Business Ethics: Compare Chinese Corporation and American Corporation - Research Paper Example

ID Number: Research Paper Business Ethics: Compare Chinese Corporation and American Corporation Introduction This research is carried out with the aim of evaluating and examining the similarities and differences in the business ethics of the American corporations and the Chinese corporations. The concept of business ethics develops from the core cultural dimensions prevailing in a country. As such, the business ethics followed in America and China are starkly different. This is because the cultural aspects of America and China have always been much differentiated with each of the countries focusing on varied factors of business ethics. The research paper is divided into six main sections. The first section includes the background and scope of the research, the second section includes the formulation of the research objectives, the third section encompasses a review of the different literary works done in this field, the fourth section includes a discussion of the research methodologies used for the research, the fifth section consists of the findings and analysis of the collected data for the research and the sixth section includes a suitable conclusion summarizing the key learning from the research. Background of the research In the continuously changing contemporary business world, the perspective of ethics is being focused on by all businesses and stakeholder groups. The ethical threshold is also being pushed which has led to a number of problems and issues in the functioning of modern organizations. Business ethics has gained much importance in the ever evolving business world due to the high impact it has on the continuity as well as the sustainability of a business. In the era of globalization, the increasing competition level and the cross border flow of information, resources and goods have made it important for all types of organizations to ensure that an appropriate level of business ethics is maintained in all processes of the businesses. America and China have emerged as two global powers in the modern world. The American corporations and Chinese corporations are highly successful companies which have made the two countries significant contenders of global leadership position. Nevertheless, the working and the philosophies of the corporations in the two countries are guided by varying ethical and functional principles. The influence of both the countries on the aspects of business ethics is significant. Therefore, the selected research topic is considered to be a much relevant and important topic and is expected to add value to the existing literary works in the domain of business ethics. Research Objectives A suitable research objective is devised for the selected research paper. The primary objective of the research is to analyze, examine and compare the business ethics practices and approaches in the American corporations and Chinese corporations. Literature Review Business ethics is a multi-dimensional and much discussed concept. The concept has assumed a more important role, especially in the background of the shifting focus of the organizations and stakeholder groups on sustainability and ethical behavior of the organizations. While the concept of business ethics is not a new found concept, the definition of ethics in business differs from person to person and often has varied implications in different organizations. But in spite of the varied implications and meanings of business ethics in various corporations, it is unanimously agreed by all organizations, researchers and stakeholders that the role of business ethics is crucial in determining the success and sustainability of a business in the current globalized business environment. According to Lillian, Hartman & Kwong (2005), business ethics can be considered as a part of general ethics and as a conglomeration of business and ethics (Lillian, Hartman & Kwong 112). According to the scholars of human behavior, ethics is dependent on the reactions of human beings to the different situations and scenarios and is a result of the existing beliefs, traditions, values and socio cultural norms of a person. As per the view of Peppas & Tyler (2007), business and ethics are apparently two differentiated concepts. The main aim of businesses is to maximize profit. In contrast, ethics are the required code of conduct that should be taken up irrespective of whether their application leads to profit or to loss (Peppas & Tyler 230). Though business ethics is not commonly considered to be mandatory for the success of a business, some scholars like Soule (2002) are of the view that the businesses which do not implement ethical practices may be profitable in the short term but are likely to become unsustainable in the long term (Soule 78). It can be identified from the work of Shaw (2000) that the performance of a corporation may be gauged on two levels- one being the financial performance and the other being the social performance of the business. Business ethics is directly related to social performance while it is indirectly related to financial performance (Shaw 647-650). As mentioned earlier, business ethics is a multidimensional concept which is based on a number of factors. The most prevalent factors for business ethics followed in a corporation are the cultural and social factors upon which the values and philosophies of a corporation are built. This helps in identifying the reason why the business ethics followed in the American and the Chinese corporations are hugely different. According to the view of Hill (2008), the differences between the business ethics of America and that of China are the results of the different practices, culture and history of the two countries (Hill 94-96). The American corporations are known to focus more stringently on the perspectives of business ethics. Also, the American corporations are more result oriented and focus extensively on efficiency and results. On the other hand, the business ethics in China are guided by comparatively subtle factors like relationships, lower levels of conflict and confrontation, personal connections, networks, self-respect and pride. These are based on two concepts of ‘Guanxi’ and ‘Mianzi’. Guanxi means relationships and personal connections while mianzi refers to self-respect and pride of individuals. These two factors are the main deciders of ethical practices and approaches in the Chinese corporations. In recent times, ethics as an international business issue has become more predominant in the Chinese corporations. This is because the unethical operations of different multinational as well as domestic companies in countries like China have been in the limelight in the recent years. Therefore, all the Chinese corporations are taking effective steps to implement business ethics more efficiently in their functions and approaches. According to Jackson (2011), directors, employees, officers have an obligation to promote the company’s best interest at all time in America. For promoting the best interest they always try to maintain ethical practices and avoid any kind of actions which may relate to ethical conflicts. Ethical conflicts arise when a person’s own interest or individual interest interfere in the company’s interest. In this case, management and employees are trying to focus on the company’s interest and for this reason every American corporation has a good and healthy ethical working environment. They are also maintaining good and effective relationship with external parties such as suppliers, customers, competitors, government and last but not the least society at large. American corporations always try for doing ethical practices with the above mentioned external parties. These corporations become competitive in the global market as they are getting maximum competitive advantages from the international market than the companies of other countries. These corporations