Manajemen | Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji joeb.84.5.313-317

Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

An Analysis of the Curricula of Business
Administration Departments in Turkish
Universities With the Perspective of Civil Society
Awareness
Aytul Ayse Özdemir & Muammer Sarikaya
To cite this article: Aytul Ayse Özdemir & Muammer Sarikaya (2009) An Analysis of the
Curricula of Business Administration Departments in Turkish Universities With the Perspective
of Civil Society Awareness, Journal of Education for Business, 84:5, 313-317, DOI: 10.3200/
JOEB.84.5.313-317
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.84.5.313-317

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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An฀Analysis฀of฀the฀Curricula฀of฀Business฀
Administration฀Departments฀in฀Turkish฀
Universities฀With฀the฀Perspective฀of฀Civil฀
Society฀Awareness
AYTUL฀AYSE฀ÖZDEMIR฀
ANADOLU฀UNIVERSITY฀

ESKISEHIR,฀TURKEY฀

ABSTRACT.฀The฀authors’฀goal฀was฀to฀
analyze฀the฀curricula฀of฀business฀administration฀departments฀in฀state฀and฀private฀universities฀in฀Turkey,฀which฀have฀been฀offering฀courses฀such฀as฀business฀and฀society,฀
social฀responsibility,฀business฀ethics,฀and฀
management฀of฀nongovernmental฀organizations฀(NGOs).฀Of฀the฀74฀universities฀with฀
business฀administration฀departments,฀4฀had฀
courses฀on฀NGOs,฀and฀30฀included฀courses฀
on฀social฀responsibility฀and฀business฀ethics.฀
In฀addition,฀12฀departments฀had฀courses฀
covering฀business฀and฀society.฀Therefore,฀
the฀lack฀of฀courses฀on฀NGOs฀in฀70฀of฀74฀
universities฀requires฀a฀revision฀of฀the฀programs฀offered฀by฀business฀administration฀
departments.
Keywords:฀business฀ethics,฀business฀and฀
society,฀curricula฀of฀business฀administration฀
departments,฀social฀responsibility
Copyright฀©฀2009฀Heldref฀Publications

฀

MUAMMER฀SARIKAYA
KAFKAS฀UNIVERSITY
KARS,฀TURKEY

T

he฀ world฀ of฀ business฀ is฀ developing฀ into฀ a฀ platform฀ on฀ which฀
continuous฀ and฀ heavy฀ competition฀ is฀
experienced฀ every฀ day฀ and฀ on฀ which฀
the฀understanding฀of฀corporate฀responsibility฀develops฀gradually.฀One฀of฀the฀
topics฀in฀this฀framework฀is฀the฀relation฀
between฀ business฀ and฀ society.฀ There฀
has฀ been฀ an฀ improvement฀ in฀ the฀ concept฀of฀nongovernmental฀organizations฀
(NGOs)฀ with฀ the฀ increase฀ of฀ democracy.฀ Above฀ all,฀ the฀ state฀ cannot฀ perform฀ social฀ responsibilities฀ efficiently฀
and฀requires฀the฀mutual฀cooperation฀of฀
NGOs฀ and฀ business฀ enterprises.฀ Educating฀ contemporary฀ business฀ administration฀ students,฀ who฀ will฀ eventually฀
hold฀places฀on฀this฀platform,฀is฀among฀
the฀ major฀ cases฀ that฀ have฀ been฀ underlined฀ in฀ recent฀ years.฀ Learning฀ about฀
potential฀ problems฀ and฀ obstacles฀ that฀

they฀ will฀ encounter,฀ and฀ about฀ their฀
possible฀ solutions,฀ during฀ their฀ years฀
in฀school฀provides฀students฀with฀a฀solid฀
basis฀ for฀ a฀ future฀ in฀ business฀ life.฀ For฀
business฀ administration฀ students฀ preparing฀ for฀ business฀ life,฀ it฀ is฀ of฀ great฀
importance฀to฀receive฀an฀education฀on฀
social฀ responsibility฀ and฀ NGOs฀ and฀
to฀ develop฀ such฀ an฀ awareness.฀ In฀ the฀
present฀study,฀we฀identified฀the฀courses฀ that฀ provide฀ information฀ on฀ NGOs฀
and฀ social฀ responsibility฀ by฀ examining฀ the฀ curricula฀ of฀ business฀ administration฀ departments฀ of฀ the฀ universities฀฀
in฀Turkey.฀

