Impact of National Culture on Business Ethics: A Comparative Analysis

This essay provides a summary and analysis of the article "Collective Versus Individualist National Cultures: Comparing Taiwan and U.S. Employee Attitudes Toward Unethical Business Practices." It discusses how cultural differences between countries like Taiwan and the United States influence employee attitudes toward business ethics, decision-making, and loyalty. The essay highlights that individuals from collectivist cultures tend to prioritize group harmony and may withhold information to benefit the organization, while those from individualistic cultures are more likely to make ethical decisions based on personal values. The importance of understanding cultural differences in a globalized business environment, and suggests training programs and codes of ethics to promote ethical decision-making across national borders is also emphasized. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar essays and study resources.

RUNNING HEAD: INDIVIDUAL VERSUS INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL CULTURES 0
2020
Collective Versus Individual National Cultures
Student’s Details-

INDIVIDUAL VERSUS INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL CULTURES 1
Collective Versus Individual National Cultures
Collective culture is based on the values, beliefs and practices of a group of people or a
community. On the other hand, national culture is based on the traditions, customs and the
religious practices of a group of population within the country. Here, the discussion is made
on the summary of the article “Collective Versus Individualist National Cultures: Comparing
Taiwan and U.S. Employee Attitudes Toward Unethical Business Practices”.
As per Randi, there are differences in the cultures of the two countries which encompasses
the new business practices and attitudes. Moreover, these cultural differences can affect the
decision making and respect of the employees and get the understanding (Sims, 2007). These
attitudes can get affected by the previous experiences or the socialization process. It can be
noted that the understanding of one’s culture influences the obligations of the business
through the expectations from the society. Also, the motivation of the individual depends
upon the cultural background of the individual. Further, cultural values of the individual are
collective from the perspective of particular society. However, national cultural differences
can lead to the variances in the ethical decision making through the greater understandings of
the interactions made. As the business expands internationally, there is an increase in the
understanding of one’s culture increases and its effect on the ethics becomes important.
Particularly, classification of culture within the group of people greatly depends upon the
person’s identity and the person’s tendency to be loyal to the group within the business.
Moreover, the relationship between the employees and the supervisors is impacted by the
collective culture of organization. Besides, in individualist culture, an individual’s personal
culture outweighs from the entire community and is seen as their independence from the
organization. The article took the data of employees of Taiwan and compared them with the
United States wherein the research analysed the ethical dilemma (Sims, 2007). The results
have determined that the individuals can make more effective ethical decision in comparison
to the employees of collective culture. Also, the collective culture employees are more loyal
and honest to the organization.
Moreover, the employee’s loyalty can continue when they get the required support from
someone outside the group. The individualists are more ethical in a way that they withhold
the information which is proved to be ethical and trustworthy towards the company. Also, the
individuals in the collective culture make the evaluations for the choices in the ethical

INDIVIDUAL VERSUS INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL CULTURES 2
dilemma (Sims, 2007). However, it is crucial for the organizations to maintain the good
understanding of the collective cultures across the national borders that can be addressed by
the training programs and the Code of Ethics which is the basis of the ethical decision made.
To conclude, it can be said that the national and individual culture can be the factors for the
ethical decision making. Moreover, people from collective culture can make more ethical
decision as they are influenced by the withholding of truth from the group but can benefit the
entire organization.

INDIVIDUAL VERSUS INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL CULTURES 3
References
Sims, R., 2007. Collective Versus Individualist National Cultures. Business & Society, 48(1),
p. 39–59.