Prof. Dennis P. McCann Marketplace Lectures and Weekend Intensive

The Ten Commandments for Workplace Excellence:
Following God¡¦s Way in the World of Business

Offered by Vocatio Creation in Partnership with HKPES
19-22 June 2008
(Both Lectures and Weekend Intensive will be conducted in English only)

 

About Prof. Dr. Dennis P. McCann

BA, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Columbus, Ohio
STL, Gregorian University, Rome
PhD, University of Chicago Divinity School

Dennis McCann is Alston Professor of Bible and Religion at Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA in USA. Currently he is also Visiting Professor, Department of Religion and Philosophy of Hong Kong Baptist University. For more than a quarter of a century, Dennis has been doing research and teaching in business ethics in Christian colleges and universities. Over the past dozen years, he has been focused on international business ethics, particularly in Chinese cultural settings. He has lectured or taught courses in business ethics in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. He is involved in several ongoing collaborative research projects with Chinese Christian scholars and business people in Hong Kong and China. With advanced graduate training in both the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions of Christian ethics, Dennis has attempted to create a common ground where all Christians can stand together in witnessing to Gospel values in the workplace. He is married to Dr. Betty Cernol-McCann, the Director of the Hong Kong office, and Vice-President, of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia.

Course Description

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) have been prominent in Christian moral teaching for centuries. They have been the primary guide to what Christians believe God expects of them as they seek to follow His Way in their personal conduct. But are the Ten Commandments relevant to how Christians conduct their business affairs? Are they as relevant to what goes on in the marketplace or the workplace as they seem to be at home and with family? This course will offer a fresh interpretation of the Ten Commandments as providing the best guidance for developing business ethics consistent with Christian faith and practice. In addition to answering our questions about the Ten Commandments in their original context in both the history of Ancient Israel as well as in traditional Christian moral teaching, the course will explore their meaning for business and economic life. Specific case studies taken from the stories told by Hong Kong Christians engaged in business here and in China will be explored in order to understand the practical difference that keeping the Ten Commandments can make in doing business God¡¦s Way.

Course Requirement

The course will be offered in English. All participants must have a recognized undergraduate degree (mature students will be considered on a case by case basis) and should be sufficiently proficient in English for graduate theological education.

Educational Outcomes

  1. Understand the ethical challenges typically encountered by Christians seeking to follow God¡¦s Way in the workplace.
  2. Appreciate the Ten Commandments, in their original meaning in the Bible, as well as their use in the formation of Christian moral teaching.
  3. Critically appropriate the Ten Commandments as reliable and practical guidelines for workplace conduct consistent with Christian faith and practice.
  4. Enhance skills in interpreting case studies in business ethics in order to determine the practical meaning of the Ten Commandments for workplace excellence.
  5. Explore the experiences and advice of Christian business people who have already made a serious attempt to follow the Ten Commandments in the workplace.
  6. Explore the meaning of moral values and best business practices within the overall pattern of Christian faith and practice.

 

Schedule

June 19 (Thu)
7:30-9:30pm

Open Lecture One
Why (and How to) Take the Ten Commandments to Work?

June 20 (Fri)
7:30-9:30pm

 

Open Lecture Two
Thou Shalt Not Steal! Is Business Success Possible on a Basis Other Than Profit?

June 21 (Sat)
9:00am-6:15pm
(lunch break around
1:00-2:15pm)

Weekend Intensive - Day One
The Ten Commandments for Workplace Excellence:
Following God¡¦s Way in the World of Business (Part 1)

 

June 22 (Sun)
3:00-6:00pm

 

Weekend Intensive - Day Two
The Ten Commandments for Workplace Excellence:
Following God¡¦s Way in the World of Business (Part 2)

Contents

Open Lecture One Why (and How to) Take the Ten Commandments to Work?

The lecture will introduce the general topic and, in addition to exploring the ethical content of the Ten Commandments in their Biblical and historical contexts, will open up the theological, exegetical, and hermeneutic challenges involved in formulating the ¡§Ten Commandments of Workplace Excellence.¡¨

Open Lecture Two Thou Shalt Not Steal! Is Business Success Possible on a Basis Other Than Profit?

The lecture will explore the range of issues implicit in this commandment, and how it has been interpreted as a guide to good business practice in the history of Christian ethics. Guided by the insights of St. Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin, arguably the two greatest teachers in the history of Christian theology, the lecture will attempt to show precisely how this commandment can and ought to shape Christian attitudes and behavior in the world of work and business. It will seek to answer the question: What in today¡¦s business environment can be rightly regarded as ¡§stealing,¡¨ and how does it differ from good business practice? What should a Christian do, when everyone else seems to be succeeding in business by ¡§stealing¡¨ whatever and whenever they can to make profit?

Weekend Intensive - Day One

The intensive will begin with a survey of the kinds of moral challenges typically faced by Christians in business and at work. In order to test whether the proposed ¡§Ten Commandments of Workplace Excellence¡¨ can provide practical guidance in addressing these challenges, the course will then invite participants into small group discussions of a series of case studies based on the testimonies of Chinese Christians doing business in Hong Kong and China. The evening program will feature a panel discussion among Chinese Christian business and professional people, indicating how they would approach the moral challenges previously discussed by the participants.

