The Ethical Environment of Russian Business

Abstract

Abstract:In 1995, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society for Engineering Education received a grant from the National Science Foundation to undertake a project aimed both at assisting Russian philosophers in developing curriculum on engineering ethics and learning how context affects the teaching of engineering ethics. The project began with three Russian philosophers visiting the U.S. to observe how we teach engineering ethics. The American members of the project then made three visits to Russia to be part of three different workshops that brought together Russian professors from a variety of disciplines to exchange ideas about teaching ethics among themselves and with the Americans. During these visits, three of the Russians asked if we thought American philosophers would be interested in hearing about the Russian situation. We were delighted by the question (especially since we had become fascinated with the differences in Russian ideas about ethics), and responded with enthusiasm for the idea of their writing such an article. The article that follows is the result of their endeavor to explain how business ethics issues arise in Russia. Among other things, the article reveals how Russia’s history and the experiences of Russians under the U.S.S.R create a context extremely different from our own, for thinking about (and teaching) business ethics.

Teaching business ethics in the global South: control, resistance, and phronesis

“…The role of Marxism, for example, and how it was applied in Russia preoccupy much of the discussion about business ethics in Russia (e.g. Sidorov, Alexeyeva, and Shklyarik 2000;Eweje 2006). The role of political and legal systems was also highlighted in these articles (e.g.…”

“…Examination of the impact of colonization, imperialism, and civil wars is a key issue of focus for many authors (e.g. Gichure 2006;Sidorov, Alexeyeva, and Shklyarik 2000;Post, Sethi, and Williams 2002).…”

Special Issue on: Managing Intangible Ethical Assets: Enhancing Corporate Identity, Corporate Brand, and Corporate Reputation to Fulfill the Social Contract

“…proaches with approaches that appreciate social and contextual dynamics related to the ethical management of intangible assets in novel ways (Sidorov, Alexeyeva, & Shklyarik, 2000;Wieland, 2001;Brand, 2009).…”

Income inequality and oligarchs in Russian regions: A note

“…As of 2003, given a comparably high profitability and efficiency of the 1 The relationship of political establishment and business class in Russia in the first decade after the Fall of Communism is well covered in academic literature. On the relation of politics and business in Russia see for example Schröder (1999), Kryshtanovskaya and White (2005), Yakovlev (2006), Orttung (2004) and Sidorov et al (2000). oligarchic firms, Russia is likely to be in the early, growing phase that Acemoglu describes in his model.…”