Today Elise, Sandra and I went out for “Blind Massages” which are exactly what they sound like- a massage given by a blind person. They are supposed to be really good since it is assumed blind people have a heightened sense of touch.

The parlor didn’t do jutsice to the massage.

It was a big room with 5 beds with a masseuse at each bed. It smelled like Chinese food and there was TV playing softly in the background. But the massage was AWESOME! So I guess that out weights the aesthetics.

We also had our first round table discussion in China on Thursday. It was about the role of business in the 21st century, corporate responsibility and the like. We had a really good discussion and came up with some summary statements:

1. Money should be a means to greater ends and not a end in itself.

2. The cost formula used to evaluate costs is outdated and should be updated to include the hidden and external costs born by innocent bystanders that we can now easily evaluate. This updated cost structure will make it more aparent for businesses that behaving in responsible ways will improve their real bottom line.

3. Companies should empower their consumers and enable them to make responsible choices. ie- environmental, human rights

4. Business schools should teach classes on social entrepreneurship and corporate responsibility so that students are aware of the options.

We also debated the original motivation of businesses: monetary gain for the entrepreneur or progress and improvement for their community. This creates two perspectives for business opportunities: money or value. The actions to get to these conclusions may be the same no matter which perspective one perform from.

It was a great discussion, though I would have liked to have someone opposed to corporate responsibility come out to discuss too so that we could have had some counter arguments! Perhaps it is a good sign though that the proactive members are those in favor of societal change…