Date: Thursday, 21 May 2009

Global organizations routinely confront ethical challenges, as they encounter differing ethical norms and standards in different societies. Tight economic conditions can make the temptations toward unethical behavior stronger, both for organization members and organizations as a whole. Organizational leaders are the people most responsible for navigating these ethical challenges, and for providing role models for employees.

In this presentation, Dr. Dickson will discuss ethical differences across cultures, with several examples of how the line between a business decision and an ethical decision can become blurry. He will present recently gathered data from several countries (including Taiwan) comparing perceptions of ethical and unethical leadership. He will conclude with recommendations on how to assist organizational leaders in making ethical decisions that will be accepted in both the organization's home culture and other cultures in which the organization operates.

Who Should Attend: Organizational leaders who are responsible for ensuring ethical decision-making of their organization and/or subordinates.

Major Takeaways: Better understanding of ways in which different cultures perceive ethics (and lack of ethics) in business.

About the Speaker(s)

Marcus W. Dickson, Ph.D., is Professor of Human Resources with Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business Executive Programs in New York, and Professor of Organizational Psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Dickson served for a decade as part of the leadership team of the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) Research Project, the largest study of leadership across cultures ever conducted. Dr. Dickson's research has been published in leading journals in the US and internationally. He has been recognized for excellence in teaching by two universities, as well as by the international Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology. He has taught and lectured in several countries, including Ireland, Germany, Great Britain, Singapore and Taiwan. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Dickson maintains an active organizational consulting practice, with clients across the US.