Review฀of฀the฀Literature
Civil฀ society,฀ which฀ stands฀ somewhere฀between฀state,฀market,฀and฀family฀(Chandhoke,฀2002),฀is฀a฀wide฀concept฀
that฀includes฀NGOs,฀trade฀associations,฀
professional฀ chambers,฀ religious฀ organizations,฀ student฀ organizations,฀ and฀
all฀ organizations฀ defined฀ as฀ interest฀
groups฀ by฀ political฀ scientists฀ (Carothers,฀Barndt,฀&฀Al-Sayyid,฀1999).฀Being฀
a฀ part฀ of฀ this฀ concept,฀ NGOs฀ have฀ a฀
crucial฀ role฀ in฀ developed฀ and฀ developing฀countries.฀

NGOs฀are฀establishments฀that฀endeavor฀to฀accomplish฀specific฀objectives฀and฀
act฀ independently฀ from฀ the฀ state฀ and฀
market฀ on฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀ volunteering.฀
Members฀ of฀ NGOs฀ gather฀ in฀ accordance฀to฀their฀common฀interests,฀identities,฀ or฀ needs฀ and฀ form฀ interest฀ groups฀
(Teegen,฀Doh,฀&฀Vachani,฀2004).฀These฀
kinds฀ of฀ establishments฀ are฀ also฀ called฀
civil-society฀organizations฀or฀third-sector฀organizations.฀
The฀need฀for฀NGOs฀is฀more฀noticeable฀
in฀developing฀countries.฀Such฀a฀need฀for฀
the฀development฀of฀NGOs฀is฀even฀more฀
emphasized฀in฀countries฀such฀as฀Turkey,฀
because฀they฀support฀civil฀participation฀
and฀civil฀education,฀attempt฀to฀promote฀
individual฀ rights฀ and฀ freedoms,฀ and—
most฀ importantly—offer฀ to฀ direct฀ the฀
civil-society฀policy฀in฀the฀country.฀
In฀ the฀ 1990s,฀ the฀ formation฀ of฀ civil฀
society฀ grew฀ much฀ stronger฀ in฀ Turkey฀
when฀the฀country฀was฀trying฀to฀meet฀the฀
May/June฀2009฀

313

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required฀standards฀for฀European฀Union฀฀
membership.฀ People฀ noticed฀ the฀ deficiencies฀of฀the฀state฀and฀recognized฀the฀
importance฀ of฀ NGOs฀ in฀ making฀ up฀ for฀
these฀deficiencies฀in฀events฀such฀as฀the฀
Marmara฀earthquake฀of฀1999.฀
When฀ analyzing฀ NGOs฀ in฀ general,฀
researchers฀ can฀ see฀ that฀ the฀ NGOs฀ in฀
Turkey฀ have฀ never฀ shown฀ a฀ bottomup฀ formation.฀ The฀ lack฀ of฀ cooperation฀
among฀ NGOs฀ and฀ their฀ considering฀
each฀ other฀ as฀ the฀ others฀ have฀ stood฀ as฀
obstacles฀ hindering฀ their฀ development.฀
Parallel฀to฀the฀world฀developments฀after฀
the฀ 1980s,฀ and฀ the฀ increasing฀ effect฀ of฀
human฀rights,฀the฀number฀of฀NGOs฀that฀
have฀ also฀ developed฀ in฀Turkish฀ society฀

has฀ reached฀ 150,000.฀ This฀ quantitative฀
success฀ is฀ required฀ to฀ become฀ a฀ qualitative฀ one.฀ However,฀ the฀ state-focused฀
policy,฀ lack฀ of฀ democracy,฀ and฀ inadequacy฀of฀legal฀arrangements฀in฀Turkey฀
continue฀to฀decelerate฀the฀development฀
of฀NGOs฀(Keyman,฀2004).฀
Because฀of฀the฀current฀situation,฀there฀
are฀some฀obstacles฀standing฀in฀the฀way฀
of฀ the฀ development฀ of฀ NGOs,฀ such฀ as฀
staff-฀and฀financial-resource฀limitations,฀
the฀lack฀of฀cooperation฀among฀the฀various฀NGOs,฀being฀under฀strict฀state฀control,฀and—the฀biggest฀problem—having฀฀
low฀ levels฀ of฀ confidence฀ and฀ social฀
capital฀ (Türkiye฀ Üçüncü฀ Sektör฀ Vakfı฀
[TÜSEV],฀2006).
The฀private฀sector฀has฀a฀great฀responsibility฀ to฀ strengthen฀ NGOs฀ in฀ terms฀
of฀ structure฀ and฀ promoting฀ their฀ existing฀ and฀ potential฀ roles฀ in฀ the฀ society.฀
However,฀ in฀ practice,฀ the฀ weakness฀ of฀
the฀ relation฀ between฀ the฀ NGO฀ and฀ the฀
private฀sector฀is฀noticeable.฀In฀the฀report,฀
“Corporate฀Social฀Responsibility฀of฀Private฀ Sector:฀Analysis฀ of฀ 10฀ Companies฀
in฀Turkey,”฀Özdemir฀(2002)฀showed฀that฀

