MANAGEMENT AND MANAGEMENT EDUCATION IN THE POST-PANDEMIC WORLD: A POINT OF VIEW1

Abstract

The paper aims to foreshadow the challenges facing management education in the postpandemic era and to identify the changes it should integrate. The analysis starts from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on society in general, insisting on the human factor. It is underlined that the mental state of people and their relations were affected. The profound changes induced by the pandemic in this regard will lead to a "new normality", to which organizations will have to align. It is argued that a paradigm shift in management is needed to that end: managers should show as much concern for employee productivity as for their well-being, and believe in the value and development possibilities of employees, and appreciate their dignity and freedom. Managers will need emotional intelligence, which provides: resonant leadership, emotional communication skills and mental resilience. Management schools, which train and reshape managers, will need to change their programs, both in content and in the delivery process, using the benefits of online teaching. The paper emphasizes the importance of executive education as an opportunity in the post-pandemic time, which management schools should capitalize on.