value placed on trustworthiness
favour of long-term business relationships
guanxi: importance of good relationships/connections
employer-employee relationship (and other business relationships) may resemble familial relationship
(Koehn 1999, Ip 2009)
But also: danger of authoritarianism, sacrifice of individual interests and rights in the name of ‘harmony’, nepotism, corruption, how are people treated who do not belong to one’s group/society?
Discourse EthicsThe Essay is provided by UK Assignment http://www.szdhsjt.com
“…deals with the proper process of rational debate that are necessary to arrive at a resolution of ethical questions.” (Fisher and Lovell 2009:125)
ethical reflection starts from real life experiences
norms and solutions are generated through social interaction and open dialogue among all the different parties that are affected by the issue
ultimate goal of ethical issues in business should be the peaceful settlement of conflicts (Steinmann and Löhr, 1994)
Ideal speech situation – criteria include:
every participant has an equal chance to argue and to question - suspension of power differences
all participants can express their own authentic attitudes, desires and needs
non-persuasion
non-coercion; the only force allowed is that of the better argument
(Habermas 1990:89, Crane & Matten 2007:114, Fisher & Lovell 2009:pp. 126)
Practical Application: Stakeholder Dialogue
e.g. Proctor & Gamble: series of dialogues with a number of societal stakeholders around safety and environmental impact of products
Limitations of Discourse Ethics
practical time-limits
requires high-level cognitive abilities on the part of the participants
assumption that people behave rationally in discourses
power differences are not easily suspended
relies on the willingness of participants to follow the ‘non-coercive force of the best argumentation’
some stakeholders have no voice (e.g. future generations)
Postmodern Ethics / Levinas
“Postmodern Ethics … locates morality beyond the sphere of rationality in an emotional ‘moral impulse’ towards others.” (Crane & Matten 2007:115)
Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995)
morality is grounded in the encounter with the ‘other’ - ethics of proximity
encounter with the ‘other’ create infinite/unlimited responsibility for him/her
“I am not only for the Other but also for all the absent others who look at me in the eyes of the Other.”
(Soares 2008)
Gustafson (2000:21 cited in Crane & Matten 2007:pp. 115)
individuals should not divorce their professional lives from their personal lives
persons with certain moral qualities regarded as examples for moral practiceThe | 
