Humanistic Management – serie

Dignity in the context of work organisations has been explored by a range of scholars globally, yet the potential of this interdisciplinary concept is overwhelmed by our commitment to outdated philosophies and the narrow paradigmatic concerns of academic subdisciplines. Bringing together the work of sociologists, philosophers, political theorists, and a wide selection of business and management scholarship, this book highlights areas in which ‘workplace’ dignity needs a rethink. Starting with the foundational philosophical assumptions, this book challenges a deontological ethic and a simple atomistic view of persons. A specific thesis of dignity as emergent from social performance is presented which is informed by symbolic interactionism, actor-network theory, and liberal and feminist philosophy. With organisational examples throughout, this radical rethink has serious implications not only for the study of dignity in the context of contemporary work activity but also respecifies how we think about our obligations to ourselves and others in networks of relations.

Motivation in Organisations: Searching for a Meaningful Work-Life Balance extends the current motivation models in business education to include motives of human behaviour that have been neglected for decades. It debunks some of the myths about human motivation (self-interest as the dominant factor, amorality and non-spirituality) and explains why this approach to teaching business is erroneous and leads to wrong and harmful practices in many organisations. In a very personal and engaging style, the author presents a "map of motivations", based on a humanistic approach to management. This includes the latest findings of Abraham H. Maslow supported by sound philosophical reflections and modern research. He also presents specific ways of putting the framework into practice, sharing stories from students and professionals of how this framework has helped them better understand their own motivations and look at their daily work in a much more meaningful way. The book is highly relevant to students and researchers in humanistic management, people management, organisational behaviour, business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability. In short, this text will be truly inspiring to anyone who wants to reflect on motivations in organisations and how to achieve a better work-life balance.

Humanistic management has been part of a growing conversation about a different approach to management that contributes to dignity in the workplace and better organisations overall. The theoretical concepts have mostly derived from developed countries. This book seeks to redress the balance and looks at the development and application of the concepts, approaches and models of inequality, corruption, poverty, and uncertainty in the context of Latin America. The book provides a comprehensive overview of what is happening in Latin America in terms of Humanistic Management and the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals. The first section describes the development of Humanistic Management by reviewing two different schools that have strongly influenced the discipline: the Montreal School and the Saint Gallen School. Humanistic Management is then presented as a model that can be used by scholars and practitioners in Latin America. The third part aims to explore how Humanistic Management has been, and could be, implemented across different organizations and business sectors in Latin America. Part four examines the implications of Humanistic Management for external stakeholders such as customers and consumers, suppliers, community, government, and universities. Finally, the conclusion provides new approaches to Humanistic Management for Latin America. Humanistic Management in Latin America will serve as a key reference and resource for teachers, researchers, students, experts and policy makers, who want to acquire a broad understanding of social responsibility and business across the world.

This book is a reaction to the reductionist and exploitative ideas dominating the mainstream contemporary management discourse and practice, and an attempt to broaden the horizons of possibility for both managers and organization scholars. It brings together the scholarly fields of humanistic management and organizational aesthetics, where the former brings in the unshakeable focus on the human condition and concern for dignity, emancipation, and the common good, while the latter promotes reflection, openness, and appreciation for irreducible complexity of existence. It is a journey towards wholeness undertaken by a collective of management and organization theorists, philosophers, artists, and art curators.Reading this book’s contributions can help both academics and practitioners work towards building organizational practices aimed at (re)acquiring wholeness by developing aesthetic awareness allowing for more profound understandings of performativity, insights into the dynamics of power, appreciation of ambiguity and ambivalence, and a much needed grasp of complexity. The varied ways of engaging with art explored by the authors promote imaginative insights into and reflection on the beauty and vicissitudes of organizing, of management knowledge and collective expression.It will be of interest to researchers, academics, practitioners, and students in the fields of organizational theory and practice, business and management history, human resource management, and culture management.

This book is a reaction to the reductionist and exploitative ideas dominating the mainstream contemporary management discourse and practice, and an attempt to broaden the horizons of possibility for both managers and organization scholars. It brings together the scholarly fields of humanistic management and organizational aesthetics, where the former brings in the unshakeable focus on the human condition and concern for dignity, emancipation, and the common good, while the latter promotes reflection, openness, and appreciation for irreducible complexity of existence. It is a journey towards wholeness undertaken by a collective of management and organization theorists, philosophers, artists, and art curators.Reading this book’s contributions can help both academics and practitioners work towards building organizational practices aimed at (re)acquiring wholeness by developing aesthetic awareness allowing for more profound understandings of performativity, insights into the dynamics of power, appreciation of ambiguity and ambivalence, and a much needed grasp of complexity. The varied ways of engaging with art explored by the authors promote imaginative insights into and reflection on the beauty and vicissitudes of organizing, of management knowledge and collective expression.It will be of interest to researchers, academics, practitioners, and students in the fields of organizational theory and practice, business and management history, human resource management, and culture management.

