Search results

The aim of this paper was to describe the aesthetics of self-realization as a way to overcome depersonalization, routinization, and linear temporality in the organizational setting. Artists’ self-portraits (Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Dali) are used as metaphors of organizational life. In doing so, they could enable organizational members to reinvent modes of thinking, speaking, and behaving in the workplace. Philosophical novels (Kafka, Proust, and Murakami) could also unveil hidden aspects of human existence that are quite relevant for the organizational life. Artists’ self-portraits and philosophical novels could then help organizational members to avoid estranged depersonalization, while designing their own project of self-realization. Reinventing the real world of organizational life implies to emphasize both moral imagination (against routinization) and openness to all kinds of temporality (against linear temporality). Describing the aesthetics of self-realization could make organizational members more aware of their capacity to endorse radical humanism without destroying the organization itself.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the construction of discourses in current popular management models described in the field of management coaching in order to examine the disciplining forms and the type of authority appeal drawn upon in these models.

The authors apply a discourse analysis to two selected works on management coaching in order to investigate the rhetorical articulation of the coaching concept in terms of established discourses of management.

It seems that the analysed works draw on both a rationalistic and a spiritual paradigm of disciplining. Self‐realisation is mainly a superficial change. The discourse pattern thus fits into a wider social postmodern context in which social order seems to be constituted through a blending of rational and spiritual discourse order.

The analysis provides insight into the extent to which management coaching practices are likely to facilitate intrinsic employee involvement and hence organisational innovation and learning.

Since there are only sparse studies of discourse analysis within management coaching, the study provides new insight into how a rather new emerging management technique constructs and disciplines the employee's project of self‐realisation.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the control assumptions embedded in some textbooks on management coaching with a view to uncovering the potentialities and constraints applying to the individual's self‐realisation project.

By means of a qualitative discourse analysis of selected works on management coaching, the paper examines the rhetorical articulation of the management coaching concept in terms of established discourses of managing and controlling the individual.

As a result of the findings, the paper categorises the management coaching literature into two types: employee and executive coaching, respectively. It demonstrates that employee coaching seems to involve action control and direct monitoring, while executive coaching involves control of the spirit as well as results/achievements, thereby generating tight constraints on the individual's self‐realisation project. It concludes that coaching can be a stronger disciplining technique than control by numbers.

The paper provides insight into how writing on management coaching may help to construct power structures and social relationships reflected in society. There have been other studies analysing, for example, how performance measurements produce power structures and social relationships, but to the best of one's knowledge none of these has focused on management coaching – nor have they drawn on discourse analysis, which allows one to discern the social orders of popular management practices.

Politics has been defined as “the art of the possible.” But where possibilities are concerned, choices must be made; and this leads us directly to value theory, as do both educational theory and critical social theory. Indeed, they all lead not only to value theory, but to “quality of life” theory — and this in turn raises what might be called the question of a normative philosophical anthropology, concerned with the interpretation and assessment of human life, not only in its general contours but also in its variability. It too deals with human possibilities; and it might be argued to be concerned with issues that are fundamental to any “critical social theory” — political, cultural or educational.

The aim of the current article is to investigate satisfaction of the staff of Estonian university libraries with the organization of work by analyzing characteristics, aspects and dimensions of the work, such as self-realization and skills realization opportunities, task complexity, task interdependence and fair division of tasks.

The data used in this paper is based on a review of relevant literature to provide an overview of the concept of work organization, and the results of the original online survey created by the paper’s authors, conducted among Estonian university libraries. The results are interpreted on the basis of direction in the literature, and the authors’ opinions, based on our long-term working experience in Estonian academic libraries.

Although a number of Estonian university librarians were mostly satisfied with the division of labor within their departments, the respondents feel that duties in the library as a whole should be reorganized and workloads should be divided more equally. Almost half of the respondents have performed (in addition to their main job) duties that are not included in their job descriptions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research has been previously carried out in the Estonian library context into work organization and coordination. Based on the current study, it can be concluded that the biggest challenge for university libraries in Estonia is to fixate clearly job descriptions and work procedures, divide job duties fairly and guarantee balanced work load. Additional duties should be accompanied with additional remuneration.

