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Abstract
This paper researches and analyzes the key aspects of ethics and values within the realm
of business and how it differs between the United States and China. The study conducted utilizes
Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions of the two countries as well as many other resources that have
already done extensive research and analysis that can be useful as one looks at the ethics and
values of the United States and China. The information used in this paper was collected in a
variety of ways, which led to this paper having a broad foundation of research for the
construction of what was concluded. The findings implicated that the United States and China
have some differing perspectives in the business world when it comes to both ethics and values.
While there may be some future similarities between the two countries, the consensus is that
there are indeed many differences between them when it comes to ethics and values in the
business world today. This study is useful in that it brings together research done in various
ways on different topics in order to draw conclusions that can be useful when looking at how
ethics and values play a part in the business world of both the United States and China, and what
those may look like in the future.
the expense of others. This being said, in a paper conducted to examine Chinese firms in
particular brought up the issue of there being a lack of research conducted on countries such as
China, seeing as they are in a transition to a market-based economy (Ge 2005 p.116).
Transitioning from an economy in which the government planned and controlled every aspect to
one in which the control lies with the people and the market itself creates an environment in
which unethical decision-making could potentially thrive. For this reason, the point previously
made regarding college students is very important, emphasizing business ethics before even
entering into the world of international business.
As it is widely known, China deals with international business on a large scale, as one of
the worlds leading nations in international trade. Because of this, a need for highly standardized
ethical guidelines in China is a subject of rising importance. It has been noted that other
countries dealing with China should carefully examine and keep tabs on their business
relationship as to avoid being hurt by a lack of ethical practices in China (Wilkinson 2009 p.110).
Looking back at Hofstedes model, the high value of power distance may be an indication of
potentially unethical practices within the Chinese business realm, which would contribute to
there being an acceptable amount of individuals benefiting from unethical business practices.
Overall, China is in a situation that provides a great opportunity for unethical business decisions
to occur, and research tends to indicate that there are indeed individuals who take advantage of
this opportunity and exploit the acceptance of inequality in their culture.
Business Ethics in the United States
Historically, there have always been attempts at maintaining some form of business
regulation in the United States, but it was not until some of the most well known business
mishaps such as Enron and WorldCom that the United States adapted the current system used to
uphold their ethics (Boatright 2003 p.11). These scandals displayed the United States falling
victim to its own system as the capitalist economy promotes individualism as the American
culture does, which in this case resulted in there being individuals placed in positions where they
could take advantage of their very high desire to prosper at the expense of others. Looking back
at Hofstedes model once more, one can see that the high importance placed on indulgence and
individualism, as well as the desire to compete, places the United States in a position that calls
for a strong ethical guidelines to maintain such a system. Similar to China, the United States is
attempting to incorporate business ethics courses into college classes in order to produce
generations of young business professionals capable and willing to follow ethical guidelines
placed before them (Cagle 2008 p.76). This being said, Cagles results concluded that discussion
concerning business ethics in a classroom setting did indeed have a positive impact on the
students, which should benefit the business environment as these students graduate (2008 p. 79).
This research shows that the United States is indeed taking steps to raise awareness of the
importance of ethics in their business culture, but how do ethics play a part today?
As mentioned earlier, ethics involve not only a business or individual abiding by the
official laws and regulations before them, but also a mixture of morals that tend to vary from
culture to culture. This is expanded on further in a research done on whistleblowing, which
involves employees or employers actively disclosing information regarding an individual or
situation that could lead to some sort of unethical or even illegal actions connected to the
business work environment (Borrie 1996 p. 141). In correspondence with this, it is easy for
someone to see something go wrong outside of work and be quick to point it out. For instance,
one would surely take note of a person stealing from another while at the store, or to take note of
someone at home doing something they should not. Many people have a difference in their
private and professional life, but does this also mean that there could be a difference between
ones ethics as they are in their private life and as they are in their professional life? One study
tends to indicate that this is a strong possibility. In the United States, it was found that many
academics agreed that business executives have two different sets of ethical guidelines, one for
home and one for work (Prasad 1993 p. 74). This indicates that while some Americans follow
certain ethical standards while at home, they may not follow these same ethical standards in the
business field. Even though there are strong policies set in place to help prevent unethical
decisions in the work environment such as segregation of duties and whistleblowing, research
does indicate that there may be some unethical behavior still occurring in the United States
business world today.
