Today we had an in-class discussion
on our responsibility to disseminate good ethical behaviors across countries
and cultures. The point was made that it was not US responsibility to impose
ethics on any country. It was argued that this was each country’s task and they
made it sound as if ethical behavior in some countries was different from that
in US, for example, to have meager working conditions in factories. While I
agree that US should be careful in imposing politics, economy and culture in
other countries, I believe that ethics is standard in the entire World because
is not a mater of opinions but of human’s dignity.
We cannot assume that we can provide
Chinese with bad working conditions just because they will not quit since they
have financial needs. Chinese suffer from bad working conditions as well as an
American would suffer, and that’s because we are all humans and want to be
treated with respect and dignity.
I liked what Peter Xie (a
Chinese MBA student) wrote in his journal: “I was later asked: What is the
standard of “good” work environment for a Chinese worker? I guess the best
answer will be that “How comfortable you feel about letting your son (brother,
husband, etc.) working in that kind of environment?” If we are happy about that kind of work
environment, then I am sure that Chinese workers will be seven times more than
happy about it.”
Internationals want to be ethical but sometimes external
forces like corrupt governments and cultures make living good standards very difficult.
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