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1 – 10 of over 24000This paper aims to examine the meaning, use and practical application to management education and leadership development of the terms wisdom, practical wisdom, prudence…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the meaning, use and practical application to management education and leadership development of the terms wisdom, practical wisdom, prudence, discretion and discernment as used in the Rule of Benedict.
Design/methodology/approach
After a detailed examination of the historical texts, the author draws on his personal experience of facilitating workshops with a number of senior executives. He applies this learning to current trends and issues in contemporary organisations in particular as they apply to the spiritual qualities of leadership.
Findings
The paper comes to a number of conclusions: spiritual discernment is an integral and indispensable part of practical wisdom; the acquisition, development of practical wisdom cannot be divorced from the individual's core spiritual and religious beliefs and practice; practical wisdom is not an end in itself but a means to discerning how to live a morally good life in relationship to other individuals and stakeholders.
Practical implications
Any workplace, irrespective of size and activity, must be a community of practice where practical wisdom can develop and flourish. In the frenetic workplace the exercise of practical wisdom needs protected time and contemplative leisure.
Originality/value
The ancient texts of the Rule of Benedict are translated into modern times; consequences for management practice and education are drawn.
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Hasan Valiyan, Mohammadreza Abdoli, Mehdi Ashrafi and Hadi Barati
Behavioral characteristics and the existence of personal knowledge and skills that are essential in forming a capable manager with specialized insight, is one of the most…
Abstract
Purpose
Behavioral characteristics and the existence of personal knowledge and skills that are essential in forming a capable manager with specialized insight, is one of the most important evaluation processes in appointing a manager. Wisdom as a trait of a set of personal characteristics and cognitive knowledge of a capable manager will gain competitive advantages for the company and external stakeholders. The purpose of this study is to present the framework of managerial financial wisdom through qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses grounded theory methodology to identify factors for managerial financial wisdom and uses a MICMAC process to evaluate the power of driving and dependence among factors. MaxQDA software was used for data coding and analysis. The MICMAC process by determining the location of each of the sub-themes in the four-dimensional matrix, seeks to determine the most effective criterion in the context of the study. The method of data collection is mixed and in terms of philosophical nature, this study is inductive/comparative.
Findings
The results of the research in the qualitative part indicate the presentation of a framework based on two categories, four components, and thirty themes. The results of the quantitative part of the study also showed that the most important factor of managerial financial wisdom is market-oriented values. Finally, it was found that the social trust caused by managerial financial wisdom is considered a factor in gaining more shares in the capital market due to the positive stimulus in this dimension.
Originality/value
The study is relevant for both practitioners and academia and has significant implications. For practitioners, the structural linkages identified will help enhance managerial wisdom effectiveness and drive the critical metrics for financial decisions and shareholders' rights protection. The study may help financial market practitioners better understand future policies. Academia and researchers can take reference from methodologies used in this study for exploring factors of interest and developing matrix linkages among them.
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Wisdom is a very difficult construct to work with in research and practice. One reason for this is that wise people can deal with metaphysical questions and experience spiritual…
Abstract
Wisdom is a very difficult construct to work with in research and practice. One reason for this is that wise people can deal with metaphysical questions and experience spiritual phenomena, both of which are hard to measure meaningfully. Although metaphysical and spiritual matters are not imponderable, they have significant measurement problems that are also part of the shortcomings of standard social science statistical frameworks. A second reason is that for many wisdom theorists, wisdom is context-dependent because wisdom is defined by and responds to what its context presents to it. We can therefore argue that wisdom is essentially context, which in quantum physics is theorised as a superposition of random variables that interact. This chapter, therefore, ponders the ‘immeasurable’ from the perspective of quantum-like social science and quantum theory to render wisdom, including its spirituality component, in formal mathematical models. The mathematical formalism of quantum physics allows for the presence of metaphysical phenomena in its ontological foundations and its mathematical models. This chapter, therefore, also presents an argument for understanding wisdom from the superposition perspective and, in particular, the internal interactions between random variables contained within it. If the challenge of measuring wisdom as a nondeterministic system is met, we may finally have an opportunity to measure wisdom in ways that embrace wisdom's complex ontology. A third reason is that wisdom depends on people making first-person subjective judgements. Subjectivity is central to many interpretations of quantum theory, and we can borrow the analytical formalism used in quantum physics for wisdom research. Finally, the chapter discusses future approaches to empirical wisdom research that adopt quantum-like social science methods.
