Profit and Principles: Business Ethics in Hotel Management Companies in Asia

Abstract

When conducting business in Asia, many hotel managers employed by companies based in the West find that some of their codes of ethical conduct inhibit fluid business dealings. Evidence from the recent collapses of business in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia shows that corruption, nepotism and bribery are common occurrences and are accepted as part of general business life. It is also clear that these are not the only countries where such practices are common. There is much anecdotal and published evidence of projects (including hotel projects), which have foundered or have been rendered unprofitable or unmanageable by illicit and unlawful practices in China, Vietnam and Thailand. This paper reviews how the dealings of hotel companies are influenced by different ethical standards in the country of operation. Also examined are the tensions created by conflicting codes of ethical conduct when operating in a different cultural environment and the implications for management practices and training. A report is made on an empirical study of a group of fourteen managers who work in eight international multinational hotel companies (MHCs) in South-East Asia. The results endorse some of the anecdotal material, which suggest that practices considered corrupt by Western ethical standards are routinely practised by MHCs operating in SouthEast Asia.

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