Beyond religiosity and nationality: Islamic work ethics and individualism at MNCs

What is it about?

Globalization is resulting in an interdependent world. The economic, political and social relationships are beyond territorial boundaries, and it has much to do with its influence on cultures. MNCs have to deal with culturally diverse, but increasingly well-informed and demanding employees. Shared moral principles at the workplace are needed in order to take full advantage of the enormous opportunities offered by globalization. This study underlined the ethical dimension of work at globalized workplace, and linked IWE and IND at globalized workplace in four countries. Particularly, it probed two inquiries into this relationship: whether (a) employee religious orientation of being Christian, Hindu, or Muslim, and (b) employee nationality of being an American, Englishman, Arab, or Pakistani matters if Islamic work ethics (IWE) and individualism (IND) are employed at globalized workplace in MNCs operating in United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan? The study found IWE positively related to IND at the globalized workplace and empirically established that gender, nationality, and religiosity of employee do not matter.

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Why is it important?

Formulating a cohesive ethical response to the challenges raised by globalization is particularly difficult for MNCs because, although their workplace is increasingly global, yet it is not much uniform. It generates cultural biases and individual differences, which is exacerbated by the economic crisis and moral deficiencies in the policies of institutions. This places ‘ethics’ at the forefront of 21st century’s business demands, and it must constitute the core of corporate culture.

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