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A Chinese Perspective: Business Ethics in China Now and in the Future

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Abstract

China now manufactures or assembles over 50% of the world’s products. However, the world has been reeling from daily accounts of defective “Made in China” products. China has been at the forefront of growing concern, not only about its products and enterprises, but also about its business ethics. This article analyzes recent events connected with the Made in China label from the perspective of evolving Chinese business ethics. Part 1 analyzes three of these events. Part 2 details and analyzes the state of business ethics in China today. Part 3 concludes by exploring the future of business ethics in China. The main conclusion is that business ethics in China faces two kinds of ethical challenges: how to restrict the lawless in as short a period of time as possible and how to protect and advance the interests of employees, investors, and the public through corporate management and public administration.

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Acknowledgment

The author would like to thank Professor Daryl Koehn for her kind assistance in editing this article in English.

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Correspondence to Xiaohe Lu.

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Lu, X. A Chinese Perspective: Business Ethics in China Now and in the Future. J Bus Ethics 86, 451–461 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9857-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9857-2

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