Ethics and Culture
By Tonya Anderson
June 6 2012
BUSN310
Professor Sparks
Hello Class and Professor, Cultural differences create understanding between neighbors, friends, family and especially co-workers. This is very evident where I live in Denver. We are a city of many cultures all tossed together for work, shopping and living. When we look at the ethical behaviors in relation to culture, we are viewing two forms of beliefs and attitudes meshed together to create one action or thought. In the work environment this can be difficult due to the nature of the action or communication as it can cause confusion and obstacles. While it is customary to bow when introduced in a business meeting in Asia it is customary to shake hands in America. This may seem like a simple difference but in fact it is disrespectful if a bow or handshake is not performed by either culture. Ethically Asians see bowing as respect and a moral code. Americans find bowing a sense of weakness. So how do we make it work? “In some countries, bribery is part of the fabric of life and no business can be transacted without it. Without knowing whom to pay to grease the wheels, companies face frustration and failure”, (Pitta,Fung, Isburg, 1999). Bribing to grease the wheels is very common in not only Asia but in Eastern Europe as well. In America bribery is very frowned upon and will cause legal actions if discovered. The cultural differences pertaining to bribery stem from a long line of business growing up in non-democratic environments and this is how things get done. These cultures have produced a way of doing business that is not culturally ethical here in the states but ethical for them. Bribery is considered unethical in America but does that mean an American business is unethical when using bribery in a different culture to conduct business? Greasing the wheels is unethical on the part