Developing Competent Managers: The Shadow of Hungarian History

Hungary is deemed to be one of the economies that has successfully undergone the changes needed to enter the European Union. Despite this, it has been pointed out that Hungarian managers are still lacking in education and training, that there is a lack of innovation, and that there is still a certain resistance to change manifest in the continuance of the ‘black market’ economy. However, it is optimistically expected that the influx of Western managerial practices will soon put this to rights (Agenda 2000). In this paper, we question these assumptions. Firstly, we argue that change is a more complex sociological and historical phenomenon than most organisational writers would have us believe. To illustrate this point, we draw on the work of the social historian Elias, who shows us that macro-societal developments and changes at the micro-level are interrelated. Following Elias, we then examine the nature of change at an institutional level in Hungary, set against the wider historical background that has shaped these changes. Then, drawing on literature and social research into values, we examine the nature of the Hungarian character, showing its development alongside and in tandem with the historical and institutional changes. What we find does not reflect the upbeat representation of the current Hungarian situation. Rather, using the language of Jung, we show that the particular historical changes that have taken place seem to have taken place at two levels, leading to a ‘split’ in Hungarian institutions (of which we consider the economy an example) and which is equally reflected by an ‘alienation’ in the Hungarian character. We question the notion that the practices recently being imported from the West will provide the solutions that the Hungarian economy is looking for. Indeed, there is a possibility that the wholesale importation of such practices may add to the ‘alienated’ nature of Hungarian organisations, and increase the split between the rulers and the ruled, whether we conceive of this at an institutional level, or at the level of the individual psyche. We suggest that, without understanding these deeper issues, the simple importation of Western ideas is unlikely to address the need to implement lasting changes in organisations and to develop competent and creative managers

Trust and Creativity: Implications for Management Education

The importance of creativity to business performance is universally recognized. Yet, few universities seem to incorporate creativity in their management education programs. We examine one key facilitator of creativity in business, trust, and develop implications for management education. Trust is the foundation of creativity. Without it we do not feel safe and secure to tap into our deepest resources where creativity is found. How could we consciously turn our working cultures of competitiveness into cultures of collaboration where we would care for the interest, well-being and growth of others and not only of ourselves? How could we plant the seeds of this concept in students who come for the blue print and would like to graduate from business schools with an expectation of success? The authors raise questions rather than formulate recipes, observe what does not work, speculate on what might work and aim to stimulate discussions among academics and members of business communities

The Transformation of Educational Processes in Hungary: Fragmentation or Integration

The Hungarian education system is experiencing a period of major change. The number of students studying at universities and colleges has doubled in the past ten years; last year 96 universities and colleges were amalgamated into 23; and there is also an influx of foreign students into the technical and medical universities. Economically and socially, it is considered that Hungary has successfully completed changes that will take her into the European Union. Many of the educational changes have been driven by the forces of having to change to a market economy. Are the changes likely to enhance the learning experience for Hungarian individuals? By ‘learning’ we understand a fundamental change of view that is likely to impact on an individual’s thinking and behaviour. Firstly, drawing on an earlier theoretical framework that argues for an in-depth historical understanding of culture and change, we analyse the evolution of education in the Hungarian system over the past century. Drawing on a series of interviews with those involved with the changes, particularly at the Budapest Business School, and through a combination of narrative methods and analyses of changes in curricula, we will track the initial responses to these changes and the problems experienced by those responsible for implementing the change. The methodology employed is that of action research. Action research changes focus as it develops, and does not aim to be an accurate picture of a single situation at one point in time. The method has been chosen since it fits in with our views of the world and change, and also to address some of the important methodological problems of carrying out research in the transitional economies ( Michailova and Liuthto, 2000). It draws on our personal interpretations and values and aims at objectivity not through being impersonal or replicable, but through a critical analysis of what is being assumed. The presentation of results will take the form of a reflexive account of our involvement and perceptions of the change process, and will therefore reflect a deepening connection between ourselves as we cross our own personal and cultural barriers. Our chosen method also reflects an understanding that research as it has been traditionally carried out in the West is hierarchical: in this form researchers have power to determine the project and what meanings shall be attached to the lives and words of others, creating a separate culture for researchers: a culture of detachment and power. We want to move away from this, and using action research to expand the meanings so that in our work we can have a ’dialogue’ about the change process which promotes an integration of ideas and meanings between the West and the emerging economies

Hungarian Enterprises in the Global Market

This paper reports on Hungarian companies and how they perform on the global market. The first part of the paper provides some background and historic information on government support for export. Four successful companies were selected, from computer technology, acoustics, pharmaceutical industry and lighting retailing. These four companies are very different, however they all became successful internationally. We set out to provide an insight into their success by describing their case from their origins to the present day