companies฀ in฀ Turkey฀ are฀ indifferent฀ to฀
NGOs.฀ Companies฀ do฀ not฀ have฀ clear฀
strategies฀ on฀ how฀ to฀ set฀ objectives฀ and฀
which฀ projects฀ to฀ support.฀ Cooperation฀
with฀ NGOs฀ is฀ mainly฀ limited฀ to฀ sponsorship฀ activities฀ in฀ the฀ fields฀ of฀ environment,฀ arts฀ and฀ culture,฀ and฀ sports,฀
whereas฀ human฀ rights,฀ social฀ justice,฀
economic฀ development,฀ urbanization,฀
culture,฀and฀improvement฀of฀work-place฀
conditions฀ are฀ all฀ left฀ out฀ (TÜSEV,฀
2006).฀Business฀enterprises฀have฀crucial฀
roles฀ in฀ raising฀ civil-society฀ awareness฀
in฀ the฀ enterprises.฀ Among฀ the฀ policies฀
314฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

serving฀this฀aim,฀providing฀education฀for฀
the฀ undergraduate฀ business฀ administration฀students฀is฀strategically฀important.฀
It฀ is฀ especially฀ necessary฀ to฀ abandon฀traditional฀structure฀and฀align฀with฀
current฀conditions฀in฀business฀administration฀ education,฀ particularly฀ because฀

of฀ the฀ recent฀ corporate฀ failures฀ and฀
scandals.฀ Enterprises฀ should฀ improve฀
their฀ social-responsibility฀ approaches฀
and฀ display฀ activities฀ for฀ furthering฀
society฀ to฀ attain฀ success.฀At฀ this฀ point,฀
the฀ content฀ of฀ business฀ administration฀
education฀ and฀ the฀ information฀ level฀ of฀
students฀ and฀ instructors฀ play฀ key฀ roles฀
(Hawawini,฀2005).฀Porter฀(2006)฀stated฀
that฀ “the฀ ability฀ to฀ recruit฀ appropriate฀
human฀ resources,฀ for฀ example,฀ may฀
depend฀ on฀ a฀ number฀ of฀ social฀ factors฀
that฀ companies฀ can฀ influence,฀ such฀ as฀
the฀ local฀ educational฀ system,”฀ and฀ is฀
a฀ necessity฀ of฀ business฀ enterprises฀ for฀
making฀ social฀ responsibility฀ investments฀ and฀ preparing฀ for฀ competitive฀
environments฀(p.฀84).฀In฀this฀way,฀business฀ enterprises฀ would฀ preserve฀ their฀
organizational฀ images,฀ avoid฀ potential฀
risks,฀and—most฀importantly—increase฀
their฀ social฀ capital฀ by฀ strengthening฀

relations฀with฀their฀shareholders.
The฀second฀point,฀which฀necessitates฀
the฀ revision฀ of฀ business฀ administration฀
education,฀ is฀ the฀ increasing฀ number฀ of฀
NGOs฀and฀the฀roles฀that฀they฀play฀in฀the฀
development฀ of฀ society฀ and฀ promoting฀
social฀ capital.฀ In฀ consideration฀ of฀ the฀
difficulties฀experienced฀in฀terms฀of฀staff฀
and฀financial฀resources฀and฀lack฀of฀efficient฀management,฀NGOs฀should฀employ฀
graduates฀ from฀ business฀ administration฀
departments,฀ and฀ such฀ employment฀
would฀pave฀the฀way฀for฀the฀strengthening฀ of฀ NGOs฀ (Knight,฀ 2006).฀ Numerous฀methods฀of฀business฀administration฀
have฀ crucial฀ roles฀ in฀ the฀ development฀฀
of฀ NGOs,฀ but฀ when฀ this฀ connection฀
is฀ established,฀ the฀ structure฀ and฀ characteristics฀ that฀ are฀ unique฀ to฀ NGOs฀
should฀not฀be฀ignored.฀Education฀that฀is฀
focused฀ only฀ on฀ business฀ enterprises฀ is฀
not฀ adequate฀ for฀ the฀ efficient฀ management฀ of฀ NGOs.฀ Enterprises฀ and฀ NGOs฀
have฀ common฀ characteristics,฀ but฀ they฀
differ฀ in฀ terms฀ of฀ basic฀ components.฀