In the United States today, the opportunity for unethical decisions and ultimately ethical
failure largely lies in the field of accounting. In an article written specifically pertaining to Wall
Street (2004/2005), it was noted that integrity in the accounting profession is key to maintaining
legal and ethical standards in the business practice (OBrien p. 46). As it was found earlier, there
have indeed been large cases of ethical failures in the United States business realm, and there are
indeed steps being taken to reduce the amount of opportunities there are for unethical decisions
to be made. Relating back to Hofstedes model once more, one can see that the higher tendency
for indulgence in the United States may contribute to this lack of a naturally occurring ethical
business environment. Another implication from this research is that the United States, and any
other nation for that matter, will always be engaged in an ongoing battle against unethical
business matters.
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Values in China
As we have already seen in Hofstedes model, China tends to value individualism on a
much lower scale than other countries, which in turn means that the country as a whole focuses
more on contributing to the greater good of the country and society. However, some research
(2010) implicates that the younger generations in China actually tend to value individualism
more than contributing to the entire society (Sun p.73). In addition to this, Sun and Xun also
noted that the recent shift from a planned economy to a market-oriented economy in a
globalizing era have contributed to the changing values in China (p. 78). With this in mind, the
current statistics as seen in Hofstedes model may be subject to change as they pertain to China.
Looking at the historical data does indeed implicate that China has not been subject to this
radical of a change in the past, but research today indicates that there may be a change.
As Hofstedes model also implied, China does still value its traditions, and research
continues to show that while some countries do away with old traditions, the Chinese tend to
adapt their traditions to the world as it develops. Some of these values and traditions however,
are difficult to upkeep in an environment that is constantly changing. The business and
economic world in China is slowly becoming more and more like those of the western world,
and this raises the question as to how these values and traditions are adapting. In a study done to
examine these changes in Chinese traditions (2009), it was discovered that the Chinese culture
had now taken on dimensions of the world of modern business (Willis p. 74). This research is
crucial to the international business world as it now indicates that China is beginning to shape its
values to more resemble those of the modernized world.
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The historical facts do not change thought, and history shows that old habits are
sometimes hard to break. China was only until recently a planned economy controlled entirely
by their government, which can help explain why it is not until now that there are some
modernized values and characteristics sprouting from the fresh market-oriented economy. It is
interesting to think of China as being a country that is very similar to one of western-orientation,
but it is not to that point yet. The fact remains that there are still key differences in values and
culture in China that are crucial in understanding to ensure interaction in international business
and other realms are not done in a manner that leads to miscommunication or other mishaps (Ooi
2007 p.112). China still values business connections just as much as any other country, as well
as their traditional use of guanxi and bamboo business networks, which are essentially the depth
of a business or personal relationship with another individual. Moving forward, China has many
values and traditions that hold true to its past, but it is also crucial in international business to
understand the growing modernization of the Chinese culture as a whole.
Values in the United States
Starting once again with Hofstedes model, one can easily see that the United States
values individualism and indulgence fairly high in comparison to other countries. As this relates
to the overall values of the country, the United States tends to take individualism very seriously,
encouraging each person to be their own and go for the goal they want to achieve in order to
better themselves. Expanding on this, research (2001) also implies that Americans wish to
maintain a high level of self-esteem in their individual lives, particularly by making comparisons
to those who are not as well-off as themselves (Saunders p.194). This in itself indicates that
Americans tend to value themselves highly, and if they cannot do that, they turn to those who are
lower than themselves in society to still obtain the feeling of superiority. Just as Hofstedes
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model indicated, masculinity and competition as well as a drive to succeed dominates the
American society and business world. The Rokeach Value Survey can be utilized when looking
at the values of one country, and is relatively simple for looking at the most fundamental
information about someones basic values (Gibbins 1993 p. 797). Furthermore, the Rokeach
Value Survey reveals that the United States is a very present-oriented society that tends to value
many of the things of the modern world, and can be important when dealing with international
business. As a result, Americans in both the business world and their home world tend to desire
to be successful and value this success and competition very highly.
Taking a glance at both the values displayed in the Rokeach Value Survey and Hofstedes
model, it is clear to see that Americans tend to value the individual person very highly, meaning
that in international business, one may want to appeal to benefiting a particular individual rather
than appealing to a sense of collectivism. The United States has always been about freedom and
equality, but when it comes to the business world, competition is intense and valued above
equality to some degree. Values have always been a method of explaining individual behavior
shaped by a deeper idea of what is right and wrong as well as being shaped by social norms and
forces (Rossteutsher 2004 p.770). The values behind American society and behavior, even in the
business environment can be largely explained by social norms such as the encouragement of
each person to be their own individual, as well as the idea that every person has the right to
succeed and engage in opportunities in general.
Comparison of the U.S. and China
Now after reviewing each country individually on both ethics and values can one
compare the two countries as to how they actually compare and contrast to each other. The
international business community needs to understand these implications as they have been
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derived from extensive research, seeing as this study gives light to some very important points.
