© Copyrighted Material

om
b .c
rpu
we
http://www.gowerpublishing.com/isbn/9781409439936

go
om
b .c
rpu
we
go
om
A Handbook of

b.c
rpu
we
go
Practical Wisdom go
rpu
we

om
b.c

Leadership, Organization and

om

Integral Business Practice

b.c
rpu
we
go
mo
b.c
rpu
we

Edited By
go
om
b.c

WEndElin KüpErs And

rpu
we

dAvid J. pAulEEn
go

School of Management, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

om
b.c
rpu
we
go
om
b.c
rpu
we
go

© Copyrighted Material
 © Copyrighted Material

om
b .c
Introducing a Handbook of Practical

rpu
we
Wisdom for Our Times

go
om
b .c
At a time when the threat of total annihilation no longer seems to be an

rpu
abstract possibility but the most imminent and real potentiality, it becomes all

we
the more imperative to try again and again to foster and nurture those forms

go
of communal life in which dialogue, conversation, phronesis, practical dis-

om
course and judgment are in need for being concretely embodied in our everyday

b.c
practices. (Bernstein 1983: 229)

rpu
we
go
The world we are living in is poised in a fragile state of precariousness. Bernstein’s

om
warning has not lost its urgency. On the contrary, the decades since this declaration

b.c
have conirmed the peril of not bringing wisdom to bear in our ‘everyday practices’. Our
rpu
contemporary realities are characterized by various forms of insanity and folly, marked
we

by various interdependent economic, social and environmental calamities and ecological

go

crisis, which while being unpredictable in their reach and implications are calling for
om

wise counsel to develop more responsible and sustainable ways of living.

b.c

The need for practical wisdom is evidenced by the current inancial and economic crisis.
rpu

Caused by a combination of individual, socio-cultural, legal, political and institutional

we

failures and irresponsible non-sustainable business practices, it is reinforced by a short-

go

termism to environmental and development issues. As we observe in the daily news,

m

the impacts of this are generating worldwide contagions, far-reaching effects and erratic
o
b.c

consequences on local and global levels, affecting human and non-human realities in a
rpu

sinking world (Stiglitz 2010). This crisis manifests not only lawed economic and other
we

theories or unbalanced dysfunctional practices and policies, but also in a lack of wisdom
go

in contemporary business and society. Contrary to the spirit of Socratic wisdom, in which
om

we are wise insofar as we recognize and accept our limitations, we are experiencing the
b.c

opposite in organizational, managerial and political hubris.

rpu

We are replete with smart people and agencies working in unwise ways and directions
(Sternberg 2004). Their foolishness is often caused by lack of humility, a complacent
we
go

attitude and narcissism or systemic self-referentiality that conspire against both creativity
and wisdom. What we ind in organizations is what Alvesson and Spicer (2012) recently
om

described as a ambigious ‘functional stupidity’ deined as inability and/or unwillingness to

b.c

use relective capacities in anything other than narrow and circumspect ways functioning
rpu

as doubt-control and uncertainty-coping mechanism (Alvesson and Spicer 2012).

we
go

Some of the best-educated and most eloquent professionals and sophisticated

institutions have observed or mediated processes leading to the recent disastrous events
om

in the inancial markets. Basic insights and practices of practical wisdom have been
b.c

violated not only in the inancial and economic sector but in the business world, society
rpu

and the environment at large. If the current inancial and ongoing ecological crisis that
we

is unprecedented in kind and scale have taught us one thing, it is that without practical
go

wisdom, business cannot be sustainable, no matter how sophisticated the inancial or

© Copyrighted Material
2 A Handbook of Practical Wisdom
© Copyrighted Material

om
managerial formula. On the contrary, according to Dennis Meadows along with the

b .c
authors of the book Money and Sustainability (Arnsperger, Goerner and Brunnhuber

rpu
2012), the prevailing inancial system is incompatible with long-term sustainability due

we
to currency monopoly, monetary policy-induced compulsory growth and resultant cycles

go
of boom–bubble–bust, hyper-inequities in wealth distribution and the devaluation of
social capital.

om
The predicament of our unwise situation manifests also in the world of business,

b .c
where we observe not only a series of corporate scandals and spectacular organizational

rpu
failures, but also various forms of unethical behavior at workplaces, often on behalf of the

we
organization (Umphress and Bingham, 2011). Likewise the lack of wisdom is apparent in

go
the amoral, toxic or ugly practices of leader- and followership (Lipman-Blumen 2005),

om
described by Kellerman (2004) as incompetent, operationally rigid, intemperate, callous,

b.c
corrupt, insular, and evil. All of these problematic issues and ethical failures to execute

rpu
moral agency, on the micro-, meso- and macro-levels, indicate personal, socio-cultural

we
and systemic pathologies and dysfunctionalities of unwise practices and realities.