Take- up of HR Practices in Hungary: Illusion and Disillusion

Hungary will be one of the first of the transition economies to join the EU. Researchers claim that, whilst there are still changes to make, the transition has been made from a planned economy to that of a market economy. ( Agenda 2000, 1998). However, there is claimed to be a lack of enterprising managers as Hungary struggles to come to terms with its new identity, leading to a focus on the way in which organisations manage people. It is not surprising, that Human Resource Management ( HRM), with its focus on management development, is seen as the new magic which can create these managers. In this paper, we seek to challenge the view that what Hungary needs in transition is the wholesale adoption of HR practices. Rather, we would argue that what is required is a deeper understanding of both what we understand by HR practices, and of the cultural context in which such practices are being implemented. We would question the rather simplistic assumption that HR practices will be necessarily helpful on two grounds. Firstly, we examine the notion of HR itself, and suggest that its conceptualisation is complex and problematic. We would argue that ‘managing people’ is a process that emerges from specific historical and cultural contexts, and therefore needs to be examined in this light before prescribing ‘best practice’ models. Further, we suggest that recent work in the UK and elsewhere on discipline in management practices may suggest that we need to be cautious in advocating or adopting such practices without sufficient reflection on the way in which such practices are adopted or implemented. To illustrate this thesis, we first examine our current understandings of HR management, tracing its evolution from the formal management models of the USA into the UK, basing our discussion on Lawrence’s analysis ( 1993). We then chart the discussions and debate around the take-up of HR in the UK, noting that our conceptualisations and paradigms can be confused and contradictory. We argue, however, with Lawrence ( 1993) that the reasons that the HR rhetoric ( if not the practices) has been welcomed in the UK is due to a series of historical events which have created a particular set of conditions where the need for clear communication and motivation created through management development is seen to be particularly important. Here the promises of HR practices are particularly appealing ( see for example, Zimmerman, 1993). We then show the evolution of ‘people management’ in the Hungarian context, tracing its emergence from planned to market economy. Drawing on history and past and contemporary literature, we trace the ways in which organisations have developed in the Hungarian context. We then suggest that, whilst there is a radically different history and set of attitudes to work in Hungary and the UK, there are some similarities in terms of the need for communication and motivation of the workforce which may lead to the take-up of HR rhetoric, if not practices. These conditions are such where management control is of the utmost importance, thus the disciplinary potential of such practices may well be actualised. Before such practices are implemented wholesale, we would argue, there needs to be more critical reflection on the nature of HR and the context in which it is implemented if Hungarian organisations are to evolve creatively from its dramatic process of change

Building Trust in the Workplace

Most organisational writers would agree that we are living in an age of ‘discontinuity’, or paradox, Peters (1987), Handy (1996, 1998), Cloke and Goldsmith (2002). However, they would also argue that organizations are not prepared for the social, economic, political, technological and organizational change that they are currently experiencing and will continue to experience. Other writers suggest that to cope with this, ‘trust’ is a prerequisite. Further, whilst those of us who live and work in organisations would agree that trust is of vital importance for feelings of collaboration and well-being, our experience of trust in organisations is rare. The rate of absenteeism and stress in organisations is perhaps testament to this. However, whilst growing, the literature on trust in organisations, appears to conflict, and generally treats trust as some philosophical concept. We argue here that a more practical concept of trust needs to be developed, that treats trust as a process and not a static entity. To develop this we draw on psychological literature, conceptualising trust as a process, and argue that this can be developed through action research and action learning. Drawing on a practical example, we go on to argue that action learning and research are powerful ways for transforming institutional culture into safe environments where unconditional, trusting relationships can be continuously created and nurtured

Autoantibodies Against the Complement Regulator Factor H in the Serum of Patients With Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS), characterized by pathogenic, complement-activating autoantibodies against the main water channel in the CNS, aquaporin 4 (AQP4). NMOSD is frequently associated with additional autoantibodies and antibody-mediated diseases. Because the alternative pathway amplifies complement activation, our aim was to evaluate the presence of autoantibodies against the alternative pathway C3 convertase, its components C3b and factor B, and the complement regulator factor H (FH) in NMOSD. Four out of 45 AQP4-seropositive NMOSD patients (similar to 9%) had FH autoantibodies in serum and none had antibodies to C3b, factor B and C3bBb. The FH autoantibody titers were low in three and high in one of the patients, and the avidity indexes were low. FH-IgG complexes were detected in the purified IgG fractions by Western blot. The autoantibodies bound to FH domains 19-20, and also recognized the homologous FH-related protein 1 (FHR-1), similar to FH autoantibodies associated with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS). However, in contrast to the majority of autoantibody-positive aHUS patients, these four NMOSD patients did not lack FHR-1. Analysis of autoantibody binding to FH19-20 mutants and linear synthetic peptides of the C-terminal FH and FHR-1 domains, as well as reduced FH, revealed differences in the exact binding sites of the autoantibodies. Importantly, all four autoantibodies inhibited C3b binding to FH. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that FH autoantibodies are not uncommon in NMOSD and suggest that generation of antibodies against complement regulating factors among other autoantibodies may contribute to the complement-mediated damage in NMOSD.Peer reviewe