HSUHK Hong Kong Business Ethics Index

The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong (HSUHK) has long been attaching great importance to business ethics and therefore has initiated the Junzi Corporation Survey, which embodied the Confucian concept of “Junzi”, since 2011.   To identify the corporation with the highest ethical standard from the perspective of the public,  as well as to promote the concepts of the “Five Virtues” of Junzi in business context, HSUHK has appraised the business ethical level of Hong Kong corporations through carrying out this academic study which has adopted rigorous and scientific approach in examining the corporations.  As a result, the “HSUHK Hong Kong Ethics Index” was compiled.  In 2018, the Index scored 65.1, which was higher than that of 2017 (60.7), 2016 (62.2) and 2014 (62.8).

The advocacy of “Junzi Corporations” is a relatively comprehensive and complete framework of standards to assess business ethical level and fulfillment of social responsibility.  This new advocacy is a blend of the “Five Virtues”, consisting “Benevolence, Rightness, Propriety, Wisdom and Trustworthiness” from the concept of Junzi, and Western ethical theories of business, with emphasis on integrity and fairness.  Taking this brand-new set of standards as a reference, the research team collects the public’s views on business practices of corporations through interviews and conducts in-depth analysis of the data.  Subsequently, the research team complied and announced the latest HKUSHK Hong Kong Business Ethics Index, and corporations of the most recognised moral exemplar are awarded accolades.

The Junzi Corporation Survey exerts far-reaching impacts on students, enterprises and society.  All HSUHK students are required to acquire knowledge and concepts about business ethics, among other ethics theories. Through conducting the survey, they learn about consumers’ experiences and genuine opinions on corporations, and meticulously analyze the relationship between business ethics and enterprise operation. The annual report also serves as a self-evaluation platform for corporations and  industries to realize their level of observing to the standard of Confucian ethics.  Meanwhile, in the course of conducting this academic study, it has conveyed a set of business ethical standards clearly to the society.