Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T20:17:01.908Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Inverting Donaldson’s Framework: A Managerial Approach To International Conflicts Of Cultural And Economic Norms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2015

Andrew Stark
Andrew Stark*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Thomas Donaldson’s framework for dealing with value-conflicts between a manager’s home and host country distinguishes between a “conflict of relative [economic] development”—conflicting norms that arise because home and host are at two different stages of economic development—and a “conflict of culture,” which arises because the home and host’s different cultures generate conflicting norms on the issue the manager faces. My question here is a thought experiment. What different insights might emerge if we flipped Donaldson’s framework around? Specifically: What if we viewed the kinds of conflicts that fall under Donaldson’s “conflicts of culture” as arising not because the home and host exhibit a “fundamental” conflict in cultural norms, but because they are at two different stages of cultural development? And what if we viewed “conflicts of relative economic development” as conflicts that occur not because home and host are at two different stages of economic development but, simply, because their economies contemporaneously interact with each other in ways that generate normative conflict: call them “conflicts of economy”?

Keywords

conflict of relative developmentconflict of cultureinternational business ethicsmultinational enterprisesdeveloping economiesThomas Donaldson
Type
Articles
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , October 2015 , pp. 535 - 558
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Al Dosari, S. 2012. Saudi Arabia needs more women CEOs. Arab News, July 27.Google Scholar
Anonymous. 1933. Physicians Start War on Dysentery. New York Times, November 29: 8.Google Scholar
Anonymous. 1998. Treatment critical to curbing waterborne disease. Journal of Environmental Health, 60(7): 45.Google Scholar
Anonymous. 2014. When women’s goals hit a wall of old realities. New York Times, November 30: BU3.Google Scholar
Anonymous. 2005. GMOs found in cookies from Kraft. Bangkok Post, October 8: 1.Google Scholar
Arnold, D. G., & Bowie, N. E. 2003. Sweatshops and respect for persons. Business Ethics Quarterly, 13: 221–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Becker, E. 2005. Cambodia labels its labor standards a success. International Herald Tribune, May 11: 15.Google Scholar
Bellow, A. 2003. In praise of nepotism. New York: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Bowie, N. 1991. Moral decision making and multinationals. Business Ethics Quarterly, 1(2): 223–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brecher, J. 2006. Tim Costello and Brendan Smith. International labor solidarity: The new frontier. New Labor Forum, 15(1): 8–18, 134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buller, P. F., Kohla, J. J., & Anderson, K. S. 1997. A model for addressing cross-cultural ethical conflicts. Business and Society, 36(2): 169–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calton, J., Werhane, P. H., Hartman, L. P., & Bevan, D. 2013. Building partnerships to create social and economics value at the base of the global development pyramid. Journal of Business Ethics, 117(4): 721–733.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chandrasekhar, R. 2011. We need strong regulators: Corruption, nepotism….are symptoms of a deep-rooted malaise in our governance. Business Today, April 17.Google Scholar
Cleveland, M., Favo, T., Frecka, J., & Owens, C. L. 2009. Trends in the international fight against bribery. Journal of Business Ethics, Supplement, 90: 199–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conway, J. K. 1987. Utopian dream or dystopian nightmare? Nineteenth-century feminist ideas about equality. Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, 96(2): 285.Google Scholar
Davies, W. P. 2003. An historical perspective from the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution. Nutrition Reviews, 61.6: S124–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De George, R. T. 1991. Entrepreneurs, multinationals, and business ethics. In Enderle, G. (Ed.), International business ethics: Challenges and approaches: 271–280. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
De George, R. T. 1994. International business ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 4(1): 1–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donaldson, T. 1989. The ethics of international business. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Donaldson, T. 1996. Values in tension. Harvard Business Review, 74(5): 48–62.Google Scholar
Editorial, . 2012. Drug regulation in India – the time is ripe for change. The Lancet, 379, May 19: 1862.Google Scholar
Efron, S. 1996. Gift-giving tradition abruptly ends in Japan. Los Angeles Times. December 26: 12.Google Scholar
Freedman, S. G. 2004. “Legacy” admissions ban highlights flaws in system. USA Today. January 22: 2004.Google Scholar
Garlick, B. 1992. Radical hens and vociferous ladies: Representation and class in mid-nineteenth century. In Garlick, B., Dixon, S., & Allen, P. (Eds.), Stereotypes of women in power: Historical perspectives and revisionist views: 157–180. New York: Greenwood.Google Scholar
Golden, D. 2007. The price of admission: How America’s ruling class buys its way into elite colleges—and who gets left outside the gates. New York: Broadway Books.Google Scholar
Golub, S. S. 1997. Are international labor standards needed to prevent social dumping? Finance and Development. 34(4): 20–23.Google Scholar
Hamilton, J. B., & Knouse, S. B. 2001. Multinational enterprise decision principles for dealing with cross cultural ethics conflicts. Journal of Business Ethics, 31(1): 77–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartman, L. P., Arnold, D. G., & Waddock, S. 2003. Rising above sweatshops: An introduction to the text and to the issues. In Hartman, L. P., Arnold, D. G., & Wokutch, R. E. (Eds.), Rising above sweatshops: 1–23. Westport: Praeger.Google Scholar
Hinds, M. 1982. Products unsafe at home are still unloaded abroad. New York Times, August 22: A9.Google Scholar
