Towards an holistic understanding of management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue and to point at how much in the current economic and social crisis has to do with having lost an integrative, holistic and humanistic approach to management and organizations. Design/methodology/approach – Following a brief introduction of the current context, this piece summarizes the main points of the six papers selected for inclusion in this special issue. These papers were selected from among the more than 80 presented at an International Symposium on Ethics, Business and Society hosted by IESE Business School in Barcelona in May 2010. Findings – The main contributions from the papers in this special issue include conceptual elaborations on the conditions for work, that is, meaningful, holistic management delivered through management education programs, the interface between ethical values/responsibility and firm strategy, corporate community involvement, gift and gratuity dimensions of organizational analysis, and developing trust through a dialogue between management, on the one hand, and ethics and the social sciences, on the other. Originality/value – This paper points at new avenues to address the main management challenges that managers confront in today's social and economic crisis