The basic reason for the existence of a business is to create value (usually in the form of profits) for the owners. Furthermore, most individuals work in order to earn income to support themselves and their families. As a result, the goal of most decisions made on behalf of businesses or individuals in business is to increase revenue (for business and / or individual) and cut spending (again, for business and / or individual). In most cases business decisions, and engage in behavior, for both their personal behavior and conduct of their organizations, which can be accepted by society. But sometimes they deviate too much from what other people see as acceptable.
In recent years, it seems that the incidence of behavior that is unacceptable to the business and / or people in the business has increased. No matter whether this increase is real or just an illusion, like a high-profile and well-documented cases such as Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and Arthur Andersen will certainly attract the attention of managers, investors, and regulators. The business world is becoming increasingly internationalized, so too are the concern for ethics and social responsibility by managers and their business running.
Ethics is defined as an individual's personal beliefs about whether the decision, behavior or action is right or wrong. So, what is ethical behavior vary from one person to another? The concept of ethical behavior usually refers to behavior that is appropriate to the norms generally accepted. Unethical behavior, then, is behavior that does not conform to generally accept social norms.
These values also affect one's ethical standards. On the other hand, those who are clearly creating a family and / or friends as their top priorities will adopt different ethical standards. People who use the law generally reflect the existing informal social norms of ethical standards - members.
This suggests the following general definition:
* Individuals have their own personal belief system about what is ethical and unethical behavior.
* The people from the same cultural context are likely to hold the same, but not necessarily the same - beliefs about what is ethical and unethical behavior.
* Individuals may be able to rationalize its behavior based on the situation.
* Individuals may depart from their own systems based on the situation.
* Ethical values are heavily influenced by the culture and customs of the country. Values are the things one feels to be important. Culture has a direct impact on the value system of the members of the culture. In turn affects the way individuals define ethical than unethical behavior.
Members of one culture may look unethical behavior, while other members can see the same behavior is considered reasonable. These differences can create ethical dilemmas concern for international business practitioners when their country’s ethical standards are different from the host country. However, we would like to emphasize that the concept of ethics is clearly an individual, rather than an organization. In general, the relationship between the organization and its environment revolves around the concept of social responsibility.
ETHICS IN THE CONTEXT OF CROSS-CULTURAL AND INTERNATIONAL
A useful way to characterize ethical behavior in cross-cultural and international context is in terms of how organizations treat employees, how employees treat the organization, and how the two organizations and their employees treat other economic agents. This relationship is shown in Figure 5.1.
How an organization treats its employee’s
One important area of cross-cultural and international ethics is the treatment of workers by the organization. At one extreme, an organization may seek to hire the best people, to provide ample opportunities for skill development and career, to give the appropriate compensation and benefits, and to generally respect the privacy and dignity of every employee. On the other hand, firms can hire using the criteria and priorities may accidentally harm the opportunity, can provide the minimum allowable compensation, and can treat employees callously and without regard to personal dignity.
In practice, the most susceptible to changes in the area of ethics , including the hiring and firing practices , wages, and working conditions, and employee privacy and respect. In some countries both ethical and legal guidelines suggest that hiring and firing decisions should be based solely on an individual's ability to perform tasks. But in other countries it is perfectly legitimate to give preferential treatment to individuals based on gender, ethnicity, age, or factors other non-work related.
Wages and working conditions, while regulated in some countries, as well as areas of potential controversy. A manager of paying workers less than he deserves, just because the manager knows the employee is not able to stop and so will not risk losing her job by complaining, may be considered unethical.
Manager of international organizations face a number of challenges that clear on this. The firm must address the specific ethical issues regarding the treatment of workers , but must also be prepared to face up to international comparison . Consider the ethical dilemmas posed by the various practices of outsourcing production to overseas locations.
Shaping perspective it can be said that the firm ethically bound to move jobs wherever possible for the lowest cost. But some critics argue that this practice is unethical, because it lowers a lot of employee contributions to the firm and ignoring the hardship imposed on employees who terminated. In some countries, such as Japan, outsourcing results in cessation of aggressive domestic firms violated the implied covenant of life -time employment opportunities. The ethical issues faced by managers of firms do not end once the production moved overseas.
For example: Some businesses in Africa have taken steps to educate their employees about how AIDS infected.
How organizations treat employees
Many ethical issues are also related to how the organization treats employees. Central issues of ethics in this regard, including conflicts of interest, confidentiality and privacy, and honesty. A conflict of interest occurs when the results of the potential benefits to individuals for harm that might organization. Ethical perceptions of the importance of ethical conflict of interest vary from culture to culture. Consider the simple example of a provider that offers gifts to employees. Some companies believe that any gifts that may pose a conflict of interest. They worry that employees will begin to favor suppliers who offer the best gifts from the best suppliers of products for the firm. To control the hazards, many companies have policies that prohibit their buyers from accepting gifts from suppliers.
Uncover the secrets of the company is seen as unethical in some countries, but not in others. Employees who work for businesses in the competitive electronics, software, fashion clothing, for example - may be tempted to sell information about the company's plans to competitors.
Consider the plight of Dura wool, an American manufacturer of steel wool. It shocked to learn Chinese laws offer little protection when a Chinese local employees leaving their company and immediately start Dura wool rival firms using this technology.
A third area of concern is the honesty in general. The problem is quite common in this area include things like using a business phone to make a personal long distance calls , steal supplies, and expense accounts . In some business cultures, the action is viewed as unethical; in others, employees may develop a sense of entitlement and believe that the potential conflict “if I worked here, then it is the responsibility of the company to take care of my needs.” Explains when individuals from the different ethical perspectives work together.
How organizations treat employees and other economic agents
A third major perspective for viewing ethics involves the relationship between the firm and its employees with the agents of the economy. The main agents include customers, competitors, shareholders, suppliers, distributors, and labor unions. The behaviors between organizations and agents which may be subject to ethical ambiguities , including advertising and promotion, financial disclosure, and purchase orders , delivery and search of customers , bargaining and negotiation, and other business relationships .
Differences in business practices across the countries to create additional ethical complexities for firms and their employees. In some countries small bribes and payments are usual and customary part of doing business; foreign companies often follow local customs, regardless of what is considered ethical practice at home.
For example: Admissibility of corruption vary from one country to other countries such as: -
• Acceptable - Russia - China - Taiwan - South Korea
• Unacceptable - Australia - Sweden - Switzerland - Austria
No comments:
Post a Comment