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Chapter 12 –- Business Values Away from Home (pp. 459 - 487)
Chapter 12 begins with two case studies (pp. 459 - 462). The case studies deal with producing
chemicals that are outlawed in the Unites States but legal elsewhere, and with giving gifts to an
African elder (government official) which maybe culturally acceptable where he lives, but would be
criminal in the U.S.
Article: “International Business Ethics and Incipient Capitalism: A Double Standard?” by Richard T.
De George (pp. 463 - 476)
In this article, De George starts by explaining that business ethics is an area of applied ethics.
Therefore, since it is ethics applied to a certain type of activity (business), the cultural norms affecting
that activity where it is taking place are important in the consideration of business ethics. He gives
several examples in four case studies regarding capitalism in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.
In all of them, things take place that we would be hard-pressed to see happen in a typical business
setting in the United States. The question raised, of course, is: Does that make them wrong, or can
they be explained by the circumstances under which they occur?
Article: “Values Tension: Ethics Away from Home” by Thomas Donaldson (pp. 476 - 486)
Donaldson talks about the inadequacy of cultural relativism when cultural practices go beyond things
like gift-giving and petty bribery.
But what standard should we use? Donaldson gives us three guiding principles:
1. Respect for core human values, which determine the absolute moral threshold for all business
activities.
2. Respect for local traditions.
3. He believes that context matters when deciding what is right and what is wrong.
Among the values which can be considered as core human values are the right to good health, the
right to economic advancement, the “Golden Rule” (treat others as you wish to be treated yourself),
respect for human dignity, respect for basic rights, and good citizenship. Donaldson realizes that these
are not specific enough to guide managers through actual ethical dilemmas. He applauds those
companies who have set out codes of conduct along with statements of vision and values, however he
recognizes that even these types of statements do not provide enough guidance.
Within the moral free space that managers have (that gray area where they need to make their own
decisions), Donaldson recommends the following for developing a global ethical perspective among
managers:
• “Treat corporate values and formal standards of conduct as absolutes.”
• “Design and implement conditions of engagement for suppliers and customers.”
• “Allow foreign business units to help formulate ethical standards and interpret ethical issues.”
• “In host countries, support efforts to decrease institutional corruption.”
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• “Exercise moral imagination. Using moral imagination means resolving tensions responsibly
and creatively.”
In the closing paragraph, he mentions a word from the South Seas, “mokita.” Mokita means “the truth
that everybody knows but nobody speaks.” The supposition is that if businesses relied on this truth a
lot more, the world would be a better place.
Discussion Questions
1. You inherit an old warehouse. When you visit it, you discover that it is filled with cans of lead
paint, which are all fresh, despite their age (lead paint was outlawed for most uses in the U.S.
by 1978 because of health concerns). You realize you can make $50,000 by shipping all this
paint to a country where it is still legal for use. Do you ship or destroy the paint? Does your
answer change any if the cost to destroy it in an environmentally sound manner is equal to or
exceeds the value of the warehouse you just inherited?
2. You are several years into your career and find yourself working in the human resources
department of a large hospital. You are reviewing the applications and notice one from an
extremely qualified candidate from the nation of Bangladesh. You know she will be perfect
for the job. You are also certain she will have a better life in the U.S. You also, however,
realize that there is a significant shortage of doctors in Bangladesh and that that third world
country spent precious national resources educating her. Do you extend a job offer to her?
3. 3. The city wants to build an electric generating plant in your neighborhood. You know it is
necessary, that your neighborhood has no civic plants at present, and you are also sure all
modern safety, pollution, and noise standards will be met. You also know that you and your
neighbors are not conservative in their use of natural resources, but that your neighbors
believe in using benefits while letting others bear the burden. You realize that this new plant
will certainly not make your neighborhood more attractive. You hear that your neighbors are
organizing a protest - do you join them, knowing that if they succeed, some other place will
bear the burden of producing your electricity?
Resources for further study -- Film, Literature, and the Web:
CorpWatch. “Maquiladoras at a Glance” June 30, 1999. http://corpwatch.org/article.php?id=1528
(June 19, 2007)