are maintaining their corporate social responsibilities in an ethical manner so that society is getting real help from such activities of the organizations. In case of accounting procedure also, the American corporations are following code of ethics in a very strict way so that any minor mal-practices would not take place in the operational and financial activities of an organization (Jackson pp. 127-130). Research Methodology Methodology is the theoretical and systematic analysis of the applied methods in a particular field of study. Research methodology is a certain process which is generally used to collect data and information for the purpose of taking any kind of decisions. The research methodologies may include interviews, surveys, publication research and many other research techniques such as historical and present information etc. In case research paper, only secondary research methodologies can be used for the said purpose and also for getting required result because the research question is qualitative and descriptive in nature. Secondary research methodology completely depends on the primary research methodology. Qualitative research method is also applicable in this case. Qualitative researchers generally aim to gather in-depth understanding regarding human behavior and business practices. In this case, researchers can do detailed and analytical analysis on the ethical practices which are doing by the organizations of China and America. This analytical research procedure helps to make a concrete conclusion that which country is more efficiently handle the ethical practices in their business activities. In this case, the procedure of using code of ethics in the organizational practices is the core research question and it is based only on the two major countries. These countries are America and China. To focus on the actual scenario of ethical practices in the organizations of these countries, researchers should depend on some secondary sources such as journals, newspapers, business and corporate magazines, periodicals of various companies etc. Again researcher can collect data from internet research and library research. The primary data can be collected through a survey and a focus group study. Survey and focus group study are used for primary data collection because these are usual ways of conducting primary research and collect authentic and relevant primary data. A survey method is carried out among few American and Chinese corporations may act as a valid way of collecting primary data. The secondary data should be collected from the economic reports published by nationally and internationally recognized business institutions. Other than that the use of online libraries and valid website sources would also act as important literary sources from which ample secondary data can be collected. Findings and analysis In the part of findings and analysis, this can be said that China faces so many unfavorable situations in case of ethical business operations. For example – In the year 2002, New York Times highlighted the activities of Foxconn Technology Group. It is such kind of organization which is operating its business activities only in China. The New York Times focused on the unsafe working conditions of this company. Again there were forced labor issues, problems regarding payment of wages on time, overcrowded dormitories etc. From the mentioned scenario, this can be analyzed that management of that company did unethical practices in their business and operational activities (Chandler pp. 175- 178). Management of this company was not worried at all about the condition of employees. They wanted return from them but denied to provide any kind of benefits to them. As a result the employees became de-motivated from their work. Productivity was decreased in a significant way and at the same time business was hampered. Not only in this company but also the same scenario was observed in many other Chinese organizations. Basically Chinese companies are less interested in corporate social responsibilities and business ethics (Cragg pp. 300- 302). They have not the concept that without maintaining these two aspects an organization cannot survive for long time in the domestic market and create strong presence in the international market. But the scenario has been changed in the present days and now maintaining corporate social responsibilities in Chinese companies are in work in progress stage. For this reason, Chinese companies are not enough capable to face the major challenges of globalization. But the different scenario can be observed in case of America based organizations. They are strictly maintaining and following code of ethics and corporate social responsibilities. They are as much serious in these issues as they are in their core business practices. They provide equal concentration on the volume of sales as well as their CSR activities (Terris pp. 83- 85). American companies are world famous for their ethical business practices. They are also inventing new ethical aspects for better working environment and employees of those organizations are getting more benefits from such activities. These organizations get the highest rank in case of employee retention and hardly face labor related problems, unavailability of labor etc. Conclusion From the above analysis, this can be concluded that ethics are required in the field of business for managing talents, achieving growth and creating reputation in the global market. Business ethics always help to a business entity for achieving continuous and sustainable growth and success in the relevant field. Here the issues of business ethics of the two countries have been highlighted. From the research study, it is evident that American organizations mainly follow stringent ethical practices in their business activities whereas Chinese organizations do ethical practices in more casual way. Managements of Chinese organizations are not concentrating on a structured code of ethics. For this reason, these companies are facing problems regarding employee retention, labor related issues, strikes etc. All of these factors help to decrease the productivity than the other companies in the international market. On the other hand, American companies provide equal concentration on their corporate social responsibilities and the issues of business ethics. It can be identified that the ways of following and implementing business ethics in the American corporations and the Chinese corporations are significantly distinct. While the focus of American companies is on stringent busies ethics including corporate social responsibility activities add value to the success of the American corporations, the less concentration of the Chinese corporations towards business ethics acts as a hindrance in the way of success of the companies. Works Cited Chandler, Robert. Business and Corporate Integrity. California: ABC-CLIO. 2014. Print. Cragg, Wesley. Ethics Codes, Corporations, and the Challenge of Globalization. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing. 2005. Print. Hill, Charles. Ethics in International Business. New Jersey: McGraw Hill. 2008. Print. Jackson, Terence. International Management Ethics: A Critical, Cross-cultural Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2011. Print. Lillian Yemen., Sandra, Hartman. & Kwok Kwong. Difference in Business Ethical Values. Review of Business, 26(1). 2005. Print. Peppas, Spero. & Yu Tyler. A cross‐cultural assessment of attitudes of business students toward business ethics: A comparison of China and the USA. Chinese Management Studies, Vol. 1(4). 2007. Print. Shaw, Bill. Review essay: Ties that bind. American Business Law Journal, 37. 2000. Print. Soule, Edward. Managerial moral Strategies - In search of a few good principles. Academy of Management Review, 27(1). 2002. Print. Terris, Daniel. Ethics at Work: Creating Virtue in an American Corporation. New Hampshire: UPNE. 2005. Print. Read More