Tourism is a fast-growing and changing industry, which has become a driver of economic development in both developed and underdeveloped countries. While the tourism industry’s potential for shared value creation and sustainable development is acknowledged, the concerns around the environmental and social pressures remain a challenge for businesses, organizations, and destinations. This is because sustainable tourism arguably conflicts with the predominant neoliberal structure of the economy and with the hierarchical, profit- and consumption-driven societies. The emphasis on competition, growth, and profitability may undermine economic viability itself by consuming unreproducible resources and by undermining the six essential elements—dignity, people, prosperity, social justice, planet, and partnership—that are conceptually linked to sustainable development. The crises recurrently challenging the global travel and tourism environment, including climate change, bushfires, extreme weather disasters, pandemics, and the financial crisis, show the weaknesses of neoliberal approaches and the collective economic dependency of countries on tourism that is vulnerable, if not completely unsustainable. This vulnerability asks for understanding that the collective future depends on developing entirely new approaches and interpretation of tourism to effectively respond to the human, societal, social, and climate challenges.This book offers a novel and original perspective entailing the application of a humanistic management approach to sustainable tourism, which is centered on the value of human life, the protection of human dignity and the promotion of well-being. Multiple theoretical approaches, methods, and practical cases, on an international scale, shed light on shared value creation and human dignity as a necessary condition for its achievement in different contexts. Implicitly and explicitly, they respond to the current urgency to implement strategies to recover from the worldwide impact of the pandemic crisis and to provide a vision of what tourism could and should be when it recovers. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, professionals, and postgraduates in the fields of management, sustainability, and tourism development.

Tourism is a fast-growing and changing industry, which has become a driver of economic development in both developed and underdeveloped countries. While the tourism industry’s potential for shared value creation and sustainable development is acknowledged, the concerns around the environmental and social pressures remain a challenge for businesses, organizations, and destinations. This is because sustainable tourism arguably conflicts with the predominant neoliberal structure of the economy and with the hierarchical, profit- and consumption-driven societies. The emphasis on competition, growth, and profitability may undermine economic viability itself by consuming unreproducible resources and by undermining the six essential elements—dignity, people, prosperity, social justice, planet, and partnership—that are conceptually linked to sustainable development. The crises recurrently challenging the global travel and tourism environment, including climate change, bushfires, extreme weather disasters, pandemics, and the financial crisis, show the weaknesses of neoliberal approaches and the collective economic dependency of countries on tourism that is vulnerable, if not completely unsustainable. This vulnerability asks for understanding that the collective future depends on developing entirely new approaches and interpretation of tourism to effectively respond to the human, societal, social, and climate challenges.This book offers a novel and original perspective entailing the application of a humanistic management approach to sustainable tourism, which is centered on the value of human life, the protection of human dignity and the promotion of well-being. Multiple theoretical approaches, methods, and practical cases, on an international scale, shed light on shared value creation and human dignity as a necessary condition for its achievement in different contexts. Implicitly and explicitly, they respond to the current urgency to implement strategies to recover from the worldwide impact of the pandemic crisis and to provide a vision of what tourism could and should be when it recovers. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, professionals, and postgraduates in the fields of management, sustainability, and tourism development.

Human dignity has experienced limited attention in tourism studies. The interlinked dimensions of dignity in tourism urgently ask for broad avenues of future research, as tourism is both an information-intensive industry and an "experience good" resulting from the relationship and co-creation processes involving hosts and guests in different political, socio-economic, cultural, and environmental contexts. These contexts play a role in how an individual’s values, norms, and experiences may be experienced in tourism.This edited book is one of the first attempts to apply to tourism a humanistic management approach entailing a re-discovery of the value of human life, dignity, and awareness of the ethical dimensions of work. The book develops awareness of the contemporary relevance of the human dignity concept to interpret and manage the weaknesses of traditional approaches to tourism and cope with the challenges and new scenarios, including the current COVID-19 pandemic crisis. It presents ethical values and norms as both foundations and vehicles to dignify tourism stakeholders’ vision and mission (policy, strategies, and practices) as well as people/tourist beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. It grounds humanistic education as a pervasive mechanism to innovate tourism management contents and practices by offering to different targets new educational and training formats or framing differently traditional ones. Presenting both a critical and a positive approach to tourism management, the diversity of disciplinary approaches, case studies, and examples makes the book attractive to a variety of readers including tourism scholars, researchers, practitioners, and postgraduate students of management and organization disciplines.