go
These and many other problematic issues require and call for alternative and

om
transformational responses. Perhaps this multifaceted crisis is an essential phase in a

b.c
larger process in the transformation and revision of underlying world-views. As such
rpu
it may serve as an opportunity for regeneration towards and instituting wiser forms of
we

organization and leadership as well as the wholesome renegotiation and integration of

go

businesses and economics into a greater and more caring and sustainable society and
om

planetary culture.
b.c

As Dickens expressed 150 years ago in his famous tale of two cities (1859), ours is
rpu

still an age of wisdom and an age of foolishness. Like for him, our epoch is one of belief
we

and of incredulity, a season of light and of darkness, a spring of hope and a winter of
go

despair, in which we are having still and again everything and nothing before us. What
m

we are experiencing today seems to be both a world of con-fusion and a longing for a new
o
b.c

‘fusing’ orientation, both an ‘Age of Unreason’ or imploding endarkenment (Ventura

rpu

1993) and an age of potential enlightenment as well as various shades and ambiguities
we

in between. Perhaps it is not an accident that wisdom has been symbolized as an owl, as
go

this animal can see in darkness and takes light in the twilights of closing dusk or opening
m

dawn.
.co
ub
rp

Looking Back and Moving Forward

we
go
om

When entering the worlds of practice and research on wisdom or the lack of it, it becomes
b.c

evident that these are situated in a historical continuum even as new understandings,
rpu

forms and interpretations emerge. Debates about a supposed perennial or universal wisdom
versus various forms of socially constructed and culturally mediated conceptualizations
we

of wisdom manifest the complexities involved in conceiving its ever-elusive nature. Often
go

being part of spiritual and religious traditions, those questions and suggestions of how to
om

live in a wise and meaningful way have been with us since humans appeared on earth.
b.c

Practices of sapience and incarnations of so called sages have been and are present in all
rpu

cultures throughout time from ancient paganism to today’s postmodernism .

we
go

© Copyrighted Material
 Introducing a Handbook of Practical Wisdom for Our Times 3
© Copyrighted Material

om
However as studies in history, philosophy, theology, political science as well as natural

b .c
science, including recent indings in neuro-science indicate, wisdom has been deined,

rpu
revived and contested over time in varied ways and disciplines.

we
Therefore, we strongly argue for the need for a historically informed and critical

go
contextualization and cross-disciplinary exploration of the multidimensional phenomena
of practical wisdom. Such historically and critically relexive approach can help to work out

om
a more comprehensive understandings, and develop more adequate pragmatic, political

b .c
and institutional and other implications and consequences. In this way, practical wisdom

rpu
yields a contemporarily relevant meaning not only in organization and management

we
research and practices. Rather, it reveals its signiicance also for the wider social, societal

go
and political and ecological spheres in which today’s business and economics are playing

om
such enormous, far-reaching and often problematic roles.

b.c
A timely and critical reinterpreting of wisdom requires considering the historico-

rpu
socio-ethico and political conditions of its own operation (Long 2002) in order not only

we
to comprehend what we are inheriting, and where we ind ourselves situated, but also

go
who and what are we going to become in relation to wisdom.

om
This orientation towards looking backwards for moving forward implies also

b.c
reconsidering the origin of what economics means as this can help us remember and
rpu
reinterpret functions and connections of practical wisdom.
we

Historically, economics as oikonomiké (Crespo 2008) was understood as a kind of

go

habitual and prudent ‘household management’, which in the Aristotelian conception

om

mainly reinforces the immanent proiciency of the human being (NE VI, 8). Economics
b.c

entailed a moral orientation and action, and incorporated virtues to facilitate prudent
rpu

performance. Trade and market were seen in a serving role. In contrast, today we live
we

in an era of market triumphalism, where money takes the place of moral values and
go

virtues (Sandel 2012). Through an eroding marketization of everything, including health,

m

education, public safety, security, criminal justice, environmental protection, recreation

o
b.c

and other social goods, civic values, virtues and practices of sociability are crowded out.
rpu

