HR Assignment help essay writing help online: Culture ethics and norms

1.      Introduction

Culture is a very powerful tool for the survival of the human mankind. It refers to the customs, beliefs, traditions, languages, arts and values that a particular country consists of. The culture plays an important role in managing the diversity at workplace. The people working together can be of different cultures depending upon the country or the region from where they come. The behavior of a human is the reflection of his culture. The behavior of the people is transferred from one generation to the other. It is important to know that every culture is important if a comparison id drawn between cultures[1].

It should be ensured that the intercultural management takes place in an organization so that the work can be distributed accordingly. The intercultural management ensures that the different cultures are managed properly and thus the productivity increases. The intercultural management increases cooperation and also helps to respect the different diversities. Intercultural management creates a healthy environment at the work place and thus the ethics can be managed properly. This is because different cultures are understood. It has been the increasing necessity of the companies to manage their cultures as a lot of problems have increased in the working of the company due to lack of cross cultural management. The intercultural management helps the companies to develop the international markets, dealing with the customers in various parts of the world, developing of multi cultural teams, getting innovative ideas from people from different cultural, helps the companies to identify the international markets. It also helps in removing the intercultural differences and also helps in improving the process of communication. The case study which is provided is based on the intercultural management of business. BVVB AG is a biotechnological company that has been using some unethical methods to get their drug tested. It is very important for the company to get their new drugs tested because the success of the company depends upon it[2].

2.      Moral standards and Norms

In the case study, biotechnology company Bacteria and Virus Vaccine Biotechnology or popularly known as BVVB AG is into the business of developing vaccines. The company can market its product only after approval from concerned authorities. For getting an approval for their drugs and vaccines, every biotechnological company has to get their drugs or vaccines tested. BVVB AG get their drugs tested through a Calcutta based US-American company named CRE Ltd. Though BVVB AG has been dealing with CRE Ltd. for more than a decade but the company is least bothered regarding the process that the later company follow for these studies and tests. BVVB AG completely fails to understand the culture that is followed at CRE Ltd. They are just focused on getting the results for the work which they have assigned.

An assessment of this case on the basis of various ethical concepts brings out various point into light. First and foremost is the concept of Deontological Ethics[3]. Deontology is a concept where the rightness of a particular action is calculated on the basis of the domain of its consequences. It is an approach that is based on the self evidence and it helps to decide whether a particular decision is right or wrong.

BVVB AG is into the business of developing drugs and vaccines for more than ten years. The last successful vaccines which they developed was a vaccine for cancer. After that there has not been any successful new drug or vaccine from the BVVB AG. A blessing in disguise has happened with the company in the form of  a vaccine against “tick-borne encephalitis” and “leprosy” which have been discovered just by chance. According to the management of BVVB AG, these drugs holds enormous market potential in developing countries. The successful approval of these drugs is very essential for the success of the company. Rather, the future existence of BVVB AG depends solely on the approval of these drugs. The company wanted to grow their business and they wanted to reach out to the developing countries in terms of their morality. The deontological aspect is clearly stated as the company knows that it short in capital and the reserves it has will last only for two years. All this was evident and required no more evidences to prove it. The Indians especially who were the part of the NGO Panjaa had a problem with the drug testing process of the company. The management of the company was aware of the issues raised by them and even then they were desperate to get the testing done by hook or by crook. They were aware that the drug testing was a very risky process. The company could have tried to understand the culture of the country before starting the process of drug testing in the country. This would have given them a better understanding about the way things are handled in this country and thus at the time of any crisis or if any issues would come up, they would have been prepared and would have handled it properly. It is important for the management of the company to understand the business from the global perspective. They could have done this by understanding the culture and then managing it ethically. It has now become important for the company to solve the issues as soon as possible because they have to generate cash and then only will they be able to sustain. The company was ethically incorrect when they took the decision of testing the harmful drugs without conducting thorough research. They broke the moral standards and norms. It is also not appreciated that they were testing drugs under the cover of giving medical treatments to the poor for free or low rate. All of this shows how the company values the cultural aspects.