Human dignity has experienced limited attention in tourism studies. The interlinked dimensions of dignity in tourism urgently ask for broad avenues of future research, as tourism is both an information-intensive industry and an "experience good" resulting from the relationship and co-creation processes involving hosts and guests in different political, socio-economic, cultural, and environmental contexts. These contexts play a role in how an individual’s values, norms, and experiences may be experienced in tourism.This edited book is one of the first attempts to apply to tourism a humanistic management approach entailing a re-discovery of the value of human life, dignity, and awareness of the ethical dimensions of work. The book develops awareness of the contemporary relevance of the human dignity concept to interpret and manage the weaknesses of traditional approaches to tourism and cope with the challenges and new scenarios, including the current COVID-19 pandemic crisis. It presents ethical values and norms as both foundations and vehicles to dignify tourism stakeholders’ vision and mission (policy, strategies, and practices) as well as people/tourist beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. It grounds humanistic education as a pervasive mechanism to innovate tourism management contents and practices by offering to different targets new educational and training formats or framing differently traditional ones. Presenting both a critical and a positive approach to tourism management, the diversity of disciplinary approaches, case studies, and examples makes the book attractive to a variety of readers including tourism scholars, researchers, practitioners, and postgraduate students of management and organization disciplines.

Motivation in Organisations: Searching for a Meaningful Work-Life Balance extends the current motivation models in business education to include motives of human behaviour that have been neglected for decades. It debunks some of the myths about human motivation (self-interest as the dominant factor, amorality and non-spirituality) and explains why this approach to teaching business is erroneous and leads to wrong and harmful practices in many organisations. In a very personal and engaging style, the author presents a "map of motivations", based on a humanistic approach to management. This includes the latest findings of Abraham H. Maslow supported by sound philosophical reflections and modern research. He also presents specific ways of putting the framework into practice, sharing stories from students and professionals of how this framework has helped them better understand their own motivations and look at their daily work in a much more meaningful way. The book is highly relevant to students and researchers in humanistic management, people management, organisational behaviour, business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability. In short, this text will be truly inspiring to anyone who wants to reflect on motivations in organisations and how to achieve a better work-life balance.

Humanistic management has been part of a growing conversation about a different approach to management that contributes to dignity in the workplace and better organisations overall. The theoretical concepts have mostly derived from developed countries. This book seeks to redress the balance and looks at the development and application of the concepts, approaches and models of inequality, corruption, poverty, and uncertainty in the context of Latin America. The book provides a comprehensive overview of what is happening in Latin America in terms of Humanistic Management and the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals. The first section describes the development of Humanistic Management by reviewing two different schools that have strongly influenced the discipline: the Montreal School and the Saint Gallen School. Humanistic Management is then presented as a model that can be used by scholars and practitioners in Latin America. The third part aims to explore how Humanistic Management has been, and could be, implemented across different organizations and business sectors in Latin America. Part four examines the implications of Humanistic Management for external stakeholders such as customers and consumers, suppliers, community, government, and universities. Finally, the conclusion provides new approaches to Humanistic Management for Latin America. Humanistic Management in Latin America will serve as a key reference and resource for teachers, researchers, students, experts and policy makers, who want to acquire a broad understanding of social responsibility and business across the world.

The Theory of the Firm is commonly viewed as axiomatic by business school academicians. Considerations in spanning organizational structures, their boundaries and roles, as well as business strategies all relate to the Theory of the Firm. The dominant Theory of the Firm poses that markets act perfectly to maximize the well- being of society when people act to maximize the personal utility of their individual purchases and firms act to maximize financial returns to their owners.However, burgeoning evidence and discourse across the scientific and policy communities suggests that the economic, social, and environmental consequences of accepting and applying this theory in the organization of business and society threaten the survival of the human species, among countless others. This book provides the latest thinking on alternatives to the Theory of the Firm as cornerstone of managerial decision-making. Authors explore and elucidate theories that help us understand a firm differently and suggest alternatives to the Theory of the Firm.This book will be of value to researchers, academics, practitioners, and students interested in leadership, strategic management, and the intersection of corporate interests and the well-being of the society.

