Recently I read an article which summarized a speech given in Beijing by Stephan Rothlin, general secretary of the Center for International Business Ethics (CIBE). His sentiments underscore some of the major challenges and issues I see in business ethics today. Rothlin stated, “If you want to talk about business ethics in China, don't set yourself up as the Western expert imposing foreign models on the Chinese…. the Chinese do not want paternalism from the West. Instead, they want acknowledgement that they can offer something, that they can actually become a driver in the field of ethics. Because the Chinese are emerging as an economic powerhouse, any ethical rules they integrate into their businesses practices will have an impact on the whole world.”
As the pace of globalization increases and the reach of organizations widen, it becomes more difficult to ensure that ethical policies and CSR extend beyond the written word. But globalization and the challenge of business ethics is not just a problem of scale, as the cultural context and norms strongly influence, not only the implementation, but the interpretation of corporate policies. Business ethics and CSR surely have cultural underpinnings, as Rothlin suggests. Not only that, but the so-called “paternalism from the West” statement points to another fundamental issue: are business ethics and CSR well-positioned to be integrated components of the company or simply Western exports? Though the underlying values implicit in CSR and business ethic goals may be similar trans-nationally, Rothlin suggests that the desired results may not be achieved by current practices. This paper will explore some of these challenges and discuss strategies (and resources) that may be useful to consider moving forward.
Creating a culture which ensures accountable for business ethics is hard enough without considering the complexity of a multi-national organization with outsourcers, partners and other suppliers... [continues]
As the pace of globalization increases and the reach of organizations widen, it becomes more difficult to ensure that ethical policies and CSR extend beyond the written word. But globalization and the challenge of business ethics is not just a problem of scale, as the cultural context and norms strongly influence, not only the implementation, but the interpretation of corporate policies. Business ethics and CSR surely have cultural underpinnings, as Rothlin suggests. Not only that, but the so-called “paternalism from the West” statement points to another fundamental issue: are business ethics and CSR well-positioned to be integrated components of the company or simply Western exports? Though the underlying values implicit in CSR and business ethic goals may be similar trans-nationally, Rothlin suggests that the desired results may not be achieved by current practices. This paper will explore some of these challenges and discuss strategies (and resources) that may be useful to consider moving forward.
Creating a culture which ensures accountable for business ethics is hard enough without considering the complexity of a multi-national organization with outsourcers, partners and other suppliers... [continues]
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