Cultural Influences on Management Ethics

Managerial ethics, as a branch of applied Ethics, is a relatively recent approach to the management of the organizations, as an interference of the Philosophy with Economics, due to increasing awareness of the need of connecting managers’ behavior and actions to the rules and moral values of society. These values differ in the human communities within society, the differences being caused by various factors of influence. The most important factor determining managers' behavior is the cultural factor, religion being the main provider of moral values and norms. The paper presents an analysis on the influence of major religions of the West and East on the characteristics of major economies - the U.S., Europe, Japan, also a comparison between the main features of the philosophy of management in these regions. Also, the ethical differences determine different views on the role and rationale of businesses. Classical approach, the idea of maximizing profit, precludes an approach to social responsibility of the company, that gain more ground, due to cultural interference and challenges of the modern business environment