The฀objectives,฀values,฀and฀management฀
of฀ NGOs฀ that฀ are฀ different฀ from฀ those฀
of฀enterprises฀distinguish฀their฀management฀understandings.฀Therefore,฀provid-

ing฀ lectures฀ about฀ the฀ management฀ of฀
NGOs฀will฀also฀bring฀about฀the฀efficient฀
management฀of฀these฀organizations.
Undergraduates฀ in฀ business฀ administration฀ departments฀ who฀ are฀ preparing฀
for฀careers฀in฀business฀should฀be฀aware฀
of฀the฀social฀responsibilities฀of฀the฀enterprises฀ and฀ should฀ be฀ well-equipped฀ to฀
undertake฀ these฀ responsibilities.฀ Therefore,฀education฀that฀is฀provided฀to฀undergraduates฀ in฀ business฀ administration฀
should฀ not฀ have฀ an฀ economic฀ point฀ of฀
view฀ only.฀ However,฀ existing฀ business฀
administration฀education฀focuses฀on฀the฀
concepts฀ of฀ enterprise฀ and฀ profit,฀ and฀ a฀
management฀ model฀ based฀ on฀ economy฀
is฀ taught฀ to฀ students฀ (Ghoshal,฀ 2005;฀
Pfeffer,฀ 2005).฀ A฀ worldview฀ based฀ on฀
social฀responsibility฀should฀be฀engrained฀
in฀ undergraduates.฀ Furthermore,฀ their฀
awareness฀ regarding฀ the฀ consequences฀
that฀ this฀ world฀ view฀ entails฀ should฀ be฀
increased฀ (Giacalone฀ &฀ Thompson,฀
2006).฀Otherwise,฀young฀people฀who฀are฀
the฀potential฀investors฀of฀tomorrow฀and฀
who฀will฀be฀involved฀in฀business฀careers฀
in฀ the฀ future฀ will฀ be฀ incapable฀ of฀ comprehending฀and฀actualizing฀the฀expectations฀ of฀ society฀ and฀ the฀ responsibilities฀
of฀the฀enterprises.฀Studies฀comparing฀the฀
sensitivity฀of฀undergraduates฀in฀business฀
administration฀ and฀ other฀ departments฀
to฀ social฀ and฀ ethical฀ values฀ reveal฀ that฀
the฀technical฀and฀analytical฀training฀that฀
is฀ received฀ by฀ business฀ administration฀
undergraduates฀causes฀this฀sensitivity฀to฀
decrease฀(McCabe,฀Dukerich,฀&฀Dutton,฀
1991).฀ C.฀ S.฀ White฀ and฀ Dooley฀ (1993)฀
argued฀ that฀ receiving฀ an฀ education฀ that฀
focuses฀on฀practicability฀for฀many฀years฀
has฀ resulted฀ in฀ students฀ putting฀ practicability฀ first,฀ rather฀ than฀ behaving฀ ethically฀ or฀ in฀ accordance฀ with฀ their฀ social฀
responsibilities.฀ According฀ to฀ Wood,฀
Longenecker,฀ McKinney,฀ and฀ Moore฀
(1988),฀instructing฀egoism฀and฀individualism฀predominantly฀in฀the฀existing฀business฀ administration฀ programs฀ leads฀ to฀
students฀performing฀unethical฀behaviors฀
when฀ they฀ have฀ to฀ make฀ choices.฀ Furthermore,฀ the฀ existence฀ of฀ these฀ kinds฀
of฀ lectures฀ has฀ positive฀ effects฀ such฀ as฀
increasing฀ undergraduates’฀ social฀ sensitivity.฀Lectures฀regarding฀social฀responsibilities฀ of฀ enterprises฀ enable฀ business฀
administration฀undergraduates฀to฀extend฀
their฀perceptions฀of฀civil฀life,฀and฀these฀
lectures฀ have฀ a฀ positive฀ effect฀ on฀ their฀

