Ethics Concepts in Cultural Context - Coursework Example

ETHICAL CONCEPTS IN A CULTURAL CONTEXT By (Name) The Name Of The Class (Course) Professor (Tutor) The Name of the School (University) The City and State where it is located The Date Ethics plays an instrumental role in the day to day life. Ethics are useful in almost every sphere of life and most significantly in the running of businesses. Most businesses involve developing personal relationships among people ranging from the employees to customers and even to other stakeholders. The role of the business leaders is to make decisions that ensure that there are a good relation and coordination between different business players. A large number of business decisions that are made every day requires the leaders to be conversant and compliant to the ethical behaviors no matter the consequences and personal opinions. The overall business culture operates in an environment that is full of ethical considerations. Several business ethical theories guide the day to day running of the business. This essay will be considering in closer perspective some theories relating to business ethics and the role played by such theories in the running of daily business affairs. Ethics is becoming the pillar of the 21st-century business. The growing competitions within the business segment are forcing people to adopt any available strategy to enrich them even if it is at the expense of others (Brimmer, 2007, par.1). The responsibilities of the business leaders form the foundation for the business ethics. Unfortunately, the self-interests and the ambitions of most of the business leaders lead them to lose perspective and the rationale for ethical business behaviors. Ethics should be a priority for businesses and the organizations, especially in the 21st-century business environment. As the business world is set to grasp business opportunities ahead, it is worth observing that business ethics is becoming the determining factor in taking advantage of such opportunities and succeeding (Bishop, 2013, p.636). The self-interest theory which is strongly aligned to laissez-faire capitalism contemplates a situation where business decisions are usually made mainly on the premise of self-interest as long as such decisions are within the confines of the law. As much as it can be seen by some as unethical, championing self-interests by business leaders provides sufficient ground for the realization of wealth and success (Thompson, 2017, par.2). It must be stressed that business leaders cannot be in a better position to determine the appropriate altruistic actions to benefit the society as a whole. It, therefore, becomes convenient to champion self-interests in a way that it will contribute to the well-being of the society as a whole. In a more complex business setting, it becomes important that ethical consideration in relations to business culture is based on the assembly of ethical and behavioral forms constituted by the employees. When business leaders move a step forward from the self-interests to the accommodation of the interest of the employees, there is a high chance that business decisions made are in tandem with local culture (Militaru and Zanfir, 2012, p.29). The ability of the business leaders to overlap strong individual cultures and interests enhance social relationships of the employees and the hierarchical structures within the business which help in propelling forward the business objectives. The business ethical theory of duty to principles or obligates the leaders to go beyond the self interest in building a formidable business culture. Business does not operate in isolation to the many restrictions and regulations. At the same time, business leaders need to be conversant with the interests of the stakeholders, the environment, and the community and that the decision-making process should involve balancing the diverse interests of these groups. It becomes clearer when businesses are operating within an environment whose cultures are unique and different. The responsibility of the business leaders is to gain a full understanding of the local cultural dynamics and make sure that they incorporate such knowledge in their decision making. The duty to principle or people ethical theory in business holds that business will fail if they do to reconcile the ethical conflicts which arise from operating in different environments. The global economy that was realized between the 1980s and 1990s introduced a new paradigm shift in the market. It became clear for the new small firms that venturing into the new business zones marks the entry and encounter of different ethical frameworks. The management of the potential ethical conflict becomes essential and an urgent call for small businesses before they are confronted with huge problems (Pitta, Fung, and Isberg, 1999, p. 241). A good example of the impact of cultural conflicts on businesses can be seen in the Chinese and U.S. business that operates in the U.S. and China respectively. The two countries have got different business cultures that emanate from the divergent histories between them. It becomes practically difficult for business leaders to make decisions without having to reconcile with the local cultural dynamics. The economic liberation policies that opened the Chinese market of the U.S. business but these businesses are facing serious cultural dilemmas which put the business leaders in a precarious position. The diverse and complex culture in China exposes the U.S. businesses contradictions. Some of the Chinese cultures and religion goes against those of the U.S. in several aspects like while the U.S. cultures have a sacred place for God; Chinese, on the other hand, are not necessarily a religious lot (246). The virtues and vices ethical theory has been and continues to occupy a special place in the business culture and the running of business affairs. The virtue ethics calls for the business leaders to always base their decisions on honesty and courage among other virtues as well as making sure that dishonesty