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Contemplation course for Business Executives
¡§IN ACTIONE CONTEMPLATIVUS¡¨
- CONTEMPLATIVE IN ACTIONPlace:
Xavier House 27 Peak Road, Cheung Chau, Hong KongApplication & Enquiry:
CIBE, Center for International Business Ethics
Huixin Xijie 18, Beijing 100029 China
Ms. Liu Yan, e-mail address: liudrsk51244@gmail.com
Tel.: 86 1064915691 (office); 86 13811923200
Meeting point: Entrance of Central Pier No. 5 (Ferry towards Cheung Chau Island)
Hong Kong, Friday, June 11, 4.55 pm
Staff:
Director: Dr. Stephan Rothlin, Chairman, Association for International Business Ethics, Hong Kong
Liaison: Ms. Liu Yan, Center for International Business Ethics, Beijing, China
Costs:
HK$1000 including board & lodging. Ferry fare not included
Contemplation as a part of Daily Life
The Chairman of AIBE, Dr. Stephan Rothlin is an expert to conduct ¡§In Actione Contemplativus---Contemplation in Action¡¨. As a pilot, he organized a two-day Contemplation Course in Xavier House, Cheung Chau, Hong Kong on 27-28 August 2009. 13 participants took part and it was the first one ever conducted in Asia. Riches in Silence, Sounds and Body Sensations were introduced during the contemplation practices Serving others and rejoicing in others¡¦ happiness are regarded, among other values and virtues, as practical wisdom. ¡§I came with some minor injury on the back and the Tibetan Exercise taught and practiced during the Course has lessened the stiffness and pain¡¨, said one participant. The result of a simple evaluation made towards the end of the Course revealed that all participants found the Contemplation interesting and useful and that they would recommend it to their relatives, friends and colleagues. With the experience gained in Cheung Chau, AIBE may consider organizing similar contemplations for business executives as a programme to promote business ethics.
Business Ethics Conference in Shanghai, Beijing and Macau
- CIBE, a partner of AIBE, will co-organize with the Europe China Centre of Leadership and Responsibility (ECCLAR) a conference in Shanghai on 15-16 October 2008 for academics and practitioners to explore the relationship between spiritual sources ¡V in the East and in the West ¡V and the common good and how this translates into praxis for leadership in organization.
- From 18-20 October 2008, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) will jointly organize an international conference on Openness and Responsibility discussing topics on 30 years of Reform and Open Door Policy in China and Ethics in a Globalized World. It will be held in the Ningyuan Building of UIBE.
- MACASBE and the Macau Consumer Council will host a conference on 22 October 2008 focusing on Consumer Rights and Ethical Principles. Sponsors of the conference include the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, AIBE and CIBE.
Scandals Highlighted the Need for Ethical Principles
The remark was made by AIBE Chairman, Dr Rothlin at the AGM held on 25 June 2008 in Ricci Hall of the University of Hong Kong. He gave examples such as the slave workers from the mines in Shanxi Province and the various scandals around product safety. He said that a recent study among business schools in China, including Hong Kong, confirmed that the young students clearly would like to see business ethics as part of their core curriculum.
At the AGM, the following officers of the Management Committee were re-elected for another one year term:
Chairman : Dr Stephan Rothlin
Vice Chairman : Mr Christopher Drake
Treasurer : Mr Alexandre Ho
Secretary : Ms Alice Law
MACASBE Reactivated and Organized Talk on Fair Competition
Officers of the Macau Association of Business Ethics (MACASBE) took office on 31 May 2008 in The Inter-University Institute of Macau (IIUM). Dr Stephan Rothlin is its President. Mr Alexandre Ho is Vice President and Secretary is Mr Hanz Lutz. Together with the Macau SAR Government Consumer Council, MACASBE organized on the same day a public talk on ¡§Fair Competition¡¨. The key-note address was delivered by Mr Andrew So, Secretary General of AIBE. Professor Keith Morrison of the IIUM gave a talk on ¡§Business Ethics and Keeping Employees¡¨. The corporate ethical behaviour he suggested were, among others, to improve pay and benefits, conditions of work, organizational ethos and culture, and communication. The meetings were covered by the local media.
