Business ethics of Korean and Japanese managers

Abstract

A study of 288 Korean and 323 Japanese business executives is presented. The results are: 1. The business executives basically believe in higher level business ethics. 2. But they occasionally have to make unethical business decisions because of prevailing business practices, which conflict with their personal values. 3. However, they think higher ethical standards are useful for long-term profit and for improving workers' attitudes, and the standards can be improved. 4. In order to improve ethical standards, model setting by superiors is the most important, and clear-cut company policies and code of ethics are essential.