Welcome to China: Business Ethics in China

Abstract

My Senior Individualized Project (SIP) is founded in Business Ethics, specifically in relation to China. As an intern for Dr. Ian Faimie, Dean of Community Life at Curtin University in Perth Australia, I was part of an evaluation team for the Asia Study Tour in December. This annual program, founded by Dr. Fairnie, exposes students to business in Asia over the course of a month-long tour. Having participated in the previous Study Tour, I found a new perspective of China as a result of my experience; one which emphasized corruption. As a result, this motivated my SIP as an analysis of business ethics in China. My topic can be traced directly to the International Business course at Kalamazoo. It served as the root source of understanding and a basis to begin my research. As an academic area of study, business ethics is a rather broad topic. I narrowed my research to the basics: general factors affecting ethical behavior as well as a couple founding theories for this area of study. I relate each factor as well as each theory of business ethics to corruption in China. From this, I conclude that there are many forms of corruption in China while providing a basis to understand the cause such immoral behavior. In brief this is the focus of my SIP; an understanding of the causes of corruption illustrated by examples in China, outlined by two founding theories of business ethics which contradict the current mentality in Chinese business.