On the afternoon of October 12th, the second guest speaker - Professor Liu Baocheng, Director of Center for International Business Ethics of University of International Business and Economics, showed on the stage of the 8th session of “Sharing the Responsibility - Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility Forum”.
According to Professor Liu’s view on moral leadership, moral economy is a higher form in the development of economic paradigm. And the pillar of moral economy is a service-oriented government and common citizen values. The development of competition paradigm, the popularization of sustainable development, and the shift in focus of politics and business operations all require companies to add moral elements to their development. In addition, although the Western ethics emphasizes rationality and science while the Eastern ethics emphasizes the nature of mind and Neo-Confucianism, the common values shared by the East and the West cannot be negated.
Professor Liu summed up the key elements of business decision-making: entering a market, growing in a market, following trend, and creating trend. He then analyzed how companies could practice moral values when they enter a market, how they could provide more responsible products and services when they grow in a market, how they could make internal and external trends, and so on. Professor Liu believed that four criteria could be used to examine leadership (see chart below). The optimal outcome would be achieving goals as well as saving resources.
From the perspective of values, the moral leadership of enterprises is represented by meeting the demand and reducing the cost. Specifically, companies are supposed to meet people's functional, emotional and moral needs, and reduce customers’ information, emotional, economic and behavioral costs.
Today, the development of the market is characterized by the globalization of business, the transparency of information, the simplicity of decision-making, the democratization of the market, the capitalization of goodwill, and the integration of value. These trends of development extend an important impact on business decision-making, driving companies to operate in a more ethical manner.
The impact of social responsibility on trade manifests as the transition from free trade to fair trade. The requirements on social responsibility proposed by international communities cannot be simply regarded as a new type of trade barrier. In fact, these requirements are closely related to protecting the interests of stakeholders. And we need to keep a positive attitude to deal with them.
Professor Liu also shared his understanding on the boundaries of corporate social responsibilities. He pointed out that gaining profits was companies’ nature. Therefore, economic responsibility should not be included in social responsibility to be encouraged, and the law, as a bottom line, should not be included in social responsibility, too. Corporate social responsibility consists of two aspects: meet the social expectations of ethical responsibilities and charitable responsibilities.
Professor Liu gave the students a new understanding of social responsibility regarding to leadership. Some of his views also encouraged the students to think more deeply.
Project Introduction
“Sharing the Responsibility—Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Forum” has been devoted to spreading social responsibility knowledge, popularizing social responsibility concepts and enhancing social responsibility awareness since it was established in 2013. Under enterprises’ strong sponsorship and support, it is held for 1-2 cohorts every year, and in each cohort around 150 Chinese and foreign enterprise managers and CSR personnel offer 3-day social responsibility special training for free.
By giving instruction, visiting well-known Chinese and foreign enterprises, holding responsibility sketch competitions and other methods, they deliver relevant theories, standards, management, communication and excellent practices of corporate social responsibility. The Eighth session was co-organized by CSR Research Center at the China Academy of Social Science and Center for International Business Ethics at the University of International Business and Economics. More than 100 students from enterprises, research institutions, NGOs and media attended, and achieved highly appraised by the public.
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