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The challenge of business ethics in the West & in China Robert Shaw Graduate School of Business Guangdong University of Foreign Studies 2nd International Symposium on Corporate Responsibility & Sustainable Development

Agenda 1.The challenge 2.The development of business ethics in the West 3.The development of business ethics in China 4

1 The challenge 5

The challenge –public expectations 6 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

The challenge –illegality 7

The challenge – new responsibilities 8 Their first democratic labour union elections 2012 All-China Federation of Trade Unions

The challenge for legislators & educators 9 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?

The purpose of Business Schools 10 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

The challenge – misunderstandings about business ethics 11 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

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

Topics in business ethics 13 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 Taking and giving bribes Child labour in foreign countries Whistle blowing Workplace rights - drug testing, surveillance The joys of corporate social responsibility

Topics in business ethics 14 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

The aims of business ethics 15 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

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

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

The aims of business ethics courses 19 Moral autonomy The moral person / leader / manager is EITHER Heteronomous – 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

The aims of business ethics 20 The Scholar-Practitioner concept

The aims of business ethics 21 The Scholar-Practitioner concept

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

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What I see in China 25 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

The example of corporate social responsibility 26

27 Profit Law Other Western concerns in business decision-making

28 Values Relationships Law 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

The way ahead 30 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

The way ahead 31

The way ahead 32

Thank you 2nd International Symposium on Corporate Responsibility & Sustainable Development