"Consumer Right and Corporate Responsibility" Conference
The Centre for International Business Ethics (CIBE), a partner of AIBE, will be organizing the ¡§Consumer Right and Corporate Responsibility¡¨ Conference on 26 & 26 October 2007 at the Sun City, Beijing, China. For details of the 2-day Conference, please visit the CIBE website at www.cibe.org.cn or its programme rundown.
2nd AGM
The 2007 AGM of AIBE was held on 18 July in Wah Yan College Kowloon.? In his report, the Chairman, Dr Stephan Rothlin, identified two major current issues, i.e. food safety and ethics in the workplace.? The audited report covering the period 4 February 2005 to 31 December 2006 was accepted by members present.?
Read more on this Chairman¡¦s full report
Competitiveness and Social Responsibility ¡V Theme of Beijing Business Ethics Conference
The Conference brought together 130 leading business people, government officials and scholars from China and around the world to explore the question how the Chinese economy could become more competitive and socially responsible. The two-day Conference organized by the Centre for International Business Ethics (CIBE) at the Beijing Dong Fang University on 20, 21 October 2006 was held at the Purpureus Villa, Changping, Beijing. The Association for International Business Ethics (AIBE) was one of the co-organizers. Other co-organizers included the Peking University Press; Institute for the Renewal of Chinese Traditional Culture, Beijing; the Centre for Excellence at LIBA Business School, Chennai, India.
In his speech on Working together : Insights from Chinese Philosophy, Mr Hua Xue quoted Lao Tzu and said,¡§the sage does not contend with people and therefore no one will be able to contend with him.¡¨
Professor Henri-Claude de Bettignies, Professor of Business Ethics at the China-European Business School, Shanghai, concluded in his key-note of Promoting Values among Leaders and said, ¡§ethics is care for others.¡¨
Professor Kirk Hanson, Director of the Markkula Centre for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University when talking about How to Implement Ethical Codes in the Asian context, cited the following typical issues addressed by codes:
- Treating employees fairly, equally
- Environmental sustainability
- Truthfulness in marketing
- Protecting privacy of employees and customers
- Protecting intellectual property of company
- Espionage toward competitors
- Resisting bribery and corruption
Other speakers included Mr Zheng Zhihai, Vice Chairman of China Society for WTO Studies; Mr Greg Sea, President of the United States Information Technology Office; Mr William Valentino, General Manager of Bayer¡¦s Corporate Communications for Greater China; Professor Gerhold Becker, Founding Director of the Institute of the Centre for Applied Ethics at Hong Kong Baptist Univeristy; Mr Joerg Wuttke of BASF; and Professor Anand Amaladass, University of Madras, India.
Among the representatives of the media present to report on the Conference was the China Central Television, English Service.
Workshop to Develop Business Ethics Code and Compliance System
Two years in succession, the Chairman of AIBE, Dr Stephan Rothlin, taught international business ethics in the Faculty of Business & Economics of the University of Hong Kong for part time and full time MBA students. In 2006, the course was held in the month of July for 60 full time and 50 part time students at the Cliftons Centre, Hong Kong. The mode of teaching included group analysis of major case study in business ethics; analysis of current events and court cases; and developing ethical code geared to the problems in the pharmaceutical industry under the guidance of a group facilitator, guest lecturer on consumer right. The Secretary General of AIBE, Mr Andrew So, served as the facilitator and AIBE Treasurer was the guest lecturer. Dr Stephan Rothlin¡¦s book "Becoming a Top-Notch Player" was, among others, recommended as text book.
