Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Values in Tension
Values in Tension
Concept of Ethical
Relativism
According to the school of ethical
relativism . .
What is ethical or unethical must be
judged in light of local moral standards
and can vary from one country to another
Some Companies code of conduct based
upon the principle of ethical relativism
assume that local morality is an adequate
guide for ethical behavior
Cultural Relativist
Drawbacks of Ethical
Relativism
The ethical relativism rule of when in
Rome, do as the Romans do presents
problems
It is ethically dangerous for company
personnel to assume that local ethical
standards are an adequate guide to
ethical behavior.
Ethical Imperialism
Do everything the same as in our home
country
Same standards of what is right and what
is wrong are universal and transcend
most cultures, societies, and religions
Universal agreement on basic moral
standards allows a multinational company
to develop a code of ethics that is applied
evenly across its worldwide operations
Traditions
must
be
and suppliers.
Keep a safe workplace.
Produce safe products and services.
Be good citizens
Support social institutions, including economic and
educational systems.
Work with local government and institutions to
Approaches to Ethics
Relativism
Culture: every
culture has a
different set of
ethical standards
Each individual
creates their own
ethical standards
Imperialism
1 set of ethical
rules for everyone
regardless of
culture/ religion
Common to all
societies
Continued.