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attitudes฀ and฀ behaviors฀ related฀ to฀ this฀
matter฀ (Angelidis฀ &฀ Ibrahim,฀ 2004;฀
Stewart,฀Felicetti,฀&฀Kuehn,฀1996).฀Universities฀and฀the฀education฀they฀provide฀
have฀ indisputable฀ effects฀ on฀ the฀ development฀ of฀ moral฀ judgment฀ and฀ interest฀
in฀ social฀ topics฀ (B.฀ J.฀ White฀ &฀ Montgomery,฀ 1980;฀ McCabe฀ et฀ al.,฀ 1991;฀
Stead฀ &฀ Miller,฀ 1988).฀ For฀ example,฀
it฀ was฀ discovered฀ that฀ the฀ existence฀ of฀
trainings฀on฀environmental฀issues฀in฀the฀
curriculum฀of฀the฀department฀of฀business฀
administration฀ at฀ Middlesex฀ University฀
in฀ London,฀ England฀ promotes฀ students’฀
sensitivity฀ toward฀ and฀ awareness฀ of฀
the฀ environment.฀ Above฀ all,฀ researchers฀ determined฀ that฀ training฀ regarding฀
environmental฀ issues฀ is฀ of฀ great฀ importance฀in฀obtaining฀a฀set฀of฀behaviors฀for฀
environmental฀protection฀and฀in฀learning฀
about฀ the฀ technology฀ and฀ instruments฀
that฀ individuals฀ use฀ in฀ environmental฀
management฀(Holt,฀2003).฀In฀addition฀to฀
the฀lectures฀regarding฀social฀responsibility฀and฀NGOs฀in฀business฀administration฀
education,฀ and฀ their฀ part฀ in฀ paving฀ the฀
way฀ to฀ increased฀ awareness฀ and฀ consciousness฀in฀students,฀researchers฀have฀
found฀ that฀ having฀ a฀ positive฀ attitude฀
about฀these฀courses฀(Sleeper,฀Schneider,฀
Weber,฀ &฀ Weber,฀ 2006)฀ is฀ necessary฀
(Gardiner฀&฀Lacy,฀2005;฀Stewart฀et฀al.,฀
1996).฀However,฀in฀practice,฀the฀existing฀
university฀ education฀ system฀ has฀ deficiencies฀regarding฀education฀in฀the฀areas฀
of฀civil฀society฀and฀social฀life.฀
Statement฀of฀the฀Problem
Today,฀ the฀ responsibilities฀ of฀ business฀ enterprises฀ have฀ expanded฀ with฀
their฀ roles฀ in฀ society.฀ Furthermore,฀ the฀
interest฀ in฀ societal฀ issues฀ and฀ problems—and,฀ in฀ turn,฀ the฀ number฀ of฀
NGOs—are฀ increasing.฀ That฀ the฀ concepts฀ of฀ corporate฀ social฀ responsibility฀ and฀ social฀ capital฀ are฀ emphasized฀
in฀ business฀ life฀ and฀ that฀ NGOs฀ are฀
important฀stakeholders฀in฀this฀emphasis฀
shift฀the฀focus฀toward฀the฀education฀of฀
business฀administration฀undergraduates฀
who฀will฀occupy฀positions฀in฀enterprises฀or฀NGOs.฀Furthermore,฀the฀need฀for฀
business฀administration฀undergraduates฀
who฀ have฀ received฀ training฀ on฀ these฀
topics฀ gradually฀ increases฀ because฀
responsibility฀and฀social฀capital฀provide฀
a฀considerable฀competitive฀advantage.฀
฀

The฀ aim฀ of฀ the฀ present฀ study฀ was฀ to฀
determine฀ whether฀ any฀ courses฀ can฀ (a)฀
enhance฀ the฀ awareness฀ of฀ civil฀ society฀
among฀ the฀ business฀ administration฀ students฀who฀will฀occupy฀various฀positions฀
in฀ corporations฀ in฀ the฀ future฀ and฀ (b)฀
provide฀ those฀ students฀ with฀ information฀about฀the฀management฀of฀NGOs฀in฀
a฀ professional฀ manner.฀ In฀ accordance฀
with฀this฀aim,฀we฀analyzed฀the฀curricula฀
of฀ departments฀ of฀ business฀ administration฀in฀state฀and฀private฀universities฀that฀
educated฀ students฀ for฀ a฀ minimum฀ of฀
1฀ year฀ in฀ Turkey.฀ Also,฀ we฀ revealed฀
whether฀ those฀ departments฀ provided฀
courses฀ on฀ business฀ and฀ society,฀ management฀of฀NGOs,฀social฀responsibility,฀
and฀business฀ethics.฀
We฀ also฀ tried฀ to฀ access฀ the฀ curricula฀
of฀ business฀ administration฀ departments฀
of฀these฀universities฀by฀way฀of฀the฀Web฀
sites฀ of฀ the฀ related฀ faculties.฀ We฀ contacted฀ the฀ faculties฀ that฀ did฀ not฀ publish฀their฀curricula฀online฀and฀requested฀
their฀curricula.฀
Findings
We฀ identified฀ the฀ courses฀ in฀ the฀ aim฀
of฀the฀present฀study฀by฀examining฀curricula฀ of฀ the฀ aforementioned฀ business฀
administration฀departments.
In฀the฀present฀study,฀we฀determined฀that฀
36฀of฀74฀universities฀with฀business฀administration฀departments฀provided฀courses฀on฀
civil฀society,฀business฀and฀society,฀social฀
responsibility,฀ and฀ business฀ ethics.฀ Furthermore,฀ 38฀ universities฀ that฀ had฀ business฀ administration฀ departments฀ did฀ not฀
have฀ any฀ courses฀ of฀ this฀ type฀ (see฀Table฀
1).฀As฀Table฀2฀shows,฀in฀the฀present฀study฀
the฀courses฀for฀improving฀the฀civil-society฀
awareness฀ level฀ of฀ students฀ in฀ business฀
administration฀ departments฀ are฀ grouped฀
under฀ three฀ main฀ categories:฀ courses฀ on฀
NGOs,฀ courses฀ on฀ social฀ responsibility฀
and฀business฀ethics,฀and฀courses฀on฀business฀ and฀ environment.฀ By฀ analyzing฀ the฀
content฀of฀courses฀related฀to฀civil฀society฀
in฀business฀administration฀programs,฀such฀
classification฀ was฀ found฀ to฀ be฀ appropriate฀ for฀ the฀ present฀ study.฀ Table฀ 2฀ shows฀
the฀ result฀ of฀ the฀ analysis฀ that฀ we฀ carried฀ out฀ according฀ to฀ this฀ classification:฀
the฀ number฀ of฀ the฀ courses฀ regarding฀ the฀
improvement฀ of฀ civil-society฀ awareness฀
level฀and฀the฀roles฀and฀responsibilities฀of฀
the฀enterprise฀in฀society.฀

