Business 303 Sheppard

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Business 303 Sheppard

• Business Society Ethics, Week 10
• Global Ethical Dilemmas

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BUSINESS ETHICS WEEK 10 MAIN QUESTIONS

• Why how are ethics different internationally?
• What is the Relativism vs. Universalism debate?
• Donaldsons Hypernorms A solution to the
  Relativism vs. Universalism debate?
• What is the UN Global Compact?

Wk. 9-2
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1. Global International diplomacy

• International diplomacy at the Global Level
• Influencing other countries
• Sending peacekeepers
• Canada's P.M. Lester B. Pearson
• led negotiations that established the
• U.N. Emergency Force in Nov. 1956.
• Pearson won a Nobel Prize for
• convincing the world that putting
• neutral military forces between the 2
• opposing sides would be a way to
• ensure that a negotiated ceasefire held.

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2. Organizational Globalization

• Globalization outsourcing
• International HR practices
• Internationally influencing govern-
• ments / being influenced by them.
• Shell in Nigeria 1997
• complying with brutal government
• Starbucks
• branding includes international aid
• Microsoft from evil giant corp.
• to international philanthropist?
• Blood Diamonds?

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3. Individual Ethical decision-making

• Bribery
• Consumer choices
• Negotiation
• Ethical decision-making
• Intellectual property

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4. What Drives Global Differences in Ethics?

• Culture
• Economic Development

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4b. Cultural effects on ethics (1 of 2)

• Geert Hofstedes
• Cultural Dimensions of International Bus.
• Individualist vs. collectivist approaches to
  deciding who to hire?
• feminine vs. masculine approaches to the
  environment?
• High vs. low power distance approaches to
  responsibility for ethical decisions?

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4b. Cultural effects on ethics (2 of 2)
Kohlbergs Model of Moral Development
across Cultures ?

• 1 - Obedience Punishment
• 2 - Individualism Reciprocity
• 3 - Interpersonal Conformity
• 4 - Social System/Law Order

These work in almost all cultures

• 5 - Social Contract
• 6 - Universal Ethical Principles

These dont
Individualist, Western values.
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4c. Economic Development How it affects
Ethics

• Higher levels of econ. development ? higher
  standards of ethics
• Maslows hierarchy of needs

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5. Universalism vs. Relativism (1 of 3)

• Big debate
• Are there Universal rules Ethics
• Or are all ethics relative to culture?
• Answer something in the middle

Tom Donaldson
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5. Universalism vs. Relativism (2 of 3)

• Most readings centre on this debate.
• Midgleys argument against relativism
• Results in an inability to judge anything,
  including relativism, since relativism is a
  judgment against making condemnations of other
  cultures.
• Its Internally inconsistent
• If one culture believes its okay to condemn
  others cultures, by relativist standards, theres
  no way to tell them to stop.

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5. Universalism vs. Relativism (3 of 3)

• Donaldson arguments against absolutism
  (his term for universalism)
• Not respectful
• Ignores local context (e.g. economic development)
• Assumes one set of concepts overrides all others.

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6. Donaldsons Hypernorms Model
Moral Free Space

• From a Corporate Perspective
• Allow local units to adapt to local standards
• Support efforts to decrease corruption

All Ethical dilemmas or problems
Hypernorms

• Corporate standards as absolutes
• Conditions of acceptance of buyers/ suppliers
• Support efforts to decrease corruption

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7. Donaldsons Hypernorms (1 of 4)

• (aka core human values)
• Respect for human dignity
• Respect for basic rights
• Good citizenship
• More specifically

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7. Donaldsons Hypernorms (2 of 4)

• Respect for human dignity
• Treat people as ends in themselves
• Eg. corporate culture that respects customers
  suppliers
• Eg. safe products, services workplace

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7. Donaldsons Hypernorms (3 of 4)

• 2) Respect for basic rights
• Support protect rights of employees, customers
  community
• Avoid relationships that violate human beings
  rights to health, education, safety adequate
  standard of living

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7. Donaldsons Hypernorms (4 of 4)

• 3) Good citizenship
• Support essential social institutions, eg
  economic system, education system
• Work with host government / other organizations
  to protect the environment.

Now that we know that universal principles may
exist, lets look at a plausible source
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8. U.N. Global Compact (1 of 7)

• UN Global Compact the ten universal
  principles fall within four categories
• Human Rights
• Labour Standards
• Environment
• Anti-Corruption
• Source http//www.unglobalcompact.org/

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8. U.N. Global Compact (2 of 7)

• Founded in 1999 by Kofi Annan
• International ethics guide managers should know
  it.
• Currently 2,900 firms signed in over 100
  countries
• Eg. Bayer, BMW, BP, Cadbury, eBay, HP, Microsoft,
  ING, Nokia, Starbucks, Sun Microsystems,
  Unilever, VW
• Vision a more sustainable inclusive global
  econ.
• Companies use it as a platform to develop their
  own specific codes of conduct.
• Companies publish how they are promoting the ten
  principles in annual report.
• Non-enforceable Bluewash or a first step for UN
  to reach into world of business?

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8. U.N. Global Compact (3 of 7) Sample
Companies

• HP (USA)
• Cosco (China)
• Tata Motors (India)
• Volkswagen (Germany)

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8. U.N. Global Compact (4 of 7)

• Human Rights
• Principle 1 Support respect the protection of
  internationally proclaimed human rights and
• Principle 2 Do not comply with others in human
  rights abuses.  

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8. U.N. Global Compact (5 of 7)

• Labour Standards
• Principle 3 Uphold freedom of association
• Principle 4 Eliminate forced labour
• Principle 5 Abolish child labour and
• Principle 6 Eliminate discrimination in
• employment. 

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8. U.N. Global Compact (6 of 7)

• Environment
• Principle 7 Support a precautionary approach to
  environmental challenges
• Principle 8 Promote greater environmental
  responsibility and
• Principle 9 Encourage development diffusion of
  enviro-friendly technologies.  

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8. U.N. Global Compact (7 of 7)

• Anti-Corruption
• Principle 10 Work against all forms of
  corruption, including extortion bribery. 

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9. Applications

• Yahoo in China
• Nestle infant formula
• The latest version of Wal-Mart
• What else ?

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