In this article, seven strategies for dealing with cross-cultural ethical conflict are described. Conflict situations are classified on the basis of centrality and consensus on the values involved, influence of the decision maker, and urgency. A contingency model suggests appropriate strategies for different situations. The model is applied to representative cases of cross-cultural ethical conflict.

Machiavellianism has tremendous influence on modern business communities, especially in the U.S.A. and European countries. Businessmen today, it is said, prefer to follow the directions of pragmatism and expediency rather than the dictates of individual conscience.In principles and practices, Indian management by and large follows the Western line. Therefore, the question arises whether Machiavellian influences are perceptibly high on Indian managers. This question is more relevant in the light of a few surveys conducted on the ethical attitudes of Indian managers. (...) These identified a clear contrast between their expressed behaviour and wanted attitudes. The present study on the attitudes of managers from the major cities of India concludes that Niccolo Machiavelli inspires and influences Indian managers, but has not become the final determinant in their decision-making. (shrink)

Academic literature addressing the topic of business ethics has paid little attention to cross-cultural studies of business ethics. Uncertainty exists concerning the effect of culture on ethical beliefs. The purpose of this research is to compare the ethical beliefs of managers operating in South Africa and Australia. Responses of 52 managers to a series of ethical scenarios were sought. Results indicate that despite differences in socio-cultural and political factors there are no statistically significant differences between the two groups regarding their (...) own ethical beliefs. Results thus support the view that culture has little or no impact on ethical beliefs. (shrink)

This study investigates the differences in he way bribery and extortion is perceived by two different cultures — American and Greek. Two hundred and forty American business students and two hundred and four Greek business students were presented with three scenarios describing a businessman offering a bribe to a government official and three scenarios describing a businessman being forced to pay a bribe to an official in order to do business. The Reidenbach-Robin instrument was used to measure the ethical reactions (...) of the two samples to these scenarios. Results indicate that ethical reactions to bribery and extortion vary by (a) the nationality of the person offering the bribe, and (b) the country where the bribe is offered. In addition, Greeks perceived some of the scenarios as being less unethical than did Americans. (shrink)

The UK accountancy industry has traded upon its professional status as a means of expanding and legitimating its activities. Extensive appeals are made to ethical codes and disciplinary arrangements as part of its claim to professional status. This study examines some recent events relating to audit failures and alleged unprofessional conduct by accountancy firms and their partners in the UK with a view to assessing the validity of the claims to professional status. It concludes that the rhetoric of the claims (...) is belied by the failure/inability of the professional accountancy bodies to take effective action against the offending firms or their partners. (shrink)

How do managers think about the relationship between the pursuit of economic success and ethical demands? This paper presents the main results of a qualitative-empirical study (Ulrich and Thielemann, 1992). The range of thinking patterns displayed by Swiss managers in this field of tension is elucidated and typologized. The results are then compared with those yielded by other studies on managerial ethics. Although the comparisons reveal essential parallels, the findings of previous investigations are interpreted in a considerably different manner. In (...) particular it is shown that, on the strength of a systematic conception of the fundamental problem of business ethics, the frequently heard assertion that the vast majority of managers are ethical opportunists must be revised. The internationally prevailing thinking pattern among managers does not prove to be ethical opportunism or even cynicism buteconomism, i.e. theethical conviction that economically appropriate actionin itself is ethically good as such. (shrink)

This study investigates current linkages between ethical theory and management behavior. The vignettes used in this investigation represent ethical dilemmas in the areas of coercion and control, conflict of interest, physical environment, and personal integrity. The results indicate that even with the heightened state of ethical awareness that has evolved in recent years the link between ethical philosophy and management behavior remains basically the same as it was in the mid 1980s. Specifically, practitioners still rely almost totally on the utilitarian (...) ethical philosophy when making business decisions. (shrink)

With tumultuous changes occurring in the former Soviet Union, a unique opportunity exists to examine the implications of unethical behavior in what is,de facto, a totally unregulated market. Recent legalization of commodity trading in Moscow carried with it no legal structure to ensure swift compliance with contract terms. This paper demonstrates that in the absence of legal remedies, a free marketplace appropriately punishes unethical conduct.

This study examines the ethical beliefs and behavior of a sample of Israeli managers (n=97) and comparable data from the United States. Israeli managers rated themselves both highly ethical and more ethical than their peers. These results are similar to those found for the U.S., and indicate that the best predictor of respondents' ethical behavior is their beliefs and perceptions concerning their peers' behavior. In addition, this study examines the managers' predisposition to promote social responsibility by joining social networks of (...) managers and other business people, established for that purpose. Seventy-eight percent are of the opinion that networks for the promotion of social responsibility in business are needed and 57% are ready to join them. (shrink)