The Virtue of Integrity through an Individual or Collective Cultural Lens: Ethical Leaders Make Reliable Business

Denise Gifford

Chapter 11 in Business Administration Education, 2012, pp 201-215 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The role and influence of collectivist and individualist cultural values on ethical behavior in business is the focus of this chapter. Both ethical and unethical business practices are grounded in cultural values and norms, which are developed and reinforced long before the business professional first enters the workplace. Today’s savvy business leaders require an understanding of the culturally specific values and business ethics of the countries and cultures in which they conduct business and of the international professionals with whom they work. Global business leaders must understand that substantial cultural context difference exists between collectivist cultures (China, Middle East, etc.) and individualist cultures (North America, Australia, etc.), and that these contextual values influence every aspect of business and business ethics. Research on university cheating behaviors from different cultures will be used to demonstrate the contrast between how a collectivist lens and an individualist lens can view the same behavior. A large body of research indicates that there is a clear correlation between cheating in school and later cheating in the public and professional arena, and that this behavior is simply one aspect of a larger pattern of adult unethical behavior. Research has further determined that university cheating levels are an important indicator of future business ethics, and the lack of business ethics serves as a barrier to a country’s development and economic growth. This cultural value knowledge base will equip business leaders to interpret business behavior through a cultural lens acknowledging that this cultural sieve can result in entirely different perceptions as to what constitutes ethical business practice.

Keywords: Business Ethic; Business Leader; Individualist Culture; Academic Dishonesty; Global Business (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-137-08710-2_11

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.palgrave.com/9781137087102

DOI: 10.1057/9781137087102_11

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().