The Transformation by Dialogue of Managers' Code of Conduct: The Davos Manifesto 27 Years On

At the World Economic Forum meeting in year 2000 in Davos the economic challenges for the next millennium were presented and analysed. The role of the Internet and communications in the development of the global economy were the central theme of the meeting and the evident inefficiency of traditional control mechanisms was highlighted. This situation implies greater responsibility for management for two fundamental reasons: first because management are ultimately responsible for the fortunes of their organizations, and second because they have more freedom to act. I believe that the Davos manifesto (1973) of discourse is of incalculable value, but we also believe that it has a series of important weaknesses from the ethical point of view. My proposal is for a transformational review centred on the ethics of discourse and using as a starting point a conviction of the important role of the manager in the development of ethics in organizations. In this article I intend to examine the need, and the opportunity, to develop an ethical code for professional managers based on discourse ethics.