Practical Wisdom and Diversity: Aligning Insights, Virtues and Values

294 Pages·2019·5.68 MB·English

by  Martina Stangel-Meseke

Wirtschaft – Organisation – Personal
Martina Stangel-Meseke · Ralf Lanwehr Hrsg.
Martina Stangel-Meseke
Christine Boven · Gershon Braun
André Habisch · Nicolai Scherle
Frank Ihlenburg Editors
Practical Wisdom
and Diversity
Aligning Insights, Virtues and Values
Wirtschaft – Organisation – Personal
Reihe herausgegeben von
M. Stangel-Meseke, Dortmund, Deutschland
R. Lanwehr, Meschede, Deutschland
Das heutige Arbeitsumfeld ist durch hohe Komplexität und widersprüchliche An-
forderungen geprägt: Während einerseits die Ressourcen knapper werden und der
Produktivitätsdruck in globalisierten Märkten zunimmt, soll andererseits die In-
novationsfähigkeit steigen, der langfristige Erfolg der Organisation sichergestellt
und das Engagement der Mitarbeiter gefördert werden. Dieser Spagat fi ndet in
einem Umfeld statt, das von demographischem Wandel, Fachkräftemangel und zu-
nehmend heterogenen Arbeitsgruppen geprägt ist. Für diejenigen Organisationen,
die die Herausforderungen erkennen und ebenso frühzeitig wie gezielt angehen,
ergibt sich ein wichtiger Wettbewerbsvorteil. Die Reihe Wirtschaft- Organisation-
Personal will dazu einen Beitrag leisten. Durch die Verknüpfung empirischer Be-
funde mit den dringenden Fragen der heutigen Organisationen positioniert sie sich
als zentraler Impulsgeber für Wissenschaft und Praxis.
Weitere Bände in der Reihe http://www.springer.com/series/13511
Martina Stangel-Meseke · Christine Boven
Gershon Braun · André Habisch
Nicolai Scherle · Frank Ihlenburg
Editors
Practical Wisdom
and Diversity
Aligning Insights, Virtues and Values
Editors
Martina Stangel-Meseke André Habisch
Dortmund, Germany Ingolstadt, Germany
Christine Boven Nicolai Scherle
Iserlohn, Germany Munich, Germany
Gershon Braun Frank Ihlenburg
Iserlohn, Germany Hamburg, Germany
With friendly assistance of Dipl. Komm.-Des. IND Mil-Al Han, Düsseldorf, Germany
ISSN 2567-6482 ISSN 2567-6601 (electronic)
Wirtschaft – Organisation – Personal
ISBN 978-3-658-23520-8 ISBN 978-3-658-23521-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-23521-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018955146
Springer Gabler
© Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2019
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Preface
VI Preface
On 23rd June 2016, the authors of this volume met for a conference to discuss
their project “Practical Wisdom and Diversity”. It was the day before the Brexit
referendum in Britain and being dedicated Europeans, we were all certain that
common sense would win and the British people would make a wise decision
and vote for REMAIN.
Waking up the next morning, we were shocked to find that Britain had decided
to leave the European Union. So much for wise decisions. The impact of this
event, however dramatic it appeared at the time, further convinced us that
there is a true need for our research of Practical Wisdom in society, organisa-
tions and politics.
In times of change and turbulences, when tried and tested systems seem to fail
and uncertainty and ambiguity influence and determine our lives to a large
extent, orientation is needed. It is human nature and part of socialisation to act
and interact in structured settings with rules that provide stability. In addition,
we need freedom to develop, to find our place in the structure and feel com-
fortable and appreciated.
Our society presents itself as an antithesis to the above: everyone is swimming
on his/her own in a vast ocean; there is no orientation, no anchor, no life boat
in sight. We can frantically tread water and hope that a large piece of debris
that we can hang on to comes floating our way, we can wait for someone to
come to our rescue OR we can take action by reflecting our situation and devel-
oping ways out of the dilemma, i.e. constructing our own life boat made up of
virtues, values and the belief that the ultimate requirement for society is the
common good. As the captain of our vessel, we must rediscover and apply an-
cient values which have disappeared in times of change. Instead of reacting, we
must act, instead of being driven by fears and pressure, we must trust ourselves
and believe in the power of common sense or Practical Wisdom in the Aristo-
telean sense.
One small vessel and one captain is not sufficient to weather the storm current-
ly blowing in many areas of life – business, environment, politics, society – we
need a crew made up of individuals who have many different talents and skills.
Preface VII
This is where the aspect of diversity joins Practical Wisdom, a combination
which is going to be explored by a diverse team of authors for the first time.
Just how significant diversity is, was illustrated by the failed coalition talks after
the general election in Germany in September this year. A so-called “Jamaica-
