The following summary is a subtract from ¨The Socio-Cultural Embeddedness of Individuals' Ethical Reasoning in Organizations (Cross- Cultural Ethics)¨Author(s): Linda Thorne and Susan Bartholomew Saunders Source: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 35, No.1 (Jan.,2002), pp.1-14, Published by:Springer Stable
URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25074649 Accessed: 28/07/2010 16:16
Ethical behavior varies cross-culturally, scant attention has been given to understanding how culture affects the ethical reasoning process that predicates individuals' ethical actions. To address this gap, this paper illustrates how culture may affect the various components of individuals' ethical reasoning by integrating findings from the cross-cultural management literature with cognitive-developmental perspective.
The challenge in any organisation in the globalized world in which we are living in today, is how to balance the standardized globalpolicies, with appropriate consideration to specific cultural backgrounds and the contexts in which the organisations need to dvelop thereselves everyday within specif groups or cultures.
To understand the ethical decision making, the authors reassure on the importance of cultural dimensions, like Hoftede's and trompenaars', already seen in other courses, because they say that these cultural dimensions, seen in the personal perspective of an individual, determine the components of individuals' ethical reasoning, which are;
1. Ethical Sensitivity:Identification of an ethical dilemma
2. Prescriptive Reasoning:Prescriptive judgment of the ideal solution to the ethical dilemma
3. Deliberative Reasoning:Intention to act.
4. Ethical Character:Ethical action or behavior.
They explained it, this way: ¨Ethical sensitivity initiates the ethical reasoning process through the identification of an ethical dilemma. Ethical sensitivity reflects an awareness that the resolution of a particular dilemma may affect the welfare of others. Once an ethical dilemma has been identified, individuals enter a process of prescriptive reasoning in which they evaluate the ideal outcomes that ought to occur in a given situation. The outcome of an individual's prescriptive reasoning process is a prescriptive judgment of what ought to be done to resolve an ethical dilemma. Next, an individual deliberates on the formulation of his/her intention to act on an ethical dilemma. Deliberative reasoning involves a value assessment of the "ethical" choice versus other decision alternatives. Finally, an individual's ethical action is a function of one's deliberative choice and personal characteristics, such as ego strength and locus of control. For example, a weak-willed person may choose to act in a given manner, but is unable to follow through in the decision choice due to lack of ethical character¨. (1)
Transnational organizations can't ignore the cultural differences that make ethical reasoning even more divers within the members of an organisation that work even at the same places. Integrating systems and routines across geographically dispersed subsidiaries represent some of the challenges that organisations have when doing business coss-culturally.
(1)¨The Socio-Cultural Embeddedness of Individuals' Ethical Reasoning in Organizations (Cross- Cultural Ethics)¨Author(s): Linda Thorne and Susan Bartholomew Saunders Source: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 35, No.1 (Jan.,2002), pp.1-14, Published by:Springer Stable. Page 4 and 5, paragraph 8 and 1 respectably.
Image: two man shaking hands, took from;http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~renglish/377/notes/chapt03/sharks_shaking.gif
THE INDIAN CASE
The following case was took from ¨Making Sense of the Diversity of Ethical Decision Making in Business: An Illustration of the Indian Context¨. By: Patel, Taran; Schaefer, Anja. Journal of Business Ethics, Dec2009, Vol. 90 Issue 2, p171-186, 16p, 1 Diagram; DOI: 10.1007/s10551-009-0034-z; (AN 45127535)
Indian businessmen were perceived as fair, kind, law-abiding citizens who were considerate to foreign merchants and ethical in their practices, but sooner this system fall with the foreign invasions in the eighteenth century (Kanagasabapathi)*. Colonial rulers replaced past ethical and administrative systems with their own ones. After independence, the new government opted for Western economic and administrative systems. Superimposing systems that have naturally emerged in a society over past centuries with foreign systems is thought not to be good for that society (Korten)*.
Several different ethical approaches have co-existed in India in more recent times:
The Gandhian Model: Which stresses voluntary commitment to public welfare based on ethical awareness of broad social needs.
The Nehru Model: Which emphasizes state-driven policies including state ownership and extensive corporate regulation and administration.
The Milton Friedman Model: According to which corporate responsibility primarily focuses on owner objectives.
The Freeman Model: Which propagates stakeholder responsiveness.
Like in every ancient civilization, the business ethics movement in India has also been influenced by various historical and political factors:
* A strong religious tradition encouraging business benevolence.
* Businesses supporting nationalism in the first half of the twentieth century.
* A strong affiliation with leaders, both in business and politics (Sundar)*.
Several different ethical approaches have co-existed in India in more recent times:
The Gandhian Model: Which stresses voluntary commitment to public welfare based on ethical awareness of broad social needs.
The Nehru Model: Which emphasizes state-driven policies including state ownership and extensive corporate regulation and administration.
The Milton Friedman Model: According to which corporate responsibility primarily focuses on owner objectives.
The Freeman Model: Which propagates stakeholder responsiveness.
Like in every ancient civilization, the business ethics movement in India has also been influenced by various historical and political factors:
* A strong religious tradition encouraging business benevolence.
* Businesses supporting nationalism in the first half of the twentieth century.
* A strong affiliation with leaders, both in business and politics (Sundar)*.
While the strength of Indian traditions provides and reinforce an awareness of the social and ethical responsibilities of business, many experts are worried that modern business practices are likely to change it all.
SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) and the AMUL milk cooperative, is a trade union of poor, self-employed women in the state of Gujarat in West India. It was founded in 1972 in Ahmedabad by Elaben Bhatt, a staunch Gandhian and freedom fighter. SEWA’s initial activities included buying handmade products from rural women and selling them in local and foreign markets.
The profits made on selling these products were then distributed among the associations’ members. In so doing, SEWA attempted to give some economic power to rural women and also to enhance their sense of self-reliance and dignity. The values cherished by SEWA seem to be those consistent with Gandhi’s policy of altruism, which implies doing good for the poorest of the poor and protecting the weak. Following these Gandhian principles, SEWA attempts to prepare poor, rural and unemployed women in India. Full employment for SEWA means employment whereby workers obtain work security, income security, food security and social security. By self reliance they mean that women should be autonomous, self reliant, both economically and with regards to taking decisions in their personal lives.
As we can see in the case showed above, decision making will always be link with the ethical behavior of the organisation, it can be by one member, or a group or even as a whole. But they will always be rised from an individual’s perspective of ethical practices. It is obvious that the national culture influences our ideas, but still the last decision making is in the individuals’ hands.
Elaben Bhatt wouldn't have created SEWA and AMUL if it wouldn't be for it's ethical behavior practices linked to Gandhi’s policy of altruism. In this case Ethical behavior was the key element in the decision making process of creating an organisation that could be in compliance with Elaben's believes.
*Kanagasabapathi, P.: 2007, ‘Ethics and Values in Indian Economy and Business’, International Journal of Social
Economics 34(9), 577–585. doi:10.1108/0306829071 0778606. Kearney, A. T.: 2004, Offshore Location Attractiveness Index: Making Offshore Decisions.
Economics 34(9), 577–585. doi:10.1108/0306829071 0778606. Kearney, A. T.: 2004, Offshore Location Attractiveness Index: Making Offshore Decisions.
*Korten, D.: 1998, When Corporations Rule the World (The Other India Press, Goa).
* Sundar, P.: 2000, Beyond Business: From Merchant Charity to Corporate Citizenship (Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi).
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