Chapter9-Intercultural-Business-Ethics(ppt文档).ppt

Chapter 9 Intercultural Business EthicsLearning ObjectivesnDefine business ethics and understand how ethics and laws relate.nRealize that legal and ethical interpretations are influenced by culture.nDiscuss real-life ethical dilemmas faced by businesses of today.nExplore major global legal and ethical issues in international business.nDiscuss how to incorporate ethics into intercultural business decisions and build ethical competence within the discipline of IBC.I.LAW AND ETHICS OF INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 1.The Nature of Legal Environment of International Business2.Ethical Dilemmas in Intercultural Business Communication3.Business Ethics in the Worlds Major Religion 1.The Nature of Legal Environment of International BusinessnThe international legal environment can be viewed as comprising three concentric levels around the company:n1)the laws of the nation-states within which the firm operates,n2)the laws of the regional trade blocs to which those nation-states belong,andn3)international lawThe Legal Environment of International BusinessHost Country LawsRegional LawsEUNAFTAMERCUSORInternational LawTREATIESGATTWTOUNCONVENTIONSInternational lawnInternational law may be based on or on treaties and conventions.nThe types of treaties of particular importance to international companies are:ntreaties of friendship,commerce,and navigation (FCN)ntreaties for the protection of intellectual property rights.nWorld Trade Organization(WTO)and United Nations(UN).the regional lawsnthe European Union(EU)nthe North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA).nThese laws,particularly well-developed in the European Union,standardize activities and requirements among the member nations,and are designed to facilitate intraregional trade.the laws of nation-states.nNational legal systems are generally based on common law,civil law,or Islamic law,and reflect the social,cultural,and religious norms of the people of that nation.n Home and host country legislation is often the outcome of international law.nThe laws of both host and home countries are quite often the product of legislation drawn up by regional blocs.Legal systems come out of cultural values.nLaws have cultural roots.nHow these laws are formulated,communicated,and enforced is influenced by the communication patterns and priorities of a particular culture.nThe legal system also acts as a stimulus for gradually changing cultural values.nE.g.the case of music downloading in the United StatesTipsnThe legal requirements for engaging in business activities in foreign countries are determined by the law of the host country and the home country,which is often the outcome of international law.nLaws are culturally bound.At the same time,the legal system also acts as a stimulus for gradually changing cultural values.A prime example:the case of music downloading in the United States.nLegal systems are basically territorial.Lawyers are territorially different in terms of law education,language,cultural background,and legal training.ConclusionnBusinesspersons in international companies must research and be aware of these differences.nManagers should have at least some understanding of the legal systems of the countries that they work in.2.Ethical dilemma in IBCnWhile law concerns what we must do,ethics concern what we should do.nmorals are ones personal guiding principles;ethics are the ways that those morals are applied to decisions.Defining Ethics and Business ethics nEthics has been defined as“inquiry into the nature and grounds of majority where the term morality is taken to mean moral judgments,standards,and rules of conduct.”(Taylor,1975)nBusiness ethics is the moral thinking and analysis by corporate decision makers and other members regarding the motives and consequences of their decisions and actions.(Amba-Rao,1993)Ethical dilemma in IBCnAn ethical dilemma exists where two or more values are in conflict,and we seek from ethics a resolution to this conflict.nExample:whether tobacco companies should target young men and women in other countries as potential long-term customers of a product when it is a generally accepted fact that cigarette smoking is addictive and harmful.Ethical standards vary widely in countries across the world.nEach region of the world has its own interpretations of what is ethical and what is not,and many countries have implicit and explicit standards for appropriate business practices both at home and around the world.II.MAJOR LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION1.Protection of Intellectual Property2.Dispute Settlement Through Legal Channels3.Labor-management Relations and Employment4.The Issue of Bribery and CorruptionII.Major Legal and Ethical Issues in IBC human rights,environmental protection,equal opportunity and pay for women and various disadvantaged minorities,stakeholder rights and fair competition.n1.Protection of Intellectual