Schooling + Values = Education

In the prior post, we talked about reporting structures and how they promote or inhibit fraud. Ultimately, however, the best and most reliable predictor of future behavior is past behavior, which in turn is a function of moral character and values.

These aspects are often overlooked in selecting and recruiting staff. Paper qualifications, scholastic achievements and experience are all that employers seek.

In Confucius’ opinion, one is not considered educated or a scholar unless imbued with moral and ethical values, which he ranks above literacy and academic proficiency. This contrasts with our current-day practice of meritocracy.

The word for education in Chinese is 教育; 教 referring to being schooled and 育referring to being cultivated with ethics and values. One is not considered educated then, unless possessing both schooling and values. Confucius goes a step further to say that of the two elements,育 (ethics and values) is the more important.

Having only assumed public office for seven days, Confucius executed a senior officer named Shao Zheng Mao. Confucius judged him to be rebellious and dangerous, deceptive and stubborn, untrustworthy and arrogant, flagrantly disgraceful in his behavior, and openly tolerant of wrongdoing. Any one of these charges, Confucius asserted, would have been deserving of a death sentence, let alone five.

Confucius spent his life teaching the importance and development of ethics and values.

One such value is integrity

How do we define integrity? The discussion continues……..

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Dr. Henry Wong Meng Yeong is a contributing editor of the FCPA Blog.

Comments

[Fbalfour]

I find your posts insightful, and especially interesting since I have just completed my thesis on the topic of corruption in China, from a western perspective, taking into account the major philosophies driving Chinese cultural practices. I have researched Tao-ism and Confucianism, both externally to China and in situ for 24 months, in theory and in practice.

I concur greatly with your observation, and find that the inculcation of universal values in our next generations is largely left to chance in public education systems in the west, unless one considers religious schools, which teach these as part of religious and somewhat dogmatic curricula. Montessori education also heavily focuses on the teaching of universal virtues/ values at an early age (from 6 years old) and it is here that I have probably seen the best approach so far. The emphasis there is on 'universal values', not linked to any religious dogma and secular, while the audience is still at an early age in development.

Neuroscience is also now confirming that the teaching of values is best done at this particular age due to the developmental stages of different parts of the brain that are linked to ethics, empathy and higher cognitive faculties. So we are now starting to benefit from scientific evidence that confirms the old Jesuit saying ' Give me the child and I will give you the man', something that would in any case be obvious to any intelligent parent with an interest in child rearing.

One wonders what would happen if, instead of the huge sums of money that have been injected into the financial services sector as part of 'quantitative easing', a portion of such funds had been set aside to introduce moral philosophy and universal virtue education across public school systems.

The results would be tangible within a generation, and might yet avoid another cyclical boom and bust economic cycle as we have experienced so many times and as we will experience again and again. The strengthening of individual moral compasses might simply prevent the personal and collective excesses we have seen, not by regulatory means, but through self management by individual actors in society and economy.

Ferdinand

[S Lacey]

Integrity is acting consistently with one's ethical system regardless of the venue or audience. Generally, the noun has a positive meaning: One does what one "ought" to do even when there is no personal reward for "right" behavior.