Mordidas From A Cultural Relativism Perspective

1a. Cultural relativism is the view that no culture is superior to any other culture when comparing systems of morality, law, politics, etc. (AllAboutPhilosophy.org, n.d.) It does not offer a universal right and wrong, but rather offers the notion of morals based on the cultural environment. This diverges from the traditional ethical theories of doing what is right and adopts the ethical theories that are the “lay of the land” as they relate to the local culture in which the dilemma takes place. 1b. As stated in the case study, the mordida process could reduce the administrative costs that accompany traffic tickets (fees, court dates and additional paperwork). In addition, the mordida may reduce the additional areas of corruption of the police …show more content…
The argument that I would use in favor of the process of paying traffic tickets from a cultural relativism perspective is that it is socially acceptable in Mexico. In addition, mordidas are the norm for doing business in the country for nearly anything that you request. This argument does not convince me because the fact that the police officer accepts the money in the codebook proves that the act is illegal, per the case study. In addition, if the act is conceivably illegal in nature it is morally wrong. 1e. In my opinion, it would be difficult to prove that I paid mordidas from the expense management standpoint because I do not possess the required receipts. However, my argument would rest on the fact that mordidas are a cultural norm in Mexico. In addition, mordidas could be viewed as the cost of doing business in the country. This argument may not be as strong as the business ethical codes in the U.S., but from a cultural relativism perspective, the mordidas are …show more content…
In my opinion, the fact that bribery, kickbacks and insider dealing is the norm in Mexico and many other countries the theory of discourse ethics could justify the approach, However, there is a much larger problem to consider as a result of discourse ethics. The process must repeat itself for each transaction in which a party offers bribe or kickback and could cause corruption of an entire economy where the people with the deepest pockets close all of the business deals that they can afford while shutting all other businesses. The result of discourse ethics does not find the universal solution to the issue of bribery; it rather opens the endless opportunities to justify ethical dilemmas that could cause a never-ending path of