Hoffman, W. M., & McNulty, R. E. 2009. International business, human rights, and moral complicity: A call for a declaration on the universal rights and duties of business. Business and Society Review, 114: 541–570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kamath, M. V. 1977. Anti-diarrhoeal drug blinds and damages brain. Times of India, June 20:4.Google Scholar
Kernel, S. 1984. Microscope: Excuses, excuses! Kudos to chaos those “wet” deserts deadly dosage. Times of India, July 15: VI.Google Scholar
Koehn, D. 2013. East meets west: Toward a universal ethic of virtue for global business. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(4): 703–715.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kristof, N. D., & WuDunn, S. 2009. The women’s crusade. New York Times Magazine, August 23: MM28.Google Scholar
Lynch, D., & Vogel, D. 2001. The regulation of GMOs in Europe and the United States: A case-study of contemporary European regulatory politics. New York: Council on Foreign Relations.Google Scholar
Matsa, D. A., & Miller, A. R. 2011. Chipping away at the glass ceiling: Gender spillovers in corporate leadership. American Economic Review, 101(3): 635–639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, A. 1995. Rhetorical strategies and official policies on women’s rights: The merits and drawbacks of the New World hypocrisy. In Afkami, Mahnaz (Ed.), Faith and freedom: women’s human rights in the Muslim world: 104–132. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.Google Scholar
Melé, D., & Sánchez-runde, C. 2013. Cultural diversity and universal ethics in a global world. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(4): 681–687.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, C. C. 2014. Even among Harvard graduates, women fall short of their work expectations. New York Times, November 30: BU3.Google Scholar
Mironowicz, M. 1984. Hazard for have-nots. Globe and Mail, April 14: 10.Google Scholar
Noonan, J. T. 1984. Bribes. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
North, J. 1985. Divestment imperative: The case for cutting off South Africa. New Republic, March 25: 10.Google Scholar
Nuffield council on bioethics. 2003. The use of genetically modified crops in developing countries. London: Nuffield Council on Bioethics.Google Scholar
Omair, K. 2008. Women in management in the Arab context. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 1(2): 107–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Panicker, K. S. 2012. Migration, remittances and development in South Asia. Diaspora Studies, 5(2): 219–224.Google Scholar
Petrick, J. A., & Quinn, J. F. 2001. The challenge of leadership accountability for integrity as a strategic asset. Journal of Business Ethics, 34(2): 331–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prakash, C. S. 2000. Can genetically engineered crops feed a hungry world? Review-Institute of Public Affairs, 52(2): 25.Google Scholar
Radin, T. J., & Calkins, M. 2006. The struggle against sweatshops: moving toward responsible global business. Journal of Business Ethics, 66(2): 261–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reed, D. 2002. Employing normative stakeholder theory in developing countries. Business and Society, 41(2): 166–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roessner, A. 2013. The “Ladies” & the “Tramps”: The negotiation of a “Woman’s Place” in the national pastime in sporting life. Journalism History, 39(3): 134–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothstein, H., Borraz, O., & Huber, M. 2013. Risk and the limits of governance: Exploring varied patterns of risk-based governance across Europe. Regulation and Governance, 7: 215–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salman, A. 2009. Bangladesh’s economy: surrounded by deadly threats. International Journal of Social Economics, 36(1): 138–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sethi, S. P., & Williams, O. F. 2004. Setting global standards: guidelines for creating codes of conduct in multinational corporations. Business Ethics Quarterly, 14(2): 337–343.Google Scholar
Shklar, J. N. 1984. Ordinary vices. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Silverman, M., Lee, P. R., & Lydecker, M. 1982. Prescriptions for death: The drugging of the third world. Berkeley: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smilowitz, A. 2013. Aspiring toward gender equality in Saudi Arabia. University Wire, October 28.Google Scholar
Spar, D. 1999. Foreign investment and human rights. Challenge, 42(1): 55–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spar, D., & Yoffie, D. 1999. Multinational enterprises and the prospects for justice. Journal of International Affairs, 52(2): 557–81.Google Scholar
Spoor, J. R., Danaher, K., & Branscombe, N. R. 2009. Rose colored glasses: How Tokenism and comparisons with the past reduce the visibility of gender inequity. In Barreto, M., Ryan, M. K., & Schmitt, Michael T. (Eds.), The glass ceiling in the 21st Century: Understanding barriers to gender inequity: 49–71. Washington DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Steidlmeier, P. 1999. Gift giving, bribery and corruption: Ethical management of business relationships in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 20(2): 121–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sullivan, A. 2008. Dynasties rule in the land of the free: Nepotistic elites still thrive in meritocratic America. Sunday Times (London), December 21: 9.Google Scholar
Velasquez, M. 1995. International business ethics: The aluminum companies in Jamaica. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5(4): 865–882.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wagner, R. L. 2011. Saudi women embrace feminism – on their own terms. Yemen Times, March 28.Google Scholar
Wartick, S. L., & Wood, D. J. 1998. International business & society. Malden: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Will, G. F. 2000. Slip sliding away: McCain is all wrong on campaign finance. Washington Post, February 14: A-19.Google Scholar
Workers Rights Consortium. 2013. Global wage trends for apparel workers, 2002-2011. Washington: Center for American Progress.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2012. Lao PDR: Labour standards and productivity in the garments export sector: A survey of managers and workers. Washington: World Bank.Google Scholar
Zwolinski, M. 2007. Sweatshops, choice and exploitation. Business Ethics Quarterly, 17(4): 689–727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar