Teaching the rules of a free-market economy in post-communist countries – metroeducation case in Poland

Abstract

The emerging of large, international trading corporations in Poland has been a natural consequence of the changes in the country's political system. However, foreign companies that invested in Poland had to face unusual problems. On the one hand, they were teaching Polish society the rules of a free-market economy but, on the other hand, there was a strong conviction in people's mindset that these corporations' intentions were not good and that it was dangerous for Polish merchants and producers to cooperate with them. One of the first companies that noticed the problem and began working on a coherent program dealing with corporate social responsibility was the German corporation called METRO Group. A program appropriate for the needs of the Polish market was to combine educational, image-oriented and political goals.