Lecture 8 - International Corporate Social Responsibility & Business ethics from a cross-cultural perspective

Question 1

What is corruption? Explain

Answer 1

Corruption can best be understood as behavior that corrupts: it undermines the cultural system in which it occurs

Since cultures can operate in very different ways, very different kinds of behavior can corrupt:
- Practices that Westerners consider questionable (e.g. cronyism and nepotism) may be functional in other cultures
- Practices that are routine and acceptable in the West (e.g. bringing a lawsuit for breach of contract) may be corrupting and dysfunctional elsewhere

Question 2

Name and explain the two types of cultures

Answer 2

Rule-based:
- Western cultures are primarily rule-based and tend to trust the system

Relation-based:
- Most of the world’s cultures are relationship-based and trust their friends and family

Question 3

What three categories do the two culture types differ in?

Answer 3

• Supervision
• Stability
• Authority and Power

Question 4

Explain cronyism in terms of rule-based (West) and relation-based (East)

Answer 4

Definition: the appointment of friends and associated to positions of authority, without proper regard to their qualifications

West:
A purchasing agent who favors personal friends is viewed as corrupt, because cronyism subverts this transparency-based system

East:
A purchasing agent does business with friends because friends can be trusted

Question 5

Explain lawsuits in terms of rule-based (West) and relation-based (East)

Answer 5

West:
- Lawsuits are routine and necessary
- The system relies on rules and individual responsibility

East:
- Lawsuits can be “corrupting”
- Lawsuits traditionally have no place in this system because they promote confrontation

Question 6

Explain changing jobs in terms of rule-based (West) and relation-based (East)

Answer 6

West:
Employees see nothing wrong with moving from one firm to another in search of a better salary, even if this means quitting a firm in the middle of a project

East:
Job-hopping in pursuit of personal gain can be very disruptive and therefore corrupting. Viewed as irresponsible and selfish conduct

Question 7

Explain nepotism in terms of rule-based (West) and relation-based (East)

Answer 7

Definition: the practice among those with power of influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs

West:
Associate nepotism with the lazy and incompetent relative on the staff

East:
Nepotism can have its advantages in a Confucian setting

Confucianism believes in ancestor worship and human-centred virtues for living a peaceful life. The golden rule of Confucianism is “Do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you.”