CHAPTER 2
Are Ethics Culturally Based? TO
KNOW GOOD IS TO DO GOOD, AND SINCE DOING GOOD
IS MORE RATIONAL AND USEFUL THAN DOING BAD, TO DO BAD IS TO DO SO LARGELY OUT OF IGNORANCE.
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SOCRATES A N D A C A D E M I C S have spent lifetimes arguing whether there are truly “absolute ethical values”—universally valid moral principles that apply to everyone all the time. While such a debate about the existence of a one-size-fitsall morality, known as “Moral Objectivism,” may provide great fodder for dinner party conversation, it bears little relevance for the global road warriors doing battle on the international business front. The reality is that people from different cultures do business differently—and have varying sets of values, moral guidelines and ethical principles to guide them through the maze of life. What might be the “right” way to act in one culture may be considered the “wrong” way in another. Understanding the cultural context and ethical mindset of a potential foreign business partner or competitor can help in developing sound strategies for negotiations and deal making. What once seemed mysterious behavior may become more predictable—and ultimately be used to your advantage. At the very least, you will not be caught unawares by certain behaviors and attitudes.
PHILOSOPHERS
Contracts: Different Cultures, Different Ethical Views Take, for example, the concept of a business contract. Not everyone views the meaning of a written contract in the same way. While Americans and Germans generally insist on intricate multi-page contracts that are meticulously followed to the letter of the law, other cultures—especially those where personal relationships are highly valued and contract law is rare, such as Russia, Nigeria or China—view contracts as more of a statement of intention rather than a formal binding obligation with real penalties—at least as it applies to locals. While an American or a German would view the breaking of a written contract as ethically unacceptable (not to mention as a clarion call for the lawyers to mop up the mess), a Russian or a Nigerian would lose little sleep over it—not because they have no conscience but rather because the societal view of a contract attaches no great ethical stigma to breaking it (of course, it helps that foreign firms have little legal recourse). W A R N I N G : There are worse things than lawsuits. Societies with little contract law also sometimes have their own “extra-legal” and usually violent means of enforcing contracts. The enforcers rarely engage in philosophical discussions.
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