The purpose of this paper is to reinterpret Attali’s worldview through the lenses of liberalism and Buddhism by mobilizing the relevant literature, beyond the mere book review. This paper is an essay based on the book “Devenir Soi” by Jacques Attali, published in France in 2014. These analytical grids were chosen, because freedom and self-realization are two themes that pervade the book.

After presenting the book structure, the objective and the methodological approach, we uncover Attali’s interrogation, namely how to free oneself from the omnipresence of evil, the withering away of the State and growing xenophobic populist self-entitlement. We make explicit Attali’s liberalism and plea for freedom, and we present a critical discussion of his method, based on the idea of selfness essentialism and a novel comparison with Buddhism. Finally, we assess the overall success of Attali’s intellectual endeavor.

Attali’s thesis is generally consistent and solid. Nevertheless, a few weaknesses are identified.

Anybody willing to read Attali’s book as a self-development book will gain some valid insights with this paper.

Attali’s book is largely centered on the individual. Yet, through the lenses of liberalism and Buddhism, a new vision of society is put forward.

Attali enjoys an international reputation as an intellectual, economist and essayist. Devenir Soi has not yet been translated in English. More than a mere translation, the present paper will bring his ideas to the fore in the English-speaking world.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the development of a biodiversity reporting and evaluation framework. The application of the framework to an exemplar organisation identifies biodiversity-related annual report disclosures and analyses changes in the nature and levels of these over time. Finally, the paper aims to establish whether the disclosures made by the exemplar are consistent with a deep ecological perspective, as exemplified by New Zealand conservation legislation.

Viewing the framework developed by the paper through a deep ecological lens, the study involves a detailed content analysis of the biodiversity disclosures contained within the annual reports of a conservation organisation over a 23-year period. Using the framework developed in this paper, the biodiversity-related text units were identified and allocated to one of three major categories, 13 subcategories, and then into deep, intermediate and shallow ecology.

Biodiversity disclosures enable stakeholders to determine the goals, assess their implementation, and evaluate the performance of an organisation. Applying the framework to the exemplar revealed the majority of annual report disclosures focused on presenting performance/implementation information. The study also found that the majority of disclosures reflect a deep ecological approach. A deep/shallow ecological tension was apparent in a number of disclosures, especially those relating to the exploitation of the conservation estate.

This paper is the first to develop a framework that can be used as both a biodiversity reporting assessment tool and a reporting guide. The framework will be particularly useful for those studying reporting by conservation departments and stakeholders of organisations whose operations impact biodiversity.

Given the importance of technology in competitive advantage, this paper seeks to better understand the factors associated with entrepreneurs' decision to incorporate innovative technologies in new ventures. It aims to explore three questions: “Are the reasons given for starting technologically innovative new ventures (TINVs) different from those given for starting ventures based on traditional technologies?”; “What is the role of human capital in the TINV startup decision?”; and “Do gender differences exist in the reasons and human capital associated with starting a TINV?”.

Data were obtained from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II (PSED II), which is a national database of individuals in various stages of starting a business. The overall sample consisted of 950 individuals. Non‐parametric methods and logistic regressions were used to test hypotheses.

Results show that men start the TINV for self‐realization reasons, and that wealth seeking and employment reasons are negatively associated with the technology startup decision among women, but not among men. Human capital positively predicts the decision to start TINV, but gender differences exist as well: specific human capital (industry and occupational background) positively predicts the technology startup decision among men, whereas general human capital (education and employment breadth) positively predicts the decision among women.

Better understanding of the factors that motivate and encourage entrepreneurs to utilize innovative technologies is useful for policymakers, practitioners, and educators. This understanding can help when allocating resources for the purpose of encouraging innovation and when trying to train entrepreneurs to enhance competitiveness of new ventures.

The study highlights some of the factors associated with the decision to start firms that are technologically innovative. Given that incorporating technology in new venture is often considered a key factor in sustainability and long term competitive advantage, the study provides possible explanations for potential sources of competitive advantage. Implications for the role of motives and human capital in the startup decision and in the decision to incorporate technology are discussed, with specific reference for male and female owned business.