(School of Business Administration, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China)
Translated from Chinese by ZHANG Wen-zhi
(Center for Zhouyi & Ancient Chinese Philosophy, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China)
Abstract: Since 1950s, there had appeared ethical problems in management, such as bribery, fraud, monopoly of price, environmental pollution, etc. in the circle of western enterprise. Western scientific management exhibits its disability to solve these problems, while the idea of humanity manifested in Zhouyi offers sources to the resolution of them. Utility value in Zhouyi conceives rational choice in management; Enriching virtues to enlarge businesses shows clearly the way to solve the ethical problems; Concepts of changing in Zhouyi offers basis for the renovation; Honesty and trustworthiness upheld by Zhouyi is the key to solve the problems in management; The ideas of being appropriate and correct can function as restraining the ethical problems.
Key words: Zhouyi; management; management ethics
Business ethics is an applied branch of learning, which studies whether the management activities should comply with ethics and what management activities conform to ethical behaviors. The emergence of management ethics was not resulted from the consciousness of the theoretical circle or the enterprise circle, but from a series of ethical problems in the management circle.
At the turn of 1950s and 1960s, there appeared a series of management scandals in western enterprise circle, arousing extreme dissatisfactions in the public and enterprise circle. Most of the management scandals related to ethics, and thus they were called management ethical problems, including: 1. Bribery, e.g., the amount of money for wild overseas bribery, publicized by the U.S., by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation was as high as 0.25 billion US dollars, acceptors of the bribery including prince Bonehart, being the husband of Juliana who then was the queen of Holland, Japanese premier Kukeo Tanaka and officials of his cabinet; 2. Fraud: to obtain money through financing, some companies made false reporting statistics for their listed stocks, and some companies made false advertisements and cheated the customers to gain more profits, and so on; 3. Monopoly of price: seven transnational corporations (called “seven sisters”) subordinate to OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) conspired to restrict the output of oil and artificially cause shortage of oil supplies to raise the price; 4. Environmental pollution: the release of industrial waste gases caused thick fog over London for years and produced foams of sulfuric acid resulting in the high incidence of the disease of respiratory tract in the habitants there; and from Dec. 5 to 8, 1952, as many as 4,000 people died of the foams of sulfuric acid within as less as 4 days1; 5. Other ethical issues: such as stealing commercial secrets, illegal stocks exchanges, unfair discriminations, and so on. To ethical problems in management, scholars in the academic circle reacted more intensely. They actively engaged in investigations to enterprises, discussed what ethics the enterprises should conform to, and appealed for establishing a branch of learning of enterprises ethics to standardize enterprises’ behaviors. Under this circumstance, management ethics emerged.
Ethical problems in management constantly coming to the fore in large numbers hastened the establishment of the branch of learning of management ethics. The emergence of management ethics as a branch of learning was a reaction to scientific management aiming at the pursuit for profits, and indicated that the enterprises' unilateral pursuit for the increase of speed was often at cost of the loss of irregularity of the enterprises' ethical order, and therefore needing to found an ethically binding organism to regulate enterprises' behaviors. Undoubtedly, this organism discarded traditional scientific-orientation instead of humanity orientation in management. But until nowadays, consensus in the enterprising and theoretical circles still has not been reached on what kind of humanity orientation of value should be established. Many scholars had recognized the lack of humanity sources in management in the West, and fixed on the Eastern culture stressing humanity spirit. American management master Peter Drucker had predicted in his Peter Drucker's Views on Asia published in 1997: “In the past ten years, books like ‘Japanese Management Philosophy' occupied western book markets; in the next ten years, I believe the books related to ‘Chinese Management Philosophy' will turn out to be the best-seller.”2 Moreover, some scholars had focused on Zhouyi as the “origin of the great Dao”, and held that the humanity idea stressed conspicuously in Zhouyi just embodied clearly the direction for management ethical development, and therefore, on the basis of this, we should establish the system of Chinese management philosophy, and raised the direction of “scientification of Chinese management and Sinolization of management science” 3 .
