Conference - March 8-10, 2007

Santa Clara University Campus

Background

Two of the world's fastest growing economies--China and India--will be the focus of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics fourth biennial business ethics conference. The conference will explore the cultural, economic, and social factors that form the ethical business practices in these countries and the challenges facing global business organizations in creating a consistent and effective ethical culture capable of crossing national boundaries.

More than 215 university faculty members and business executives have already registered for the conference. Among the participants will be Dennis Moberg, Wilkinson Professor of Management and Ethics, SCU; P.Christie, S.J., Director, Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai, India; John Hulpke, Visiting Scholar, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Jim Weber, Director of the Beard Center, Duquesne University; Jagdish Sheth, Executive Director, India, China, and America Institute, Emory University; Arvind Bhambri, Associate Professor of Management and Organization, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California; Kirk O. Hanson, Executive Director, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and University Professor of Organizations and Society, SCU; Aron Cramer, President and CEO, Business for Social Responsibility; and James O'Toole, Research Professor, Center for Effective Organizations, University of Southern California.

The Conference is divided into three segments:

Day One (3/8-p.m.) Corporate Visits will feature an on-site presentation for scholars at the corporate headquarters of Cisco, a leading Silicon Valley firm with significant business presence around the world. The day will conclude with a dinner at which A.C. "Mike" Markkula, co-founder of Apple Computer, will offer remarks.

Day Two (3/9-a.m. and p.m.) Executive Forum will offer business executives and scholars the opportunity to hear from several business leaders with extensive experience in India and China. These presentations will be followed by panels and interactive discussion between academic participants and businesspeople to further explore the conference themes. The panels will include subject matter experts, experienced business personnel, and Indian and Chinese business professionals and academics. The day will conclude with a session identifying five questions posed by the executive attendees that might be the focus of future research.

Day Three (3/10-a.m. and p.m.) Academic Forum will provide a platform for scholars to discuss contemporary topics in business ethics and a forum for the presentation of selected research. In the morning, established scholars will be conduct sessions on topics of their choosing. In the afternoon, papers by emerging (non-tenured) scholars will be featured. The Markkula Center is proud to have supported such scholars as Joshua Margolis (Harvard Business School), Rob Philips (Richmond), Lori Ryan (San Diego State), Alexei Marcoux (Loyola Chicago), and Scott Reynolds (Washington) at previous conferences early in their careers.

In summary, we hope to be able to address the following questions:

1. What are the challenges of creating an ethical culture across national, cultural, social, and economic boundaries?


2. What has proven successful in creating these international ethical cultures? What measures of success are appropriate?


3. What we can learn from those who have made mistakes in this effort?


4. What can Western organizations learn from the business practices and values of China, India, and "beyond"? How does the organization foster the ability to hear and learn these lessons?