Dr Maik Huettinger in France! (Erasmus)



Tom Hashimoto: Here, we have Dr. Maik Huettinger, Associate Professor in Economics and Ethics and BA International Business and Communication Programme Director at ISM. Maik teaches an ethics course for MSc Financial Economics programme. I heard that you went to France under the Erasmus scheme. Did you notice any differences in terms of teaching and learning environments between France and Lithuania?

 Maik Huettinger: Well, I have been only a couple of days in France. Therefore, it is very hard to make any judgment. Generally speaking, students in France are very polite, however their level of English is not comparable to the one of Lithuanian students.

 TH: (Wow! That's an encouraging statement!) Ethics has been emphasised in many programmes, especially in the EU and the US. To be honest, I have rarely seen an 'advanced' ethics in business and economics programmes in other parts of the world. What makes ethics course so important these days? What kind of case studies are you using?

 MH: That’s not so easy to answer. Unlike most people think, ethics is not about 'doing good things'. In fact, ethics tries to bridge the gap between textbook capitalism and the real existing capitalism. Paradoxically, unregulated capitalism widens this gap and hence increases the importance of ethics. That the reason why ethics plays in Anglo-Saxon societies a fundamental role. In other parts of the World, societies have found different answers to fix the flaws of capitalism and have developed unique forms, e.g. Japan (collective capitalism), China/Singapore (State Capitalism), Taiwan (party-state capitalism), Germany (Social Market Economy), or Sweden (Welfare Economy). In other words, regulation and control may substitute ethics - however it is up to a society to choose what they prefer.

Personally, I see ethics in the tradition of Adam Smith - as an essential and necessary element of a functioning market.

With cases it's simple - we use what is up to date. From Volkswagen and Danske Bank, up to classical cases such as Enron and the Libor Scandal.

TH: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed running an ethics seminar in France!

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