Ethics, culture and education

No problem Fosco, let me know if I can help in any other way.

I don't follow, are you coming at this from a project perspective?

What risk would occur by not complying with cultural norms.

Canada should be a prime example of this.

thanks Rami,
I agree with you and this is the matter of my question: a common code cannot be imposed by the strongest group but it have to be accepted because is in syntony with the principles which guide every group.
In other words an Ethical code should be based on common principles because in this manner this code is OUR common code. Only in this manner we are morally engaged for respecting it.
It is very important for international companies which have to "survive" in international contexts.
But: what about the situation of an international company which working in another country realize that some rule in this country are against its principles or code?

Rami, he was thanking me. Take your thank you back. ;)

I kid...I kid.

Every country is a prime example. You need to follow the labor laws, hours, employment, purchasing procedures, contractual agreements and tailor them to accommodate your organization and the country you are operating from.

If you do not follow the labor law or working hours for the country you are operating in then you will end up penalized which might cause delays, etc. These are Risks !

Hi Steven,
I agree with Rami, laws are influenced by culture too, remember racial laws in some countries
(e.g. in the past in South Africa) and some discriminating laws that you can found in other ones. The matter is: it is possible to go over these problems adopting a common, and accepted, code?

I replied to Fosco's thanks in reply to my message, not yours. Very Smart :D

Working Hours, Days, Labor Laws are all part of the culture.

Example 1: In the middle east, part of the religious culture is the Friday Prayer. Accordingly, thr official day off there is Friday. All other days are working days (Construction Projects there run 6 days a week except Friday). Being the case, part of the labor law is the working days / hours. It is all related to culture. In other countries like Canada, days off are Sat/Sun.

Example 2: Part of the culture in the middle east is to support local products / subcontractors so in all contracts, there is a clause that mentions this and states that if material was purchased from overseas with a price difference less than 20% of the local market then the Project will be penalized. You have to tailor your estimation to accompdate this requirement. In other countries, you are flexible to purchase from wherever the project finds it suitable and supports the project itself, not the local market.

You might not consider the above as cultural factors but I do because I know for a fact that they are strictly related to the culture.

Both of the examples are still laws. They may be geographically specific, but it's more just "comply with local laws and regulations".

If an example was, it is offensive to wear orange but not illegal, that is cultural risk not identified in the legal risk with the risk register.

I'm focusing on the definitions of culture risk here, I acknowledge the examples above are risks if not identified. Otherwise they are typically identified and mitigated in the risk plan in Planning stage.

What are your thoughts Rami?