Honor Code
Is the honor code an American phenomenon? I had assumed it was the commonly understood standard by which all people expect themselves and others to live up to; however, a friend from France/Belgium/Angola told me the idea of an honor code is an American concept. She tells me for the rest of the world if you can get away with it while advancing yourself, the ends justify the means. A crude definition of the honor code: honestly taking credit for your own work (giving credit where credit's due). Friends from India corroborate the lack of this "American" code by pointing out the rampant cheating that occurs in schools, particularly note passing during exams. My Indian friends somewhat rationalized it by saying how difficult tests are in India; everyone there is doing it and you are at a disadvantage if you don't do it yourself. Another way to look at this is the opposite of honor: what is shameful? According to the honor code, dishonest gain is intrinsically shameful. In a society where such a code is not commonplace, the only shame is getting caught in the dishonest act. So my Indian friends tell me if you choose to not advance yourself for the sake of honesty, you are considered a fool.
Why is this is so important? Society cannot be sustained by perceptions. We need concrete, usable production and real results. Without the honor code people will try to and have cut corners. An example of this is the melanin-milk scandal in China: Use watered-down milk mixed with melanin to give the impression of "normal" protein content. Sell this pseudo-milk to families which feed it to their babies, whom then suffer permanent kidney injury and death. Whatever happened to taking pride in the quality of the work you do? Is this how things devolve when there is no one to answer to?
Perhaps it is not American per se as reflected by past European discourse on virtue. Instead it looks "American" because the erosion of the West's Judeo-Christian ethic ("Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor") has not penetrated the U.S. as deeply. A universal outcry still arises when we catch someone taking credit for another's work. So in may places there remains an expectation of honor in others but not of yourself because you want to keep your vices. This is also is hypocrisy. "Hypocrisy is the compliment vice pays to virtue." (Francois de la Rochefoucauld)
Win-Win
Is the concept of win-win also an American phenomenon? At least in the West, it is an understood bargaining position. A manager in manufacturing went to Korea to help set up a plant. In his efforts to bargain he found they never heard of win-win. He tried to provide a "win-win" compromise however the Korean negotiators said they didn't understand win-win. So he explained it meant both his company and their company benefited from this setup. Their response was, "We don't care whether your company wins. I want to win. I want to win." I want to think this is an issue of something loss in translation; otherwise, how could negotiations proceed?
These two ideas of honor code and win-win make me think there is a sort of naivety that American's have of the world around them. People do not play by the same rules. This isn't a call for cynicism but a look at our assumptions. The U.S. is not above greed nor selfishness but our cross-cultural discourse need such awareness.
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