WS25 – P&MS, Responsible Management and Democracy

In partnership with :

Eurocadres (Council of European Professional and Managerial Staff / Conseil des cadres européens) : www.eurocadres.org

Workshop presentation

The traditional representation of the company, with management on one side and employees on the other poorly renders the reality of the modern economy and administration. Today, the term « manager » or « professional » encompasses a significant and growing stratum of employees whose characteristic is individual and collective control of decisive knowledge and know-how. The employees concerned not only sell a work force, they also provide skills. Their position within the company, administration, or in research ranges from the management authorities to simple executive or supervision functions. However, overall the managers carry considerable weight implicitly or explicitly. They also have trouble acknowledging this power and taking on the resulting responsibilities vis-à-vis the other employees and vis-à-vis society as a whole. Many act as just cogs in the wheel for employer or political orientations, all the more so because they are professions less accustomed than the labourer world to organise themselves, perhaps because they are more able to negotiate their status individually or because they are among the great beneficiaries of economic progress.

How is this world evolving in China and in Europe? Above and beyond the loyalty due to the public or private employer, do managers reflect on their broader responsibility toward society?

These will be some of the questions covered in this workshop.