Though the situation described above is hugely problematic, using ‘wisdom’ to

we

address it is not without its own danger. Critically, elegiac jeremiads to lost virtues can
go

be part of an anti-liberalism-oriented communitarian, traditionalism and civic moralism,

m

which end in empty declamation or are in danger of being misused for an enforced
.co

virtuous politics and neo-authoritarian practices or regimes. Equally, there exists the real
ub

danger that traditional virtues, including practical wisdom, will be commoditized and co-
rp
we

opted as part of the market-society in which social relations are embedded in economic
relations, rather than economy being embedded in social relations (Polanyi 1944).
go
om

Connecting wisdom to modern organizations has also had its historical forerunners.
For example, it was 37 years ago that a group of organizational scholars (Hedberg,
b.c

Nystrom and Starbuck 1976) thought deeply about ‘organizing’ wisdom. In the context
rpu

of advocating the concept of a self-organization, they suggested that tents could replace
we

ossiied palaces and invited organizations and scholars investigating them to ‘ride’ on
go

organizational seesaws. In this way, balanced with a kind of nomadic wisdom, for these
om

authors indecision could then promote exploration, unlearning and re-learning, and
b.c

an ambiguity of roles could produce lexibility. Instead of relying on formal metrics or

rpu

benchmarks, organizational members would design their own sensors and experiments
we

with new ideas, deriving satisfaction from creatively designing interactions that build new
go

processes, and thereby create and recreate the organization. These researchers identiied
© Copyrighted Material
4 A Handbook of Practical Wisdom
© Copyrighted Material

om
six seesaws, which intertwine in organizational settings: consensus and dissension,

b .c
contentment and dissatisfaction, resource abundance and scarcity, faith in goals and

rpu
doubt, consistency and instability and inally wisdom, rationality and imperfection.

we
Accordingly they acknowledged that: ‘Cooperation requires minimal consensus’;

go
‘Satisfaction rests upon minimal contentment’; ‘Wealth arises from minimal afluence’;
‘Goals merit minimal faith’; ‘Improvement depends on minimal consistency’ and inally

om
‘Wisdom demands minimal rationality’.

b .c
In summary they stated: ‘A self-designing organization can reach a dynamic

rpu
equilibrium through the non-rational proliferation, the redundancy and improvisation

we
of processes; and these proliferating processes, as they collide, contradict and interact,

go
produce organizational wisdom’ (Hedberg, Nystrom and Starbuck 1976: 63).

om
Many lessons and questions for the study and practice of organization and leadership

b.c
can be drawn from this historical thought experiment, including the still relevant, critical

rpu
and in many ways encompassing role of wisdom in self-organizing systems.

we
go
om
The Limits of Practical Wisdom and the Status of Embodied
b.c
Prâxis rpu
we

As much as the revived interest in wisdom has been triggered by current dificulties,
go

a possible danger would be to see in it a simple solution or remedy for the same. In
om

recognizing the limits of our technical-rational capacities to diagnose and treat current
b.c

problems, while dealing with uncertainty, an instrumentalized or principle-based

rpu

governing phrónêsis would not be the way to go. According to Kemmis (2012) a phrónêsis
we

that serves to re-enchant a disenchanted world of demoralized, desecrated and devalued

go

professionalism is in danger of becoming another version of tékhnê or a set of moral

m

principles. Thus it cannot guarantee that the good will be done, for anyone, let alone
o
b.c

for everyone. The hope of recovering phrónêsis from the deformity of practical reasoning
rpu

caused by scientism, technocratic rationality and means–ends instrumentalism is

we

problematic and may itself be unwise.

go

Challengingly we therefore ask: can practical wisdom provide resources for

m

conceptualizing and leading practice under modern and postmodern conditions without
.co

itself becoming a victim of its problematic conditionalitiess? Can phrónêsis be seen as a

ub

placeholder for the ‘something more’ that we are looking for in our thinking about the
rp

practice of professionals: a longing for a newly understood and enacted praxis (Kemmis
we
go

2012) that is a morally committed action while being oriented and informed by traditions
(Kemmis and Smith 2008)?
om

For Kemmis (2012: 150), ‘Praxis is the action itself, in all its materiality and with all
b.c
rpu

its effects on and consequences for the cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-
political dimensions of our world in its being and becoming. Praxis emerges in “sayings”,
we

“doings”, and “relatings”’. Importantly, these modes of praxis are part of the living
go

embodiment of human beings. Accordingly, the practice in the prâxis of wisdom can
om

be seen as a fundamental perspective of Homo sapiens. Interestingly, the word ‘sapiens’

b.c

derives from a verb that means having taste, subtly sensing lavour and aromas (Serres
rpu

and Latour 1995). Thus sapiens refers to tasting with the mouth and the tongue. When
we

we say Homo sapiens, we should keep in mind that the origin of the notion of wisdom,
go

