There are many differences and similarities when it comes to ethics in business decisions between America and Russia.

America is a stronger economic power and has more of an influence on the world norms than Russia. This does not mean Russia severely lacks in the department of ethics. A few similarities the nations share are maintaining trust, fair competition and being rewarded for great performance. To many people this would come to them as common sense. If a person does not work hard then that person should not be rewarded. Maintaining trust helps with future business and creating lifelong customer relationships. Keeping ones word seems to fall into the category of maintaining trust as well. It may be directed towards how to first establish trust. Trust is fundamental in the business world because of the number of parties involved. If all parties can trust one another then the process is always smoother. (Puffer) The Americans and Russians do share some major differences when it comes to ethics as well. Russians view whistleblowing as unethical. While in America, employees are encouraged to speak up when seeing unethical or devious behavior. Russians feel that it is dangerous to inform, that the consequences will be more severe than not exposing the problem at all. The Russians also believe that it is unethical to maximize profits. Communism plays a major role on influencing Russians to be against maxing profits. It is no secret that America is notorious for trying to cut costs by any means to maximize profits without sacrificing quality. Russia also believes major salary differences are unethical because it violates their value of fairness. It puts such a gap between the top corporate employees and the rest of the work force that it creates envy. (Puffer) Americans and Russians also see eye to eye on a few unethical decisions. Both are against the black market, price gouging and refusing to pay debts. Although both agree on these being unethical they deal with them in their own ways. When looking at the black market, both

nations feel that it violates fairness. It lacks fairness because goods and services can be provided tax free and goods could possibly be stolen. Russia does not view the black market as negatively as America does. Russia is more lenient because of their lack of respect for rules and laws. Price gouging is equally viewed as unethical in both nations. The fact that both are strongly against it can tie back to both nations feeling so strongly about keeping ones word and maintaining trust. In America people are punished for not paying their debts through the justice system, while in Russia there is a mafia that can be paid to handle this issue. Russia is less civilized than America when it comes to crime and mafias due to the presence of Communism. America and Russia suffer from government corruption in different ways. Russia suffers more from mafia corruption because the nation is more chaotic and the Communist mentality influences disregard of laws. American corruption is more civilized, the government and politicians are bought for a handsome price. (Puffer) In the Hofstede model we have five categories in which America and Russia have been scored so we can compare their rankings. Power distance for Russia and America is quite different. Russia has been scored in the top third while America has been scored in the bottom third. It is not surprise that America scored in the top third when looking at individualism and Russia is in the middle. Since America is a capitalist country, naturally individualism is encouraged. Masculinity America scores in the middle and Russia in the bottom third. This can be explained by Russia not valuing materialistic items like Americans do. In uncertainty avoidance Russia scored in the top third and America scored in the bottom third. What we can interpret from these scores is that Russians do not do as well with change as Americans do. Both America and Russia scored in the bottom third in long term orientation. This means both have a respect for tradition and value fulfilling social obligations. (Hofstede)

America has increased government regulation in business to protect the consumers. Businesses now include their ethics and values in a mission statement which is there to ensure consumers that they are not evil and deceitful people. A few rules from the Roundtable report include that value must be created for shareholders, must produce financial statements, must hire an independent financial auditor to review the financials and employees must be treated in a fair manner. Companies in the United States are focused on profits and quality, which isnt necessarily a bad thing. Focusing on quality portrays that you care about the consumer and not just their money. In effect, this will create a relationship that can turn a random consumer into a loyal customer. (Odland) Ethical values in business decision making is very important for the longevity of a company. Some conditions a company should follow are letting know people what you stand for, allowing employees to whistleblow without fear of being fired, everyone can access management, the company is transparent and open, and everyone understands how to treat one another. The mission statement has become a critical part of every company. It tells the consumer what they can expect from your business and how you should be treated by them. A lot of restaurants will put their mission statement in the front of the menu to make customers feel that they are about to have a great dining experience. (Odland) In the United States it is becoming more and more common to start a business. This does not mean that the business always prospers. Family owned businesses are medium and small in size. They are beginning to make up more and more of the economy. It has been recently reported that family businesses offer more loyalty and quality. This can be due to a more personal interaction when shopping or acquiring a service from them. It is easier to relate to a

family than a massive corporation. In the United States people feel comfortable opening up a business because of the rules and regulations that have been created to protect them. (Blodgett) Russia has a lot of differences compared to the United States when it comes down to business. The Russians are not as prosperous, have managers that lack experience in an open market and are known for manufacturing low quality products. The Russians view ethical behavior development as a must to add value to their country. They follow the universal values of trust, honesty and fairness. This has been controversial since Communism imposes the any means necessary mentality. Since business has been growing in Russia the universal values have become more predominant than the Communists approach to business. (Puffer) Russia is a country that has had many tyrants which have kept the people in oppression. The people have not been able to have a mind of their own for many years now. Many of the people in Russia break the rules constantly since their leaders have always done so in the past. The Communist mentality has led the people to not view rules as of importance. They have been raised and taught to reach the end by any means necessary whether right or wrong. This can cause major problems in an economic situation. Although the Russians have a firm foundation built on trust, how they may reach their goal could make business partners weary. (Puffer) Russians rely a lot on blat. Blat is either a bribe or payment of some sort to get to a certain individual. This was considered necessary, not quite as much anymore, within the government structure that has scarce resources controlled by a small number of individuals. Managers in Russia still use these tactics. It is also common for business reports to superiors to be tampered with. Examples would be understating the amount of materials or overstating the quality of the product. The goal in doing this is to ensure that goals are reached and then rewards

are giving, even though the data is inaccurate. Russians easily disregard rules and regulations to reach the desired end. This shows how much a faulty government system can negatively impact how effectively the people work. (Puffer)

Blodgett, Mark, Colette Dumas, and Alberto Zanzi. "Emerging Trends in Global Ethics." Journal of Business Ethics. 99. (2011): n. page. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.

Hofstede, Geert. "Cultural constraints in management theories."Executive. 7.1 (1993): n. page. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. Odland, Steve. "Ethics, Corporations and Risk." Corporate Board. 26.155 (2005): n. page. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. Puffer, Sheila, and Daniel McCarthy. "Finding The Common Ground in Russian and American Business Ethics."California Management Review. 37.2 (1995): n. page. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.