On May 22, 2011, the opening ceremony and forum for China MBA Debate Competition on Business Ethics 2011 was launched at Tsinghua SEM auditorium. This event, hosted by SEM MBA Programs and Center for Leadership Development and Research, was joined by eight debate teams from several renowned universities, namely, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Renmin University of China and etc.

Prof. GAO Jian, Assistant Dean of Tsinghua SEM delivered the opening remarks. He pointed out that critical thinking was one of the key abilities and skills that MBA students should cultivate and master in their study and business practices. Seeing debating as a crucial training method for critical thinking, he expected this competition could not only foster participants’ ability in critical thinking, but also in general strengthen the understanding and awareness of business ethics and corporate social responsibility among MBA students.

Prof. GAO Jian, Assistant Dean of Tsinghua SEM delivers the opening remarks

Subsequently, contestants from Peking University, University of Science & Technology Beijing, Beijing Normal University, Capital University of Economics and Business, Communication University of China and Tsinghua University all expressed their team slogans which showed their own understanding in business ethics.

Tsinghua MBA Debate Team

Prof. YANG Bin, Tsinghua SEM Senior Associate Dean and Director of Center for Leadership Development and Research, delivered a keynote speech themed “Holding the ethical bottom line to ensure the future of business” to launch the forum. Prof. YANG, who had previously initiated the MBA course “Ethics and Social Responsibility” at SEM, emphasized that "overemphasis on doctrines and lack of awareness on specific problems" was currently a common phenomenon among students. He expected the students to approach specific problems with critical minds to feel the nuance and complexity rather than to think in simple ideological doctrines.

Prof. YANG Bin, Tsinghua SEM Senior Associate Dean delivers keynote speech

Following Prof. YANG’s speech, the first sub-forum “The Status Quo and the Future of Chinese Business Ethics Environment” took place. The attendants, including YU Jun, Deputy Director of State Council’s Food Safety Committee and WANG Hang, Vice President of New Hope Group, developed a heated discussion on China’s current business ethics by analyzing the problem from various angles: social environment, media force, industrial structure and governmental regulation. They concluded key actors as government, media and enterprise should strengthen their ties and deepen their interactions in the future to improve the general Chinese business environment.

The theme of the second sub-forum was “Business Schools and Business Ethics Building”, in which Prof. GAO Xudong, Director of MBA Programs, Prof. QIAN Xiaojun from Tsinghua SEM and Prof. LI Yuxiao from Beijing Normal University focused their discourse and interacted with the audience on the topic “Can business ethics be taught in school?”