Ethical Diversity

Introduction and Alignment

When dealing with different countries and cultures, it is not uncommon to find what is considered appropriate and ethical in one country conflicts with what is considered appropriate and ethical in another. What do you do when you find the culture expecting you to do something you find ethically unacceptable? This assignment explores a situation where a manager is faced with this question.

Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to:

• Evaluate ethical behavior when legal and ethical requirements conflict in a cross-cultural environment.

Resources

• Textbook: Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership
• File: Chapter 10.ppt
• Media: Human Resources and Diversity

Background Information

In Acts 17:26-28, you learn that “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him.” Although God’s word tells you that all peoples were created for the same purpose, time and distance have created distinct cultures that react differently to issues. In this assignment, you will explore the tension that can exist when your home country and the country in which you are doing business have different legal and ethical expectations.

Instructions

1. Download and review the PowerPoint presentation, Chapter 10.ppt.
2. View the media Human Resources and Diversity.
3. Read Chapter 10 in the textbook Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership. As you read, think about the issues and challenges that face people when they are working or living in a culture different from their usual one.
4. Read Case Study 10.1 and the section "The Raccomandazione" on p. 400 in Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership.
5. Navigate to the threaded discussion and respond to the following:
   1. How should management react to Italian expectations for job recommendations?
      1. Should you refuse to provide the raccomandazione for the employee's daughter?
      2. Provide a detailed evaluation and support for your position using at least one of the ethical frameworks presented in workshop three that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
   2. Consider Hofstede’s dimensions of culture as presented in Chapter 10.
      1. What dimension(s) appear to positively correlate to nepotism?
      2. Provide a detailed defense of your position that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
6. Your initial post should be 200 to 300 words in length and include two academic resources that are properly cited.
7. Your initial post is due by the end of the fourth day of the workshop.
8. Read and conduct a critical analysis of postings by two of your classmates by the end of the workshop.
   1. The topic of your discussion response should be your classmate’s posting and should be written as if you were reviewing his or her posting in an academic journal. Your discussion response should therefore answer the following questions as applicable:
      1. Were the arguments of your classmate articulate and logical? Were the facts correct?
      2. Was the interpretation your classmate provided reasonable and consistent with experts in the field? Was your classmate consistent with both the substance and intent of his/her references?
   2. The focus for your critical analysis is not whether or not you agree with your classmate, but how well his/her position was presented.
   3. Each response should be at least 200 words in length and cite two academic sources. (Note: the academic sources do not count towards the word length requirement.)
   4. Respond to the following:
      1. How should management react to Italian expectations for job recommendations?
         1. Should you refuse to provide the raccomandazione for the employee's daughter?
         2. Provide a detailed evaluation and support for your position using at least one of the ethical frameworks presented in workshop three that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
      2. Consider Hofstede's dimensions of culture as presented in Chapter 10.
         1. What dimension(s) appear to positively correlate to nepotism?
         2. Provide a detailed defense of your position that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.