Discussion: Ethical Codes Across Cultures

Ethical codes are not universal across professions or even governments. A wide variety of social and cultural factors might influence an individual’s code of ethics. Likewise, for an organization, social and cultural factors in combination with its mission could influence its code of ethics. Laws, codes, and regulations even differ between state and federal governments. Consider, for example, gift giving to public servants. In some nations or locales, gift giving to public servants is acceptable and even encouraged, whereas in others, depending on perspectives, it is considered a breach of cultural and/or legal ethical codes. How might you, as a public administrator, anticipate and manage the potential ethical dilemmas that may occur as a result of these differences in codes of ethics?

In this Discussion, you compare and contrast the ethical codes of two distinct cultures in your local community, state, or nation. You also may choose an international comparison. Explore the influence of culture on these ethical codes and analyze strategies for handling conflicts in ethical codes across these cultures.

http://www.ncsl.org/research/ethics/50-state-table-gift-laws.aspx

http://www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/ethicscodesandcodesofconductinoecdcountries.htm

http://www.transparency.org/research

http://www.aspanet.org/ASPADocs/ASPA%20Code%20of%20Ethics-

2013%20with%20Practices.pdf

http://www.globalintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/KeyFindings2009.pdf

https://www.ethics.usda.gov/science/docs/briefwrap_00.pdf