TABLE฀1.฀Number฀of฀Business฀
Administration฀Departments฀in฀
Turkey฀Related฀to฀Raising฀Civil฀
Society฀Awareness฀Courses฀฀
(N฀=฀74)฀
฀
Variable฀

Number฀of
departments

Departments฀that
฀฀฀have฀course(s)฀
Departments฀that฀do
฀฀฀not฀have฀any฀courses฀

36
38฀

Of฀74฀universities฀with฀business฀administration฀departments,฀4฀included฀courses฀
regarding฀NGOs,฀and฀30฀included฀courses฀
regarding฀ social฀ responsibility฀ and฀ business฀ ethics.฀ In฀ addition,฀ 12฀ departments฀
had฀ courses฀ on฀ business฀ and฀ society.฀
In฀ this฀ context,฀ the฀ lack฀ of฀ any฀ courses฀
regarding฀NGOs฀in฀70฀of฀74฀universities฀
suggests฀ that฀ a฀ revision฀ of฀ the฀ programs฀
of฀ business฀ administration฀ departments฀
is฀ necessary.฀ Furthermore,฀ two฀ findings฀
were฀striking:฀Of฀74฀universities,฀44฀did฀
not฀have฀any฀courses฀on฀social฀responsibility฀and฀business฀ethics,฀and฀62฀universities฀did฀not฀have฀any฀courses฀regarding฀
business฀and฀the฀environment.฀
Table฀3฀lists฀NGO-related฀courses฀in฀
business฀ administration฀ departments฀ of฀
the฀universities฀in฀Turkey.฀However,฀we฀
emphasize฀that฀7฀of฀the฀10฀NGO-related฀
courses฀were฀in฀only฀one฀university.฀
We฀ observed฀ that฀ the฀ percentage฀ of฀
the฀courses฀conducted฀in฀terms฀of฀social฀
responsibility฀ and฀ business฀ administration฀ has฀ increased฀ over฀ the฀ past฀ 10฀
years฀in฀Turkey.฀Therefore,฀the฀number฀
of฀ courses฀ concerning฀ business฀ ethics฀
and฀social฀responsibility฀(25฀courses)฀is฀
higher฀than฀that฀of฀the฀number฀of฀other฀
related฀courses฀(see฀Table฀4).฀
It฀ is฀ important฀ for฀ the฀ undergraduates฀ in฀ business฀ administration฀ departments,฀ who฀ will฀ occupy฀ various฀ positions฀ in฀ enterprises฀ in฀ the฀ future,฀ to฀ be฀
well฀ grounded฀ in฀ the฀ topics฀ of฀ society฀ and฀ environment฀ and฀ to฀ develop฀
awareness฀ of฀ environmental฀ management.฀ In฀ particular,฀ it฀ would฀ be฀ useful฀
to฀include฀courses฀regarding฀sustainable฀
development฀and฀business–environment฀
cooperation฀ in฀ the฀ programs฀ of฀ business฀ administration฀ departments.฀ As฀
Table฀ 5฀ shows,฀ the฀ number฀ of฀ courses฀
concerning฀ business฀ and฀ environment฀
May/June฀2009฀

315

was฀ limited฀ to฀ nine,฀ which฀ proves฀ that฀
the฀ scope฀ of฀ the฀ programs฀ of฀ business฀
administration฀ departments฀ was฀ not฀ at฀
the฀desirable฀level.฀

