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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 29 June 2010

Gael McDonald

The constructs of relativism and absolutism have a significant role to play in the development of ethical theory; however, they are commonly simplified in their depictions and are…

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Abstract

Purpose

The constructs of relativism and absolutism have a significant role to play in the development of ethical theory; however, they are commonly simplified in their depictions and are philosophically more complex than we give them credit for. The purpose of this paper is to undertake an in‐depth examination of ethical relativity and ethical absolutism before concluding with a discussion of which research implications warrant further investigation.

Design/methodology/approach

A descriptive, historical, anthological approach has been taken.

Findings

Ethical relativism is regrettably subject to a proliferation of related terminology and, in many instances with different meanings ascribed to similar terms. In addition, ethical relativity appears to attract different research perspectives that are heavily dependent on their academic origins. A clear distinction needs to be made between ethical and situational relativity. It is suggested that relativism is present in the process of moral justification and that ethical relativism should be analyzed from three levels: the individual level, the role and group level, and the cultural levels. The over‐riding objection to ethical relativism rests on the consequences of accepting relativism, which undermines the existence and strength of global moral standards and the inherent positioning of ethical absolutism. Absolutism does not deny the existence of multiple moral practices evident around the world, but proposes that variations in ethical actions could still be rooted in common universal moral standards based on our requirements as human beings and the necessities of long‐term survival.

Research limitations/implications

The ensuing discussions of relativism and absolutism open up a rich vein of research opportunities and suggest caution is required in regard to research methodologies. From a methodological perspective, care needs to be taken. For example, using hypothetical ethical dilemmas that are often unrelated to a specific industry or cultural setting has resulted in many researchers observing situational relativity rather than true ethical relativity.

Originality/value

This paper specifically examines whether there are differences in underlying and basic moral standards even though similarities in ethical behaviour have been determined, or whether differing ethical actions could, as the absolutists believe, originate from common universal standards despite apparent differences in perceptions and actions across cultures.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Understanding Intercultural Interaction: An Analysis of Key Concepts, 2nd Edition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-438-8

Book part
Publication date: 2 December 2019

Frank Fitzpatrick

Abstract

Details

Understanding Intercultural Interaction: An Analysis of Key Concepts
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-397-0

Article
Publication date: 18 August 2014

Shelby Hunt

The purpose of this article is to chronicle the publication events in the 1980s and 1990s that framed the development of the series of controversies in marketing that are known as…

1603

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to chronicle the publication events in the 1980s and 1990s that framed the development of the series of controversies in marketing that are known as the “philosophy debates”.

Design/methodology/approach

The article uses a participant’s retrospective approach.

Findings

The article finds that seven publication events are key to understanding marketing’s philosophy debates. The seven are the publication of the “little green book” by Grid, Inc. in 1976; the philosophy of science panel discussion held at the Winter American Marketing Association Educators’ Conference in 1982; the special issue of the Journal of Marketing on marketing theory in 1983; three articles on the “critical relativist perspective” by the Journal of Consumer Research in 1986 and 1988; the “blue book” by South-Western in 1991; a trilogy of articles on truth, positivism and objectivity in the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Consumer Research in 1990-1993; and an article on “rethinking marketing” in the European Journal of Marketing in 1994.

Originality/value

Chronicling the key publication events enables readers to understand what the debates were about and provides readers a starting point for further investigating the issues in the debates.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2003

John Weckert and Yeslam Al‐Saggaf

Recently two reports appeared in the press, each of which expressed a very different attitude towards intellectual property. One, in the Australian press, discusses a bill before…

598

Abstract

Recently two reports appeared in the press, each of which expressed a very different attitude towards intellectual property. One, in the Australian press, discusses a bill before the US House of Representatives that would “give American copyright holders freedom to hack PCs used to illicitly share files over peer‐to‐peer (P2P) networks, without fear of prosecution or litigation”. That this represents a fairly strong view of the importance of intellectual property can be seen further as the report continues.

Details

Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-996X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2015

Taran Patel

The purpose of this paper is to compare three cultural approaches from anthropology and business literature: National Culture Approach (NCA), Corporate Culture Approach (CCA), and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to compare three cultural approaches from anthropology and business literature: National Culture Approach (NCA), Corporate Culture Approach (CCA), and Transactional Culture Approach (TCA). The author grounds these approaches in different epistemological standpoints and locate them at different positions on the unity-infinity continuum. The author outlines their strengths and weaknesses, and offer the Douglasian Cultural Framework (DCF) as a transactional tool for cultural sense-making.