© Copyrighted Material
 Introducing a Handbook of Practical Wisdom for Our Times 5
© Copyrighted Material

om
or of discourse – man as speaking man – lies in the capacity to taste with the mouth, and

b .c
with the sense of smell.

rpu
Interpreting practical wisdom as not only residing in language and intellect, but as

we
embodied, experiential and situational action can be seen as part of the recent return to

go
the body and to practice in organization and management studies (Küpers 2012b). This
focus on embodiment and practices of practical wisdom as being embedded in praxis

om
may serve as an antidote or inoculate against the danger of cognitive or intellectual bias

b .c
and over-conceptualizing or over-hyping as well as instrumentalizing it. Moreover, the

rpu
embodied experiences, relections and actions within praxis can be seen as a prerequisite

we
and media for phrónêsis and a corresponding morally committed practice. In this sense,

go
committing to the ‘happeningness’ of praxis as a way of life helps to learn or to develop

om
phrónêsis (Kemmis 2012) understood as a wise practice and proto-integral life-style. As

b.c
such it moves between personal, situational and collective, encultured levels, while being

rpu
conducive to the sustainable continuity and prosperity of the whole.

we
But what does phrónêsis as an embodied, variable, action-oriented practice mean in

go
increasingly instrumentalized and institutionalized contexts and in the face of various

om
structured constraints of professional practice?

b.c
rpu
we

Sowing Seeds in Hostile Ground

go
om

Practices in organizations and institutions are situated today on a ‘hostile ground for
b.c

growing phrónêsis’ (Pitman 2012). This is a time of technocratic regimes, excessive

rpu

managerialism, systems of surveillance and accountability discourses, in which

we

professionals have numerous and frequently conlicting ruling bodies to which they are
go

answerable. These constraining realities affect decision-making and other practices, often
m

in unwise ways. Wisdom in such situated contexts does not unfold easily. It can often be
o
b.c

derailed by temporal dynamics, for example the competing requirements of customers,

rpu

enframing technology and production cycles, or suffer from the inluence of dominant
we

unwise or counter-wise logic.

go

Organizational contexts are not ‘benign’ (Brookield 2010). They include

m

psychodynamic factors such as denial and organizational defensiveness (Argyris 2008),

.co

and socio-cultural and structural-systemic obstacles and especially political processes

ub

and institutional dimensions. The political matrices of organizational settings with their
rp

often ‘fraught coalitions’ or compromises are unearthed by the circuitries of power and
we

contextual power relationships (Clegg 2002), which suffuse them with meaning and
go

signal some actions as possible and others as ‘wise’ to avoid in various moral mazes
om

(Jackall 1988). For example, relexive honesty articulated aloud may not prove a wise
b.c
rpu

practice in organizational environments, which may at times appear to require and even
reward deception (Shulman 2007).
we
go

Creating wise practice as part of prâxis needs to address these and other political
and institutional issues in order to prepare the ground in which wisdom may grow. In
om

other words, demands for phrónêsis need to be seen in light of extra-individual features
b.c

(Kemmis 2005).
rpu

Accordingly, we suggest a politically informed ‘wisdom as practice’ approach, also for

we

research, as discussed in the following, that would go beyond a reactive, moralizing

go

sentimentalism. Instead, for such an approach the practicing of wisdom is bodily and
© Copyrighted Material
6 A Handbook of Practical Wisdom
© Copyrighted Material

om
relectively intertwined in an individual’s and group’s relative power, freedom and

b .c
responsibility, while considering enabling and constraining conditions of structures and

rpu
systems. For example, practically wise judgements and decisions about what to do, why

we
and by whom, take into account organizational, cultural and societal as well as ecological

go
dimensions and contexts, in which practices are situated, framed and governed (Ibarra-
Colado 2007).

om
Possibilities and limitations of applied wise practicing must be explored by looking

b .c
into micro-political acting. Speciically individual and social strategies of retaining and

rpu
developing power could be investigated as possible causes of failures in implementing

we
wise dimensions in organizational and leadership practice.

go
Additionally, global and cross-company dimensions of practical wisdom could be

om
investigated with regard to wiser forms of production, products and services as well as

b.c
marketing and inance-related activities. For example, the status of wisdom in decisions

rpu
about location of industry and outsourcing, as well as the problems of stafing cutbacks

we
or labour displacement and corruption call for further exploration.

