Ethical issues and education of Polish managers Cover Image

Zagadnienia etyczne a edukacja polskich menedżerów
Ethical issues and education of Polish managers

Author(s): Łukasz Sułkowski, Grzegorz Ignatowski
Subject(s): Business Economy / Management, Ethics / Practical Philosophy, Adult Education, Higher Education , Educational Psychology, Methodology and research technology, Management and complex organizations, Sociology of Education
Published by: Uniwersytet Ignatianum w Krakowie
Keywords: ethics; manager; competition; ecology; organization; entrepreneurship education; business education;

Summary/Abstract: Research objective: Presentation and analysis of the ethical issues that should be taken into account in education of managers. The research problem and methods: The image of an organization in the future depends on the way managers are educated. Ethics occupies an important place in the educational process. Negative experiences of such a well-known company as ‘Enron’ show that managers’ commitment can have serious economic and social consequences. This refers not only to the collapse of businesses and layoffs of workers but also results in the weakening of interpersonal relations and the reduction of social trust. The article is based on the analysis of subject literature. The process of argumentation: The choice of issues analyzed in the article was dictated by personal experiences of the authors, who regularly deal with the education of managers. In their considerations they refer to major publications, which support the importance of the issues described in the article. Research results: The authors realize that education of managerial staff with the emphasis on ethics does not guarantee the growth of moral standards in business, as the law and local culture influence them as well. In Poland the educational standards in economic areas primarily include specialized subjects related to management and economics. Only several universities offer ethics as a compulsory subject. This state of affairs reveals that the programs emphasize the transfer of professional skills and ignore the moral aspects, which are crucial to efficient business operations of managers. Conclusions, innovations and recommendation: In the authors’ opinion, issues such as the problem of instrumental and dehumanized treatment of employees, the loss of corporate social responsibility, a cooperative approach to problems, a manipulatory attitude towards customers, the practice of unfair competition and the understanding of issues related to environmental protection should be reflected in the curricula for future managers. Without them, it is difficult to talk of permanent existence of enterprises in the demanding market.

  • Issue Year: 15/2016
  • Issue No: 34
  • Page Range: 283-295
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish