Cultural Differences in Business - Essay Example

It is important to consider that the United States is a developed economy, while Jamaica and China are emerging economies. China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and a member of the elite BRICS group. Jamaica on the other hand has struggled to adapt to the business realities of the 21st century. The article presented three ethical situations. The first scenario depicted the general position of businessmen in terms of pollution and environmental laws. Jamaica businessmen are more willing to disregard environmental laws in order to make a profit.

The second scenario relates to bribes. In China businessmen are more willing to accept and give out bribes to land a business contract. This position probably is this way due to the centuries of communist regime China has lived through. The third ethical scenario concerned defective product. China was the country that showed the lowest disregard for quality issues. All three countries seemed to believe in the utilitarian ethical approach which implies that it is more important to attend to the countries concerns and needs than ethical matters.

The use of positive economics was present within the article. Since the study is a peer review journal article positive economics was used often. . I read the article twice and there is a slight possibility that no normative economic statements were used. The concept of economizing seemed to be more important within the Chinese culture. The fact that Chinese businesspeople are willing to provide lower quality goods is evidence that the businessmen in China prefer to save a buck to increase operating margins.

Another potential reason that economizing is important in China is due to the fact that China has the highest population in the planet. Jamaica was the economy that had the worst market efficiency among the three countries and it also had the lowest uncertainty avoidance. The findings of the article suggested that during the last ten years the ethical positions have not change much in the three countries with the exception of Jamaica being willing to accept lower environmental standards to attract investor in an effort to jumpstart its struggling economy.

China has moved away from its command economy and has become more of a free economy. This has been instrumental in the success this economy has had worldwide. China is the biggest exporter of manufactured goods in the globe. Overall the ethical tests showed that the United States as a developed economy has a higher ethical standard in business matters than China and Jamaica. References Fok, L., Hartman, S., Kwong, K. (2005). A Study of Differences in Business Ethical Values in Mainland China, the U.S., and Jamaica.

Review of Business, 26(1).