As the origin and foundation of Chinese culture, whether Zhouyi could directly be taken as the orientation of value of management ethics is a very complicated issue and we are able enough to discuss it here. But many ideas conceived in Zhouyi provide valuable references to frame management ethics. Through modern interpretations and renovations, these ideas could indeed be regarded as important humanity sources to solve the ethical problems in management.
At first, concepts of advantageousness and disadvantageousness indicate fortune and misfortune root in one source, and its utilitarian value of “seeking advantages and avoid disadvantages” conceives rational choices in management.
The emergence of ethical problems in management directly originated from classical management theories based upon the principles of scientific management. Classical management theories were founded upon scientific management. By these theories, scientific management might bring infinite benefits to humankind, and as long as human engages in scientific management, the enterprises’ profits would constant increase, and thus the capital would constantly increase. But this theory was not realized as people imagined, for a lot of problems came out while the scientific management brought profits to enterprises. The augmentation of the enterprise’s profits was usually founded upon the increase of the employers’ labor amount and intensity; the enterprise’s profits sometimes were gained by illegitimate means such as cheating, monopoly, etc.; to obtain resources and improve living environment, the enterprises would destroy another environment, and so on. Actually, the learning of management ethics is to appeal to establish a kind of humanity order on which the idea of fortune and misfortune sharing the same origin is based. Scientific management on one hand could bring considerable profits to enterprises, but on the other hand may cause a series of destruction to ethical order; and it on one hand could bring benefit to humankind, but on the other hand could bring disasters to humankind. Therefore, management is a judgment of value, i.e. the manager weighs the consequence of management and make choice.
How to judge the value and make choice, the utilitarian value of seeking advantageousness to avoid disadvantageousness conceived in Zhouyi actually could help us make reasonable choices for management. Yi jing correlates the myriad things of the world with the 384 lines and 64 hexagrams indicating fortune or misfortune. The remarks affiliated to the lines of the hexagrams exhibit a kind of orientation of value, and attributes man’s actions to “advantageousness”, “inauspiciousness”, “repentance”, “regret”, “peril” and “no error”, holding that it is advantageous if one could obtain things benefiting to man’s development, otherwise, it is inauspicious, repentance represents a psychological sensation when man has not achieved benefits, and regret embodies a psychological feeling when man did not avoid harms. By extension, the judgment of value in the entire book of Yi jing is a description of the relationship between gains and losses. “Advantageousness” refers to gains, and “great advantageousness” indicates great gains, “no error” to neither gaining nor losing, “inauspiciousness” to loss and harm, and “great inauspiciousness” to serious loss and harm, “peril” to less gain with bigger loss, “repentance” to small loss when gains was not obtained, and “regret” to slight loss when great harm does not appear.
According to the ideas of advantageous and inauspiciousness, fortune and misfortune in Zhouyi, management should be a process of seeking advantageousness and avoiding harms. Management itself possesses “double effects” of advantageousness and disadvantageousness. It could bring abundant profits to the manager, and also let him pursuit a profit with bigger loss of other profits, and therefore the manager should “fully understand the Dao (Way) of heaven, and clearly ascertain the experience of the people”. (See Xi Ci, the Great Treatise) What is the “Dao of heaven” in management? Zhouyi give us an answer: “of the honored and exalted, there are none greater that he who is the rich and noble (one)”. (See Xi Ci) This is the Dao of heaven in management. Here “rich and noble” on one hand refers to richness of materials, i.e. obtaining profits in management, but more importantly, it relates to the understanding of the “Dao” and practice of “virtues”. Only if he had comprehended the “Dao of heaven” by which to carry out virtues in the people, could the people become rich and the manager become noble, honored, and exalted. Comparing the richness of materials, the comprehension to the “Dao” and practice of virtues are more important. How could a manager become rich and noble? He ought to “prepare things for practical use, and invent and make instruments for the benefit of all under the sky” (See Xi Ci), that is to say, the fundamental purpose for rendering meritorious service and making a distinguished career for a manager should be “for the benefit of all under the sky”, but not merely for the benefit to his own enterprise. If the managers could realize the purpose of “benefiting all under the sky”, a series of problems concerning management ethics will be readily solved.