go
The leading-edge and best practices of mainstreaming wise practice would comprise

om
the alignment with business objectives within overall company strategy and the

b.c
integration across business entities and functional areas and the institutionalization by
rpu
embedding strategies, policies, processes and systems into the fabric of the organization.
we

At the same time this requires consideration of critical conditions like scale, transience
go

and disparities, which infect the public perception of business and prompt questions
om

about what the corporate future holds.

b.c

The challenge to integrate practical wisdom as a work in progress is in need of further

rpu

analytical exploration, theoretical conceptualization and empirical investigation or

we

evaluations (see Research Context section on p. 9).

go

But facing the concern about what good is theory if it is theorizing about a world
m

that no longer exists, or is, at the very least, disintegrating, we need to ask and respond to
o
b.c

critically radical questions like: what kinds of economics, businesses and organizations do
rpu

we need in the twenty-irst century and beyond to deliver and serve genuine sustainable
we

development? What would wise leadership, followership, organizations and institutions

go

look like that can lead into mindful presence and an integral future (Voros 2008)?
m
.co
ub

The Acceptance and Legitimization of Wisdom

rp
we
go

If we can convincingly address the issues raised above, we will go a long way in getting
om

wisdom accepted and legitimatized in organizational discourses and practices. This is

b.c

particularly challenging in our current times and under present institutional conditions,
which are so radically different to historical and especially Aristotelian epochs.
rpu

Aristotle’s concept of phrónêsis rests on a vision of moral clarity and normativity that
we
go

is in stark contrast to our prevailing moral pluralism, making contemporary agreement

on the quality of phrónêsis challenging at least: Aristotle’s ultra-conservative account of
om

the role of leaders, the male elite governing the city-state (Kraut 2002), the status of
b.c

supposed natural slaves and patriarchal masters, the subjugation of women. These and
rpu

many more problematic issues typify Aristotle for some critics as the archetypal ‘dead
we

white European male’ and exemplify outdated components of his system, such as his
go

metaphysical biology, supposed irst principles, moral essentialism and corresponding

© Copyrighted Material
 Introducing a Handbook of Practical Wisdom for Our Times 7
© Copyrighted Material

om
‘grand’ claims for practical rationality (Ellett 2012). So how might phrónêsis be

b .c
reinterpreted, understood, applied and extended in a world radically different to that of

rpu
its progenitor? For example how to rethink virtue not as given or attributed by speciic

we
character traits or strength of particularly ‘virtuous’ individuals deined independently

go
of speciic contexts and practices in organizations (Weaver, 2006), but to develop a post-
heroic, relational understanding and legitimizing virtuosity as part of interdependent

om
moral agencies of individual and collective agents.

b .c
The poly-contextualism in today’s co-evolution of society and organization relies

rpu
on continuous legitimization in public relective communication processes and within

we
networks and partnerships involving conlicting perspectives (Holmstrom 2006).

go
Organizing wisdom today must rest dynamically on democratic principles, often at

om
odds with the travails and exigencies of political and power relationships (Butcher and

b.c
Clarke 2002, Varman and Chakrabarti 2004). What does it imply to understand and

rpu
interpret wisdom, like relexivity, as a democratic value (Rosanvallon 2011) and valuable

we
civic virtue? How can practical wisdom – legitimized by a deliberative democracy of

go
dynamic civic society as vibrant area – be translated into corresponding democratic and

om
participative organization and leadership (Raelin 2012)?

b.c
One reasonable approach is to accept that a deliberative and political conception of
rpu
practical wisdom in organizations can be seen as part of an all-embracing responsibility.
we

This then in turn calls for a proactive concept of societal involvement embedded
go

in democratic mechanisms of politicization, communicative discourse, governance

om

transparency and accountability (Scherer and Palazzo 2007). Furthermore, practical

b.c

wisdom calls for reinventing or reforming civic institutions like universities, think tanks,
rpu

research labs and so on, in ways in which these can develop and make informed and
we

inclusive decisions, leading to deliberative action. Institutionally, wise processes need

go

to be understood and connected with regard to governance systems which are ordering
m

economic and societal transactions, organizing the ‘cosmopolis’ of our times. Concepts
o
b.c

like Corporate Citizenship (Burchell and Cook 2006, Norman and Néron 2008, Crane et
rpu