The Teleological Ethics[4] are said to focus on the results on the basis of the aspect of morality. It is based on how the decisions are taken in different situations. The BVVB AG took the decision that if the new employee will not be able to complete the responsibility that has been given to him then he will be fired. If the drug testing is not completed in time then the company will also suffer lot of loss because their success depends upon these two drug testing and their approval. Moreover there are chances that some other company comes up with the vaccination of the same diseases and then that company would get the license and BVVB AG will lose the entire market share as the value of their product will depreciate. Discourse ethics tries to throw light upon the opinions that the people have who have been affected and something new is created which will be the same for everyone. It is appropriate for all as the desire, needs and attitude which an individual has can be recognized by the organization.

3.      Practical value of Economics Ethics Concepts

In this section, light has been thrown on the concept that different ethics operate in different economies. There are different types of ethical concepts such as Meta ethics, Deontological and teleological ethics. The Meta Ethics[5] differentiates between what is right and what is wrong. It has been said by the researchers that in order to find what is right and what is wrong one must refer to the holy books. This will also help in recognizing the good as well as the bad view points about an organization. BVVB AG can be accused for doing unethical activities as they are trying to test the harmful drugs on the poor innocent people of India in the form of free medical treatment. This act is not a good deed and hence the NGO’s are opposing against it. The company should maintain Meta ethics which help them to differentiate what is right and what is wrong and hence they will be able to explore the connectivity, the system of values of the Indians. The management has failed to understand the business from the global view point.

The Deontological ethics is a concept where the rightness of a particular action is calculated by the result of its consequences. It is an approach that is based on the self evidence and it helps to decide whether a particular decision is right or wrong[6]. This approach will help to observe and analyze the case as the management is able to decide which action would be beneficial for their company and which not. This can be done while planning for the approval of the drugs.

The Teleological Ethics are said to focus on the results on the basis of the aspect of morality. It is based on how the decisions are taken in different situations. It helps to cultivate faith, excellence, actions and love. This helps in the smooth working of the company. Thus it can be said that the above theories can help to picture the case as these will help the company to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong. This will help them to relate the theories of ethics and then decide how they can get their drug testing approved without doing anything unethical.

4.      The RADAR Concept

The RADAR Concept is used to recognize, assess, decide, act and resolve the issues or problems that an organization faces when it comes to managing the ethics and the culture. This concept helps in recognizing the gap and will also be beneficial in preparing the plan of action. The first point will help the company to identify whether the rules of ethics have been dishonored or not. In reference to the case, the management of the company wanted the company CRE Ltd based in Calcutta to get the approval for their drugs. (Integrating Publishing 2008) the second point will help in getting access to the plan of action and also what the duty of the company will be towards its stakeholders. The stakeholders can be its customers, the media, the general public, the government and the creditors. It will also help in recognizing the right duties. The drug testing is very expensive in the home country and in order to get it done at cheap rate the company wants to get it done with the people living in the slums in India.

The third point will help in the decision making process. The management of the company BVVB AG hired a new employee who would fix up the issues in India and get the drug testing done successfully. The fourth point explains all the factors so that the decisions are implemented in a proper manner. The fifth point is to solve the problems that are related business ethics. The negative media reports were not given much importance by the company.

5.      Preparation for Business Activity in India

In order to prepare for carrying out any business activity in India it is very essential to identify the values, vision and mission of the company. The products that should be launched in India should be on the basis of the demands of the people of India. The company should sit and understand the behavior and the mind sets of the people. This can be done with the help of ethnocentric, polycentric and the geocentric approaches. The strategies that have been designed should be discussed with the stakeholders so that they can understand the strategy and they will be ready to invest more. The company should also understand the legal authorities so that their practices are fair when they do business in India. The company should gain knowledge about the right procedure for entering in the form of Foreign Direct Investment etc. the culture of the country should be understood so that the company is well prepared even for the worst case scenarios. The company should study all the issues related to human rights, ethics, corruption before entering in the country. A tie up should be entered by the management with the NGO and the goals should be explained. There should be transparency when related to ethics and morality. (The state University of New York n.d)