Design/methodology/approach

Reviewing conventional NCA/CCA frameworks reveals that while their simplicity renders them attractive to users, their assumption of stable, internally homogenous and coherent cultures has its limitations. Conversely, reviewing anthropology-based TCA literature reveals that while TCA overcomes some limitations of NCA/CCA frameworks, it also has its weaknesses – it overemphasizes “self-interest” as the preferred form of rationality, and some TCA scholars render cultural comparisons impossible by supporting cultural infinity. Finally, examining DCF reveals that it overcomes some limitations of NCA/CCA frameworks, while simultaneously advancing TCA. Nevertheless, DCF too has limitations which are also exposed.

Findings

Most NCA/CCA scholars support the “unity” argument of culture, while some transactional scholars support the “infinity” argument. DCF finds a perfect balance between the two through “constrained relativism”. Also, since DCF focuses on human transactions, it is not limited in its applications to specific levels and scales. It can therefore be applied to scenarios spanning across levels and scales. Finally, it offers a compromise between the differentiation and fragmentation perspectives of corporate culture, and brings out the best of the interpretivist and post-modernistic traditions.

Research limitations/implications

The exposition of DCF opens up new avenues for research which have hitherto remained unexplored for want of appropriate frameworks, for instance the UN Peace Corps., NATO, Medecins Sans Frontiers, etc.

Originality/value

By focusing on human transactions, the paper allows for a much more dynamic conceptualization of culture as compared to static NCA/CCA frameworks.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 28 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 June 2019

Shelby D. Hunt

The purpose of this paper is to provide a retrospection on the importance, origins and development of the research programs in the author’s career.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a retrospection on the importance, origins and development of the research programs in the author’s career.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses an autobiographical approach.

Findings

Most of the articles, research monographs and books that constitute this research and publishing efforts can be categorized into seven distinct, but related, research programs: channels of distribution; marketing theory; marketing’s philosophy debates; macromarketing and ethics; relationship marketing; resource-advantage theory; and marketing management and strategy. The value system that has guided these research programs has been shaped by specific events that took place in the author’s formative years. This essay chronicles these events and the origins and development of the seven research programs.

Originality/value

Chronicling the importance, origins and development of the seven research programs will hopefully motivate and assist other scholars in developing their own research programs.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 September 2019

Edwin S. Segal

Teaching about development contains a basic contradiction. The issues are even more stark when we consider that gender disruptions are always a part of the discontinuities in any…

Abstract

Teaching about development contains a basic contradiction. The issues are even more stark when we consider that gender disruptions are always a part of the discontinuities in any development process. Students and text books often assume that women are being suppressed and it is a task of development workers to “free” women from “traditional” oppression.

Here the author explores some of the contradictions inevitably part of Development Anthropology. On the one hand, the development worker’s etic vision of problems to be solved by “development” controls discussion in the classroom and the transfer of resources to the field. On the other hand, ordinary villagers’ or urbanites’ emic vision of what is happening in the socio-­cultural system as it faces pressures to “develop” hold sway in field contexts, as well as in their classroom analysis. The author needs to bring the realities of field settings into the pedagogical setting.

Application and pedagogy tend to interpenetrate; there is no clear boundary. Relying on discussions of the pedagogical problems, the author explores some of the discontinuities to be found in a gendered vision of development. The author stresses the problems highlighted by the educational environment in which students frequently first encounter these issues. The ultimate goal of this study is to make clear that teaching about or engaging in development do not have sharp boundaries and cannot be accomplished within the confines of a value-free paradigm. Every decision in this area involves a meeting of emic and etic visions and the value systems that arise from them.

Details

Gender and Practice: Insights from the Field
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-383-3

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Understanding Intercultural Interaction: An Analysis of Key Concepts, 2nd Edition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-438-8

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1995

Graham Wood

Examines the ethical problems within international purchasing andsales interactions. Bribery is identified as the major problem, thoughthis is only true in North‐South trade, and…

4461

Abstract

Examines the ethical problems within international purchasing and sales interactions. Bribery is identified as the major problem, though this is only true in North‐South trade, and ignores evidence of unethical practices in the interactions between purchasing and sales generally. Business people in the North tend to adopt double standards when criticizing the acceptance of bribery in some cultures, while ignoring the unethical practices in their own cultures. An interaction approach avoids cultural relativism, by seeing gifts and entertaining as a necessary part of the development of personal relationships which characterize successful international business relationships. It seems that a majority of international business transactions take place without the intervention of unethical inducements. Furthermore, the development and introduction of codes of ethics as well as the work of organizations such as Transparency International all suggest the climate is changing to one more supportive of high ethical standards.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

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