Universalism vs Particularism - Sweden vs Lebanon

One of the key culture factors influencing the deployment of corporate responsibility programs is Universalism versus Particularism as defined by Fons Trompenaars in his book ”Riding the Waves of Culture”.  To a Universalist the rule is the rule and there are no exceptions.  In these cultures – Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and the USA are typical examples – people follow strictly all of the rules and anyone who breaks a rule is generally considered bad.  On the other hand, in particularist societies people are not so strict about rules -- they consider also the circumstances.  In this case bending the rules is a way of life and you are not considered a good person if you are not able to twist the rules according to the situation.  In these places -- Italy, South America, Middle East and so on -- there is no stigma attached to some business practices that might be considered unethical by western standards.  To give one example, a US manager who hired family members would be accused of nepotism, but in Rwanda anyone who is appointed to an important job has a moral duty to hire all his friends and relatives.  If he or she did not they would be considered a bad person.