...SALTER, STEPHEN B, GUFFEY, DARLY M, & MCMILLIAN, JEFFERY J JOURNAL OF BUSSINES ETHICS INTRODUCTION Many studies have noted differences in ethical judgments across individuals within organizations, industries, and countries. Such differences tend to become more pronounced and problematic when one enters the international arena, because members of different national cultures frequently apply different ethical standards and criteria This remains a vexing challenge for those engaged in international trade. This gave us the opportunity to observe cross-cultural differences firsthand, using our own students as subjects. Initially, our data originated as a class exercise intended simply to motivate discussion. As is customary in marketing and business ethics classes, students were asked to read a printed scenario, to rate the ethics of the actor in the scenario, and to discuss justify their evaluations. The discussions revealed the ethical criteria applied by the students and the importance weightings they placed on each criterion. It was our observation of the pronounced differences evident across national groups that sparked our investigation into the sources of these differences. This study was also motivated by our curiosity concerning whether U.K students ethical evaluations would be similar to those of their North American counterparts (by merit of being Anglophones) or similar to their French counterparts (by merit of being...
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...What is cultural relativism? According to dictionary.com,“the concept that the importance of a particular cultural idea varies from one society or societal subgroup to another, the view that ethical and moral standards are relative to what a particular society or culture believes to be good/bad, right/wrong.” But what does this mean in our society? It means the each culture that each of us are from have set what we view as ethical and moral. That what is okay in our circle may not be what another set of people from another culture believes is okay. Not everyone believes the same thing and those around us have shaped and molded us to believe in the same as those before us. This is what is meant by cultural relativism and how it effects our views on what is and is not ethical. While each culture has their own values and morals which leads them to believe what is ethical this does not always give someone a way out when it comes to the law or in a group other than the society they grew up in. It is important to know about the area you are in and know how each culture works. It is important to continue learning about other cultures. Learning about other cultures and societies will also help you see things differently than how you were taught while growing up. One of the social issues that each culture handles differently is cheating. This is depict in the comic that was assigned to this assignment. On the board in the classroom it states, “How important are ethics in today's society...
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...DOMESTIC CHANGING HEORY CHANGING PRACTICE 1. Introduction Throughout our world, violence confronts us daily. We hear about it on the news. We read about it in newspapers and on the Internet. We experience it subtly and overtly in all cultures and across nations in incidents ranging from ethnic slurs to hate crimes to violence carried out in the name of ideology. Such incidents of violence tend to be easily seen as they fall within the public domain. Less visible, however, but often more devastating, is the domestic violence that occurs within the family and often against women. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) (2001) notes in a summary of research done on four continents that as many as 20 to 50 percent of all women in the studies reported experiencing partner violence. But what are the links among domestic violence, health care profession, nurses, and ethics? In moral philosophy, there is a long tradition of debate on whether true moral dilemmas can exist, some arguing that it will always be possible to decide which obligation should prevail. On this concept regardless of the abstract possibility of an ideal resolution and the pragmatic reality that decisions are made and people have to live with them. An ethical dilemma presents a choice that must be made between two mutually exclusive courses of action, each of which is perceived to rest on a moral obligation that carries significant weight for the actor confronting the dilemma. According to Draucker...
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...CHAPTER 2 ENRIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE ON ACCOUNTING DEVELOPMENT 1 2.1 Introduction In international accounting research, environmental influence is the key to understanding one country’s accounting system. "To a large extent, accounting is a product of its environment. That is, it is shaped by, reflects, and reinforces particular characteristics unique to its national environment" (Radebaugh and Gray 1997). From the late 1960s, researchers in international accounting have tried to categorize countries according to a series of criteria, which have been developed on a deductive or conductive basis. These criteria tried to explain the reasons for accounting differences between countries; they aimed to describe and compare different systems with each other in an efficient way. There are several advantages to categorize and analyze the differences among countries: First, it promotes improved understanding of the complex realities of accounting practices, as well as the factors that shape a country’s accounting regulations; Second, it provides useful information for solving some of the important accounting problems that exist in the world. For example, it can help policymakers assess the prospects and problems of international harmonization; Third, it can assist in the training of accountants and auditors who operate internationally; And finally, it can enable a developing country to better understand the available and appropriate types of financial...