Secondly, “abundance of virtues and greatness of achievements” were established as the goal of management, directing clearly the way of solving the problems of management ethics.
Though problems of management ethics were raised several decades ago, the establishment of management ethics as a branch of learning has still not reached unanimity, for the management circle and theoretical circle are still arguing what kind of humanistic order is needed, and what standards ought to be attained to after all. The idea of “abundance of virtues and greatness of achievements” in Zhouyi not only established the goal of management, but also directs clearly the way of solving the problems of management ethics.
The “abundance of virtues” in Zhouyi was the goal and ideal for moral and political governance. As long as the “abundance of virtues” is realized, the “great achievements” will be attained. So, Zhouyi laid particular emphasis on virtues and nearly one-third of the 64 hexagrams were interpreted by virtues. Xi Ci discussed more about the basis for erecting virtues, measures of carrying out virtues, approaches to solidifying virtues, criterion of virtues, etc., holding: “Therefore, Lü (the 10th hexagram), shows us the foundation of virtue; Qian (the 15th), its handle; Fu (the 24th), its root; Heng (the 32nd), its solidity; Sun (the 41st), its cultivation; Yi (the 42nd), its abundance; Kun (the 47th), its exercise of discrimination; Jing (the 48th), its field; and Xun (the 57th), its regulation”. In the idea of “abundance of virtues”, virtues were not only taken as a goal and ideal of management, but also a route and measure for the process and fame of management. “The great virtue of heaven and earth is the producing. What is most precious for the sage is to get the (highest) place (in which he can be the human representative of heaven and earth). What will guard this position for him? Benevolence” (See Xi Ci) indicates that, in the process of management, the manager should rely on virtues and benevolence; in “The superior man, embodying benevolence, is fit to preside over men” (See Wen Yan), virtues (including benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, trustworthiness) were regarded as a measure of in their growth; in “The sages persevere long in their course, and all under the sky are transformed and perfect”, (See Tuan of Heng, the 32nd hexagram) virtues were considered as an edification; in “The superior man, in accordance with this (the momentum symbolized by Kun), with large virtue supports (men and) things” (See Xiang, the Image of Kun, the 2nd hexagram), “His knowledge embraces all things, and his course is (intended to be) helpful to all under the sky”, and “securing the faith of others without the use of words, depended upon their virtuous conduct” (See Xi Ci), virtues were regarded a carrier by which one makes him/herself accomplished and others perfect. By this way, Zhouyi established the ideological route for Confucianism, i.e. seeking “external career” from “internal cultivation (of virtues)”. The Great Leaning, one of Confucian classics, further extended this thought: “with self-cultivation, the family will be ordered; with the families ordered, the state will be run well; and with the states running well, the world will be pacified”, and stressed “from the emperor to commoners, all should take self-cultivation (with virtues) as the root”.