When asked what insights had the students gained regarding ethics in business as a result of their participation in the workshop, the students responded positively. Some of the comments were : A very systematic process which helps us to walk-through the procedures of developing the code of ethics; Know how to write a viable and realistic code of ethics and set up a compliance system; and ethics is survival.
Similar mode of teaching was introduced by Dr Stephan Rothlin to the London University students attending the Business & Economics School of the University of Hong Kong in the week of 7 August 2006.
1st AGM
The Association held its first Annual General Meeting on 30 December 2005 in Hong Kong and ratified the Constitution (bylaws). The Chairman and Treasurer reports were unanimously accepted. In his Chairman¡¦s Report highlighting the plan for 2006, Dr Stephan Rothlin said that it was a coincidence for AIBE to have the first annual general meeting held in Hong Kong shortly after the 6-day meeting of the MC6 of WTO from which people have learned that steps must be taken to strengthen the positive effects and counteract the harmful impact of each aspect of globalization.
The next annual general meeting will be held within on 18 July 2007 at Wah Yan College Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Conference on International Business Ethics and Eastern Wisdom
The Conference organized by the Centre for International Business Ethics (CIBE) at the University of International Business and Economics, Beijing (UIBE) and Peking University Press concluded successfully on 21 October 2005 at the Great Wall / Sheraton Hotel in Beijing. There were over 100 participants coming from the business sector and tertiary educational institutions. Speakers included Mr Michel Camdessus, Former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Professor Kirk Hanson, Director of the Centre for business Ethics, Santa Clara-University, USA; Professor Daryl Koehn, Former President of the American Business Ethics Society; and Professor Liu Baocheng, Director of CIBE at UIBE.Mr Camdessus, with his 13 years as chief of the IMF, in providing an answer to the question of "What are the basic ethical values for a world of financial globalization?", summed up three values:
1. a sense of global responsibility for each country and for all including enterprises, citizens, to contribute to the human success of globalization;
2. solidarity to alleviate and ultimately eradicate poverty; and
3. a new sense of citizenship to back a new global governance.
Professor Kirk Hanson pointed out the following five reasons why it is in the interests of Chinese business to adhere to global codes and standards:
1. Can hasten the integration of Chinese companies into the global economy;
2. Can make China more attractive for foreign investments;
3. Most global standards do improve efficiency and effective operation of business;
4. Will reduce conflicts Chinese companies face operating in other countries; and
5. Can make Chinese executives and graduates more desirable in global business.
The Association of International Business (AIBE) was one of the sponsors of the Conference and its Secretary General was one of the four panelists at the panel discussion of "Can business ethics help to solve moral dilemmas?" Dr Stephan Rothlin, the Vice Director of the CIBE and Chairman of the AIBE, outlined to the Conference the way forward in developing international business ethics in the Chinese context.
Seminar in Macau
The Macau Consumer Council working in collaboration with the Association for International Business Ethics (AIBE) held on 2 April 2005 the Pharmaceutical Profession-based Ethics in Business Seminar in Macau. Mr Joerg Wuttke, CEO, BASF - Beijing was invited specially to Macau from Beijing to share with Seminar participants his experience on how international companies producing pharmaceuticals establish and observe corporate codes of conduct. Other experts include the Chairman of the AIBE, Dr Stephan Rothlin and Treasurer, Mr Chris. Drake; Council Chairman, Dr Deignan and Chairman of the Academic Board, Dr K C Pang, of the HKIIEL.
In addition to the nearly 30 Participants engaging in the pharmaceutical trade, Chinese and Western medicine, in Macau, more than 20 participants engaging in the promotion of ethics in business came from Beijing, Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India and France.
Most part of the Seminar was conducted under group discussions reviewing the latest development in ethics in business, the culture of the pharmaceutical trade and the document on good pharmacy practices by the World Health Organization.
The Seminar mandated the Macau Consumer Council to work out, in consultation with the related associations and government department a code of ethic and its compliance system for adoption.
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