In this article we examine the social representations of Brazilian graduate students of Business Administration regarding situations in which ethics and competitiveness are paradoxically present. The aim of this study is to identify how the meaning, constructed by students, of what Administration is, as well as an organization, and the role of the administrator leads them towards certain symbolic positions concerning this paradox. This problematization is examined by means of the Social Representation Theory, as well as by Critical Management Education. Our study is qualitative in nature, and the methodological procedures used are: a word association test, a completion test for the analysis of five cases reported by the printed and televised media, and the construction of theme drawings. The results show that students have an ambiguous and contradictory symbolic position regarding not only the role of the administrator, but also the appropriate management practice in these situations.
Business ethics; Dilemmas; Paradoxes; Social representations; Organizational behavior