By the “abundance of virtues” to achieve “great business”, the route of Zhouyi established the orientation of Confucian ideology. That “it is manifested in the benevolence (of its operations), and (then again) it conceals and stores up its resources. It gives their stimulus to all things, without having the same anxieties that possess the sage. Complete is its abundant virtue and the greatness of its stores” (See Xi Ci), indicates that, as long as the sages’ benevolence was exhibited, the resources would be concealed and stored up. By that “Is not the Yi a perfect book? It was by the Yi that the sages exalted their virtue, and enlarged their sphere of occupation” (ibid), demonstrated the inseparability between “exalting virtue” and “enlarging business”, the realization of “exalting virtue” also signifies the success of “business enlarging”. For the “business enlarged”, Zhouyi gave us a very clear interpretation: “Its rich possessions is what is intended by ‘the greatness of its stores’” (ibid), in other words, the greatness of stores refers to embracing any things, i.e. economic richness. Meanwhile, Zhouyi related “great business” to that “setting (the idea) forth for all the people under heaven is the business of life” (ibid). Well, how to accomplish the business? Zhouyi clarified the routes to realizing the “great business”: At first, developing agriculture, industry, and commerce. For agriculture, the history experienced “fashioning wood to form the share, and bending wood to make the plough-handle. The advantages of plowing and weeding were then taught to all under heaven” (ibid); for industry, we should “prepare things for practical use, and invent and make instruments for the benefit of all under the sky”; and for commerce, it described as “he caused markets to be held at midday, thus bringing together all the people, and assembling in one place all their wares. They made their exchanges and retired, every one having got what he wanted”(ibid). Secondly, advocating thrift. “Administrate the wealth and economize on it” (See Zhou yi zheng yi, The Rectifications of Meanings of Zhouyi). Yi Zhuan pointed out that the ruler should “frame their measures according to (the due) regulations, the resources (of the state) surer no injury, and the people receive no hurt”, (See Tuan, Judgment of Jie, the 60th hexagram) and accordingly, the ruled should “restrain oneself to avoid the calamities (that threaten him)”, and “ ‘the progress success of the quiet and natural (attention) to all regulations’ is due to the deference which accepts the ways of (the ruler) above” (ibid), upholding that the ruler ought to be thrifty and sympathize the people, and lead them to overcoming difficulties with the virtue of thrift. Thirdly, collecting the people by wealth. That “How shall he collect a large population round him? By the power of his wealth” (See Xi Ci) just like what was explicated in Da Xue, the Great Learning: “if the wealth was only collected and used by the ruler, (the hearts of) the people will dissipate; and if the wealth were distributed (to the people), the people would be collected (around the ruler). According to this, the goal of the manager is neither to collect the wealth under his own name, nor to gather together the wealth in his enterprise, but to distribute the wealth to get fame and enhance the enterprise’s influences, i.e. the social benefits we are saying nowadays.
The idea of “the abundance of virtues and the greatness of business” actually requires the manager put the virtue exaltation in the first place, and realize the great business through exalting virtues. And therefore Zhouyi laid particular emphasis on “benefiting all under the sky”, “edifying all under the heaven”, to put the benefits of the whole world to a supreme position. That is to say, our great business and all occupations are for the benefits under the heaven. With this idea of management, in the development of enterprise, problems of management ethics like cheating, fraud, monopoly, unfair competition will not emerge, and the management ethics will have a reasonable orientation.
Thirdly, the idea of changes, novelty day by day in Zhouyi provided basis for management renovation.
Problems of management ethics are actually related to how the enterprise develops. The emergence of the problems of management ethics was based on the development of the enterprise. The reason for the emergence of the ethical problems was actually because the issues of how to rationally develop and renovate the enterprise. That is to say, the emergence of management ethics as a branch of learning is not to restrain the enterprise’s development and management, but to guarantee a perpetual and rational development, i.e. sustainable development we are saying nowadays. How to reach a sustainable development? In the rapidly changing modern society, the enterprise also needs to change and renew itself constantly. This has been clearly recognized by scientists of management. American scholar Peter Senge holds that a company is composed of a series of complex systems within which the organization will be affected by various elements disadvantageous to the enterprise’s development, and self-transcendence is needed, and thus requires create studying-type organization. This kind of organization is to “renew and renew, to create the future constantly”4. Michael Hammer and James Champy in the Reengineering the Corporation also advocate discarding all the outmoded conventions and practices and construct a cultural concept without any conventions and restrictions. Peter Drucker also holds that, for the enterprise, “without renewal, it will die”.
