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Business Ethics Across Cultures
Ethical practice
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Learning Objectives
- Provide an understanding of the major social issues
that companies need to address in the global marketplace in order to be considered socially responsible practitioners
- Consider the use of codes of ethics by global
companies to address issues relating to social responsibility
- Demonstrate how corporate social responsibility and
ethical practice can provide competitive advantage in the global marketplace
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Consumer Sentiments about Business
- A Business Week (Bernstein 2000) cover story describes Americans as "uneasy about Big
Business" (145). Their Business Week/Harris Poll found that 72% of Americans say they believe that business has too much power over American life.
- Furthermore, 66% of those polled agree that companies care more about making large
profits than about selling safe, reliable, quality products.
- In 1999, a worldwide survey found that two‐thirds of consumers surveyed wanted
companies to contribute to broader societal goals (Isa 2003).
- The 2002 Cone Corporate Citizenship Study found 89% of Americans agreeing that,
following the recent corporate scandals, “it is more important than ever for companies to be socially responsible.”
- Voice of the People Survey (n=36,000, 47 countries, 6 continents) conducted by Gallup
International and Environics International found 43% of global companies and 52% of large national companies are not trusted to operate in the best interest of society. These rankings are among the lowest of 17 different types of social institutions.
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Definition of Ethics
- Ethics are the moral principles and values that
govern actions and decisions with respect to what is right or wrong.
- Business ethics is the systematic study of how moral
standards are applied to business decisions, behavior and institutions.
- An ethical dilemma is a decision that involves the
tradeoff between lowering one’s personal values in exchange for increased organizational or personal gain.
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