Property n2.Labor-management Relations and Employmentn3.The Issue of Bribery and Corruption1.Protection of Intellectual Property nIneffective enforcement of provisions for intellectual property protection opens the door to piracy.nTrademark regulations have become a major topic because rules relating to trademarks vary from country to country.nAdvances in telecommunications have intensified ethical issues concerning the registering of names.ConclusionnIn order to conduct business more successfully,we need to know both the laws and the cultural reasons for the laws.Businesses must be careful to follow the laws of their own country and of the host country as they relate to intellectual property rights.2.Labor-management Relations and EmploymentnLabor laws and attitudes towards labor management relations have deep-seeded cultural roots and are not easily transplanted.nDepending on the cultural environment of the agent,the relationship between the agent and the foreign firm may go beyond a strict business relationship that can be severed at will.nDifferent legal regulations of the employment process have a definite effect on job search procedures and employment communication in different countries.nThe rsum and the accompanying cover letter are influenced by culture and laws.nEmployers in different countries have different evaluation criteria in selecting employees.nCultures hold different attitudes towards safety on the job and differ in their communication as to how to keep their workers safe.nSexual and racial discrimination3.The Issue of bribery and corruptionnBribery may be defined as the payment voluntarily offered for the purpose of inducing a public official to do or to omit to do something in violation of his or her lawful duty,or to exercise official discretion in favor of the payers request for a contract,concession,or privilege on some basis other than merit.1)Why Illegal Payment?nHome Country FactorsnHost Country Factors2)Types of Illegal PaymentnFacilitating PaymentsnMiddlemen CommissionsnPolitical ContributionsnCash Disbursements3)Fighting Bribery and CorruptionnThere has been a basic shift in thinking about the causes of global business bribery and corruption.n1993,Transparency International encouraged nations to pass laws and anticorruption programs.nGovernments and corporations:two sides to the problem(demand&supply)ntwo-fold attack on international business bribery 1)fighting bribery and corruption is no longer simply a moral imperative,but also a question of bottom-line economics;2)the fastest way to eliminate bribery and corruption is by focusing not on the demand side of the equation,but rather on the supply side and going after the companies and countries that feed the system of bribery by paying money to corrupt officials.nThe Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD)&the United Nations:step up their efforts to eliminate bribery and corruption in global business.UN:focus on the laundering of illegal drug moneyOECD:has drawn up a Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business TransactionsnSaudi Arabia introduced legislation that sought to legitimize and control the payment of commissions.III.BUILDING ETHICAL COMPETENCE IN INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 1.Moral Philosophies or Relevance to Business Ethics2.Incorporating Ethics into International Business Decisions3.A Universal Set of EthicsIII.Building Ethical Competence in IBC nInternational businesspersons should be familiar with different national laws and act with sensitivities,both at home and abroadnTo build ethic competence in IBC,international businesspersons should first have knowledge of moral philosophies or relevance to business ethics.n1.Moral Philosophies or Relevance to Business Ethicsdefinition of moral philosophies:A moral philosophy is the set of principles or rules that people use to decide what is right or wrong.1)Teleologytwo key teleological precepts that serve as guides for managerial decision making:(1)egoism&(2)utilitarianism2)Deontology:the theory of rightsThe deontological approach is“an ethical theory holding that acting from a sense of duty rather than concern for consequences is the basis for establishing our moral obligation.”(Borchert and Stewart,1986)n3)Theory of justicethree fundamental guidelines that the theory of justice provides to managers in decision making:be equitable,be fair,and be impartial.principles of behavioral prescriptions of the justice theory:Do not treat individuals differently based upon arbitrary characteristics.Attributes and positions of individuals that are the basis for differential treatment must be justifiably connected to the goals and tasks at hand.Rules must be clearly stated and promulgated,administered fairly,and consistently and fairly enforced.Do not hold individuals responsible for matters over which they have no control.