Change and renewal are the important ideas all the time in Zhouyi. Yi Zhuan explicated three implications of “change”: simplicity, changeableness, unchangeableness, among which changeableness is the most fundamental implication. Meanwhile, Yi Zhuan set forth the proposition of “when a series of changes has run all its course, another change ensues, and when it obtains free course, it will continue long”, to manifest the perpetuity of changes. Xi Ci pointed out: “The Yi is a book which should not be let slip from the mind. Its method (of teaching) is characterized with frequent changing (of its lines). They change and move without staying (in one place), flowing about into any one of the six places of the hexagram. They ascend and descend, ever inconstant. The strong and the weak lines change places, so that an invariable and compendious rule cannot be derived from them: it must vary as their changes indicate”, and thus changing as an intrinsic quality of things was further exhibited. Changing and renewing in Zhouyi are correlated. Zhouyi advocates changes, but the changes are not a mechanic or jumbled transformations, but an organic process of development. “Producing and reproducing is what is called (the process of) change (See Xi Ci) indicates that the process of change is accomplished by ceaseless transformations, in the process of which the life constantly transforms itself, i.e. constantly evolves from the low to the high form, from simplicity to complexity. In this process, the life constantly gets rid of the stale and takes in the fresh, and continuously enriches and develops itself. The nature of the Yi is change and daily renewal, and therefore Zhouyi correlates daily renewal with the “abundance of virtue”, the sages’ supreme ideal, holding “daily renewal is called the abundance of virtue” (ibid), hence granting the Dao of heaven a sublime quality of daily renewal. For this, the Great Learning further stressed: “renewing everyday, renewing again, and renewing all the time”, indicating that the superior man should conforms to the character of the heaven and earth to ceaselessly renew (and enhance his virtue). On one hand, the idea of change in Zhouyi hints that, in the social development to accomplish the abundant virtue and great business, one should not only stick to convention, for change and reform the push the society forward is the only way out for the social development, i.e. “changes (indicated leads us to) what we call the business (to be done)” (ibid); on the other hand, it indicates that, when the society had developed to a certain degree, only change and reform could make the society run smoothly, and only when it moves fluently, could the business be developed and continue perpetually, i.e. “carrying through the (necessarily occurring) changes, so that the people did (what was required of them) without being wearied, and the sages exerted such a spirit-like transformation that the people felt convenient” (ibid).
The idea of change just coincides with modern management methods. Whatever Peter Drucker’s management theory, or Peter Saint’s studying-type organization, or Michael Hammer’s reproduction theory of enterprise, conform to the idea of change conceived in Zhouyi. As for the view of that “changes occur in anywhere and at any time, regardless of whether we are afraid or in favor of them”5 raised by Spenser Johnson is concerned, it also comply with the idea of change. Change is the theme of accomplishing business and occupations, and also an important concept, which has been unanimously recognized in the circle of management.
Fourthly, the idea of sincerity & credibility is the essence of management, and the crux in solving the problems of management ethics.
The emergence of the problems of management ethics was after all on account of the crisis of sincerity & credibility. No matter commercial deceit, or monopoly, or unfair competition, or bribery, all resulted from the lack of sincerity & credibility of one or more sides, causing the loss of virtue in management. Therefore, to solve the ethical problems occurring in management, the most fundamental measure is building up sincerity & credibility in management.
