On the afternoon of July 18, 2012, Ms. Catherine Malone, an American from Fordham University, delivered a lecture to the campers titled ''CSR in America.''

 

Before the lecture, campers watched the film Thank You for Smoking，in which the hero Nick Naylor was the image representative of a cigarette company. It was an unpopular job, which made Naylor isolated and friendless. Naylor faced two major challenges: at work he should positively represent tobacco products, while at home he should set a positive example for his son. His sincere advice throughout the film was not only for his son, but also for the audience. How important is freedom of speech and how necessary is it to have free will?

 

On the surface, the film seemed to discuss a serious topic (moral self-discipline) in a joking manner. Naylor was surrounded by people who acted virtuously in public, but when tested failed to live up to their own ideals. Naylor instead chose to follow his own moral standard, although his job was deemed harmful to society.

 

When the film concluded, Ms. Malone lead campers in a discussion of the true intentions of this story. In fact, this film reflects progress made in corporate social responsibility (CSR) especially in corporate ethics in America. Corporate ethics, also known as corporate morals, refers to the ethics involved in the corporate operation. All operating organizations are involved in ethical issues. An ethical corporation should value humanity, be beneficial to the whole society, and avoid conflicts and frictions with society.

 

In China corporate ethics is rarely known and some persons even believe that the sole target of a corporation is to make profits while ethics is a pursuit in the field of moral standards. In fact it is superficial to assume that corporate business goals and business ethics are contradictory. In today’s world, a company cannot merely relying on the pursuit of profits without regard to corporate ethics.

 

By watching the film and listening to the instructions of Ms Malone, campers received a deeper understanding of the relationship between corporate business and business ethics. They set up the awareness that a corporation which is not instructed by the necessary ethical principles will fail in its operation. The idea of valuing people and social factors in corporate business activities is embodied by developing the concept of corporate ethics.