Laura Carasimu YesterdayOct 28 at 8:03pmManage Discussion Entry Ethics is defined by Trobez et al. as philosophical thinking on morality, in other words, committing to one’s own moral judgment in...

Laura Carasimu

Ethics is defined by Trobez et al. as philosophical thinking on morality, in other words, committing to one’s own moral judgment in decision making (2017). The power of our mind and actions are a result of our experiences, which are formed by cultural backgrounds. Culture influences business ethics behaviors (Trobez et al., 2017). Rules are founded in culture, in both the senses that (a) our cultural background forms the rules we choose to follow ourselves (morals), and (b) organizational culture is influenced by the rules that exist within the company. Ethical behavior is a function of cultural norms (Trobez et al. 2017), therefore we can maintain that people from different cultural backgrounds may have different feelings about what is ethical and morally acceptable. Values are firmly grounded in culture and beliefs. What may be tolerated in one culture is forbidden in another, so our personal morals, values and ethics will differ as a result. For this reason, we cannot judge others according to our own benchmark but must hold them accountable to their own standards. This discrepancy leads organizational leaders to implement programs for cultural competency in the workplace. Not only does this attempt to level employees, but it also normalizes the differences between employees and customers. Ethics can be normalized in an organization by creating a shared understanding of what the right thing is (Geisler, 2021). Whether we have different personal views or not, within the bounds of the organization we pledge to have common views. The role of leadership is to create, uphold, enforce and update this shared understanding of values and ethics. A global marketplace tends to encompass segments of all generally-accepted values, and further promotes tolerance of differences. Codes of conduct are more than tools of compliance, they form the infrastructure of integrity (Geisler, 2021). Ethics is a universal value that carries negligible variance around the world (Trobez, 2017). For that reason, people can travel globally and manage to fit into different cultures. The same philosophy applies to organizations.

References

Geisler, J. (2021). Think beyond compliance: Why leaders should work to implement a culture of ethics.Healthcare Financial Management Magazine, 75(5), 44-45.

Trobez, S., Vesic, M., Zerovnik, G., Ye, X., & Zuzul, D. (2017). The effect of culture on business ethics.Dynamic Relationships Management Journal, 6(1), 51-59.http://doi.org/10.17708/DRMJ.2017.v06n01a05

Marlowe Hillyer

Ethical values and principles can be grounded in cultures and beliefs to a great extent. Cultures and beliefs are impacted upon individuals by people that are influential in their lives such as parents, religious leaders, teachers and community leaders (Kaptein, 2009). Most cultures usually have the same standards for right and wrong but ideologies differ across cultures so a culture might convince one individual that socialism is right while another might teach that it is wrong. It is quite reasonable to expect people from culturally different backgrounds to share the same morals and values. This is because the lessons that parents teach their children about good behavior are generally similar across varying cultures.

It is also quite reasonable to expect that people from culturally different backgrounds might have very different perspectives of right and wrong. Some cultures believe in some unethical practices and they convince their followers to act unethically in some instances. For example; A culture might teach individuals that it is not wrong if one steals for survival. While people from other cultures believe that it is unethical to steal no matter the circumstances, another culture might convince its people that stealing food or stealing money to buy food is ethical. It is therefore always reasonable to expect different cultural backgrounds to have different perspectives of right and wrong.

Differing values and perspectives on ethical behavior come into play in a global marketplace mostly in intercontinental trade. Some of the cultures that really stand out are the Arabian cultures and the Asian cultures. In places like the Middle East, business is usually closed on Fridays for prayers and this might come as a shock to an American businessman that counts Friday as a working day and they also work on Sundays which is considered as the Christian day of worship.

Reference

Kaptein, M.(2009). Ethics programs and ethical culture: A next step in unraveling their
multi-faceted relationship.Journal of Business Ethics,89(2),261-281.