Business Ethics and Values in Asia
Business values and ethics in Asia: a problem for international companies?
Name of the author: Dan Wu
Student number: 7079393
Introduction
After the 1997–99 Asian financial crisis revealed the rot in many Asian companies, ‘allegations of nepotism, corruption, crony capitalism, and collusion have been frequently referred to contribute to the downfall of Asian governments in Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia’ (Ang and Leong, 2000). Before many U.S. and European companies start doing business in Asia, many western businesspeople will find out that they have to build up relationship with their business partners first by giving them gifts or going out dinner with them. However, these activities usually will make westerners feel like doing something with corruption or bribe. The dilemma they faced is obviously not only to accept these Asian ways of doing business or not.
So what is the real cause of these phenomena? Do these practices represent the business values and ethics in Asia? How should international companies do when facing these dilemmas? In order to answer these questions, this paper has two objectives: first, to investigate the business values and ethics in Asia, and second, to find the proper way how international companies should deal with business values and ethics in Asia which are unethical at home.
Discussion
Ethics is closely connected to culture. ‘Culture is ethical because it includes values which distinguish what is right and wrong, and what is acceptable and not acceptable, for a particular society’ (Tabalujan, 2008).
For over 2000 years, the Asian culture has inculcated the values of collectivism and order in its conduct of social and business events. For instance, Confucius in the sixth century BC provided a code on the ties between an individual to his/her family and the society based on their respective roles and positions in the environment. A consequence of such a collectivistic culture is interpersonal connections (Hwang, 1987),
Name of the author: Dan Wu
Student number: 7079393
Introduction
After the 1997–99 Asian financial crisis revealed the rot in many Asian companies, ‘allegations of nepotism, corruption, crony capitalism, and collusion have been frequently referred to contribute to the downfall of Asian governments in Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia’ (Ang and Leong, 2000). Before many U.S. and European companies start doing business in Asia, many western businesspeople will find out that they have to build up relationship with their business partners first by giving them gifts or going out dinner with them. However, these activities usually will make westerners feel like doing something with corruption or bribe. The dilemma they faced is obviously not only to accept these Asian ways of doing business or not.
So what is the real cause of these phenomena? Do these practices represent the business values and ethics in Asia? How should international companies do when facing these dilemmas? In order to answer these questions, this paper has two objectives: first, to investigate the business values and ethics in Asia, and second, to find the proper way how international companies should deal with business values and ethics in Asia which are unethical at home.
Discussion
Ethics is closely connected to culture. ‘Culture is ethical because it includes values which distinguish what is right and wrong, and what is acceptable and not acceptable, for a particular society’ (Tabalujan, 2008).
For over 2000 years, the Asian culture has inculcated the values of collectivism and order in its conduct of social and business events. For instance, Confucius in the sixth century BC provided a code on the ties between an individual to his/her family and the society based on their respective roles and positions in the environment. A consequence of such a collectivistic culture is interpersonal connections (Hwang, 1987),
References: Asian Development Outlook (1998), Oxford University Press. Donaldson, T. (2003) ‘Values in tension: Ethics Away from Home’, Harvard Business Review on Corporate Ethics, pp.113-138. Hwang, E Kao, J. (1993) ‘The Worldwide Web of Chinese Business’, Harvard Business Review, vol.53, pp.24–36. Lee, K.H. and W.C. Lo (1988) ‘American Businesspeople’s Perceptions of Marketing and Negotiating in the People’s Republic of China’, International Marketing Review, vol.6, summer, pp.41–51. Leung, K. (1988) ‘Some Determinants of Conflict Avoidance’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, vol.19, pp.125–136. Leung, T. K. P., Y. H. Wong, and J. L. M. Tam (1995) ‘Adaptation and the Relationship Building Process in the People’s Republic of China PRC’, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, vol.8 (2), pp.7–27. Li, M. C. (1992) ‘Cultural Difference and In-Group Favoritism: A Comparison of Chinese and American College Students’, [in Chinese], Bulletin of the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica vol.73, pp.153–190. Montagu-Pollock, Matthew (1991) ‘All the Right Connections’, Asian Business, vol.27 (1), pp.20–24. Osland, Gregory E. (1989) ‘Doing Business in China: A Framework for Cross-cultural Understanding’, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol.8(4), pp.4–14. Tabalujan, B. (2008) ‘Culture and ethics in Asian business’, The Melbourne Review, vol.4, pp.13-19. The Straits Times (1998), ‘Currency Crisis: How and When will East Asia Recover?’, January 22, p. 46.