Weekend Intensive - Day Two

The second day will seek to address a common problem in understanding the Ten Commandments: How to accomplish the shift from ¡§Thou shalt NOT¡¨ to ¡§Thou shalt¡K.¡¨? Do the Ten Commandments have anything to offer beyond a list of prohibitions? The opening presentation will attempt to draw a picture of the positive vision of the world of work and business implicit in the commandments, by outlining a biblical theology of vocation, covenant, work and stewardship that has inspired Christians to develop various models of doing business consistent with God¡¦s Way. These models range from businesses explicitly dedicated to God in Christ, which seek to shape a corporate culture consistent with Biblical teaching, to various experiments in making one¡¦s workplace more ¡§Christian friendly.¡¨ The participants will be given the opportunity in small groups to explore case studies illustrating these models, and the groups will report their findings for general discussion. The weekend intensive will conclude with the presentation of a model for self-evaluation, by which each participant will be encouraged to think critically about his or her current work situation, in order to begin a personal discernment process intent on discovering how he or she might respond to what God is enabling each one of us to be and to do in the world of work and business.

Note: Participants may participate in the entire program or any of the Open Lectures. The Weekend Intensive is NOT offered as a stand alone session.

Book & Readings

Participants of the entire course are requested to read indicated selections from On Moral Business: Classical and Contemporary Resources for Ethics in Economic Life, edited by Max L. Stackhouse, Dennis P. McCann, and Shirley J. Roels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995). Other readings will be recommended in the syllabus for the course.

Location

EFCC Kong Fok Church, Unit 1, 1/F, Far East Finance Centre, 16 Harcourt Road, Admiralty.

Fees

 

On/before June 8

After June 8

 

Entire
Course

Open
Lecture

Entire
Course

Open
Lecture

Practitioner

$1,600

$120 each

$1,800

$150 each

Pastor, Parachurch Worker & Full-time Seminary Student*

$1,400

$1,600

CGST alumni / Partner church members

$1,200

$100 each

$1,400

$130 each

* * Limited scholarship is available for full-time seminary students. Please enquire at 2144 4900 or decalogue@vocatiocreation.com.hk.

Register

To register, please download the course brochure and return the registration form with your cheque payment made payable to Vocatio Creation Limited to Suite A, 12/F, Empire Land Commercial Centre, 81-85 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Alternatively you may deposit the fees into our Hang Seng Bank account 768-121790-883 and fax us your payment slip together with the form. An email confirmation along with a ticket, and a complete course syllabus if you register for the entire program, will be sent to you upon successful registration. No refund will be considered after registration. Transfer is permitted for the Open Lectures but your place in the Weekend Intensive may only be transferred to another eligible person upon our prior approval.

For further information, please contact us at:

Tel: (852) 2144 4900
Fax: (852) 3575 7414
Email: decalogue@vocatiocreation.com.hk
URL: www.vocatiocreation.com.hk

General Terms & Conditions

Application & Payment

  1. Please send the registration form with your payment in crossed cheque payable to ¡§Vocatio Creation Limited¡¨ to: Suite A, 12/F, Empire Land Commercial Centre, 81-85 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Alternatively you may deposit the fees into our Hang Seng Bank account: 768-121790-883. Please fax the payment slip, your name and contact number to us at (852) 2144-4900. Please note we do not accept applications in person at our above mailing address.
  2. If you enroll in more than one person, please fill out a separate registration form for each applicant. Please list out all the applicants on the bank receipt or on the back of the cheque.
  3. Fees paid are not refundable. Fees will only be refunded if the course is full or cancelled. Transfer is permitted for the Open Lectures but your place in the Weekend Intensive may only be transferred to another eligible person upon our prior approval.

Admission

  1. Admission is made on a first-come first-served basis. Late applications will only be considered if there are still vacant places.
  2. We reserve the right to cancel the event if there is insufficient enrolment or unforeseen difficulties arising from mounting the course. We may, at our discretion, refuse to admit an applicant.
  3. Your admission will be confirmed by email and/or letter, but we shall not be responsible for any delivery failure. Please contact us if you do not receive our confirmation 5 days before the event starting date.
  4. We will make every effort to ensure that the course meet at the place and time advertised, and with the same speaker(s). However, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary.

Adverse Weather Arrangements

If the Black Rainstorm Warning Signal or the Typhoon Signal No.8 or above is hoisted at the following hours, the course will be suspended as below:

Signals hoisted by

Sessions suspended

7:00am
12:00noon
1:00pm
5:30pm

Session that start from 9:00am to 1:00pm
Session that start from 2:15 to 6:15pm
Session that start from 3:00 to 6:00pm
Sessions that start from 7:30 to 9:30pm

When the following Signal is hoisted during the course already in progress

Typhoon Signal No. 8 or above
Black Rainstorm Signal

Course will be immediately suspended
Course will be continued