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...Is stock option backdating ethically defensible? Background Stock options are widely used to supplement the amount of non-performance-based cash compensation for executives and CEOs. Furthermore, Bishara & Schipani state that stock options, “have long been touted as a way to align the interests of the executive with the shareholder…”(2008, p. 13) and thus provide, “greater incentives for executives to improve firm performance.” (Raiborn et al. 2007, p.1) However, due to the transactional nature of options that they can be cashed in there exists motivation for executives or firms to manipulate the price so as to receive the greatest gain. Prior to 2002, a company was not required to, “report the issuance of stock options until after the close of the fiscal year.” (Raiborn et al. 2007 p.3 ) As such many firms decided to retroactively increase the value of their share options, particularly executives options. However, by 2002, the time the control measure, Section 403 of the Sarbanes-Oxley act, was passed, 1 out of every 5 companies were suspected to still utilise the practice. Widespread backdating caused a media stir in 2006, with prominent companies such as Comverse and UnitedHealth being indicted. This caused a ripple through the business community as other organisation came under investigation. In 2006, 173 companies were purported to have retroactively altered the stock options of prominent members of their organisations. Retroactively dating options is defined as...
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...discipline. 2. Enumerate and define the subdivisions of anthropology. 3. Outline the history of anthropology. 4. Discuss the research methods of anthropological research. 5. Explain the causes of culture shock. 6. Analyze the values of cultural relativism. 7. Identify the uses of cross-cultural comparison. After reading this chapter, you should be able to: iStockphoto/Thinkstock iStockphoto 8. Explain the basic ethical questions of anthropological research. 9. Explain the different concepts used in an anthropological analysis of culture. 10. Explain the difference between humanistic and scientific approaches to culture. Chapter Outline 1.1 The Breadth of Anthropology • • • • • The Four Traditional Subfields Anthropology as Science and Humanity Etic Versus Emic Perspectives The Holistic Perspective Breadth in Time and Space 1.3 Methods of Anthropological Research • • • • Participant Observation The Fieldwork: A Case Study Cross-Cultural Comparison Ethics in Anthropological Research 1.2 The History of Cultural Anthropology • • • • • The Evolutionary Period The Empiricist Period The Functionalist Period The Contemporary Period The Period of Specialization 1.4 Cultural Differences • Culture Shock • Ethnocentrism • Cultural Relativism 1.5 Employment in Anthropology 1 cra80793_01_c01_001-032.indd 1 5/23/13 2:23 PM Section 1.1 The Breadth of Anthropology CHAPTER 1 This chapter explains what anthropology is, the history of the discipline, how...
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...Unit 5 Intercultural Communication Overview. This unit focuses on the role of communication in the relationships of peoples and groups with different cultural, ethnic, religious or social backgrounds. It looks at both the cultural barriers to effective communication as well as to various ways those barriers can be overcome. This unit also addresses the concept of dialogue as the use of communication to achieve harmony, mutual understanding and respect among peoples and groups. Learning Outcomes: Students who complete Unit 5 will be able to: explain the role of ethnocentrism in intercultural communication discuss guidelines for effective intercultural and interreligious communication compare Arabic and English communication patterns demonstrate intercultural aspects of inter-religious communication Key Concepts for Unit 5 Definition and conceptualization of intercultural communication and overview of guidelines Overview of ethnocentrism and prejudice in communication Definition and conceptualization of dialogue as a model of communication ► Intercultural Communication Nations and people of the world are increasingly interconnected and mutually interdependent. Globally, most cities and countries are becoming more diverse internally, with citizens and residents of varying races, religions, ethnicities and national backgrounds. Meanwhile, greater the risk is associated with economic or political aloofness and social isolation. All of these social forces are fostering increasingly...
