Wise Management in Organisational Complexity

Wise Management in Organisational Complexity is an interdisciplinary response to widely debated concerns on the state of management under the stresses of 'sound-byte' communications and of organisational complexity. Aristotle's principles of wisdom are applied in contemporary management and governance and are linked to the larger idea of human potential and the Common Good. A Chinese philosophical perspective on Confucian meritocracy and Wangdao management brings a fresh perspective to an insightful anthology of analysis and reflection relevant to managers, researchers and teachers in management education. The reader is challenged to explore the practice of wisdom and to find new inter-disciplinary, methodological and pedagogical approaches for its application. Interest in wisdom as a topic for research has been growing across the disciplines of organisational studies, leadership studies, philosophy and psychology. The authors demonstrate an alternative to the disciplinary silo approach to management studies and offer a challenging alternative to current research methods.

Mike Thompson is Professor of Management Practice and Director of the Centre for Leadership and Responsibility at the China Europe International Business School and was formerly CEO of GoodBrand, the sustainable enterprise consultancy. Mike speaks and writes on wise leadership, corporate governance and sustainable brand strategy. He received his PhD from the University of Kent, UK.

David Bevan has a PhD in Management from the School of Accounting at King's College London, UK. His research, teaching and consulting is based on readings of continental philosophy as applied to contemporary concerns for sustainable business and management (re)education.

1. Wise Management in Organisational Complexity: an Introduction; Mike Thompson and David Bevan
2. The Multi-Dimensional Character of Wisdom; Bernard McKenna
3. Empirical Wisdom Research: A Community Approach; David Rooney
4. In Praise of Strategic Indirection: Towards a Non-Instrumental Understanding of Phronèsis as Practical Wisdom; Robert Chia, Robin Holt and Li Yuan
5. From the Financial Crisis to Wise Management: The Relevance of the 'Return to Aristotle'; Jean-Jacques Rosé and François Lépineux
6. 'To know as we are known:' Locating an ancient alternative to virtues; Mark Strom
7. Wise and Virtuous Leadership: The Contribution of Confucian Values to Business Leadership; Li Yuan
8. Wang Dao Management as Wise Management; Po Keung Ip
9. Wicked Problem: Educating for Complexity and Wisdom; Jay Hays
10. In Search of Wisdom; John Little
11. Giving Voice To Values: An Innovative Pedagogy for Values-Driven Leadership Education; Mary C. Gentile
12. Hearing voices: Wisdom, Responsibility and Leadership; Simon Robinson
13. Managerial Wisdom in Corporate Governance: The (ir)relevance of Accountability and Responsibility at Corporate Boards; Peter Verhezen