Value (ethics)

About: Value (ethics) is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 21347 publications have been published within this topic receiving 461372 citations.

A Case for Comparing Apples with Oranges: International Differences in Values

Abstract: The Nature of Comparisons Across Nations "Comparisons are odorous" (Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing, III, v, 18) Popular wisdom deems that one cannot compare apples with oranges. But what do we mean by 'compare'? Both the Oxford and Webster Dictionaries(1) give two meanings to the word: (1) liken, regard as similar; and (2) examine in order to observe similarities or differences. It is obvious that the general interpretation of the word refers to the first meaning, and that scientific inquiry involves the second. Scientifically speaking, apples and oranges come under the general category of 'fruits' and can be compared on many criteria such as availability, price, color, vitamin content or keeping quality. Comparing apples with oranges, cross-cultural psychologist Harry Triandis once said, is okay as long as we possess a fruitology, a theory of fruits. Any comparison of values and attitudes across nations is in some way a comparison of apples to oranges, and without its fruitology it risks being a fruitless effort. Three basic questions have to be resolved: (1) the nature of the criteria for comparison; (2) to what extent nations are a proper unit for such a comparison, and (3) the functional equivalence of the nations concerned with respect to the criteria considered. 1. The criteria for our comparison are values and attitudes, known as constructs. A construct is "not directly accessible to observation but inferable from verbal statements and other behaviors and useful in predicting still other observable and measurable verbal and nonverbal behavior" (Levitin, 1973: 492). Constructs do not 'exist' in an absolute sense: we define them into existence. Metaphorically I called them mental programs; like computer programs, we cannot observe them directly; we can only observe what they do. In the case of people we can observe their behavior, their words and deeds - including the way they respond to survey questions - from which we infer the presence of stable mental programs (Hofstede, 1980: 14). Inspired by Kluckhohn (1951: 395) and Rokeach (1972:159ff) I defined a value as "a broad tendency to prefer certain states of affairs over others." The term values is generally reserved for mental programs that are relatively unspecific; attitudes and beliefs refer to more specific mental programs (Hofstede, 1980: 15). I treated values as part of culture, the latter defined as "the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another." This is not a complete definition of culture, which as a construct has been notoriously difficult to define, but it covers what I was able to measure in my research (Op. cit.: 25). At the level of nations, values that distinguish between nations are a component of 'national cultures.' National culture is more or less synonymous to what a generation ago used to be called national character, a term that infers psychologizing. Culture allows more emphasis on the environment in which people function.(2) 2. The use of nations as units for comparing mental programs is debatable. Most anthropologists shy away from nations as units for studying culture. They are basically right, as nations can host many cultures in the anthropological sense, and cultures can bridge more than one nation. If data are collected by field observation as anthropologists tend to do, the student of culture can choose more relevant units. If data are partly collected from secondary sources, as in most comparative research, one can hardly escape from using the nation level. Many potentially culturally relevant data are only available at that level, so the nation becomes a surrogate for more suitable units. Fortunately, quite a few nations are culturally reasonably homogeneous. Older nations have in the 20th century been subject to a process of homogenization through national media (such as TV) and national institutions (e.g., the army and the soccer league). …

(De)commodification, Consumer Culture, and Moral Economy

Abstract: In this paper I attempt to develop understanding of commodification and consumption by relating ideas from the moral philosophy of Adam Smith and Alasdair MacIntyre to recent research on consumer culture by Pierre Bourdieu and Daniel Miller. I focus on how commodification affects how people value things, practices, themselves, and others. It is argued that, although traditional critiques of consumer culture have often been both elitist and weakly supported empirically, some of their normative distinctions can be used to illuminate more positive aspects of consumption. In particular, the distinction between internal and external goods enables us to appreciate that much consumption is not primarily a form of status seeking but a means to the development of skills, achievements, commitments, and relationships which have value regardless of whether they bring participants external rewards. Although Bourdieu's analysis of inequalities and the struggles of the social field misses this distinction, use of it helps to illuminate how the struggles are for internal goods as well as for status and power. Finally, by reference to recent work by Miller on altruistic shopping, I question the common related criticism of consumer culture as individualistic, and conclude.