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Conclusion฀
In฀today’s฀world,฀in฀which฀sustainability฀ is฀ gaining฀ importance฀ and฀ in฀ which฀
managerial฀approaches฀that฀are฀processfocused฀ rather฀ than฀ output-focused฀ are฀
adopted,฀ business฀ life฀ should฀ also฀ be฀
considered฀as฀a฀process,฀and฀its฀dynamics฀
should฀be฀established฀accordingly.฀This฀
process฀ can฀ be฀ achieved฀ by฀ providing฀
business฀ administration฀ undergraduates฀
with฀education฀and฀equipment฀that฀satisfy฀these฀requirements.฀The฀educational฀programs฀that฀result฀in฀the฀perception฀
of฀ business฀ enterprises฀ as฀ units฀ acting฀
independently฀of฀society฀may฀have฀detrimental฀effects฀in฀the฀short฀or฀long฀term฀
for฀ individuals฀ preparing฀ for฀ business฀
life.฀ Those฀ business฀ enterprises฀ whose฀
social฀ efficiencies฀ have฀ been฀ growing฀
daily฀ and฀ NGOs฀ that฀ defend฀ the฀ interests฀ of฀ society฀ without฀ expecting฀ any฀
corporate฀ interests฀ require฀ individuals฀
to฀ be฀ educated฀ in฀ accordance฀ with฀ this฀
consciousness.฀In฀the฀present฀study,฀we฀
aimed฀to฀analyze฀the฀courses฀offered฀in฀
universities฀and฀the฀distribution฀of฀these฀
courses฀ according฀ to฀ the฀ issues฀ they฀
focused฀on฀(e.g.,฀such฀as฀NGOs,฀social฀
responsibility,฀business฀ethics,฀and฀business฀and฀society)฀to฀determine฀the฀foresight฀ of฀ the฀ universities฀ with฀ business฀
administration฀departments.฀
In฀ the฀ present฀ study,฀ we฀ found฀ that฀
74฀universities฀had฀business฀administration฀ departments.฀ We฀ found฀ that฀ only฀
36฀ of฀ the฀ 74฀ departments฀ had฀ courses฀
regarding฀ civil฀ society,฀ social฀ responsibility,฀ and฀ business฀ ethics.฀ In฀ other฀
words,฀ more฀ than฀ 50%฀ of฀ the฀ business฀
administration฀departments฀did฀not฀have฀
any฀ courses฀ of฀ this฀ type.฀ More฀ striking฀
conclusions฀emerged฀when฀these฀courses฀ were฀ analyzed฀ and฀ grouped฀ under฀
three฀categories.฀Of฀the฀74฀departments,฀
70฀ lacked฀ courses฀ regarding฀ NGOs,฀ 44฀
lacked฀courses฀regarding฀social฀responsibility฀and฀business฀ethics,฀and฀60฀lacked฀
courses฀ regarding฀ enterprise฀ and฀ environment.฀The฀results฀of฀the฀present฀study฀
indicate฀the฀gap฀between฀universities฀and฀
NGOs.฀Literature฀points฀out฀that฀education฀is฀the฀basic฀requirement฀in฀enhanc316฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

TABLE฀2.฀Distribution฀of฀Courses฀Related฀to฀Raising฀Civil฀Society฀฀
Awareness฀in฀Business฀Administration฀Departments฀in฀Turkey฀(N฀=฀74)฀฀
฀
฀
฀
฀
Variable฀

฀฀
Courses฀
Courses฀
related฀to฀
related฀to฀
business฀ethics฀
nongovernmental฀ and฀social฀
organizations฀
responsibility฀

Departments฀that฀have฀courses฀
฀฀฀related฀to฀civil฀society฀
฀฀฀awareness฀฀
Departments฀that฀have฀no฀
฀฀฀courses฀related฀to฀civil฀
฀฀฀society฀awareness฀

Courses
related฀to
business
and
environment

4฀

30฀

12

70฀

44฀

62

TABLE฀3.฀Number฀of฀Courses฀
Related฀to฀Nongovernmental฀
Organizations฀(NGOs)฀in฀฀
Business฀Administration฀
Departments฀in฀Turkey฀(N฀=฀9)

TABLE฀4.฀Number฀of฀Courses฀
Related฀to฀Business฀Ethics฀
and฀Social฀Responsibility฀
in฀Business฀Administration฀
Departments฀in฀Turkey฀(N฀=฀33)

฀
Course฀name฀

฀
Course฀name฀

Management฀of฀
฀฀฀NGOs฀
Basic฀foundations฀
฀฀฀of฀NGOsa฀
Laws฀and฀regulations฀
฀฀฀about฀NGOsa฀
Human฀resource฀
฀฀฀management฀in฀NGOsa฀
Economy฀of฀NGOsa฀
Financial฀aprroach฀
฀฀฀to฀NGOsa฀
NGOs฀and฀social฀
฀฀฀engineeringa฀
NGOs฀