and cowardice are not given any room to thrive in the business set up. Indeed, some of the business cultures have been established within the strong foundation of ethical values like honesty. Some of the business within a given cultural set up has been forced to adopt certain virtues that comply and are sensitive to the cultural values within the business environment set up. For example, business leaders operating in a Japanese business environment will be required to make business decisions that project the businesses as group oriented as opposed being based on individual reward (Hooker, 2011, p.5). In the Japanese case, business leaders are expected to play an instrumental role in maintaining harmony among the group members by making sure that each one’s ideas are honored. The Korean business set up, on the other hand, calls for the business leaders to emphasize on the virtues that promote on the high power distance as well as building a relationship-based culture with the government and leading industrial families. The employees in Korea are expected to maintain positive relationship and loyalty to the boss. The business culture in Korea demands high discipline and hierarchy, owing to its highly competitive and masculine culture. The virtue of trust features prominently as one of the essential consideration in making business decisions and in running the affairs of the business by the leaders. Organizational trust has been cited as a lubricant that helps in facilitating day to day activities and interactions in the business (Butts, 2006, p.124). It is found that organizations manage to succeed if trust and fairness are allowed to thrive within the organization. Trust in itself cannot be nurtured through business decision but instead through the practice of other related virtues like justice, equity, and fairness. Some guiding principles always help business leaders in establishing a trustworthy and fair environment that is essential for growth and business success. Businesses need to practice nondiscrimination on each of the parties’ moral standing and at the same time practice non-repression of the voices of each employee. It is important to point out that even though the business decision by the leaders needs to be premised on the fulfillment of key virtues like honesty, respect, integrity, loyalty, prudence, and promise keeping, other unique virtues are essential for the fidelity to the business’ mission and vision. The compassion and consequences theory calls for the business leaders to consider the level of compassion to practice within their organizations and at the same time making sure that they do not concede many financial grounds. More often than not, business actions are ruthless and only concerned with the acquisition of more sales and revenues such that the level of compassion practiced is low. Businesses leaders consider the level of potential consequences in making determination on the ethical problems confronted by businesses. In a business context, there is an understanding that no matter the availability of information regarding the need to practice ethical ways of leadership, temptations are always there that pushes people towards unethical and illegal behaviors. By giving leadership positions to people within a given business, doors are open for such a person to capitalize on personal gains and interests at the expense of the general interests of the organizations and businesses. In the business context, some factors motivate leaders towards pursuing the unethical paths and include greed, fear, envy, jealousy, and anger. The power distance management styles within the organizations play a critical role in nurturing some of the ethical issues in business. Those businesses that practice high power distance culture provide fertile grounds for their leaders to engage in some of the unethical issues especially those which satisfy personal interest as opposed to the general public. However, those businesses that have adopted a low power distance culture tend to nurture ethical virtues that capitalize on the common good at the expense of personal gains. The ethical culture and the ethical climates are found to equally influence organizations’ commitment (Trevino, Batterfiled, and McCabe, 1998, p.472). It is incumbent upon the business leaders to ensure that the business ethics that are adopted and developed within their respective organizations serve to nurture positive cultures. The decision making by the leaders within organizations should always be based on positive business ethics. In conclusion, several theories related to ethics have always been the pillar for the day to day conduct of business affairs. The business decision and activities are not made in isolation to the ethical undertone and the cultural context in which the business operates. It is crucial for the business leaders to gain an extensive understanding of the diversity within the business as well as the cultural dynamics to inform decision making. Reference List Bishop, W.H., 2013. The role of ethics in 21st century organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 118(3), pp.635-637. Hooker, J., 2007. Cross-cultural issues in business ethics. Carnegie Mellon University, http://web. tepper. cmu. edu/jnh/aib. pdf, accessed on March, 28, p.2011. Militaru, C. and Zanfir, A., 2012. The influence of organizational culture over the ethical principles in international businesses. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 2(Special 1), pp.26-33. Pitta, D.A., Fung, H.G. and Isberg, S., 1999. Ethical issues across cultures: managing the differing perspectives of China and the USA. Journal of consumer marketing, 16(3), pp.240-256. Thompson, S. 2017. Ethical Theories in Business. Retrieved on 26th April 2017 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ethical-theories-business-74122.html Treviño, L.K., Butterfield, K.D. and McCabe, D.L., 1998. The ethical context in organizations: Influences on employee attitudes and behaviors. Business Ethics Quarterly, 8(03), pp.447-476. Read More