Culture and Ethics in Asian Business Relations
Introduction lecture
The results from the
financial disaster:
Business failure or contractions
Government bailouts
Unemployment
Consumer distress
Tattered reputations
Plummeting trust in governments and institutions
Definition of ethics: “a set or moral principles and value ethics are personal and
relative”.
Business ethics definition: “principles, norms, and standard of conduct governing an
individual or group”.
Stakeholder Theory: company should create value for all stakeholders, not just
shareholders. These are divided into dimensions; from liberal economic to (social) critical.
Stakeholder Theory dimensions and the relationship between:
Organizations and the state
Organizations and their employees
Organizations and other stakeholder groups
Stakeholder theory dimensions:
• Liberal economic dimension: relies rather on market forces and economic
principles to organize the relationship between stakeholders, more ‘laissez-faire’.
, • Social critical: stakeholders such as consumers, government, public groups should
take a more active role in ensuring companies behave responsibly and fulfil their
social obligations.
The map of business ethic issues:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – dominated by social policy experts and
environmentalist
Corporate governance – largely dominated by lawyers and accountants
Corporate citizenship – lawyers
Sustainability – environmentalists
Ethical investment – market analysts
Employee rights and human rights – human resource management specialists and
lawyers
Fair trade and regulation of international trade – economists
Risk management – accountants
Reputation management – marketing and public relations specialists.
Characteristics of Individuals
Chapter 1/2
What is an ethical dilemma?
A situation where values are in conflict: two or more values you hold dear - or –
personal value conflicts with organizational value
Prescriptive approaches
1. Focus on consequences (consequentialist theories)
Utilitarianism - best known consequentialist theory. Identify alternative actions
and consequences to stakeholders. Best decision yields greatest net benefits
to society. Worst decision yields greatest net harms to society.
Advantages; practical, already underlies business thinking
Introduction lecture
The results from the
financial disaster:
Business failure or contractions
Government bailouts
Unemployment
Consumer distress
Tattered reputations
Plummeting trust in governments and institutions
Definition of ethics: “a set or moral principles and value ethics are personal and
relative”.
Business ethics definition: “principles, norms, and standard of conduct governing an
individual or group”.
Stakeholder Theory: company should create value for all stakeholders, not just
shareholders. These are divided into dimensions; from liberal economic to (social) critical.
Stakeholder Theory dimensions and the relationship between:
Organizations and the state
Organizations and their employees
Organizations and other stakeholder groups
Stakeholder theory dimensions:
• Liberal economic dimension: relies rather on market forces and economic
principles to organize the relationship between stakeholders, more ‘laissez-faire’.
, • Social critical: stakeholders such as consumers, government, public groups should
take a more active role in ensuring companies behave responsibly and fulfil their
social obligations.
The map of business ethic issues:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – dominated by social policy experts and
environmentalist
Corporate governance – largely dominated by lawyers and accountants
Corporate citizenship – lawyers
Sustainability – environmentalists
Ethical investment – market analysts
Employee rights and human rights – human resource management specialists and
lawyers
Fair trade and regulation of international trade – economists
Risk management – accountants
Reputation management – marketing and public relations specialists.
Characteristics of Individuals
Chapter 1/2
What is an ethical dilemma?
A situation where values are in conflict: two or more values you hold dear - or –
personal value conflicts with organizational value
Prescriptive approaches
1. Focus on consequences (consequentialist theories)
Utilitarianism - best known consequentialist theory. Identify alternative actions
and consequences to stakeholders. Best decision yields greatest net benefits
to society. Worst decision yields greatest net harms to society.
Advantages; practical, already underlies business thinking