The Theory of the Firm is commonly viewed as axiomatic by business school academicians. Considerations in spanning organizational structures, their boundaries and roles, as well as business strategies all relate to the Theory of the Firm. The dominant Theory of the Firm poses that markets act perfectly to maximize the well- being of society when people act to maximize the personal utility of their individual purchases and firms act to maximize financial returns to their owners.However, burgeoning evidence and discourse across the scientific and policy communities suggests that the economic, social, and environmental consequences of accepting and applying this theory in the organization of business and society threaten the survival of the human species, among countless others. This book provides the latest thinking on alternatives to the Theory of the Firm as cornerstone of managerial decision-making. Authors explore and elucidate theories that help us understand a firm differently and suggest alternatives to the Theory of the Firm.This book will be of value to researchers, academics, practitioners, and students interested in leadership, strategic management, and the intersection of corporate interests and the well-being of the society.

Organizations are not human, but they are made up of people. Examining the organization, functioning, growing and developing and moving together as one unit, the well-being and success of that organization depends on the well-being of people that make it up. Love, in its various forms, is the energy that motivates and fuels creativity, care, innovation, progress and well-being. Traditionally, organizational structures have been set up to support compliance and command and control, which often discourages love and creates policies against love at the workplace. The result has been reduced growth, productivity and retention of businesses as well as reduced well-being for employees. This reduced connectivity between individuals has also, at a higher level, adversely affected society. Without love, people are working and performing with reduced energy, and at reduced capacity. While prior research has been focused on love at the workplace from the viewpoint of psychologists, this book explores the impact of love within organizational contexts from various viewpoints including management, psychology, and philosophy. It explores love in the organizational context by looking at how it affects meaning, purpose, well-being, motivation, faith, care, spiritual development and how the identity and well-being of each person in the organization positively affects retention and the growth and success of that organization. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, and advanced students in the fields of organizational studies, leadership, and management.

Organizations are not human, but they are made up of people. Examining the organization, functioning, growing and developing and moving together as one unit, the well-being and success of that organization depends on the well-being of people that make it up. Love, in its various forms, is the energy that motivates and fuels creativity, care, innovation, progress and well-being. Traditionally, organizational structures have been set up to support compliance and command and control, which often discourages love and creates policies against love at the workplace. The result has been reduced growth, productivity and retention of businesses as well as reduced well-being for employees. This reduced connectivity between individuals has also, at a higher level, adversely affected society. Without love, people are working and performing with reduced energy, and at reduced capacity. While prior research has been focused on love at the workplace from the viewpoint of psychologists, this book explores the impact of love within organizational contexts from various viewpoints including management, psychology, and philosophy. It explores love in the organizational context by looking at how it affects meaning, purpose, well-being, motivation, faith, care, spiritual development and how the identity and well-being of each person in the organization positively affects retention and the growth and success of that organization. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, and advanced students in the fields of organizational studies, leadership, and management.

The book is the first worldwide publication of a complex theory of management aesthetics in humanistic management based on the aesthetics and arts approach allowing for a complete and systemic understanding of the management art and art management phenomena. The methodology is based on the critical literature review and empirical research applying qualitative, quantitative, and autoethnographic approaches. The main goal of this monograph is to create a holistic model that organises the issues of management aesthetics and shows the interdependence of the components of this model. The role of this model should be to perform a central function for a complete and systemic understanding of the phenomenon of management aesthetics, as well as to perform the function of a field based on which analysis of individual issues in the area of management aesthetics is conducted. The critical component of this holistic model is Maria Gołaszewska’s theory of the aesthetic situation. Two theses of the book are the following: (1) the theory of aesthetics and artistic practice have the potential to enrich the theory and practice of management with qualitative components through deep immersion in the world of values and (2) management theory and practice have the potential to enrich the theory of aesthetics and artistic practice with efficiency components.

The book is the first worldwide publication of a complex theory of management aesthetics in humanistic management based on the aesthetics and arts approach allowing for a complete and systemic understanding of the management art and art management phenomena. The methodology is based on the critical literature review and empirical research applying qualitative, quantitative, and autoethnographic approaches. The main goal of this monograph is to create a holistic model that organises the issues of management aesthetics and shows the interdependence of the components of this model. The role of this model should be to perform a central function for a complete and systemic understanding of the phenomenon of management aesthetics, as well as to perform the function of a field based on which analysis of individual issues in the area of management aesthetics is conducted. The critical component of this holistic model is Maria Gołaszewska’s theory of the aesthetic situation. Two theses of the book are the following: (1) the theory of aesthetics and artistic practice have the potential to enrich the theory and practice of management with qualitative components through deep immersion in the world of values and (2) management theory and practice have the potential to enrich the theory of aesthetics and artistic practice with efficiency components.