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...Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor Paul Farmer Misty Winters University of California, Santa Barbara In the novel, Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor, the author, Paul Farmer combines his experiences as a physician and anthropologist in the Third World to bring about evidence and further analysis of poverty. While primarily focusing on health problems, and describing the effects of Tuberculosis, AIDS and other diseases, his experience in treating patients beaten by members of military dictatorships and those who experience malnourishment expose the severity of the social health problems. To me, the first part of this novel is the most painful. It discusses Paul’s medical work in the poorest country in the world, Haiti. He details the many misfortunes of a few of his patients. After observing a growing number of AIDS patients who had no access to medical care, the countless civilians tortured and killed by the military, Paul gets to the root of the problem, which ends up to be a political issue. Haiti is a country that has been under the boot of the United States. Paul further states that the Haitian military was created by an act of US congress, and the US has supported the homicidal regime of President Duvalier, as well as the brutalities of paramilitary organizations. Even the Haitian leaders who give the orders to imprison, torture and kill civilians were trained in Fort Benning, GA. Paul narrates Haiti’s first...
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...experience is politically useless and our political will a minor illusion (Mills 1959) Macro argument. Chapter 3 Culture & Society The Concepts of Culture Culture - The values the members of a given group hold, the norms they follow, and the material goods they create. Values - abstract ideals. For example, monogamy is a prominent value in most Western societies. Norms - definite principles or rules people are expected to observe Society - a system of relationships that connects individuals who share the same culture. The Concepts of Culture Culture and society are closely related. Cultural variations among humans are linked to different types of society. No culture could exist without a society; equally, no society could exist without culture. The Concepts of Culture Ethnocentrism – judging other cultures in the terms/standard of one’s own culture Cultural relativism- judging a society by its own standards Countercultures –groups that largely reject the prevailing norms of society (Anarchists) Subculture- smaller segments of society distinguished by unique patterns of behavior (Harley-Davidson owners) Nature or Nurture? • Biologists and some psychologists emphasize...
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...Symbols B. Language 1. Language and Cultural Transmission 2. Is Language Uniquely Human? 3. Does Language Shape Reality? C. Values and Beliefs 1. Key Values of U.S. Culture 2. Values: Inconsistency and Conflict 3. Values in Action: The Games People Play A. Norms 1. Mores and Folkways 2. Social Control A. "Ideal" and "Real" Culture B. Material Culture and Technology C. New Information Technology and Culture I. Cultural Diversity: Many Ways of Life In One World A. High Culture and Popular Culture B. Subculture C. Multiculturalism D. Counterculture E. Cultural Change 1. Cultural Lag 2. Causes of Cultural Change A. Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativity B. A Global Culture? I. Theoretical Analysis of Culture A. Structural-Functional Analysis B. Social-Conflict Analysis C. Sociobiology I. Culture and Human Freedom A. Culture As Constraint B. Culture As Freedom I. Summary II. Key Concepts III. Critical-Thinking Questions IV. Applications and Exercises V. Sites to SeePART II: LEARNING OBJECTIVES * To begin to understand the sociological meaning of the concept of culture * To consider the relationship between human intelligence and culture * To know the components of culture and to be able to provide examples of each * To consider the current state of knowledge about whether language is uniquely...
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...1. Difference between ethnography and ethnology. ethnography Field work in a particular culture. ethnology Cross-cultural comparison; the comparative study of ethnographic data, of society, and of culture. Ethnography is a field of anthropological research based on direct observation of and reporting on a people’s way of life. Cultural groups, such as communities, tribes, or dialect groups. However, classes or institutions within complex urban societies are also subjects of study. Ethnography consists of two phases: the process of observing and recording data, usually called fieldwork, followed by the preparation of a written description and analysis of the subject under study. Originally, ethnographic studies often included random anecdotes and facts about so-called primitive peoples whose way of life was thought to be disappearing. As the field of anthropology became more professional, however, ethnography became more systematic, and ethnographers attempted to interrelate the various aspects of a way of life. In recent years ethnography has become more specialized. Sometimes it involves studying small segments of large societies or focuses on specific, practical, or theoretical problems in anthropology. In conducting an ethnographic study, an anthropologist usually visits or lives for an extended period of time in a society that is not his or her own. The ethnographer’s research can then be used to test social scientific propositions, to add to the body of literature...
