Business Ethics

1
Business Ethics

• Cross-Cultural Ethics

2
Harry Limes immortal view of the world

• "In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias,
  they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed, but
  they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and
  the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had
  brotherly love they had 500 years of democracy
  and peace - and what did that produce? The cuckoo
  clock." THE THIRD MAN (1949). Screenplay, Graham
  Greene. This speech, Orson Wells.

3
RELATIVISM

• Relativism descriptively true.
• Societies do differ in their ethical beliefs,
  eg. about killing, about property, about
  education, about the roles of the sexes, about
  religious observance.

4
Relativism the strengths

• Relativism encourages tolerance
• Relativism encourages openness
• Relativism allows people to choose the values
  that suit them best
• Relativism allow for morality to change
• Relativism encourages respect for other
  individuals and societies

5
Are these strengths only of relativism?

• Are not tolerance and respect for others aspects
  of other ethical theories?
• Is not relativism more about indifference than
  respect?
• Does not relativism require us to be less
  committed to our own ethical values?

6
Note the distinction between descriptive and
normative ethics

• Does ethical relativism base its norm of respect
  on the fact that cultures do in fact differ?
• Does it assert on the basis of difference that
  some things ought to be done and that others
  should not be?
• Remember the logical distinction between is and
  ought .

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Implications of relativism

• We cannot criticise other cultures, but we cannot
  learn from them or them from us.
• There can be no moral progress.
• There is no reason to be concerned for people in
  other cultures or to work towards change (eg. the
  elimination of poverty or child labour) but
  reason to be unconcerned or indifferent.

8
Suggestions for trans-national business ethics

• do no intentional harm in the host country.
• benefit the host country and its development.
• respect the human rights of workers.
• respect the values, culture and laws of the host
  country as long as these do not involve moral
  inconsistency or the abridgment of human rights.
• assist the building of just background
  institutions in the
• host country and internationally. Richard De
  George, Competing with Integrity in International
  Business, (New York1993) 46-56.

9
The costs of indifference

• Classic campaigns against
• Nestle
• Nike
• Shell
• McDonalds

10
Where there is very little floor

• Wages should MNCs pay the same wages in a host
  country as it pays at home?
• Conditions should an MNC provide similar
  conditions for employees from host countries?
• Should MNCs exploit the natural resources of
  developing nations? (Shell in Nigeria, BHP in
  PNG.)

11
Publicity and reputational damage

• Cultural sensitivity on one hand and cultural
  relativism on the other are NOT philosophical
  questions for business.
• Made real by markets, publicity and campaigns.
• Metrics applied to performance.
• TNCs have the presence of states the
  responsibilities cannot be far behind

12
Rank Country / Corporation 2000

• 1 United States 16 Russian Federation
• 2 Japan 17 Argentina
• 3 Germany 18 Switzerland
• 4 France 19 Belgium
• 5 United Kingdom 20 Sweden
• 6 Italy 21 Austria
• 7 China 22 Turkey
• 8 Brazil 23 General Motors
• 9 Canada 24 Denmark
• 10 Spain 25 Wal-Mart
• 11 Mexico 26 Exxon Mobil
• 12 India 27 Ford Motor
• 13 Korea, Rep. 28 DaimlerChrysler
• 14 Australia 29 Poland
• 15 Netherlands