiveness Social-Oriented Cohesiveness: members of the group are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group Task-Oriented Cohesiveness: group members work together, cooperate and coordinate their activity in order to achieve group goals 4

Cross-Cultural Differences Cross–cultural differences in intergroup processes è Collectivistic cultures l Expect little expression of conflict; favor suppressing conflict l Prefer to personalize interaction; focus on people, despite what group they represent l Group membership is an important part of identity and interaction 5

Interpersonal Relationships u Individualists tend to have more friends, but with lesser intensity level and less suspicious towards out-group members and easier to make initial contact u Collectivists tend to have less friends, but with higher intensity level and stronger bonds with ingroup members 6

Teams’ Cultural Composition u. Cultural Diversity: the number of different cultures represented in the group; u. Cultural Norms: the orientations of the specific cultures represented in the group toward group dynamics and processes; and u. Relative Cultural Distance: the extent to which group members are culturally different from each other 7

Business Ethics in the Global Community u Some notions of right and wrong are universal while others are not (universalism vs. relativism) u Cross-culture variability in ethical standards u Determining what is ethical when local standards vary u Managers have to figure out how to navigate the gray zone when cross-culture ethics differ

Ethical Universalism u Ethical Universalism è what is right and wrong are universal and transcend culture, society, and religion è universal ethical standards that apply to all societies, companies, businesspeople è Sets limits and puts boundaries on ethical behavior

Ethical Relativism u Ethical Relativism è Differing religious beliefs, customs and behavioral norms across countries and cultures give rise to multiple sets of standards concerning what is ethically right or wrong è What is ethical or unethical depends on the prevailing local ethical standards and can vary from one nation to another è There can be multiple sets of ethical standards è There is no one-size-fits-all set of ethical norms

Three Categories of Management Morality u Moral Managers è High standards of ethical behavior u Immoral Managers è Are actively opposed for ethical standards u Amoral Managers è Do not pay attention or are blind to business ethics

Approaches to Managing a Company’s Ethical Conduct u Unconcerned or nonissue approach è Do what is legal; do what we can get away with u Damage control approach è Prevent adverse publicity; use window dressing u Compliance approach è Put a compliance system in place to control ethical behavior u Ethical culture approach è Use culture and peer pressure to control ethical behavior

Why Should Company Strategies Be Ethical? u It morally wrong and reflects badly on the company è Puts reputation at risk è Time consuming and costly to rehab reputation è May be shunned by customers è Difficult to recruit and retain employees u An ethical strategy is good business and is in the self-interest of shareholders

Linking a Company’s Strategy to Its Ethical Principles and Core Values u Vision/Mission u Code of ethics u Core values and a values statement u Culture – perspective u Communication u Leading by example u Should influence and be part of strategy

Factors influencing the ethical behavior Ø Legal Interpretations: based upon contemporary values and standards according to time, country or situation. Ø Organizational Factors: based on the degree of commitment of the organization's leader conduct Ø Individual Factors: based on the personal values and morals, family influences, peer influence and life experiences.

Examples of Ethical Issues Ethical issues may vary from one organization to another according to the factors influencing the Ethical Behavior: Ø conflicts of interest, Ø quality control issues, Ø discrimination in hiring and promotion, Ø misuse of proprietary information, Ø abuse of company expense accounts, Ø misuse of company assets, Ø drug and alcohol abuse, Ø environmental pollution, environmental destruction, Ø etc.