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...Metaethics Metaethics is a branch of analytic philosophy that explores the status, foundations, and scope of moral values, properties, and words. Whereas the fields of applied ethics and normative theoryfocus on what is moral, metaethics focuses on what morality itself is. Just as two people may disagree about the ethics of, for example, physician-assisted suicide, while nonetheless agreeing at the more abstract level of a general normative theory such as Utilitarianism, so too may people who disagree at the level of a general normative theory nonetheless agree about the fundamental existence and status of morality itself, or vice versa. In this way, metaethics may be thought of as a highly abstract way of thinking philosophically about morality. For this reason, metaethics is also occasionally referred to as “second-order” moral theorizing, to distinguish it from the “first-order” level of normative theory. Metaethical positions may be divided according to how they respond to questions such as the following: * Ÿ What exactly are people doing when they use moral words such as “good” and “right”? * Ÿ What precisely is a moral value in the first place, and are such values similar to other familiar sorts of entities, such as objects and properties? * Ÿ Where do moral values come from—what is their source and foundation? * Ÿ Are some things morally right or wrong for all people at all times, or does morality instead vary from person to person, context to context...
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...3: Culture While this Hong Kong pedestrian appears not to notice the Nike billboard behind him, featuring NBA star LeBron James wearing the Air Zoom sneaker, the Chinese people certainly did notice. The Oregon-based Nike corporation was forced to pull its “Chamber of Fear” promotion, based on a Bruce Lee movie, after an outraged public objected to the image of a U.S. athlete defeating a kung fu master. In the global marketplace, cultural differences can undermine even the most elaborate promotional campaign. inside Culture and Society Development of Culture around the World Elements of Culture Culture and the Dominant Ideology Case Study: Culture at Wal-Mart Cultural Variation Social Policy and Culture: Bilingualism Boxes Sociology in the Global Community: Life in the Global Village Sociology in the Global Community: Cultural Survival in Brazil Sociology on Campus: A Culture of Cheating? “Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed market economy which has evolved in a rich natural habitat. While much of the people's time is devoted to economic pursuits, a large part of the fruits of these labors and a considerable portion of the day are spent in ritual activity. The focus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the ethos of the people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, its ceremonial aspects and associated philosophy are unique. The fundamental belief underlying the whole...
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... Theoretical Perspectives: Structural Functionalism Conflict Theory Symbolic Interactionism Matching: Match the following key words with the definitions below. a. Corporate Crime b. Social construction of reality c. Socialization d. Culture e. Culture Shock a. Norms b. Social Control c. Subculture d. Popular Culture e. Cultural Transmission a. Ethnocentrism b. Family c. Status d. Ascribed Status e. Achieved Status a. White Collar Crime 1. __CULTURE___ is the values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that together from a people’s way of life 2. __CULTURE SHOCK____ is the personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life. 3. __CULTURAL TRANSMISSION___ the process by which one generation passes culture to the next. 4. __NORMS____ are rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members. 5. ___SOCIAL CONTROL__ is the attempt by society to regulate people’s thought and behavior 6. The term______ refers to cultural patterns that set apart some segment of society’s population. 7. ___POPULAR CULTURE___designates cultural patterns that are widespread among a society’s population. 8. __ETHNOCETRISM____ is the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture. 9. ___SOCIALIZATION___ refers to the lifelong social experience by which individuals develop their human potential and learn culture. 10. The___FAMILY__ has the greatest...
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...culture is determined by language - or rather, by the replicators that created both, memes. Language as Determined by Culture Early anthropologists, following the theory that words determine thought, believed that language and its structure were entirely dependent on the cultural context in which they existed. This was a logical extension of what is termed the Standard Social Science Model, which views the human mind as an indefinitely malleable structure capable of absorbing any sort of culture without constraints from genetic or neurological factors. In this vein, anthropologist Verne Ray conducted a study in the 1950's, giving color samples to different American Indian tribes and asking them to give the names of the colors. He concluded that the spectrum we see as "green", "yellow", etc. was an entirely arbitrary division, and each culture divided the spectrum separately. According to this hypothesis, the divisions seen between colors are a consequence of the language we learn, and do not correspond to divisions in the natural world. A similar hypothesis is upheld in the extremely popular meme of Eskimo words for snow - common stories vary from fifty to upwards of two hundred. Extreme cultural relativism of this type has now been clearly refuted. Eskimos use at most twelve different words for snow, which is not many more than English speakers and should be expected since they exist in a cold climate. The color-relativity hypothesis has now been completely...
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