Values and Management Education in China

Abstract

China, in its very effective race toward growth and development, experiences a number of difficult issues, challenges and dilemmas in sensitive areas such as the environment, intellectual property, safety and labor treatment, corruption and human rights, as discussed in a previous paper (de Bettignies and Tan, 2006). We explore here how the teaching of “ethics” – particularly in business schools – can contribute (over time) to alleviate some of those important problems faced, today, by China. This invites a discussion of the relevance of traditional Chinese philosophy to facilitate a reflection on alternative ways to handle dilemmas, and it also raises the question beyond the “what” to teach and the “how” to do so. Our paper is a first step toward the development of an education process to nurture “responsible leaders” who will have the moral fiber to operate effectively on a global basis as their operations are increasingly embedded in the globalization process. [Keywords] Management education; ethics; responsible leader; China; Sunzi; Confucius Kongzi; Confucianism; Guanxi; Mencius