Jeanne H. Yamamura

Measuring national culture: does gender matter?

Understanding cultural differences is critical to international business success. Hofstedes (1980) model of national culture is widely used to identify such differences. The cultural dimensions identified in Hofstedes model, however, are not gender‐specific, with one exception, masculinity/femininity. Hofstedes data were gathered in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Considerable change has taken place since that time, particularly in the areas of education, legislation, and workforce composition. It is proposed that these changes, among others, may have resulted in gender differences in dimensions of national culture. This study provides an exploratory examination of gender differences in cultural characteristics in two industrialised countries with distinctly different cultures, Japan and the USA. Results indicate that gender differences exist in the power distance dimension for Japan and in the individualism/collectivism dimension for Japan and the USA. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Comparing business ethics in Russia and the US

In this comparative survey of seventy-three Russians and ninety-two US managers, we explore differences and similarities in ethical decision-making among respondents from these two countries within a business context. Using Reidenbach and Robins (1988) multi-criteria ethics instrument, we examined whether business people in Russia and the US differed in their judgement of the ethical content of business decisions. Russia and the US provide an interesting comparison because of the extreme differences in their cultural characteristics as well as in their economies and related business development. Our results indicate that, while Americans, in general, tended to assess certain actions as less ethical when applying utilitarian or justice criteria, the ethical judgements of the two groups differed by situation and by criteria employed.

Research Note: Gender and Salary: A Comparative Study of Accountants in the US and Australia

The existence of a salary differential between men and women who are accountants has been noted in many countries. This study focused on the salary of accountants in the US and Australia. For both countries, the results support the existence of a gap in salary between male and female accountants. Job responsibility was significantly related to salary whereas gender was not. Men who were accountants in Australia were likely to have a higher level of education and more experience than women. In the US, female accountants were marginally less satisfied with their salary than male accountants. This was not true for Australia. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Accountants in Japan: culture, organisational factors and job satisfaction

This paper examines the relationship between organisational factors and the job satisfaction of accountants in Japan. Data were collected on perceptions of career-related factors and factors related to the provision of technical information from 235 accountants working in accounting firms in Japan. Prior research in the USA and Australia has shown that career development and performance evaluation are factors considered highly important to the job satisfaction of accountants. Cultural characteristics are reflected in the values held by a society. Hence, it is to be expected that job satisfaction and its determinants are culture specific. In this study, we utilise Hofstedes cultural framework to identify factors that may be related to the job satisfaction of Japanese accountants. The results of this study indicate that, although career development is also important to the job satisfaction of Japanese accountants, performance evaluation is not valued. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Business Ethics in Japan and Taiwan: Relativist and Utilitarian Perspectives

Perceptions of risk associated with an international investment decision are affected by the decision makers understanding of ethical issues within a country. This study provides insights into the foundation for ethical judgments by investigating whether and how Japanese and Taiwanese graduate business students differ in assessing the ethical content of business scenarios. Considering cultural characteristics of the two countries, differences in ethical judgments were expected. The results show that when basing ethical judgments on relativistic and utilitarian criteria, the Japanese tend to judge the scenarios as significantly more unethical than the Taiwanese. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are presented.

Ethical standards for online advice giving: an overview of the issues for business and financial advisers

For the business community, the Internet is a new frontier, offering unparalleled opportunities for expansion and growth. Businesses can and do offer their services throughout the world, with the range of services multiplying daily. This paper discusses ethical issues related to the online provision of business and financial information and advice, reviews problems encountered and ethical issues raised, and proposes an ethical code to help address such problems. It begins by identifying differences occurring in an online advice‐giving environment and extending them to identify ethical issues. Specific problems that have occurred are reviewed and ethical issues are discussed. Finally, existing ethical codes addressing Internet practice are then utilized to identify elements in a proposed set of ethical standards for online business advisors and their professional organizations.

Watching systems in action: security at the periphery

Computer security is maintained in many ways. New systems are developed with an eye towards protecting against known techniques for bypassing system controls. New methods of fraud, especially in point of sale systems, appear in spite of these protections. Consequently, there is a continuing need to examine how systems are used in practice and to implement new controls to prevent the incidence and recurrence of fraud. This paper cites examples of new frauds, suggests general techniques for protecting against the original appearance and recurrence of such frauds, and proposes that the maintenance of computer systems include continuing attention to these controls.