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Dealing with the issue of “Can practical wisdom be taught in business schools?,” in this chapter, I argue for an inquiry-based learning approach as a way of improving today’s…
Abstract
Dealing with the issue of “Can practical wisdom be taught in business schools?,” in this chapter, I argue for an inquiry-based learning approach as a way of improving today’s management education. Following along these lines, I initially focus on the current criticism of today’s management education in business schools. Then, I provide an introduction into the recent interest in the topic of practical wisdom by management scholars that emerged as part of an effort to overcome these failures of business schools. These attempts, however, remain on a rather vague or theoretical level and are lacking helpful guidance on how universities might implement this concept into their educational offerings. In order to remedy these shortcomings, I introduce a competency-based three-pillar model of practical wisdom and combine it with an inquiry-based learning approach. A comprehensive scheme highlights how the particular competencies of practical wisdom can be fostered over the successive stages of the inquiry process. Most importantly, by describing a MA-thesis program as a successful example of these ideas in application, I provide concrete suggestions of how to facilitate the growth of practically wise competencies by means of an inquiry-based learning approach.
Marty Stuebs, William Miller and Steven Mintz
This chapter explores practical wisdom’s role in managing the application and use of soft skills. The authors explore how practical wisdom can connect technical and soft skills by…
Abstract
This chapter explores practical wisdom’s role in managing the application and use of soft skills. The authors explore how practical wisdom can connect technical and soft skills by developing moral skill and moral will to enhance ethical decision-making. Given practical wisdom’s importance, the authors further examine its role in the experiential learning process and how experiential learning activities like the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) curricular offering can bring practical wisdom and soft skills into the classroom with modest effort and investment. Through the application of the GVV methodology to a case study, the authors demonstrate how practical wisdom can be used in accounting education to support and advance accounting students’ moral and skill development, and accounting educators looking to do so can use this chapter as a starting point.
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Cassie L. Barnhardt and Carson W. Phillips
This chapter presents the major components in framing a developmental model of wise organizing in the field of higher education that proceeds along an increasingly more just and…
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This chapter presents the major components in framing a developmental model of wise organizing in the field of higher education that proceeds along an increasingly more just and responsible path. Our argument considers individual student development theories that lead one to greater competence for wise and socially responsible interactions and engagement in society, and aligns these individual processes with the organizational scholarship emphasizing how organizations enhance their capacities for wise and socially responsible conduct. After reviewing these arguments, we frame a set of research topics required for empirically identifying how universities can cultivate wisdom.
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Our children may learn about the heroes of the past.Our task is to make ourselves architects of the future.The twenty-first century confronts society with challenges that will…
Abstract
Our children may learn about the heroes of the past.
Our task is to make ourselves architects of the future.
The twenty-first century confronts society with challenges that will determine the future of humanity and the planet. Such challenges defy traditional analysis. Paralyzed by the inadequacy of our standard logic, on which much of traditional scholarship relies, we search for meaningful and effective understandings that can guide us – understandings that seem inherently wise and just, and not simply empirically confirmable. Few of us question the need for wisdom, yet to date, academic scholarship has failed to address the role that it plays, and could play, in supporting international organizational processes capable of addressing the world’s most demanding societal challenges.2 This chapter explores the nature of pragmatic wisdom – wisdom that incorporates both profound understanding and action. It uses the founding of an international development initiative, Uniterra, to highlight the need for and influence of wisdom in international organizational processes and outcomes. Uniterra’s core structure and central process involve partnering – forming networks of non-hierarchical relationships. The chapter therefore investigates the wisdom needed to create and maintain global partnerships. Given the chapter’s focus on pragmatic wisdom, it also explores the concepts of hope and courage, for without hope and courage, wisdom could never move beyond conceptualization to action. The writing style purposely differs from that of most scholarly articles. Beyond presenting a specific case, the writing offers readers the opportunity to experience wisdom via indigenous proverbs from a wide range of the world’s more pragmatic wisdom traditions. So as not to interrupt readers’ appreciation of the proverbs or reduce their impact or meaning merely to the underlying logical constructs, the chapter uses endnotes rather than more traditional text references.
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Kemi Ogunyemi, Amaka Anozie and Omowumi Ogunyemi
This chapter examines the common good orientation of (i) African indigenous wisdom about responsible management in the light of (ii) Aristotelian epistemic architecture of…
Abstract
This chapter examines the common good orientation of (i) African indigenous wisdom about responsible management in the light of (ii) Aristotelian epistemic architecture of phronesis and (iii) Catholic Social Teaching. Looking at what the chapter contributors found in Ghana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa, Lesotho, Uganda, Cameroon, and Egypt, the authors compare and contrast what common good means in these three great traditions that have done much to shape the world into what it is today and that can continue to help redirect humans into more responsible and sustainable domains of flourishing. The results show that the three traditions have much in common albeit with some nuances due to the disparity in their contexts and cultural settings. The expectation that the wise business leader should judge rightly and act ethically in pursuance of the common good is common to all three. The communitarian element of African indigenous wisdom stands out as the polis where wise leaders are taught and groomed for their responsibilities to the community. Where the person is disconnected from this reality of community, it could become more difficult for him or her to attain and maintain moral uprightness.
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