Values_and_Ethics_in_a_Global_Setting

Values and Ethics in a Global Setting Values and Ethics in a Global Setting Everyone has values and ethics. Values and ethics are taught, borrowed, experienced, and it is at the same time individual. Families, groups, organizations, and even businesses around the globe use values and ethics. As business globalization grows it becomes a immense concern for all involved as the differences in values and ethics are apparent and get magnified opening up greater problems then just language barriers, currencies, or differences in business cultures. Local Values and Ethics Because everyone has these learned values and ethics and are generally and basically the same in the geographic area in which the person lives, the business or corporate values and ethic are all generally and basically the same for a given area. This is immense as it allows everyone to work together and have the same expectations from coworkers. In most cases it can be taken for granted that what someone else would do is the same or reasonably close to the same as the next person would do as far as values and ethics are involved. This common bond also binds the group together, enabling individuals to assimilate into the workplace. But these local values and ethics don’t cross borders very well. But globalization has changed this and in almost any business we have to look at other cultures and their values and ethics to shape or merge them in to ours so that the group can work and have the same expectations. Global Values and Ethics The issue of dissimilarity in values and ethics can because a stone wall, sometimes impenetrable due to the differences between two different cultures. As the M. Kamamis (Kamamis,1992) states, ethics at this time is not a universal language. Although there may be some concepts that are similar, each culture’s influence makes the definition and practice of ethics unique. What is thought to be ethical business operations in India may be considered bribery in the U.S. So how do we overcome these obstacles and get down to business. Do we rely on the United Nations, which has in the past tried to formalize values and ethics, or does each government come to an agreement with all the other governments or is it up to each business or corporation. Are the Two Mutually Exclusive A business must be able to meld the two cultures together and form one cohesive working group. More than a few attempts to get values and codes of ethic down on paper and get the world government and business communities to agree on these have been tried. K. A. Getz (Getz,1990) analyzed international codes of conduct in four entities: (1) the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is the primary policymaker for industrialized nations, (2) the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which is concerned with fair treatment among multinational corporations, (3) the International Labor Organization (ILO), which is concerned with direct investment in developing countries, and (4) the Center for Transnational Corporations (CTC), whose objective is to maximize the contributions of transnational corporations to economic development and growth and to minimize the negative effects of the activities of these corporations. Irja Mahdavi (Mahdavi, 1990) discusses these various codes were developed in order to establish order among multinational corporations; although, some organizations refuse to abide by these codes, mainly because national governments have not sanctioned them completely. Without uniform and full enforcement, multinational organizations could have rampant choice in international ethical issues. But some of these were short lived, such as the Center for Transnational Corporations which transferred to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva and as far as I can tell has very little impact. Conclusion So it’s up to the individual companies and organizations to come to an agreement on what values and ethics the groups will abide by. This just adds another layer that the companies or organizations have to deal with. Of the 195 counties in the world today and 1000’s of different culture trying to put on paper a set of values and ethics that all 195 will agree to and abide by, which seems next to impossible. So it appears to be up to the lowest common denominator or smallest entity, the business or corporation to bring the global ethics together for the betterment of all concerned. References Getz, K.A.: 1990, “International Codes of Conduct: An Analysis of Ethical Reasoning”, Journal of Business Ethics 9, 567-577 Mahdavi, Iraj. (1990). International business ethics: strategies and responsibilities. Journal of Academic and Business Ethics, Retrieved from http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/09279.pdf Kamamis, M. (1992). The question of global ethics. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 33(6), Retrieved from http://cqx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/33/6/96 doi: 10.1177/001088049203300616