al. 2008) or post-traditional Corporate Governance (Mason and O’Mahony 2008) and a
we

critical and integral understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability

go

(Küpers 2012a) are offered up to account for social embeddedness and legitimacy of
m

wisdom.
.co

However, there is a ‘danger’ of calling for phrónêsis and holding practitioners

ub

accountable for practical wisdom in contexts that may not support it. Moreover, there may
rp
we

be forces that actively mitigate against it. Practitioners may then also face a double bind,
go

where they are blamed for a failure of agency at the personal level, when the issues are
structural and systemic. Of course there is also the dificulty of dealing with administrative
om
b.c

evil (Reed 2012), whereby otherwise well-intentioned individuals participate in systems

rpu

that cause harm to innocent people. Likewise, organizational and ethical failures as well
as when leadership goes wrong (Schyns and Hansbrough 2010) or becomes destructive
we

(Einarsen, Aasland and Skogstad 2007) generate possibly unintended, but actual unwise
go

processes and consequences.

om

Along with Bernstein (1986), we doubt that phrónêsis is always a possibility no matter
b.c

how corrupt the existing practices are or the communities and institutions that sustain
rpu

it. What can be done when the polis or community is itself corrosive or corrupt or not
we

ready to cultivate and enact or indeed debases practically wise decisions, judgements and
go

actions?
© Copyrighted Material
8 A Handbook of Practical Wisdom
© Copyrighted Material

om
Most of the current assumptions of organizational and economic success and growth

b .c
orientation are based on non-sustainable practices and unwise belief systems and practices.

rpu
Realizing actual sustainability and actualized wisdom requires radical transformation.

we
Radical here refers to not only translational or transactional moves, but on a very broad

go
scale also involves deep change (Carroll 2004). Such delving into more profound changes
and transformational moves while pursuing an uplifting vision systematically requires

om
developing and using integral lenses, metatheoretically, methodologically and practically

b .c
(Edwards 2009a, b, c).

rpu
For a genuine transformation towards practical wisdom in organization and leadership

we
to take place, a radical re-orientation of meanings, values and practices as well as lives

go
of individuals, organizations and societies needs to occur at both local and global levels.

om
This re-evaluating may help to supplement or even supplant not only the business and

b.c
performance reports by more ‘green forms’ of auditing, and ‘Gross National Product’

rpu
by alternative measures such as the ‘Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare’ (Daly and

we
Cobb 1994) or ‘Common Wealth’ (Sachs 2008), but also objectives and reporting of

go
business in terms of wholesome wealth and integral well-be(com)ing (Küpers 2005) for

om
all stakeholders.

b.c
The extent to which the broader institutional environment of the market, corporate
rpu
society and regulatory bodies reinforce, exasperate or alter the pressures and logic to
we

introduce and practice practical wisdom within academic institutions, especially business
go

schools, is an avenue of inquiry requiring further exploration.

om

Like social justice (Toubiana 2012) and other ethical orientations, practical wisdom
b.c

is also exposed to hegemonic forces and pressures driving business programmes. For
rpu

example, proit-driven business ideologies, the particular character of MBA programmes

we

and bias toward quantitative research in business programmes might negate how faculty
go

engage with, teach and research the meaning of wisdom. This all calls for an institutional
m

redesign, and institutional work that creates, maintains and also disrupts institutions
o
b.c

(Lawrence and Suddaby 2006).

rpu

As the future is not and will not be what it used to be, there is a need to develop
we

shared visions of what a responsible, sustainable wise business and society would look like.
go

What are adequate images, metaphors and stories, desirable values, maps and pathways
m

and how can we subsequently determine appropriate ends and choose corresponding
.co

speciic means? In other words, what world-views and corresponding wise practices and
ub

developments do we envision in 10, 20, 50 years ahead?

rp
we

Finally, understanding the limitations of what we can do wisely and what cannot
go

be tackled by practical wisdom allows cultivating non-resignative forms of an ‘engaged

letting-go’. To paraphrase an old proverb, with such an attitude we may learn to accept
om
b.c

the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can and should,
rpu

while deploying the wisdom to know the difference between the two. Realizing that
one cannot practice a complete wisdom in relation to all possibilities prioritizes the
we
go

need to move in the continuum of the wise and the wayward or foolish and even seeing
wise qualities in the latter one. Actually, the deconstruction of the binary pair wisdom/
om

foolishness allows considering an extended variety of concepts resulting from different

b.c

sense-making strategies rooted in local theories of wisdom and seeing supplementary

rpu

value in foolishness for organization studies and practices (Izak 2013). Accordingly, it
we

seems to be wise to open up and allow wisdom to be foolish, thus developing a more
go

