The challenge of business ethics in the West & in China

3. The challenge of business ethicsin the West & in China Robert ShawGraduate School of Business Guangdong University of Foreign Studies 2nd International Symposium on Corporate Responsibility & Sustainable Development 第二届国际企业责任和可持续发展研讨会

4. Agenda • The challenge • The development of business ethics in the West • The development of business ethics in China

5. 1 The challenge

6. The challenge –public expectations Politicians and the public expect business practitioners to be honest, to obey the law, to be concerned about the environment and the national interest There are spectacular examples of failure in the West and in China

7. The challenge –illegality

8. The challenge –new responsibilities Their first democratic labour union elections 2012 All-China Federation of Trade Unions 中華全國總工會

9. The challenge for legislators & educators Some people blame the Business Schools for commercial dishonesty, the harsh effects of capitalism and inequality within society How should nations respond to the global economic strife? How should businesses respond? What is it realistic to expect from business ethics courses?

10. The purpose of Business Schools About half the Business Schools in the West emphasise ethics Who decides the curriculum? Produce employable graduates,honest workers Business ethics is the battle ground Example: Entrepreneurship

11. The challenge – misunderstandings about business ethics Ethics is about what people ought to do Contrast with science Contrast with the law If you want to know how to get people to obey the law, ask the police, criminologists, psychologists, sociologists Business ethics courses will not make people more honest, nor should they try to do this

12. 2 Business ethics in the West We confront new topics We are becoming clearer on our aims in courses Research is becoming more profound

13. Topics in business ethics The subject business ethics appeared in the 1960s Topics: Employee dishonesty Codes of conduct Fair working conditions - health and safety Respect for other cultures The horrors when corporations are caught lying Monitoring email Taking and giving bribes Child labour in foreign countries Whistle blowing Workplace rights - drug testing, surveillance The joys of corporate social responsibility

14. Topics in business ethics New problematics: Social justice –distribution of wealth Economic theory – neoliberalism Capitalism & socialism Democracy & other systems Corporations & morality The effect of technology on society Ethics of cyberspace Eco-phenomenology Human rights Indigenous rights – land rights, cultural harvest Animal rights Open access to data/science/government information

15. The aims of business ethics • The goal – courses • To discuss what people ought to do • Moral dilemmas • Scholarship • The goal – students • Develop decision-making skills • To make better decisions • [& act differently] • Scholarship

17. The aims of business ethics The goal – intellectual discipline The intellectual aspects of leadership (Scholar-Practitioner) Thought in the philosophy of management, ethics, political philosophy, jurisprudence

18. The aims of business ethics Courses and research draw upon the Western tradition Parmenides & Kant – rationality Aristotle – flourishing & codes of ethics Kant –moral autonomy & deontology Bentham & Mill –utilitarianism

19. The aims of business ethics courses • Moral autonomy • The moral person / leader / manager is • EITHERHeteronomous– follows rules • ORAutonomous– independent in • thought and action • Kant: If you are morally autonomous, you • Make your own decisions • Do so rationally • Have strength-of-will sufficient to act as you decide

20. The aims of business ethics The Scholar-Practitioner concept

21. The aims of business ethics The Scholar-Practitioner concept

22. 3 Business ethics in China Theorists contrasts with the West What I see in China The example of corporate social responsibility The way ahead

25. What I see in China • 80% of businesses small or medium • Nationalism • Values • Pride • Confidence • Unity • Localisation = National self-determination • Identity • Openness to ideas • The Chinese way • Role of leadership

26. The example of corporate social responsibility

27. Western concerns in business decision-making

28. Chinese concerns in business decision-making

29. Overall, CSR in China research closely mirrors, albeit in a lagging fashion, the findings of wider CSR in management research. These findings are notwithstanding the very distinctive context of CSR in China. After all in this country there are strong legacies of Marxism–Leninism, a dominant state and the role of the Communist Party, whose traces abide in the continuing prominence of regulation for CSR. Although CSR, as a subject for academic analysis, is regarded as originally an American phenomenon with more recent European and global ‘translations’, we have seen how CSR in China research represents a further facet of this translation. Jeremy Moon & Xi Shen (2010) CSR in China Research, Salience, Focus and Nature, JBE

30. The way ahead Distinctive topics Access to information Indigenous peoples –Tibet Rights in the international arena & at home Socialism with Chinese characteristics Democracy Chinese business practices The foundational values of China (the example of Chinese medicine) Chinese scholarship New pedagogy

31. The way ahead

32. The way ahead

33. Thank you 2nd International Symposium on Corporate Responsibility & Sustainable Development 第二届国际企业责任和可持续发展研讨会