A Case for Global Ethics

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Defining Ethics
Why Global Set Ethics are needed
The Global Ethics
Can the Global Community agree on the Ethics?
Setting the Ethics
Discussion
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Globalization is changing the world into a close-knit society where people of differing nationalities and cultural backgrounds interact on a frequent basis and engage in actions that influence them. Ferrell and Fraedrich (2009) note that because of these interactions, there have been numerous attempts made to establish a set of global ethical standards.

This attempts have been prompted by the realization that global ethic will encourage good business practices in all countries. However, the goal of achieving a set of global ethics is yet to be realized and some scholars have even argued that this goal is utopian. According to them, universal ethical standards cannot be achieved because of the cultural differences that exist across the globe.

These opponents also argue that global ethics might not be the most desirable since conditions vary between nations. This paper will argue that global set ethics are required and they would promote standard ethical behaviour all over the globe. The paper will highlight what this ethics would be and demonstrate that it is possible for people around the world to agree on such set ethics.

Defining Ethics

Ethical scholars and philosophers have always held the view that ethics are important for the establishment of a well functioning society. According to Smilja (2011), ethics imply “social codes that point to a particular behaviour or restrict it” (p.397).

Ethics are of great importance in the decision making process of individuals since they prescribe a legitimate and illegitimate behaviour. A clear set of ethics enables people to determine what conducts the society will judge as “right” or “wrong” and therefore engage in the most socially appropriate behaviour.

While ethical norms are easy to come up with in a homogenous society, the case is not the same for a multicultural community since each culture has its own particular beliefs, values, and ethical systems, which may not be compatible with those of other cultures.

Evanoff (2010) elaborates that ethical beliefs are culturally constructed and this explains the differences in ethical systems across cultures. In spite of this, it is both necessary and possible for people from different cultural backgrounds to agree on a set of ethics that they can uphold.

Why Global Set Ethics are needed

Multicultural interactions are more likely to happen today than at any other point in human history. It is therefore necessary for people to have an ethical system that can guide their interaction and assist in dealing with problems of mutual concern. The rapid development of transportation and technology has converted the world into a global village.

In addition to that, interaction among people of differing nationalities is more prevalent today than at any other time in history (Chryssides & Kaler 2003). Growth business and commercial relationships among countries is one of the outcomes of the increasing mutual global dependence.

Michaelson (2010) reveals that when a business conflict occurs across borders, it is important to have standard global ethics that can be used to resolve the issue. Without global ethics, it will be difficult to determine which ethical standards are the most suitable and as such, the issue might go unresolved leading to losses for both sides.

Global set ethics will increase the chances for the benefits of globalization to be enjoyed by more people in the society. Globalization has created business opportunities for all countries and has produced enormous wealth for the society (Rasche 2012). However, not all members of the society have felt the benefits of globalization since a few affluent individuals in the society control most of the wealth in the world today.

The gap between the rich and the poor is increasing even as more wealth is generated all over the world. Global set ethics will encourage practices that benefit all members of the society and ensure equitable distribution of wealth. The utilitarian ideal supports the establishment of global ethics (Carper & Congleton 2012). According to this idea, ethical conduct is that which leads to the most good for the greatest number of people.

A set of global ethics is necessary to ensure that businesses consider the global impact of their actions. Some corporations engage in activities that have international implications. For example, multinational mining companies release pollutants into the atmosphere or surrounding water bodies and this has an impact on the global climate.

Without global set ethics, corporations are likely to choose options that advance their interests even at the expense of the rest of the world (Crane & Matten 2007). Due to globalization, businesses must consider their impact on the global population.

Global set ethics are desirable to promote the sustainable development of economies. Globalization has increased the level of access that foreign companies have to the mineral resources of other countries. Unethical conduct has led to the unsustainable exploitation of resources especially in developing countries (Potocan & Mulej 2007).

This exploitation hurts the local population and it has led to the emergence of conflict in resource rich regions in many developing nations. Global ethics would prevent such exploitation and hence promote peace, which is a key component of economic prosperity.

A global set of ethics will provide a standard by which the ethical nature of business activities can be judged. Research indicates that there is a general decline of moral values and moral standards as economies and businesses interact on a global scale. The last two decades have witnessed a set of high profile ethics scandals, suggesting that many companies do not ascribe to high ethical standards (Ferrell & Fraedrich 25).

The situation is made worse by the lack of standards against which business conduct can be measured. By implementing a set of global ethics, businesses would be aware of the international standard. It would therefore be possible to cultivate a culture that makes ethics a part of core organizational values.