6.      Description of Different Cultures

Different cultures[7] can be classified as Linear Active Culture, Multi Active Culture, and the Reactive Cultures. Linear active Culture explains about the data and the facts. It is managed by the organized planners. It directs the others by holding discussions at the society’s and communities. The Multi Active Culture helps an individual to open up. It helps an individual to become social and lively. It helps people to interact and exchange their view point without hesitating. The other cultures are also valued. In this culture lot of emphasis is laid on multitasking and flexibility. The people are involved in conversations, discussions and arguments.

Reactive Culture is one culture which explains that a person should be a good listener and should interrupt less when conversations are made. The situations are made normal by conducting discussions. The people who are a part of such culture are generally shy in nature. In this culture the interaction is very low with the outsiders. The Hofstede’s cultural theory should be considered where there are factors such as Power Distance, Individualism vs. Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity vs. Feminity, and the short term vs. long-term goals. (Guardian News and Media Limited 2012)

7.      Preparation of Meeting & Discussion with NGO’s and Representative

The appropriate style to communicate and conduct meetings and discussions with the NGO’s and the representative will be discussed in this section. The communication can be done in Coconut and the peach style and the E.T Hall style. The Coconut and peach style will highlight how communication can be done in the terms of past and the present. The E.T Hall style will help in communicating in terms of time and context. When communication is done keeping the context aspect in mind then emphasis is on the knowledge and the situations.

The main aim is to gain the objective of effective decision making. There need to be patience while conducting the meeting so that proper interaction takes place between both the parties. The meeting is to ensure them that the drug testing will be done safely and will not harm the society in any case. The company can also share the importance of the creation of the vaccine. They should highlight that if the drug testing is successful then they will be able to find the cure to diseases like leprosy and encephalitis. The representative of the NGO is to be convinced that the method of drug testing has been changed and there will no harm caused to any person living or dead.

The company can also share a report that can highlight the NGO how the business can help them and the standard of living of the people can be uplifted. They should also explain that the company is aware about the ethics[8] and morals and they would not do business by adopting any of the unethical activities (Zylinska 2005).

8.      Conclusion

BVVB AG is known to be dealing in biotechnology. The company does drug testing. The company has been working on two new drugs and the success of the company depends largely on these new drug tests and their approval. The company gets its drug tested by a company named CRE Ltd which is based in Calcutta. CRE ltd is able to do the drug testing as they provide free medical treatments or at a very cheap rate. They provide medical treatments and drugs free of cost to the people who live in the slums hence they are able to test the drugs.

BVVB AG has been indulging in activities which are not ethical. They are getting their drugs tested through a CRE Ltd in Calcutta on the poop people of the country India. They fool them by proving free medical treatment and drugs and thus test the drug on them. The NGO’s in India raised their voices against such practices and hence BVVB AG is now disturbed that the drug testing would not be done in time. It is important for the company to get the testing in time. The management of the company wants the new Product Market development Manager to handle the things and get the drug tested anyhow and also handle the situation in Calcutta. If he fails to do that he will be fired.

The company BVVB AG provided the vaccination for cancer which helped earn a lot of money. They have not developed any other vaccination apart from these and thus when the company came to know about the two major developments which were the vaccination of leprosy and encephalitis, they want the drug testing to be done as soon possible. However it seems that the company has forgotten ethical standards and the policies that have been stated by the government. They forgot to understand the legal system and the intercultural management.

The company should have gathered some information related to the culture of the company and also about the mindsets of the people. They should understand the deontological and teleological concepts and thus manage the aspects of ethics. The company should have the understanding about the culture also so that the failure of the operation can be avoided. Every company has to ensure how much it is contributing towards corporate social responsibility and the consumers also ensure the same. (Markets Culture and Ethics 2012).