Wednesday 28 April 2010, 5.00 pm
Ethics and Globalization
Wilhelm Vossenkuhl, Ludwig Maximilians Universität
Stefano Zamagni, Università di Bologna
In collaboration with Studium Marcianum.
Prof. Vossenkuhl will address how globalization has revealed that market failures are often ethical failures too. This is at least obvious in the present financial crisis. Credit Default Swops (CDS) and Collateral Debt Obligations (CDO) in general were used by the most powerful global players in banking to ruin firms and communal administrations and even to attack national economies at the expenses of the tax payers in many countries. The most basic rules of fairness and international justice were ignored. The global markets are in need of collectively binding ethical obligations in order to avoid another crisis of this kind.
Prof. Zamagni will explain the reasons why in the last century economics could do its job without bothering itself with ethics, and will consider why globalization has changed dramatically the situation. The main reason is that freedom of choice does not necessarily imply consensus. Finally, Prof. Zamagni will speak in favour of the ethics of virtue as a solid background to cope with present day problems.
Moderator: Ignazio Musu, President, VIU TEN Center
Wilhelm Vossenkuhl is full professor at Ludwig Maximilians Universität, Munich. He is founder and speaker of the Munich Research Center in Ethics (MKE). He has published on Kant and Wittgenstein, on the philosophy of language and action, on ethics and the theory of rationality. He is teaching two courses during the Spring 2010 semester of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of VIU: Ethical Problems in Globalization: Governance, Multiculturalism and Paternalistic Intervention and Theories of Justice from Aristotle to Rawls.
Stefano Zamagni is full professor of Economics at the University of Bologna and Vice Director of the Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center. He has widely published on civil economy, economic theory and history of economic thought. His recent publications include: Crisi economica, crisi antropologica. l'uomo al centro del lavoro e dell'impresa, 2010; Economia e etica, 2009; L'economia del bene comune, 2007; Avarizia, 2009; The cooperative enterprise, 2010.
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Wednesday 5 May 2010, 10.30 am
Doing Business in Globalizing Asia
Nobuo Kawabe, Waseda University
Discussant: Leonardo Buzzavo
In collaboration with Ca' Foscari Interdepartmental Center for Culture and Economics of Globalization
Auditorium Santa Croce, Complesso Universitario del Palazzo San Leonardo, Riviera G. Garibaldi 13/E, Treviso
Prof. Kawabe will discuss how Asia has become a leading developing center in the world after quick recovery from the “Lehman Shock”. On the other hand, Asia is facing new problems caused by rapid economic development. In this lecture, Prof. Kawabe will illustrate business conditions and problems will be discussed.
Nobuo Kawabe is Professor of Business History at the Faculty of Commerce at Waseda. Director of the Institute for China Business. His fields of specialization are Business History, Comparative Management, International Management and Marketing. He is teaching two courses during the Spring 2010 semester of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of VIU: Business Management in Globalizing Asia and Comparative Business History: US and Japan
Leonardo Buzzavo is adjunct professor of Strategy and International Marketing at the Faculty of Economics of Università Ca' Foscari Venezia. His main research interests are business strategy and marketing with a particular focus on innovation and creative processes.
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Friday 14 May 2010, 11.00 am
Aula Magna, Venice International University, Isola di San Servolo
Developing Country Multinationals: A New Geography of World Business?
Andrea Goldstein, Organization for Economic and Cultural Development (OECD)
Dr. Goldstein will discuss how, while not a completely new phenomenon, third world multinationals grew in size in the 1990s and are seemingly exploding right now. They present new motivations for investing abroad, that appear quite different from traditional multinationals. The policy implications of this phenomenon are huge, as well as the consequences for multilateral economic relations.
Discussant: Stefano Micelli
Andrea Goldstein is Senior Economist at the OECD Development Centre, France. He was previously at the World Bank Group, the OECD Economics Department and the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission.
Stefano Micelli is Dean of VIU and Professor of Economics and Business Management at Università Ca' Foscari Venezia. His research focuses on the competitiveness of SMEs and industrial districts and on the future of the Made in Italy brand.