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ABSTRACT. This paper examines what, if anything, "Eastern philosophy" can teach us about business ethics. The whole idea of "Eastern ethics" or socalled "Asian values" is suspect on a number of scores. The paper argues that It is better to refer to specific ideas of particular thinkers influential within one country or tradition. The paper concentrates on the philosophy of two such thinkers - Watsuji Tetsuro of Japan and Confucius. When this more "micro" approach is adopted, we can learn some important lessons with respect to the meaning of trust, the longterm nature of relations, and ethics that extend far beyond the limited idea of rights. The paper considers these lessons in the business context.
As Asian markets have grown, there has been a corresponding increase in interest among businesspeople and philosophers in so-called "Asian Values." Knowledge of the values and ethical systems of Asians is touted as necessary if Western businesses are to successfully negotiate the opening of markets in Japan, South Korea and China and to sell their products to the citizens of these countries. Real politik has played an important role as well in generating interest in Asian Values. With the increased wealth of these developing countries has come a greater say in international affairs.1 Westerners now feel compelled to take note of Asians and to understand them as well as possible. Moreover, as Asian markets have become more lucrative, the power of Southeast Asian governments has increased simply by virtue of the fact that they control which businesses get access to their people and on what terms. The power of voice, coupled with this power to regulate access, has gotten the West's attention.
However, although it is now fashionable to allude to Asian Values,2 it is far from clear what this term means. In the first part of this paper, I argue: 1) that it is dubious whether such values exist other than as a rhetorical category; 2) that we need to consider the ethics of using such a term; and 3) that we are better advised to speak of certain strands of ethical thinking articulated by particular thinkers within specific countries (e.g., Japan, South Korea, China, etc.). In the second part, I take up two such strands - the...