Taking care of business: the impact of culture and gender on entrepreneurs’ blended value creation goals

Abstract: We examine entrepreneurs’ economic, social, and environmental goals for value creation for their new ventures. Drawing on ethics of care and theories of societal post-materialism, we develop a set of hypotheses predicting patterns of value creation across gender and countries. Using a sample of 15,141 entrepreneurs in 48 countries from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, we find that gender and cultural values of post-materialism significantly impact the kinds of value creation emphasized by entrepreneurs. Specifically, women entrepreneurs are more likely than men to emphasize social value goals over economic value creation goals. Individuals who start ventures in strong post-materialist societies are more likely to have social and environmental value creation goals and less likely to have economic value creation goals. Furthermore, as levels of post-materialism rise among societies, the relationship between value creation goals and gender changes, intensifying both the negative effect of being female on economic value goals and the positive effect on social value goals. In other words, post-materialism further widens the gender gap in value creation goals.

The Creation of the Future: The Role of the American University

Abstract: Is the university a dinosaur: huge, lumbering, endearing in its own way, yet unsuited to today's world? Is it a thing of the past, unnecessary in an age of the Internet and online learning? In a book likely to provoke people who are loyal to the ideal of the university as well as those who foresee its demise, Frank H. T. Rhodes acknowledges that the university is an imperfect institution, but argues that it plays an essential role in modern society. In the process, he articulates strong opinions on a range of difficult issues. The Creation of the Future is no defense or promotion of the status quo. Focusing on American research universities, Rhodes makes the case that they are an irreplaceable resource, quite literally a national and international treasure, whose value must be preserved through judicious renewal and reform, beginning with a rededication to teaching as a moral vocation. Rhodes discusses where the research university is today and how it got here, as well as where it must go in the future. In the process, he addresses a wide range of contemporary challenges facing the institution, including *why universities can no longer be "ivory towers" *why post-tenure review of professors is desirable *whether grading standards have become too lax *why unionization of graduate students is inappropriate *why affirmative action is necessary *how governance and leadership can be improved *how to maintain a sense of commitment to the university in the face of increasing disciplinary specialization *why faculty must affirm that university membership has not only its privileges, but also its price. *what should and should not be done to control the rapid rise in tuition. *whether curricula of professional schools should be more heavily weighted toward the liberal arts. *why service is a social obligation of all universities, not just land-grant institutions. *why research is vital to effective teaching. His eighteen-year tenure as president of Cornell University gives Rhodes a unique perspective on a system he finds both invaluable and in need of change. Although he is an enthusiastic advocate, he pulls no punches in recommending sweeping changes. The greatest catastrophe facing universities today, he writes, is loss of community: "Without community, knowledge becomes idiosyncratic. The lone learner, studying in isolation, is vulnerable to narrowness, dogmatism, and untested assumption; pursued in community, learning will be expansive and informed, contested by opposing interpretations, leavened by differing experience, and refined by alternative viewpoints." In championing a new relevance for the American research university, Rhodes argues for renewal through the application of old virtues to new realities. Campus culture, he says, must embrace the human experience in all its richness, breadth, and ambiguity if it is to survive and thrive.

Personal Autonomy: Beyond Negative and Positive Liberty

Abstract: The concept of personal autonomy is central to discussions about democratic rights, personal freedom and individualism in the marketplace. This book, first published in 1986, discusses the concept of personal autonomy in all its facets. It charts historically the discussion of the concept by political thinkers and relates the concept of the autonomy of the individual to the related discussion in political thought about the autonomy of states. It argues that defining personal autonomy as freedom to act without external constraints is too narrow and emphasises instead that personal autonomy implies individual self-determination in accordance with a chosen plan of life. It discusses the nature of personal autonomy and explores the circumstances in which it ought to be restricted. In particular, it argues the need to restrict the economic autonomy of the individual in order to promote the value of community.