© Copyrighted Material
 Introducing a Handbook of Practical Wisdom for Our Times 9
© Copyrighted Material

om
integral understanding and practice of it means to be wise and what comprises wisdom

b .c
practically.

rpu
Overall, cultivating a sense for not a frenetic, but phrónêtic utopia – a longing for

we
wiser practices and wiser forms of civic community and organizational life – might enable

go
citizens and members of organization to be guided by ideals, values and more long-term,
sustainable orientations towards which to look and move; instead of acquiescing to

om
shortsighted near-term solutions and impatient hyper-practicalisms. This may then open

b .c
up ethical states as ‘spaces for freedom’ (Ricoeur 1997, 334); a freedom to engage wisely!

rpu
we
go
Research Context

om
b.c
For a long time, wisdom has slipped from the scholarly map and now we need new

rpu
mappings for today and times to come. Accordingly, we see this handbook as part of an

we
emerging wisdom research agenda, especially in the ields of organization and leadership.

go
Pursuing and seeking to actualize the creative potentials of integral practical wisdom, this

om
book aspires to contribute particularly to the contemporary epistemic and ontic odysseys

b.c
in research and practice. Wisdom research provides various bridges to underestimated,
rpu
neglected or forgotten knowledge and offers transformative passages between Scylla –
we

the rocks of dogmatic modernity – and Charybdis – the whirlpool of dispersed post-
go

modernity.
om

Research on wisdom moves in contested territory with competing interpretations

b.c

and pathways. Critical research on practical wisdom allows for a better equipped and
rpu

more experiential and relexive journey. It encourages and fosters the art of mindful
we

travelling into the enigmatic spheres and elusive and ambiguous issues of yet unknown
go

possibilities. In particular it can help to understand ambiguities, dilemmas, paradoxes

m

and even aporias as characteristics of the work and research on the multidimensional
o
b.c

practice of wise and unwise organizing and leading. Such integral research on wisdom
rpu

invites entering the in-between of embodied selves, groups and communities, their local
we

cultures, organizations, institutions, regional realities and societies, natural environment

go

and ecologies.
m

Research into practical wisdom needs to be further developed, explored, theorized and
.co

empirically studied in order not only for developing a more reined and comprehensive
ub

understanding but also to better inform the ield of organization and leadership practice.
rp
we

Practical wisdom can also be informative as a corrective or complementary construct

for other approaches conceptually and procedurally, as for example with limitations
go

and problems in ‘Positive Scholarship’ research, like reality-polarization and time-frame

om

circumspection (Gygax 2011).

b.c

For advancing wisdom research, we suggest some speciic recommendations, which

rpu

comprise careful conceptual framing, integration and methodological rigour and

we
go

pluralism. This comprises clearing and avoiding conceptual (retrograde) slippages and
debris through a more critical delineation of wisdom from closely related yet distinct
om

constructs. Moreover, we must be able to deal with the varieties of wisdom that abound
b.c

and seek integration (Walsh 2011).

rpu

Methodologically, a multilevel approach is required, which considers systematically

we

various levels and orders of emergence of practical wisdom, and which moves and
go

mediates simultaneously individual and collective spheres (Küpers and Statler 2008).
© Copyrighted Material
10 A Handbook of Practical Wisdom
© Copyrighted Material

om
In other words, we need more complex and thoroughly worked-through theories and

b .c
proto-integral frameworks that are methodologically pluralistic and cross-disciplinary.

rpu
As a sapiential orientation transgresses methodological, disciplinary and sub-disciplinary

we
boundaries, we call for cross-level analysis and greater inter-, trans- and post-disciplinary

go
collaboration to approach the multidimensionality and contextual embedding as well
as the interconnections of wisdom and its study. An integral understanding of wisdom

om
requires joint and mutually enriching undertakings and the cooperation of different

b .c
research traditions and perspectives as part of a post-paradigmatic, engaged phrónêtic

rpu
social and organization science (Flyvbjerg 2001, 2008, Flyvbjerg Landman and Schram

we
2012).