(Cavanagh,1981)justice theorynAlthough not as difficult to apply as the utilitarian theory,justice theory demands that justifiable attributes be determined upon which differential treatment of people may be based.nFurthermore,this theory also requires the determination of facts to ensure the fair administration of rules and to hold individuals accountable for their actions.n4)Cultural relativismCultural relativism asserts that words such as“right,”“wrong,”“justice,”and“injustice”,derive their meaning and truth value from the attitudes of a given culture.e.g:usury(高利贷)is forbidden by the Koran;Muslims must refrain from collecting interest on loans;The Hindu religion considers the consumption of beef to be both unethical and immoral.“When in Rome,do as the Romans do,ethically.”2.Incorporating Ethics into International Business Decisions Each of the moral philosophies discussed cannot by themselves take care of issues of concern in the other philosophies.Decisions that may appear to be equitable,fair,and impartial in one culture may have the opposite effect in another culture.One way to resolve such problems resulting from a focus on one particular philosophy is to combine all four philosophical approaches into one unifying,eclectic,decision-making framework.Fig.9-1 A Decision Tree Incorporating Ethics in International Business Decision MakingPhilosophers urge us to resort to ethical reasoning to ensure that moral decisions are made by moral managers.Nevertheless,there is the danger that the different philosophies of ethical reasoning may lead to different behaviors in similar circumstances.Moreover,because of cultural differences,what is considered“right”and“good”in one culture may be actually taken as“wrong”and“bad”in another culture.Therefore,managers in two different cultures,adhering to the same ethical philosophy(utilitarianism,theory of rights,or theory of justice),may choose behavioral patterns that are at the opposite ends of a spectrum.four underlying moral philosophiesnBeliefs about what constitutes moral or ethical business behavior commonly stem from one of four underlying moral philosophies:teleology deontology the theory of justice cultural relativism.nThe real problem today lies not so much in the difficulties related to guiding individual behavior,but in providing an ethic for corporate behavior.Thus an adequate discussion of ethics must focus on both the individual level and corporate levels.3.3.A Universal Set of Ethicsnthe United Nations Center on Transnational Corporations had put together a sample code of conduct to provide guidance on ethical conduct.nIn Europe,the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,which had 29 European nations as members,adopted an accord in 1997,that called for firms in member countries to conduct business according to rules that were similar to those governing U.S.firms.(Blustein,1997)nIn Latin America,where bribery and other forms of corruption had long been common in business,there had been some movement by national leaders to curb such practices the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption was adopted by the Organization of American States in 1996.However,national-based legal texts,since they simply prohibit or permit certain acts,do not explain how to behave in the real world.The U.N.Global Compact serves as a good example of the agreements and codes of conduct in which MNCs commit to maintain certain standards in their domestic and global operations.Following is Table 9-2:Principles of the U.N.Global Compact.Human rightsPrinciple 1:Support and respect the protection of international human rights within their sphere of influence.Principle 2:Make sure their own corporations are not complicit in human rights abuses.LaborPrinciple 3:Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.Principle 4:The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor.Principle 5:The effective abolition of child labor.Principle 6:the elimination of discrimination with respect to employment and occupation.EnvironmentPrinciple 7:Support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.Principle 8:Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.Principle 9:Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.AnticorruptionPrinciple 10:Business should work against all forms of corruption,including extortion and bribery.nthe Moral Authority of Transnational Corporate Codes covers five universal business areas:employee practices and policies;basic human rights and fundamental reedoms;consumer protection;environmental protection;political payments and involvement.Recommendations to integrate ethics into business conduct(Arvind Phatak,1999):nTop management must be committed to the companys ethics program.nA written company code that clearly communicates managements expectations must be developed.nProvide an organizational identity to the ethics program.nA formal program must be in place to implement the ethics code.nTraining in ethics is done by the line managers,not consultants.nStrict enforcement of codes is essential.nActions speak louder tha