Reconfiguring Responsibility in International Clinical Trials

This chapter aims to prominently position the African philosophical notion of the self within the clinical trials context (and the larger bioethics project). As opposed to autonomy-based principlism, this other-regarding or communalist perspective is proposed as the preferred alternative model. The intent is to draw further attention to the inadequacy of the principlist approach particularly in multicultural settings. It also engenders a rethink, stimulates interest, and re-assesses the failed assumptions of universal ethical principles. As a novel attempt that runs against much of the prevailing (Euro-American) intellectual mood, this approach strives to introduce the African viewpoint by making explicit the import of the self in a re-contextualized (nay, globalized) arena. Viewed as such, research ethics is guided to go beyond autonomy-based considerations for the individual with absolute right to self-determination; to embrace more holistic-based approach, recognizing that the individual is embedded in his/her family, community, and the environment.

A Swift Kick

This chapter examines the unusually swift downturn in Russo-Bulgarian relations between 1879 and 1883. In 1879, relations between the two countries were unusually good, founded on a basis of mutual sympathy, geopolitical necessity, and strong administrative ties. By 1883, however, a series of lapses in Russian diplomatic practice damaged Russo-Bulgarian relations to the point that all of Bulgaria's political elite was united in opposition to the Russians, and by 1886 diplomatic relations were severed altogether. This chapter examines three incidents in particular – the Titles Controversy of late 1879/early 1880, the Coup of 1881, and the tenure of Generals L. N. Sobolev and A. V. Kaul'bars in 1882-1883. Ultimately, this chapter demonstrates how flawed diplomatic practice may result in undesirable foreign policy outcomes.

The Ethical Dilemma of Early Global Childhood Education

This chapter investigates ethical dilemmas associated with early childhood education in Confucian heritage countries. It draws on literature in philosophy, psychology, sociology, and anthropology in concluding that sociocultural differences between Eastern and Western civilizations amount to an ethical dilemma, which threatens to prevent a basic epistemology as well as a pedagogy for the education of children in the context of globalization and the information technology revolution. As evidenced by inventions, innovations, developments, and other technological and scientific breakthroughs, Western learners enroll in science and technology courses. It seems as though Eastern learners are duty-bound to fulfill a national or cultural objective, which calls for studies in the science and engineering disciplines at the expense of subjects in the arts, independent of individual desire or competency.

Standardizing Ethics East and West

A basic element that separates primates from Homo sapiens is language, which serves as a socializing catalyst for interpersonal and intercultural communication. Linguistic rules can be regarded as the ethics of communication. Without such rules, encoding and decoding of communication between a speaker/writer and a listener/reader would be impossible. Etiquette and the social emotion of shame, which have dissimilar connotations in Confucian heritage cultures of the East and Socratic or Judeo-Christian cultures of the West, are examples of moral qualities having different attributes and applications for diverse peoples. Whereas distinctive societies, cultures, and civilizations define morality based on their particular history and culture, including religion, humans everywhere are the same. Thus, drawing on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's 1762 Social Contract, the current reality of globalization requires a cultural contract that harmonizes the morals and ethics of Eastern and Western civilizations.

Business Ethics in Healthcare

Over the last few decades, healthcare business and ethical values have been the focus of legal changes, especially in the Greek Healthcare System. The purpose of this chapter was to examine in both a quantitative and qualitative way what the Greek healthcare experts think and feel about ethics and healthcare services and to present the factors that shape attitudes towards ethical values from the viewpoint of the healthcare professionals. For this reason, 34 semi-structured interviews, accompanied by the administration of perceived cohesion scale, generalized immediacy scale, job affect scale, state anxiety inventory, Maslach burnout inventory, and the attitude towards business ethics questionnaire revealed that healthcare professionals in Greece do have knowledge of ethical values and moral responsibility, but no connections with specific emotional aspects were found. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications, and future directions on how business ethics can be further examined and applied.

