Intercultural Management Between Universalism and Relativism - Fundamental Problems in International Business Ethics and the Contribution of Recent German Philosophical Approaches

Abstract

In the practice of management, a conflict-rich problem moves more and more clearly into the centre of attention, namely the question of how management should behave when confronted with different cultures. The most important reason for this development is to be seen in the globalisation of the economy and the internationalisation of companies’ activities resulting from this (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1989 - Hamel & Prahalad, 1985 - Ohmae, 1989, 1995 - Parker, 1996 - Porter, 1986, 1990 - Porter & Wayland, 1995 - Prahalad & Doz, 1987 - Yip, 1992). This development affects not only big corporations, but also medium-sized and even small enterprises in the meantime. As is seen from experience, with this internationalisation and globalisation, the conflict potential of economic activities increases in all functional areas of business, from marketing and sales, production and purchasing through to financing and administration. The causes of this are manifold. They lie in the tendencies towards “de-culturalisation”, as are inherent in economic rationality: competition and price system contribute to a world-wide cultural dis-embeddedness of business (Giddens, 1990), foster structural similarities of economic activities and lead to a convergence of institutions (Fukuyama, 1992) and consumer behaviours (Levitt, 1983 - Ohmae, 1995). But, at the same time, it can be observed that more and more societies break up into ethnic or cultural groups which are integrated less according to structural system imperatives than according to common cultural values or ethnic origins (Huntington, 1993, 1996). Former Yugoslavia and former USSR are the most obvious examples. The political scientist Bassam Tibi (1995) speaks therefore of simultaneousness of structural globalisation and cultural fragmentation. A consequence of this is that the conflict potential between internationally operating corporations and local cultures increases. The question is: How can companies define their role in a global economy facing the emerging “clash of civilizations” (Huntington, 1993, 1996)? Many companies attempt to solve the resulting and emerging conflicts by using universal values or codes of conduct. Such corporate efforts are supported now and again politically, such as by the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and more recently by the American government (see below). At the same time, various faith communities are attempting to find suitable normative orientations for international business. In practice, however, it is shown that deep rooted differences in cultural values between different countries increasingly become a source of conflict, where management attempts to apply value standards which are considered universal, e.g., human rights, as part of company policy globally. This problem is laid out in the first part of this essay.