The 2016 commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising invite us to remember our past and imagine a better future. As part of these commemorations, the 2016 Irish Academy of Management Conference will examine ethics in business – past, present and future.

There will be papers and symposiums that explore the concept of ethics in its broadest sense and across multiple levels – individual, organisational, sectoral, national and international. The conference will examine the ways in which business and the business community can make a contribution to building a sustainable and ethical economy and society.

The recent financial and economic crises provide fertile ground for the exploration of ethics in business and the role of institutions and regulations in supporting ethical behaviour and we have a number of contributions exploring these issues. We also received submissions that will examine what we can learn about ethics in business through analysing unethical behaviour and good ethical practices and which celebrate the positive contribution of business to building an ethical, sustainable and inclusive society.

2016 also provides us with the opportunity to reflect further and more broadly on the contribution of management, trade unions, policy makers and other organisational actors to the creation and development of the Irish state, and we have a number of plenary sessions that will do this.