The society today is more in need of ethics to help people in their judgement than at any other time in history. Smilja (2011) notes that today there is an absence of categorical system of values, vague and undefined values of good. This situation is made worse by the subjective approach to understanding and evaluating what can be considered as good conduct.

The lack of an objective and categorical system of values has led to businesses making decisions that are driven by self-interests. A global set of ethics would lead to the articulation of objective ethics that would serve as the guiding idea to a more just society for all.

Global set ethics would safeguard the economic well being of all nations. Without these ethics, corporations act without consideration of the impact that their activities might have on a global scale. The lack of a global set of ethics has led to some of the worse economic disasters of our time. Bankers’ lack of ethical conduct is blamed to have caused the financial meltdown in 2008 on the (Weitzner & Darroch 2009).

This financial disaster had implications on all the nations of the world and it almost caused the collapse of the global economy. From such an example, it is evident that ethics are necessary for the stability of the world economy.

Global ethics are necessary for businesses to achieve results that lead to the improvement of the industry and progression of the society. Without a value system, the businesses will not act in a way that leads to the improvement of the society. Coelho et al. (2003) reveals that a valueless environment is characterized by a battle over world dominance, instability of the world economy, and conflict over the available resources.

The society does not favour these conditions since they lead to strife and ignite crisis. Global ethics will provide a value system that can be used to ensure global justice, environmental stewardship, and equitability. Such attributes will foster growth in industries and encourage progress in the society.

The Global Ethics

A global ethic that can be universally accepted is that individuals should engage in business dealings without deception or fraud.

Coelho, McClure and Spry (2003) declare that even though the unique legal, socio-political and economic backgrounds determine the way different people deal with ethical issues, there are practices that can be accepted by everybody. All cultures agree that engaging in deception and fraud is bad and it leads to negative outcomes for the society.

Another global ethic is that an individual or corporation should put the interests of the society above their own self-interests. Corporations that do not consider the interests of the society will only be concerned with making profit. The overemphasis on pecuniary gains makes other concerns secondary to making money and this might lead to dire consequences.

Lewis (2010) documents that the financial meltdown in 2008 was precipitated by lack attention to the well-being of the society. Banks were merely driven by the need to make more profits hence overlooking the well-being.

If these players had exhibited concern for the society, the negative economic outcomes would not have occurred. Putting the interests of society above self-interest is therefore a virtue that can be implemented globally.

The global ethics would denounce all forms of corruption by corporations and individuals alike. Through practices such as corruption, nations have been impoverished and their resources exploited. Corruption has contributed to the unstable economic conditions and low living standards experienced in most developing nations. Corruption can be blamed on the lack of ethical conduct among members of the business community.

Carper and Congleton (2012) observe that foreign bribery results in adverse effects on the local population as the quality of basic public services is deteriorated and resources are misused. A global ethic that deters corruption would lead to positive economic outcomes for all nations.

Accountability is another ethic that can be included in the global set of ethics. Werhane (2010) reveals that accountability will ensure that corporations act in a socially responsible manner since their actions are under scrutiny. It is important to ensure that the ethical nature of a company can be assessed and quantified.

This can be done by the use of an ethics audit that articulates ethical priorities as a set of parameters and performance indicators. With this, it is possible to objectively and quantitatively assess how a company is performing from an ethical point of view. The commitment to accountability will ensure that the cooperation of the company’s top management is secured in conducting ethics audits.

Can the Global Community agree on the Ethics?

Although there is a need for a global set of ethics, it is important to consider if the heterogeneous global community is capable of agreeing on them.

Sadowski and Thomas (2012) assert that there are ethical norms shared by all humanity and they make up a “set of precepts so fundamental that they dissolve borders, transcend races, and outlast cultural traditions” (p.19). In spite of the obvious differences between various cultures, there exist some commonalities. It is therefore possible to come up with standardized ethics based on the values that are shared across cultures.

For example, the global community would support ethics that encourage accountability by businesses. A global ethics of commitment and responsibility would require the business parties to fulfil their obligations to get the job done properly and accept responsibility for failure and error. This are ethics that people from all around the world can agree on since it would lead to more accountability from the business community.

Opponents of global ethics declare that different cultures have some unique well-established ethical codes and they might not be universally accepted. This declaration is true since cultures may have established ethical codes that are influenced by their unique environments.

However, it should be noted that issues and problems of ethics are always subject to adjustment and transformation. Smilja (2011) declares that as the human race advances, adjustments are made with the aim of establishing better and more just standards.

Global set of ethics can be established since these ethics are external to the individual. Carper and Congleton (2012) assert that ethics do not imply “a set of moral beliefs” (p.1). This is a very important consideration since moral beliefs differ significantly based on the religious and cultural background of an individual.

