THe culture of Ethics

            During the annual business seminar week I visited an early morning lecture by a professor  Samuel Mercier. According to Professor Samuel Mercier, from the University of Burgundy, France, there is a deep cultural difference between corporate ethics in Europe and the United States. Business ethics has increased dramatically in the states, while it has not caught on as strongly in places like France. The speech was very informative and gave some great examples about ethical dilemmas that occur in the business setting.

I learned that there are two types of ethical dilemmas, deontology and consequentialism. Deontology is the logic or moral obligation dealing with ethical dilemmas, while consequentialism makes people think about the consequences of each action of the ethical dilemma. Professor Mercier gave an example we would understand, using a well known show called 24, where Jack Bauer has to save American from disaters that could kill hundreds of people. He must make important ethical decisions where the end justifies the means. During this lecture I also learned about the ethical test used in other countries that has been adapted from an American one. This test is a serious of eight question to rate the type of profile employees are. Unfortuantly the validity of the test is flawed because in countries like France, the culture is so different that the way employees would answer some of the questions is off.

I thought the lecture was very interesting to listen too, and enjoyed a different perspective on business culture. It was fascinating to learn about the ways that the French handle ethical dilemmas in comparison to the American way. In Europe ethics in the business world are more of a questioning process than a matter of compliance.