The Relationship Between Leadership Ethics and Organizational Success

Over the last few decades, business fraud and examples of scandalous management behaviors have sparked a lot of attention among several interested stakeholders. These increasing scandals have necessitated the question on the necessary steps required to prevent their frequent occurrence. The lack of commitment to strong ethical standards by management has been underpinned as the cause of ethical misconducts in organizations. The fiscal crisis of 2007-2009 witnessed many leadership misconducts and abuse of leadership responsibility. The fiscal crisis revealed the loss of about $11 trillion in household wealth, 26 million Americans losing their jobs, and 4.5 million Americans who could not afford their mortgages. These events and statistics show the prevalent lack of ethical leadership in organizations. While leadership ethics is a concern for all stakeholders within business organizations in the United States, only a few segments of the industry are taking steps to incorporate ethical awareness within their global organizations.

Managerial Ethics and the Function of Culture in Mexico and the United States

This chapter is a reflection on the ethical distinctions between two cultures that share the same civilization (i.e., Mexico and the United States). Impoverished ethical attitudes have inflicted observable harm upon business by unethical decisions and misconduct. Much of this phenomenon is traceable to distinctive cultural construal of ethics. This phenomenon exemplifies the influence that culture exerts on managers, which has a distinct influence on attitudes and behaviors. This chapter explores, through empirical data, whether differences rooted in culture have any contribution to differences in ethical attitudes. Results indicated a significant positive relationship between national culture and ethical attitudes and the cultural dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and long-term orientation. A significant difference in ethical attitudes between managers from the United States and Mexico was also found.

The Influence of CSR on B2B Relationships

The chapter addresses how ethical actions deliver value through sustainable competitive advantage. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has a proven role in developing audience trust that increases brand equity among target audiences, thus ensuring that the brand sustains its competitive advantage through improved profitability, increased social trust, and favorable reputation in the market. Not only do businesses have a social responsibility to the markets from which they earn revenues, but buyers expect ethical businesses to have an established CSR program in place. Socially fluent, publicly held firms that share their ESG (environmental impact, social impact, and governance) ratings with stakeholders enjoy the reputational benefits of increased trust and confidence regarding corporate ethical behavior. Businesses that engage in CSR activities within the process of corporate brand management experience stronger reputation that drives loyalty and sales, resulting in a competitive, sustainable market advantage.

Mother America

After the Korean War, it became acceptable and expected that American families would adopt Korean children into their homes, symbolizing American prosperity and security. As significant a role as social work played in this process, there currently exists no research that examines the activities of the profession and the origins of Korean adoption. This chapter discusses the maternalist nature of adoption efforts during the 1950s by one international social welfare agency after the Korean War: the American Branch of International Social Service (ISS-USA). Predicated on maternalist ideologies that shaped the social work profession during the Progressive Era, in what the author calls Cold War maternalism, the gendered notions of motherhood were expanded to genderless notions of parenthood. Anticommunist sentiments thrust adoptive parenthood into the political spotlight on an international level, thus serving the best interests of adoptive parents and the nation long before serving those of the children.

Communication Ethics Literacy and Counterterrorism

Communication ethics involves practices that yield social literacy about what matters to persons and organizations. When applied to social artifacts, the literacy of communication ethics provides a lens for collecting, interpreting, and making sense out of data. The U.S. currently faces a unique threat as terrorism presents professionals with demanding challenges to national security. The challenges resulting from terrorism are both complex and dynamic. As professionals develop means to respond to threats, new challenges arise. Thus, efforts are ongoing in the fight against terrorism. In response to this challenge, this chapter begins with the assumption that communication ethics literacy can assist researchers in navigating the terrains of counterterrorism practices by broadening the scope of research and opening new avenues for creative response. Creative response, which, this work argues, is made possible by active and continued reflective communicative practices, prevents terrorism from achieving its aim of crippling persons to inaction through terror, violence, and fear.