Values in Tension: Ethics Away from Home

• Question: what does a company do when it goes to another country, and the laws, ethical values, etc are different from those in its home countries?
• Cultural relativism - no one countries values are better than another's; do whatever is accepted in the country that you are doing business in
  • Issue: There are somethings that are definitely immoral, so if we have this philosophy then there will be some grave injustices done
• Ethical imperialism - do everywhere exactly how you would do at home; there is a single set of truths that should be applied everywhere in the world
  • Issues:
    • People in different cultures have to be respected
    • Moral truths can be expressed using different concepts
    • It ignores the fact that moral decisions occur in context.
• Three principles to follow:
  • Respect core human values (this is the "absolute moral threshold")
  • "Respect local traditions"
  • Use context to determine actions when faces with a morally ambiguous decision
• There are three core human values:
  • People should not be treated as tools to an end
  • People should be treated in a way which respects basic human rights
  • Members of a community should work to improving infrastructure on which the community depends.
• If there is a credo for a company, it should also have:
  • Explicit instructions on how the values play out in the real world.
  • Room in it for a manager to make a judgment call.
• What happens when there are conflicts of tradition between the home country and the country in which business is being done? Ask the following questions
  • "Would the practice be acceptable at home if my country were in a similar stage of economic development?"
  • "Is it possible to conduct business successfully in the host country without undertaking the practice?"
  • "Is the practice a violation of a core human value?"
• Useful guidelines
  • Treat corporate values as absolutes no matter what the context
  • Create plans in advance on how to deal with both customers and suppliers
  • Get input from foreign business units as to what the ethical standards should be.
  • Support efforts in the host country to decrease the amount of institutional corruption (through the media, or by helping local organizations)
  • Be morally imaginative
    • Ex. find a way to get education for child laborers
    • Ex. find a way to get favor of the government without bribing.