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The statement above would clearly state that it is a complex situation when it comes
to ethics interpretation methodology. Some would be in the same shoes; some would be at
the opposition side. Business world is a risky world, thus it is not a game. Also the same with
how the ethics is interpret and how action is taken according to the ethics. Here is a good
A half naked body is shown in a newspaper with a headline about it. Whether or not it
is about bad or good news, the picture itself will show to the reader what the article is
about. Thus, many different people will think differently, depend on the values and
culture that they had learnt. Maybe if this article and the pictures are published in Asia
region, the reader would think differently from those readers who are at the west.
Those Asia maybe would think of taking legal action on the newspaper company but
those that are open minded will think that it is a normal situation for them.
From online sources Encarta, the word ‘global’ means worldwide and overall. For
ethics, its definition is study of morality's effect on conduct and code of morality. So, overall,
Kelebit 2
global business ethics has to do with ethical issues affecting the business world. When
thinking about global ethics, we are concerned with actions taken by citizens and political
leaders of nations, and with international laws. As in Romans 12:16, “Be of the same mind
toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise
in your own estimation.” It sound ethically befits as human being. This verse can be apply in
business world too as there is many competency that apply to global ethics. It is applied in
many fields without us knowing about it. Here for an example that taken from the part of the
dialog on America’s Economic Crisis (26th September 2008) with Bob Abernethy, Father Jim
“Father JIM MARTIN (Editor, America Magazine): Well, I’d like to go from the
general to the specific. You can start with the Jewish and Christian principles of
caring for the poor, which is very important in both the Old and the New Testaments.
Jesus speaks about that very forcefully. More specifically, the Catholic tradition in
their social teaching documents talk about solidarity with one another and the
common good. It’s not just every man in it for himself, or every woman. You know,
we Jesuits talk about not making decisions in a time when you’re freaking out. So
there’s a sort of discernment that’s needed. And then, finally, I think that the role of
conscience needs to play in this. There’s a reason why people feel uncomfortable with
so many people making money and with the bailout possibly helping only the
wealthy, and I think the reason people feel that sort of uncomfortable feeling is
conscience. I mean, it’s telling us that something’s wrong when only the wealthy
ABERNETHY: But, Jim Wallis, whatever we do has to be something that, first of all,
is practical, perhaps. Does it work? Does it work for the whole economy, and does it
Reverend JIM WALLIS (Editor-in-Chief and CEO, Sojourners Magazine): Well, I’m
an evangelical convert to Catholic social teachings, so I’m going to agree with Jim
about all this. You know, this crisis is structural and spiritual both, and this has come
about because private gain, greed, has prevailed over the common good. We’ve lost
sight of what the common good is, and it’s true, there’s a conversation going on about
rewarding the people who are indeed most responsible for the crisis.”
Furthermore, with values and cultures differences, global ethics would be impossible.
But some would against this statement. “Such a set of principles can only be agreed upon if
representatives of diverse organizations and cultural values will work together to understand
each others' perspectives. This approach is consistent with the goal of ‘mutual understanding’
that increasingly characterizes public relations practice. It is also consistent with recent
theoretical work in ethics and post colonialism,” according to the journal Public Relations
Review in Volume 22, Issue 2. By referring to the talk that was given by Aron Cramer, the
President and Chief Executive officer of Business for Social Responsibility on March 9,
2007, the social responsibility and ethical behaviour determine the business ethics in global
world. In his conference, he add that the growth of business ethics in China and India been
formed by those who are west-educated. Thus these show that these ethics is globalised by
referring to the example of China and India. But then, global change in business world will
lead to different perspective of thinking of businessman. These thinking will then create
different creativity. Taking the climate change in China and India as an example:
“China and India have several advantages in addressing this issue: Both are
markets, which make developing new services easier. And neither has legacy
industries – such as an auto industry built on cars that use gasoline – to offer
Cramer also predicted that the fragmentation of power and information would
continue. This presents real challenges for both India and China. For example, the
Apart from that, there is Institute of Global Ethics (IGE) which works with Fortune
500 companies, professional business associations, and with local, state, and federal
government departments. With offices in Maine, New York, England, and Canada, IGE seeks
to raise the profile of values and ethics by working with foundations, other nonprofits, and
global thinkers. This institute help to explore the global common ground of values, elevate
awareness of ethics, provide practical tools for making ethical decisions, and encourage
moral actions based on decisions. Mr. Rushworth M. Kidder, the President and Founder of
“But a code, like a strategic plan, has a life cycle. Codes need periodic refreshing.
Their core principles should remain immutable. But their examples change with the
decades, as does the relevancy of their language. This report admits the obvious:
Firms that have built codes will sooner or later be rebuilding. Doing so, it takes the
lead as the essential companion to any executive team charged with making ethics
matter.”
This statement is referring to the Ethics Newsline which reported according to the ‘Global
Corporate Ethics Practices: A Developing Consensus’ on Jul 26th, 1999. This demonstrates
that a global set of ethics can be done so as to uniform the organization in the world to avoid
In brief, Business Ethics (A Global and Managerial Perspective) defined that business
ethics is the process of evaluating decisions, either pre or post, with respect to the moral
Kelebit 5
standards of the society’s culture. Again, the culture and the society itself verify whether a
conduct of behaviour in business world is ethical or not. Thus, the situation itself that vary
can create different understanding on whether it is right or wrong. Either both, global ethics
can be apply but it should using the principle of charity whereby the majority is getting the
benefits because it will influence the society and the surrounding culture. Thus, it is to
conclude that a global set of ethics is not impossible in business world, but the values and
(1254 words)
REFERENCES
Book
Websites
<http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx>
Kelebit 6
Learnwell.org
<http://www.learnwell.org/globalethics.htm>
< http://www.globalethics.org/>
< http://ejbo.jyu.fi/articles/0401_1.html>
< http://members.shaw.ca/tfrisen/Holy%20Books/gdverses.html>
Nancy L. Roth, Todd Hunt, Maria Stavropoulos and Karen Babik. ‘Can't we all just get
along: Cultural variables in codes of ethics’, PUBLIC RELATIONS REVIEW, Volume 22,
Issue 2, Summer 1996, Pages 151-161.
<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W5W-45HD9T4-
3S&_user=10&_coverDate=04%2F01%2F1996&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search
&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1228666656&_rerunOrigin=google
&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=51b7cc84f34
beae813cb01e91c85d840>
Rushworth M. Kidder. ‘Blueprint for a Global Code of Ethics’, Ethics Newsline, Jul 26th,
1999.
<http://www.globalethics.org/newsline/1999/07/26/blueprint-for-a-global-code-of-
ethics/>
Bob Abernethy, Father Jim Martin, Father Jim Wallis. ‘American Economic crisis’, Religions
and Ethics. (September 26th, 2008)
<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/september-26-2008/americas-
economic-crisis/646/>
Aron Cramer, President and CEO, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR). ‘Business
Ethics in a Global World: An Introduction to the Issues’. (March 9th, 2007)
Kelebit 7
<http://media.scu.edu/ethicsCenter/businessethics/Cramer_Business_Ethics_in_a_Glo
bal_World_MP3_192.mp3>
Summary of podcast:
<http://media.scu.edu/ethicsCenter/businessethics/Cramer_Business_Ethics_in_a_Glo
bal_World_MP3_192.mp3