Managerial and educational perceptions of the future in changing societies- The Commonwealth of Independent States

This study presents the findings of a survey of managers, educators and pro fessionals from Jive countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (C IS). These respondents rated the current importance of some 40 factors whic h affected business operations in the CIS, and indicated how much control c ould be exercised over these factors. Respondents were also asked to rate t he importance of the same factors 5 years hence and to assess the control w hich could be exercised over them in 5 years time. Political, economic and financial issues facing managers in the CIS as well as the domestic and int ernational environment were currently deemed the most important factors, al though relatively little control could be exercised over these. The situati on envisaged for 5 years hence revealed a marked increase in the importance of educational and management factors, and the extent to which these could be controlled. The article suggests possible causes for this variation in opinion, and discusses the implications of the findings for management educ ation.