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11 - Managing in an imperfect world

Richard M. Steers ,
Carlos J. Sanchez-Runde  and
Luciara Nardon
Richard M. Steers
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
Carlos J. Sanchez-Runde
Affiliation:
IESE Business School, Barcelona
Luciara Nardon
Affiliation:
Carleton University, Ottawa
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Summary

There are truths on this side of the Pyrenees that are falsehoods on the other.

Blaise Pascal Seventeenth-century philosopher, France

The computer is on the dock, it's raining, and you have to pay a bribe to get it picked up and delivered.

William C. Norris Founder, Control Date Corporation, USA

Ethical standards reside within people, not organizations. In fact, organizations have no ethical standards; it is only their members – executives, managers, and rank-and-file employees – who determine whether or not a particular company will act ethically or responsibly at any given point in time, and even this determination lies in the eye of the beholder. Ethical standards are oftentimes amorphous, conflicting, and transitory, but their impact on local communities around the world can be profound.

Consider the challenges facing the petroleum industry in doing business in Nigeria. Global economists and political observers have long suggested that Nigeria has two attributes in abundance: oil and corruption. According to The Economist, Nigeria is one of the most corrupt nations in the world. Indeed, bribery is so commonplace that they even have their own name for it: “chopping.” If this is the case, how do global companies gain access to Nigeria's vast oil reserves to help supply an insatiable world demand for petroleum? Through bribery, of course. Companies that refuse to play – and pay – by the local rules risk being shut out of this lucrative market.

Type
Chapter
Information
Management across Cultures
Challenges and Strategies
 , pp. 363 - 403
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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