Cross-Country Ethical Dilemmas in Business: A Descriptive Framework

As businesses span the globe, multinational and translational companies conduct their business operations in foreign settings, especially in developing countries and in countries in transition from Communist regimes. This poses new challenges to expatriate managers and to home-based staff in charge of foreign affiliates. They are called on to determine the right versus the wrong, the good versus the bad over international business transactions, negotiations, advertisement and supply chain management taking place in foreign settings. As most of the time, businessmen lack a certain degree of cultural awareness and knowledge, managing ethical diversity over cross-country business transactions ends up to be a major challenge for business people. This paper’s aim is to provide an introductory sketch on the cross-country issues facing international business, through detailed description of their level of disclosure (Political, Corporate, Internal) diverse areas and connected situations. The pros and cons of the traditional paradigms used by business people in dealing with such circumstances (Universalism and Relativism) will be weighed. In addition examples of “irresponsible business practices” resulting from cultural misunderstandings, ignorance and lack of contextualization on the behalf of business people will be provided.Business ethics, Cross-country ethical dilemmas, Corporate Social responsibility, Diversity

Value Through Diversity: Microfinance and Islamic Finance and Global Banking

Internet resources, extended media coverage and international organizations’ reports recently witness the increasing interest of western banks in new models of finance, particularly Islamic finance and microfinance. This new trend is not only channeled through the frame of corporate social responsibilities programs and policies or limited to ad hoc financial institutions (like microcredit banks or Islamic banks) as it is entering the financial offer of mainstream banks. The paper primarily outlines that many elements of microfinance could be considered consistent with the broader goals of Islamic banking. Apart from pure economic considerations which are not the aim of this analysis, the paper supports the thesis that by addressing new markets and embracing unconventional financial proposals, the global banking sector can contribute to the quest for diversity-oriented policies posed by an increasingly globalised scenario. The consequences this new trend is likely to have on inner banking structures are still unknown and are likely to interest the issue of wealth distribution. Moreover, from a more general point of view, by showing that even different moral ethos deep rooted in different cultural paradigms can be as profitable and available as western capitalistic ones, the banking sector can play a potential role in disseminating awareness on specific cultural and religious issues, resulting in increased integration of Muslim communities and low income investors in the long run and supporting commercial banks the close relation between economy and culture.Microfinance, Islamic finance, Diversity, Multiculturalism, Global banking

Salivary Proteomics Markers for Preclinical Sjögren’s Syndrome: A Pilot Study

Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is a complex autoimmune disorder that particularly affects the salivary and lachrymal glands, generally causing a typical dryness of the eyes and of the mouth. The disease encompasses diverse clinical representations and is characterized by B-cell polyclonal activation and autoantibodies production, including anti-Ro/SSA. Recently, it has been suggested that autoantibody profiling may enable researchers to identify susceptible asymptomatic individuals in a pre-disease state. In this pilot study, we used mass spectrometry to analyze and compare the salivary proteomics of patients with established pSS and patients with pre-clinical SS, identifying a common protein signature in their salivary fluid. We found that several inflammatory, immunity-related, and typical acinar proteins (such as MUC5B, PIP, CST4, and lipocalin 1) were differently expressed in pSS and in pre-clinical SSA+ carriers, compared to healthy controls. This suggests that saliva may closely reflect exocrine gland inflammation from the early phases of the disease. This study confirms the value of salivary proteomics for the identification of reliable biomarkers for SS that could be identified, even in a preclinical phase of the disease