Sincerity & credibility is regarded as an indispensable quality for human. Xi Ci pointed out: “he whom men assist is sincere”, indicating that man as man living in the world depends upon sincerity & credibility. If one had lost sincerity & credibility, he would not be called man, but descend to be an animal. Therefore, there is a hexagram, Zhong Fu (the 61st) especially expounding sincerity & credibility in Zhouyi. The remarks affiliated to the fifth line of the hexagram are: “(The subject is) perfect sincere, and links (others) to him in closest union. There will be no error”, indicating that, if one is sincere and constantly seeks sincerity, he will not meet disasters. Of principles embraced in Zhouyi, sincerity is the grounding for man as a man and an extremely supreme realm, which is divided into four progressive levels. The lowest level is keeping sincerity all the time, as it was indicated as: “(water) pursues its way through a dangerous defile, without losing it true (nature)” (See the Tuan of Kan, the 29th hexagram), which could be extended as that, even one is under a circumstance of danger, one should not lose his nature of sincerity & credibility. The second level is carrying on sincerity, as it was described: “When men have the sincerity Zhong Fu (the 62nd hexagram), they are sure to carry it into practice” (See Xu Gua, The Orderly Sequence of the Hexagrams), which coincides with what Confucius had said: “one’s words must be credible”, i.e. one must keep his words. The third level is taking sincerity as the basis for “enhancing virtue” and “perfecting business”, as it was described: “His real-heartedness and sincerity are the way by which he advances in virtue. His attention to his words and establishing his sincerity are the way by which he occupies in his sphere”(See The Record of Wen Yan), and thus making the sense of sincerity raised and implicated with supreme significance of virtue. The fourth and highest level is combining sincerity and virtue into one entity, as it was expounded: “The completing (the study of) them by silent meditation, and securing the sincerity of others without the use of words, depended on their virtuous conduct” (See Xi Ci).
Extended to the circle of management, the concept of sincerity in Zhouyi requires enterprises to abide by the principle of sincerity. Sincerity is not only the most basic condition for enterprises to survive, but also the foundation for them to exist perpetually. Without sincerity, the enterprise will lose prestige and customers, as well as the space for survival. Therefore, sincerity is the essence of management, no matter in China or abroad, in ancient times or present day, as in ancient China, a proverb goes: “A gentleman is as good as his word, as a steed gallops at the first crack of the whip”, and that “promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold” was also kept. In western management circle also prevails the belief of “sincerity is the best way in competition”. The United States even established evaluation system for enterprises’ sincerity, and divided the credit into 5 grades. If an enterprise is appraised to be the 4th grade (comparatively dangerous grade) or 5th grade (unacceptable grade), it will be difficult for it to survive and exist in market competition.
Fifthly, the idea of “middle (appropriate) & correct” in Zhouyi as a management norm could restrain the ethical problems and restrict their enlargement in management.
Most of the ethical problems of management were caused by the destruction of irregeneratable resources on account of over reliance on science, and inroads on the natural environment, and thus threatening human in living and surviving conditions. These problems mainly result from the over-reliance on scientific management and over-invasion of human to the nature. Therefore, to solve these problems, it needs a just consciousness, embodied as the idea of “middle and correct” in Zhouyi.
“Middle” connotes “impartial, neither excessive nor deficient” (A Collective Annotations to the Four Books by ZHU Xi). That is to say, one should take an appropriate, no-extreme attitude to things. And “correct’ connotes just, requiring one to be just, upright, fair-minded. The ideas of “middle & correct” thread through the whole book of Zhouyi. Many times it mentioned “getting the position of the mid (implied by the second or fifthly line in a hexagram)”, “being in the mid and responded”, “being the mid without failure”, “with the mid and justice”, “the mid has not lost”, “observing the things under heaven with a middle and fair (view)”, “being strong and in the mid and being echoed”, “being in the mid without anxieties”, “attaining the Way of the mean”, “being appropriate and (thus) there is no error”, “being appropriate and right and (thus) running smoothly”, and so on, indicating that, as long as the state of being “appropriate and right” was attained, the myriad things would be correctly positioned and develop in their right courses, just as the Doctrine of the Mean explicated: “With the mean and harmony, the heaven and earth move orderly, and everything thereon grows and flourishes”, and as it was said in Xi Ci: “With the attainment of that mastery, (the sage) makes good his good position in the middle”. How to attain to the “middle and correct”? Zhouyi adopted the ideas of “adaptability” and “timeliness”. “Adaptability” originated from the principle of mutual compliments between Yin and Yang in Zhouyi. People ought to adapt themselves to deal with the changes caused by the reaction between Yin and Yang, strong and weak. “Timeliness” actually is an application of the idea of “middle”, requiring people to sharply grasp any opportunity, as what was described in Xi Ci: “The changes, however varied, are according to the requirements of the time (when they take place), vividly exposing the sense of “opportunity” implicated in “timeliness”. By Yi Zhuan, the cosmos is producing and reproducing, which is closely related to “time”. As an element and component of the cosmos, human must adapt themselves according to the requirements of the time, therefore, Zhouyi stressed the “timeliness” very much and mentioned in the remarks and commentaries of many hexagrams, to exalt the grand implication of “time” corresponding to each of them. Mencius further developed the idea of “timeliness”: “If the farming season is not interfered with, there will yield grain more than enough” (See Part I of King Hui of Liang in Mencius); “If axes are used in forests at the proper time, there will be wood more than enough” (ibid); “Let farm work be done without interference in a hundred mu (one mu is equal to 1/15 of a hectare), a family of several mouths will not go hungry” (ibid). Meanwhile, Mencius highly praised Confucius as a “sage who knew when to do and what to do” (See Part II of Wan Zhang in Mencius), who “leaves quickly when it need to leave quickly, stays on when he think fit to do so, retires when he sees retiring is proper, accepts office when acceptance is sensible” (ibid).