Number฀of฀
courses

2
1
1
1
1
1

Number฀of฀
courses

Ethics฀in฀marketing฀
Social฀responsibility฀
฀฀฀and฀business฀ethics฀฀
Business฀ethics฀
฀฀฀and฀governance฀
Managerial฀ethics฀
฀฀฀in฀organizations฀
Business฀and฀society฀
Societal฀responsibility฀
฀฀฀and฀tax฀consciousness฀

1
25
1
1
3
1

1
1

a

Indicates฀courses฀that฀took฀place฀at฀the฀
same฀university.

ing฀ individuals’฀ awareness฀ of฀ NGOs฀ in฀
society฀ and฀ also฀ business฀ society.฀ In฀
developing฀ countries฀ such฀ as฀ Turkey,฀
there฀is฀a฀great฀need฀for฀the฀development฀
of฀ democracy,฀ civil฀ rights,฀ and฀ social฀
capital.฀ However,฀ the฀ results฀ obtained฀
from฀the฀present฀study฀signal฀the฀urgent฀
need฀for฀curricula฀improvement฀in฀business฀administration฀departments.฀It฀is฀of฀
great฀ importance฀ for฀ today’s฀ business฀
schools฀ to฀ educate฀ individuals฀ who฀ are฀
aware฀of฀the฀roles฀and฀responsibilities฀of฀
business฀enterprises฀in฀society.฀Business฀
administration฀ undergraduates฀ should฀
comprehend฀ the฀ importance฀ of฀ all฀ the฀

TABLE฀5.฀Number฀of฀Courses฀
Related฀to฀Business฀and฀the฀
Environment฀in฀Business฀
Administration฀Departments฀in฀
Turkey฀(N฀=฀9)฀
฀
Course฀name฀
Business฀and฀
฀฀฀environment฀
Urban฀and฀environmental
฀฀฀management฀
Problems฀of฀environment฀
Sustainable฀development฀
฀฀฀and฀environmental฀
฀฀฀management฀
Environmental฀law฀and฀
฀฀฀management฀
Environmental฀
฀฀฀accounting฀

Number฀of
courses

4
1
1
1
1
1

individuals฀and฀groups฀that฀are฀affected฀
by฀enterprises฀or฀that฀affect฀enterprises,฀
and฀ educators฀ should฀ give฀ the฀ undergraduates฀ an฀ education฀ in฀ this฀ scope.฀
For฀this฀reason,฀the฀curricula฀of฀business฀
administration฀ departments฀ of฀ the฀ universities฀in฀Turkey฀should฀be฀revised,฀and฀
the฀ number฀ of฀ business฀ administration฀฀
courses—especially฀ those฀ on฀ management฀ of฀ civil฀ society฀ in฀ particular—
should฀be฀increased.฀

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:55 11 January 2016

NOTE
Aytul฀Ayse฀ Özdemir฀works฀in฀the฀Department฀
of฀ Labor฀ Economics฀ and฀ Industrial฀ Relations฀ at฀
Anadolu฀ University฀ in฀ Eskisehir.฀ She฀ teaches฀
undergraduate-level฀ organizational฀ behavior฀ and฀
organizational฀ psychology,฀ and฀ global฀ organizational฀behavior฀at฀the฀graduate฀level.฀Her฀research฀
interests฀ include฀ social฀ capital฀ in฀ organizations,฀
conflict฀ management,฀ women฀ entrepreneurship,฀
and฀social฀entrepreneurship.฀
Muammer฀Sarikaya฀works฀in฀the฀Department฀
of฀ Business฀Administration฀ at฀ Kafkas฀ University฀
in฀Kars.฀He฀teaches฀human฀resource฀management฀
and฀ business฀ administration฀ at฀ the฀ undergraduate฀
level.฀ His฀ research฀ interests฀ include฀ corporate฀
social฀ responsibility,฀ stakeholder฀ management,฀
NGOs,฀and฀social฀entrepreneurship.
Correspondence฀ concerning฀ this฀ article฀ should฀
be฀ addressed฀ to฀ Aytul฀ Özdemir,฀ Anadolu฀ University,฀ Faculty฀ of฀ Business฀ and฀ Administration฀
Sciences,฀ Department฀ of฀ Labor฀ Economics฀ and฀
Industrial฀ Relationships,฀ Yunus฀ Emre฀ Campus฀
26470,฀Eskisehir,฀Turkey.
E-mail:฀aacengiz@anadolu.edu.tr
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