Even more light can be shed on this as one looks at even more research done directly comparing
the two countries already. Taking each country to a head-to-head comparison (2013) reveals
that Chinese negotiators were indeed more likely to use ethically inappropriate strategies than
their United States counterparts (Ma p. 651). As it was indicated earlier, this may be due to the
lack of monitoring on business activity seeing as the Chinese business environment and economy
is still in transition from being government controlled to having a more market-oriented style.
Ethics in general were found to be regarded with lower importance in the Chinese culture in
another study, as well as among those considered entry-level students (Li 2011 p. 15).
Looking at the research done involving Hofstedes model as well as the other sources
utilized previously can also lead one to conclude that there are indeed differences in values
between the two countries. While historically China as a whole tended to value collectivism and
contributing to society much higher, and the United States has for awhile now been focusing on
individualism, one can now see a shift toward a common point between the two. China still
differs in many aspects of course, and has not in the past always been changing, but rather due to
the shift from a planned economy to a market-oriented one the country has been faced with a
more modernized culture. The globalization of many industries within China and the interaction
with westernized countries such as the United States has had an impact on the country that has
for so long regarded tradition and collectivism so highly.
Conclusions and Findings
Ethically, the United States and China have many differences, but also some similarities
that are not to be disregarded. The Geert Hofstede Model is very useful when comparing both
countries on both an ethical and value centered level, but also gives light to the similarity of both
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countries having importance placed on masculinity, or competition and a drive to succeed. This
study indicated that China tends to focus much more on restraining the desires and overall wants
of the people while the United States encourages individualism and indulgence higher than its
Eastern Asian counterpart. While there are different approaches to international ethical standards
from each country, both are trying to incorporate ethical standard teaching into business classes
for college students in an attempt to improve the ethical environment in the future. Americas
promotion of success and individualism as well as an excess perhaps of these led to some of the
biggest mishaps in ethical business practice history, and the lack of a full grasp on the marketoriented economy in China contributes to there being a struggle for ethical perfection in the
business realm. Both countries need to understand each other in order to interact on an efficient
and professional manner that will only happen on a more increasing scale each and every day.
Values in this study also did find some interesting results, seeing that the Chinese society
is starting to see a shift toward those values that are placed highly in the American society. This
means that while right now and in the past the two countries have been very different as far as
values are concerned, there are now beginning to emerge a growing number of similarities. Both
younger generations in the United States and China tend to place a very high weight on their own
self-image and interests, which could lead to each country being able to relate on an international
level with more ease in the future. While going into this research one might have expected to
find nothing but differences between the two countries, there was also a remarkable amount of
similarities to be discovered. These similarities as well as the differences are crucial to
understand in order to deal with each country on an international business relation level that is
both respectful and efficient.
Suggested Future Research
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As mentioned multiple times in the previous sections of the paper, one can only imagine
what kind of similarities will emerge between the United States and China in the future.
Research implicates that there will be more similarities as time goes on and China becomes a
more developed market economy similar to the United States, and the younger generation which
values similar characteristics as the United States enters the business world. Of course there will
always be differences, so it would be interesting to also see what could result in the future of
research done on essentially the same elements in perhaps a couple decades.
Research could be conducted more thoroughly in order to obtain more accurate data as to
what values China has versus the United States, seeing as information regarding business values
in the Chinese realm was very limited. One could even go as far as to develop some other form
of value survey similar to that of the Rokeach Survey that has been around for awhile, but
lacking in perfection. Information regarding the consequences of unethical business decisions
for each country was fairly limited as well, especially with China. One could only speculate as
to the differences or similarities in that region seeing as there was little research done in depth to
support any sort of claim.
The amount of similarities and differences between the two countries as previously stated
is largely due to the differences in cultures, and it would be intriguing to conduct research that
could perhaps give light to information that would specifically address why certain business
aspects are different as explained by cultural norms for each country. The United States and
China both have very lively and developing traditions and societies, and the ways in which those
impact the international business world would be a terrific area to research. While the research
conducted would be difficult to accurately portray, it would be interesting to see what kind of
implications could come from such a study.
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Lastly, for any sort of future research suggestions, if one could go about comparing how
well the United States and China interact between each other, business to business, and find out
what areas cause businesses to interact more efficiently and what causes those to have a less
productive business relationship. Clearly there is a lot to understand about each country when
trying to develop international business relationships, and if that information could somehow be
compacted in order to give businesses from each country a sort of guideline as to how one would
go about engaging in business with the other would be extremely useful in the growing
globalized business world as it is today. Researching two countries that have so many
differences can bring so many interesting points, but most importantly it is significant to begin
gaining an understanding of how ethics and values play a part differently in international
business relationships around the world.
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