The idea of “middle and correct” in Zhouyi inspires us in the following aspects: at first, the management of the enterprise must be fair. In dealing with the relationship between the development and resources, the enterprise ought to face up to its own position, nor to develop itself by destructing the ecological environment, and nor to pursuit profits by sacrificing irregenerating resources. In dealing with the relationship with other enterprises, one should neither incline to one’s own enterprise nor completely depend upon others.
The strategy of stressing the “middle and correct” in Zhouyi exhibits the following inspiration for us: at first, the management of enterprise should attain the state of fairness. In dealing with the relationship between development and resources, the manager should acknowledge his enterprise’s position and should not develop his own enterprise with the destruction of ecological environments or resources unable to be regenerated; In dealing with the relationship with other enterprises, the manager should neither only incline to his own enterprise, nor completely depend upon other enterprises; For the speed of development, the manager need to balance the speed and profit and should neither be penny-wise to seek each small gain, nor only seek the speed of development with violating the rights and interests of workers and staff, to really attain to the state of “seeking neither (impracticable) speed nor small gains” (Zi Lu in the Analects of Confucius); In dealing with the various relationships, esp. interpersonal one, within the enterprise, the manager should treat them fairly and appropriately. Secondly, the management of enterprise should be carried out according to local, individual, and temporal conditions, to establish a flexible organism for the enterprise’s development to meet the enterprise’s multiple requirements for development in the ever-changing world. And thirdly, the enterprise should sharply capture and chance of development, and take advantage of any opportunity with adaptability.
Admittedly, it is an attempt to interpret the subject of the problems of management ethics by Zhouyi. We still feel perplexed by many issues, such as the issue of how to solve the physical problems of management issues by the metaphysical Dao conceived in Zhouyi, and whether the ideas explicated in Zhouyi could be modernly transformed, and so on. These subjects need further explorations.
Notes and references:
1.HAN Guo-gang, HOU Dai-jun, etc. Chao zai de Huan jing: Kun jing Yu Jue ze, The Overloaded Environment: Predicament and Choice [M]. Changchun: Jilin University Press, 1994. P.187.
2. FENG Lu-xiang. Zhong guo Chuan tong Zhe xue Yu Xian dai Guan li, Traditional Chinese Philosophy and Modern Management [M]. Jinan: Shandong University Press, 2000. Self Preface.
3. CHENG Zhong-ying [American]. C Li lun: Zhong guo Guan li Zhe xue, C Theory: Chinese Philosophy of Management. Shanhai: Xuelin Publishing House, 1999.
4. Peter Senge [American]. The Fifth Refinery: Art and Practice in Studying-type Organization [M]. Shanghai: Sanlian Bookstore, 1998. p.11.
5. Spenser Johnson [American]. Who Ate My Cheeses? [M]. Beijing: Zhongxin Publishing House, 2001. P.76.
(Originally published in Chinese in the STUDIES OF ZHOUYI/No. 6, 2003)