This edited collection presents the complex theory of kitsch from aesthetic and artistic points of view, transposed into managerial and organisational fields. In the spirit of management aesthetics, on the ground of humanistic management, the central aim of the volume is to show that kitsch is a common phenomenon not only in art and culture but also in management, and its conscious perception and mindful use may be beneficial for achieving organisational and managerial goals efficiently. Due to the diverse research problems covered by particular chapters, no unified methodology is applied in the book; every author applied an optimal method for the selected topic. However, due to the complex and metaphysical character of the kitsch phenomenon, the only common fundament of all chapters is using the kitsch experience theory (Szostak and Sułkowski, 2020). The dominant analytical approach is qualitative, with extensive use of case studies, comparative analyses, and ethnographic focus. Despite this, some chapters also include the application of the quantitative approach for the hypotheses’ verification. This book makes a giant step ahead of its competitors by implementing the kitsch theory, especially the kitsch experience theory in a broad spectrum of managerial and organisational fields like marketing, advertising, brand management, business communication, entrepreneurship, leadership, decision-making, human resource management, corporate social responsibility, city space management, management of technology and innovation, and organisational culture. It should be a must-read for researchers, academics, practitioners, and advanced students in these fields.

This edited collection presents the complex theory of kitsch from aesthetic and artistic points of view, transposed into managerial and organisational fields. In the spirit of management aesthetics, on the ground of humanistic management, the central aim of the volume is to show that kitsch is a common phenomenon not only in art and culture but also in management, and its conscious perception and mindful use may be beneficial for achieving organisational and managerial goals efficiently. Due to the diverse research problems covered by particular chapters, no unified methodology is applied in the book; every author applied an optimal method for the selected topic. However, due to the complex and metaphysical character of the kitsch phenomenon, the only common fundament of all chapters is using the kitsch experience theory (Szostak and Sułkowski, 2020). The dominant analytical approach is qualitative, with extensive use of case studies, comparative analyses, and ethnographic focus. Despite this, some chapters also include the application of the quantitative approach for the hypotheses’ verification. This book makes a giant step ahead of its competitors by implementing the kitsch theory, especially the kitsch experience theory in a broad spectrum of managerial and organisational fields like marketing, advertising, brand management, business communication, entrepreneurship, leadership, decision-making, human resource management, corporate social responsibility, city space management, management of technology and innovation, and organisational culture. It should be a must-read for researchers, academics, practitioners, and advanced students in these fields.

The book presents a description of the phenomenon of organising street performances, both informal and within formalised structures, as well as its interpretation from the point of view of humanistic management. The book is a result of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Polish and European cities from 2014 to 2024.The central focus is the aspects of organisational aesthetics of the activities of street performers and street festival organisers. The dynamics of street performances are structured and emerge as a type of alternative organisation. The book aims at throwing light on these processes from the point of view of humanistic management, which is a relatively new topic in organisational studies and overlooked in other academic fields. The book also identifies and outlines some research implications for the combined area of humanistic management and arts management. It offers a model of the management of street performance embedded in a theoretical context of (1) humanistic management, (2) arts management, and (3) organisation informed by values (such as community and social entrepreneurship). Ultimately, the organisation of art in the urban sphere can gain from lessons from the alternative organisational practices depicted in this book, which, in turn, can inform broader humanistically oriented managerial visions.

This book, situated at the intersection of humanistic management, aesthetics, and artificial intelligence (AI) studies, aims to explore how the emergence of AI-driven solutions reshapes managerial paradigms, alters human experiences within organisations, and redefines the values guiding leadership, communication, and organisational development. By adopting a cross-disciplinary and multi-paradigmatic perspective, the volume seeks not only to identify the opportunities AI presents for enhancing human dignity and creativity at work but also to critically examine the risks of dehumanisation, aesthetic homogenisation, and ethical displacement. In the contemporary discourse on management theory and practice, the accelerated integration of AI technologies has initiated profound transformations that challenge the traditional humanistic foundations of organisational life. While AI is often perceived primarily through the lens of operational efficiency, cost optimisation, and decision-making enhancement, it also raises fundamental questions about the aesthetic, ethical, and relational dimensions of management. In this context, the book’s critical research problem was formulated in the following manner: understanding how AI-driven aesthetics influence the humanistic character of management, under what conditions AI can serve human-centred goals rather than eroding them, and what long-term consequences AI integration may have for the emotional, ethical, and aesthetic dimensions of organisational life. Addressing these issues is essential for developing management practices that harmonise technological advancement with the humanistic values of autonomy, authenticity, empathy, and aesthetic experience.