Professor Santoro publishes new book, China 2020: How Western Business Can - and Should - Influence Social and Political Change in the Coming Decade
June 29, 2009
Michael A. Santoro, associate professor of business ethics, argues in his new book, “China 2020,” that foreign business should do more in the coming decade to shape social and political change in China. Santoro says it is in the economic interest of Western companies to abandon their “complacent partnership” with the Chinese government.Drawing on knowledge gained through personal interviews, documentary sources, and almost two decades of visits to China, Santoro offers a unique view of the various internal forces–such as regionalism, corruption, and growing inequality–that will determine the direction and pace of economic, social, and political change. Santoro assesses the role of multinational corporations in fostering or undermining social and political progress. Santoro offers a fresh and innovative way of thinking about two questions that have preoccupied Western observers for decades. What will be the effect of economic reform and prosperity on political reform? How can companies operate with moral integrity and ethics in China? In China 2020, Santoro unifies these hitherto separate questions and demonstrates that moral integrity (or lack of it) by Western business will have a profound impact on whether economic privatization and growth usher in greater democracy and respect for human rights. Santoro and his new book have received much attention, covered in The New York Times, Reuters, and China Digital Age. Santoro is also a frequent featured blogger on The Huffington Post. Rutgers Business School applauds Professor Santoro’s ongoing work and congratulates him on this latest achievement. By being exposed to such strong faculty members such as Professor Santoro at Rutgers Business School, students can develop sophisticated approaches to business and research and gain the business, science, and technology credentials that global employers demand.Hannah Redmond hredmond@business.rutgers.edu
