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Business schools aim to cut corruption in Asia
The Anti-Corruption Asia Summit set to commence in Hong Kong on 22 January 2008 is publicized as the ‘first and only Anti-Corruption conference in Asia aimed at corporate in-house counsels and ethics professionals.’
While this is an excellent step forward in combating corrupt business practices in Asia, it is seen by many as well overdue. China, alone, has notably been rife with corruption; in fact, some estimate that between three and five per cent of the country’s GDP in recent times has been produced through corrupt practices - the most recent exposure being Zheng Xiaoyu. The former Chief of China’s Food and Drug Administration was executed in July this year after accepting bribery, which resulted in multiple deaths from tainted food and pharmaceutical products including cough syrup, toothpaste, and pet food sold in America.
The good news is that many business schools in Asia and around the world are now tackling this issue from the ground up. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ethics in general are now fundamental to many curricula in the world of MBA education
The International MBA program at National Chengchi University (NCCU) in Taiwan is one university addressing the issue. In addition to the Asian Ethics course offered as part of the MBA program, the university is soon to introduce Confucianism & Leadership, which accordingly will apply the moral, philosophical, political, and social principles of confucianism to contemporary business.
Those who choose to do their MBAs in countries located in Europe or North America, but want to take up work in Asia after graduation, have a multitude of choices that undoubtedly address CSR. New programs have recently been launched at Nottingham University Business School and the University of Geneva. However, it is the top tier schools that are achieving greatest recognition in the field of CSR.
Tuck School of Business, in the US, has launched several conferences on the topic and corporate governance is a mandatory core course as well as being integrated within many other subject areas at the school. Dean Paul Danos says, “We take corporate governance very seriously at Tuck. We aim to instil good practices with our students, which will stand them in good stead throughout their careers.” Tuck also offers the course ‘Doing Business in Southeast and Central Asia’, which teaches MBA students ‘how to deal with the many facets of pressure, corruption, and influence in a foreign environment; how to deal with the problems of having one central headquarters and yet operations around the region; and issues of dealing with and understanding a myriad of different ways that business is both organized and exercised.’
As the Asian economic boom hits the world market harder and harder each year, foreign investors who have assessed the business case for corporate governance will demand honest practices. Business schools have taken a big step towards encouraging tomorrow’s investors to reject dishonest business, and we can only hope for positive results.
