1. Culture shapes our behavior and distinguishes us from one another. Whether a community consists of ten or ten thousand people, culture plays an immense role in a person’s life. Culture spreads out into many categories, which ultimately influence our roles in society. For instance, cultural relativism shapes the way countless societies carry on with their lives. Cultural relativism falls under the definition of a complex concept where people within a group or society believe that whatever is seen right or wrong, or acceptable and unacceptable in their culture should be acknowledged and agreed with by everyone else in the world. This perception of living allows individuals to believe that others should tolerate and respect their beliefs, values
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For instance, many cultures around the world accept genital mutilations of young girls where to the most parts of the world that is considered a serious human rights violation. It is impossible to argue about what is right or wrong between cultures therefore many issues arise quickly, especially in business ethics. Ethical imperialism is a concept that allows people to believe that certain forms of different behavior are automatically put in categories of right or wrong. How a person is raised to act and how they are taught to react in different situations might not be recognized as right by another person from a different culture. According to the article, ethical imperialism “directs people to do everywhere exactly as they do at home” (Donaldson 49). This concept would not be a satisfactory approach to international business ethics because ethical imperialism is too absolute. For example, a company from Japan might try to appoint certain ethical standards on a company from Uganda. Since both nations have their own ethical standards, they will quickly develop issues trying to agree with each …show more content…
There are certain guidelines Donaldson offers for fostering ethical conduct in a firm. He discusses how just creating a code of ethics for a business is simply not enough and an organization must strongly enforce them. Donaldson believes that administering a code of ethics belongs to individuals who are in charge. For instance, management should be able to correctly connect the gaps between differing cultures and their ethics which will determine the success of a certain international business operation. Donaldson recommends five guidelines for international managers that could be a significant benefit to their business relations. First guideline is to acknowledge the values of a company as absolute standards. In simple words, these values are the solid foundation for all ethical issues that will arise. Next guideline is to determine ahead of time how will a business deal with these future ethical and unethical issues, this will save a company a lot of time and money. The third guideline is to admit a foreign business to engage in developing certain ethical standards which will help an organization to find balance when deciding what is cultural diversity, traditions and ethical dilemma. Donaldson’s fourth guideline is for a company to be intensively supportive and being available to help host countries in order to reduce the amount of institutional corruption. Finally, the final guideline advocates an international manager to “exercise mental imagination.” (Donaldson
For instance, many cultures around the world accept genital mutilations of young girls where to the most parts of the world that is considered a serious human rights violation. It is impossible to argue about what is right or wrong between cultures therefore many issues arise quickly, especially in business ethics. Ethical imperialism is a concept that allows people to believe that certain forms of different behavior are automatically put in categories of right or wrong. How a person is raised to act and how they are taught to react in different situations might not be recognized as right by another person from a different culture. According to the article, ethical imperialism “directs people to do everywhere exactly as they do at home” (Donaldson 49). This concept would not be a satisfactory approach to international business ethics because ethical imperialism is too absolute. For example, a company from Japan might try to appoint certain ethical standards on a company from Uganda. Since both nations have their own ethical standards, they will quickly develop issues trying to agree with each …show more content…
There are certain guidelines Donaldson offers for fostering ethical conduct in a firm. He discusses how just creating a code of ethics for a business is simply not enough and an organization must strongly enforce them. Donaldson believes that administering a code of ethics belongs to individuals who are in charge. For instance, management should be able to correctly connect the gaps between differing cultures and their ethics which will determine the success of a certain international business operation. Donaldson recommends five guidelines for international managers that could be a significant benefit to their business relations. First guideline is to acknowledge the values of a company as absolute standards. In simple words, these values are the solid foundation for all ethical issues that will arise. Next guideline is to determine ahead of time how will a business deal with these future ethical and unethical issues, this will save a company a lot of time and money. The third guideline is to admit a foreign business to engage in developing certain ethical standards which will help an organization to find balance when deciding what is cultural diversity, traditions and ethical dilemma. Donaldson’s fourth guideline is for a company to be intensively supportive and being available to help host countries in order to reduce the amount of institutional corruption. Finally, the final guideline advocates an international manager to “exercise mental imagination.” (Donaldson