However, ethics are not confined to this and people who do not share religious and cultural beliefs can ascribe to the same set of ethics. It would therefore be possible for people of differing religious beliefs to agree on the same set of ethics.

Setting the Ethics

As it has been demonstrated, a global set of ethics would be desirable in the world. The next issue pertains to how these sets of ethics would be formed. We live in a multicultural world and there is likelihood that the ethics would be biased in favour of certain cultures.

However, the set of ethics does not have to be biased to favour any culture and as a matter of fact, creating culture-free ethics would increase the chances that everyone will follow the set ethics.

At the present, the accelerated process of globalization has increased the dominance of the Western culture often at the expense of other cultures. In some cases the languages, way of life, and natures of other cultures have been degraded or even destroyed therefore creating a conflict.

Rasche (2012) asserts that global ethics that are biased in favour of certain cultures will only lead to more conflict and resistance. The most appropriate ethics will have to be balanced and should demonstrate an understanding and willingness to negotiate flexibly and make compromises.

Discussion

In spite of the differences exhibited by people of various nations and cultures, every human being aspires to live in an environment where their needs are met and security is guaranteed. Global ethics will assist in the creation of an environment where the goals of sustainable development, fulfilling human needs, and international cooperation can be reached. The economic prosperity of all nations is also promoted by global ethics.

Marc and Carla (2010) declare that ethics are not merely a desirable option but rather a matter of survival for the organizations. Ethical conduct is beneficial to individual businesses and research shows that companies that have an ethical reputation derive increased efficiency in daily operations, greater employee commitment, increased investor confidence, and better financial performance (Ferrell & Fraedrich 2009).

Global set ethics promise to increase ethical accountability and therefore accrue the benefits of ethical conduct to businesses all over the world.

Conclusion

This paper set out to argue that global set ethics are desirable for the development of a harmonious and prosperous global community. This paper has articulated the importance of global ethics and has proceeded to suggest some examples of possible global ethics as well as how to implement them. It has demonstrated that as the world begins to function as a single body, global ethics are becoming increasingly important.

The paper has demonstrated that it is possible for people from different cultures to reach a measure of agreement on ethics. Some ethical values transcend the cultural and national background of a person. It would therefore be beneficial for the world to adopt sound global ethics that will lead to global stability and guarantee the future success of the global economy.

References

Carper, BW & Congleton, D 2012, ‘Transparency and Sustainability: The Role of Global Ethics’, American International Journal of Contemporary Research, vol. 2, no. 12, pp. 1-12.

Chryssides, DG & Kaler, HJ 2003, An Introduction to Business Ethics, Cengage Learning EMEA, Boston.

Coelho, R McClure, J & Spry, A 2003, ‘The Social Responsibility of Corporate Management: A Classical Critique’, American Journal of Business, vol.18, no. 1, pp. 11-29.

Crane, A & Matten, D 2007, Business ethics: managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Evanoff, R 2010, Bioregionalism and Global Ethics: A Transactional Approach to Achieving Ecological Sustainability, Social Justice, and Human Well-being, Taylor & Francis, London.

Ferrell, OC & Fraedrich, J 2009, Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases : 2009 Update, Cengage Learning, Boston.

Lewis, V 2010, ‘Was the 2008 Financial Crisis Caused by a lack of Corporate Ethics?’, Global Journal of Business Research, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 43-50.

Marc, J & Carla, M 2010, ‘About Global Leadership and Global Ethics, and a Possible Moral Compass: an Introduction to the Special Issue’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 93, no.1, pp. 1-8.

Michaelson, C 2010, ‘Revisiting the Global Business Ethics Question’, Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 237-251.

Potocan, V & Mulej, M 2007, Ethics of a Sustained Enterprise – and the Need for it, Springer Science, New York.

Rasche, A 2012, ‘Global Policies and Local Practice: Loose and Tight Couplings in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives’, Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 679-708.

Sadowski, ST & Thomas, JR 2012, ‘Toward a Convergence of Global Ethics Standards: A Model from the Professional Field of Accountancy’, International Journal of Business and Social Science, vol. 3, no. 9, pp. 14-20.

Smilja, R 2011, ‘Global Business Ethics – Utopia or Reality’, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 385-406.

Weitzner, D & Darroch, J 2009, ‘Why Moral Failures Precede Financial Crises’, Critical Perspectives on International Business, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 6-13.

Werhane, P 2010, ‘Principles and Practices for Corporate Responsibility’, Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 20, no.4, pp. 695-701.

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