Week 10 - Business Ethics in a Global Economy Be sure to read the lecture notes thoroughly, as they supplement the information offered in digital material within the course. You will be responsible to know the information provided here and in your assigned reading. I. Ethical Perceptions And International Business The self-reference criterion (SRC) is the idea that people perceive differences between themselves and citizens of other countries when traveling abroad; they may believe the values of their own country to be ethically superior to those of others. The SRC is an unconscious reference to one's own cultural values, experiences, and knowledge. When confronted with a situation, a person reacts on the basis of knowledge accumulated over a lifetime and usually grounded in the culture of origin. These reactions are based on meanings, values, and symbols that relate to the culture of origin, but may not have the same relevance to people of other cultures. In the United States, for example, dumping---the practice of charging high prices for products sold in domestic markets while selling the same products in foreign markets at low prices, often below the costs of exporting the products---is viewed negatively, and this country has a number of anti-dumping laws. 1. Culture as a Factor in Business 1. Ethical issues that arise from international business activities often differ significantly from those that evolve from domestic business activities. 2. Culture is everything in our surroundings made by people: both tangible items and intangible concepts and values. This definition includes language, religion, law, politics, technology, education, social organization, general values, and ethical standards. 1. Each nation has a distinctive culture and, consequently, distinctive beliefs about what business activities are acceptable or unethical. 2. Distinct subcultures can also be found within many nations. 3. One of the critical ethical issues linked to cultural differences is the question of whose values and ethical standards take precedence in negotiations and business transactions. 2. Adapting Ethical Systems to a Global Framework 1. When businesspeople rationalize straying from their own ethical values when doing business abroad, they are resorting to cultural relativism: the concept that morality varies from one culture to another and that business practices are therefore differentially defined as right or wrong by particular cultures. 2. As business becomes more global and multinational corporations proliferate, the chances of ethical conflict increase. II. Global Values 1. There have been numerous attempts to establish a set of global or universal ethical standards. 1. Many of these efforts show a pattern of shared values, such as truthfulness, integrity, fairness, and equality, which suggest a universal set of ethics that can be applied to business across the globe. 2. The shared values assume that we all have basic rights and res.