Coalition”, comprising Christian Democrats, Greens, and Liberals, could have
been a positive political example of diversity, but it has become a symbol for
divergence and wasted chances. As far as we see it, this kind of behaviour goes
against the moral and ethical principle of acting for the common good. The
coalition talks and the outcome are a prime example of a narrow-minded per-
spective which exclusively pursues party interests. This, to our mind, is inade-
quate when it comes to facing and providing solutions for the challenges of
diverse environments. Furthermore, it could be interpreted as irresponsible
behaviour, which to some extent, resembles the tendencies in large corpora-
tions. Maximising profit while neglecting their responsibility to create a sustain-
able business environment goes against the any logical principles. Which role
does diversity play in all of this?
In a society, diversity leads to change and this needs to be managed. In general,
Diversity Management focuses on the pluralism of an organisation’s members.
In detail and its practical implementations, Diversity Management concentrates
on six main dimensions, as there are age, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, and disability. In our book, we are going to go beyond merely ana-
lysing the six above-mentioned characteristics. The way of dealing with the
topic we chose is a diverse one in itself, reflecting our varied individual back-
grounds.
In line with our ideas and beliefs, we offer a holistic approach that includes
theoretical and practical implications. We perceive Aristotle’s intellectual vir-
tues as a lens through which various topics are discussed and evaluated. One of
our main objectives is to bridge the gap between theory and practice. At the
same time, we want to give implicit and explicit insights into Practical Wisdom.
VIII Preface
First of all, there is a thorough theoretical overview of the origin of Aristotelean
intellectual virtues as well as insights into the connection between Practical
Wisdom and Diversity Management.
In the second part four topics focusing on Practical Wisdom and / or Diversity
Management are presented: diversity dimensions (e.g. culture, age), higher
education, change and leadership, journalism, and business ethics.
We are aware of the most obvious fact, that our diverse and at the same time
individual approaches and thoughts do not represent the moral and ethical
truth – it would be extremely unwise to try and meet this objective. We would
like to invite our readers to join us on our diverse life boat, equipped with Aris-
totle’s thought virtues as a navigation device, to rediscover ancient tools, to
understand their value for today’s tasks, and to use them to make wise deci-
sions which benefit both the individual and society.
Enjoy the journey!
Martina Stangel-Meseke
Table of contents
Preface ......................................................................................................................... V
Table of contents ......................................................................................................... IX
Aristotle on Happiness, Emotions, and Practical Wisdom – A Short Reading
Guide ............................................................................................................................ 1
Jan Radicke
Practical Wisdom: Revisiting an Ancient Virtue in the Context of a Diverse
Business World ........................................................................................................... 23
Claudius Bachmann
Diversity as Practical Wisdom ..................................................................................... 41
Petia Genkova
Rediscover the Charioteer. Practical Wisdom and Diversity Management in
the Digital Age ............................................................................................................ 59
André Habisch
Reflections on Cosmopolitanism as a Normative Guideline for Practical
Wisdom ...................................................................................................................... 75
Nicolai Scherle & Claudius Bachmann
Diversity Management at SEISSENSCHMIDT GmbH – Generation Management
as a Competitive Advantage ....................................................................................... 95
Kathrin Groos & Thomas Winkler
Practical Wisdom vs Functional Stupidity: Toward an Inspired Business School ........ 111
Volker Rundshagen
Scouting and Unfolding Talents. A Case Study from the Ruhr Area............................ 131
Angelika Dorawa, Katrin Hansen, Lena Kreppel & Frank Meetz
Practical Wisdom: A Key to a Successful Implementation of Lateral Leadership ........ 161
Martina Stangel-Meseke
Diversity Management and Practical Wisdom: Organizational Change Success
Factors...................................................................................................................... 189
Frank Ihlenburg