Business Ethics and Business History: Neglected Dimensions in Management Education
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00238 |
| Author | R. Warren,G. Tweedale |
| Published date | 01 December 2002 |
| Date | 01 December 2002 |
‘[History] enlarges the area of individual experi-
ence by teaching about human behaviour, about
man in relationship to other men, about the inter-
action of circumstances and conditions in their
effect upon individual and social fortunes . . .
Historical knowledge gives solidity to the under-
standing of the present and may suggest guidelines
for the future.’ (Elton, 1967, p. 67)
Introduction
Two large gaps in the curriculum of many busi-
ness schools are very often apparent: the neglect
of the historical and the ethical dimensions in
understanding business and management. Two
academic disciplines exist to fill these gaps:
business history and business ethics. The former
has had some limited success in penetrating the
business education curriculum and is occasionally
offered as an option subject; the latter is not as
well organized and has only recently appeared on
the business education curriculum, again mainly
in the elective option format. It will be argued in
this paper that both disciplines have an important
contribution to make to a fully relevant business
education, especially if both subjects work together
to enhance each others’ contributions to the
curriculum. It will be argued that business ethics
can make great use of business history as both a
source of descriptive research evidence and as a
resource for theory building.
First, a justification for the inclusion of business
history and business ethics into the business cur-
riculum will be given together with a discussion of
their development as subdisciplines. An example
of this mutual benefit to be derived from working
together will then be given, and the paper will
conclude with some further suggestions for other
areas of common endeavour for business history
and business ethics.
British Journal of Management, Vol. 13, 209–219 (2002)
© 2002 British Academy of Management
Business Ethics and Business History:
Neglected Dimensions in
Management Education
R. Warren and G. Tweedale
Business School, Manchester Metropolitan University, Aytoun Street, Manchester M1 3GH, UK
Email: R.Warren@mmu.ac.uk [Warren]; G. Tweedale@mmu.ac.uk [Tweedale]
This article highlights two large gaps in the business school curriculum: the neglect of
historical and ethical dimensions. An overview is provided of progress made so far in
the UK in the evolution of business history as an academic discipline; and also of the
take-up of business ethics in university teaching. Both have had some success, but
overall the response to these areas has been somewhat lacklustre – at least in the UK.
A justification is provided for adding both components to a fully relevant business edu-
cation. When the two are combined, the result can be a highly rewarding combination
that provides insights that may not be possible for management writers, who work
only in the present. Corporate ethics, the social responsibility of companies, disclosure,
the environment, the actions of multinational companies overseas, the dilemmas of
whistle-blowing, the impact of lobby groups and health and safety issues can all be
understood more fully by students if they approach these subjects from an ethical and
historical standpoint.
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