In April the UK parliament passed the UK Bribery Act, which significantly enhances the penalties for giving and receiving bribes and extends the reach of the UK government in pursuing allegations of corruption that occur abroad. The action in the UK coupled with the U.S. government significantly increasing its investigations in to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has many businesses reexamining their internal controls and redoubling efforts in compliance.
Ethics and morals are things that are typically associated with an individual’s cultural background, so are ethics an issue when doing business across cultures, or is there some basic underlying ethical principles that we all follow? Recently we had the opportunity to sit down and talk with one of the world’s preeminent scholars of business ethics, Dr. Norman Bowie. You can find the interview here in our latest Economic Reform Feature Service article.
Article at a glance
- Business ethics is a relatively new field of study, which grew out of the general field of philosophy in the 1970s.
- Broad-based ethical standards like transparency and personal respect apply regardless of company size or sector.
- Cultural norms differ, but there are some universal ethical principles – like the illegality of bribery – that are widely accepted across cultures.
Published Date: June 17, 2010