go
Future wisdom research may be a kind of ‘delicate theorizing’, which is described

om
by Gidley (2010) in her outlining of a post-formal-integral-planetary scholarship as

b.c
‘consistently attending to the kindred theories that rub up against our cherished theories

rpu
and methodologies’, such that ‘we keep them soft and alive rather than hard, rigid and

we
mechanistic’ as well as ‘creating ongoing dialogue – rather than debate – with kindred

go
theoretic approaches’ (2010: 130). In essence, delicate theorizing is a reminder to attend

om
to and recognize the Other by weaving a tenuous web of wisdom scholarship, making

b.c
(tentative) connections among empirical research in the social and natural sciences, as
rpu
well as connecting them to lived experiences individually and collectively.
we

A critical and integral approach towards practical wisdom needs to be open-minded in

go

so far as the involved relations and phenomena as well as theories developed or used are
om

not pocketed and categorically ixed, but respected in their speciic and particular ways of
b.c

articulation. Theoretical developments in wisdom research continue to emerge apace and

rpu

empirical, especially longitudinal, studies are urgently required and called for with respect
we

to a wider variety of wisdom-related processes and in collaboration with practice.

go

Qualitative and mixed-method research can and should be useful for exploring
m

not only structural factors and processual conditions, but also non-rational, embodied,
o
b.c

emotional, aesthetic and spiritual dimensions. The latter ones are particular relevant as
rpu

they have been banned by traditional modernistic scientiic paradigms and discourses,
we

often trapped in materialistic scientism. For investigating situational practice and wisdom
go

phenomena, we encourage more participant- and observation-based methodological

m

approaches, such as action research, action learning, ethnography and case studies,
.co

as well as innovative advances like art-based practices (for example, McNiff 2008). As
ub

stated by Rooney and McKenna (2008: 717) in their plea for multi-method research
rp

designs, researchers involved in wisdom research ‘must get their hands dirty in the ield,
we
go

standing shoulder to shoulder with practitioners, and they must do their research as
om

wise research practitioners who are able to operationalize their imaginations, emotions,
ethical sensitivities, and logics simultaneously to produce excellent research that can be
b.c

transformational’. In this spirit we call and hope for wisdom-based research methods for
rpu

doing wise research and further developing and realizing an acceptable phrónêsiology.
we
go

What we take from the contributions of this handbook is that wisdom research is
ready to face and seize the challenges and opportunities inherent in thinking about
om

and exploring wisdom in our times and for futures to come. Overall, the chapters here
b.c

speak of an interest and openness that can invite or push wisdom research forward in
rpu

the aforementioned directions. We hope our readers will share our enthusiasm about
we

intensifying wisdom research along these spiraling lines and beyond!

go

© Copyrighted Material
 Introducing a Handbook of Practical Wisdom for Our Times 11
© Copyrighted Material

Handbook of Practical Wisdom – Locating an Emerging Idea

om
b .c
rpu
As with most creative endeavours, this book is a result of a conluence of people, places

we
and circumstances. It is essentially the editors’ and authors’ response to a deinable lack

go
in the business schools and academic institutions in which most of us work and the
troubling conditions we observe and live with in the world at large.. Here we offer some

om
of the backstory of this book.

b .c
The immediate roots of this book go back to 2010, when the co-editors began to

rpu
discuss and plan a symposium on practical wisdom, held 4–6 December 2011 at Massey

we
University in Auckland. We each had a number of contacts writing about or interested

go
in the idea of practical wisdom and we believed the time was right to bring them

om
together. Our goal was two-fold: one, to begin a network of like-minded academics and

b.c
practitioners in which we could develop research into practical wisdom and related areas;

rpu
and two, to publish a book based on the papers presented at the symposium. Both of

we
these goals have come to fruition. The quality of the book has been greatly enhanced by

go
the group of authors’ extensive discussion and feedback on each of the papers presented

om
at the symposium and the continuing reviews and revisions that the network continued

b.c
to share. rpu
The territory that this book covers offers a mapping that is a tentative outlining of
we

some issues and aspects that warrant ongoing investigation and a forum for conversation
go

among a group of scholars, largely based at Australasian universities. The fact that the
om

majority of the authors are from Australia and New Zealand was not surprising, as this is
b.c

where we are located and this is where the symposium was held.
rpu

Yet maybe there is more to it than this. Perhaps one reason for this geographically-
we

bound emerging wisdom research has to do with the fact that Australasia is situated
go

on the margin or periphery compared to the prevailing mainstream of (other Western)

m

culture. Being located on the edge and living on the fringe of the world seems to be
o
b.c

advantageous for somewhat non-conventional research like that on wisdom.

rpu

As much as wisdom research should be historically informed and should try to

we

make a contribution to the contemporary world, it can also be interpreted as a kind of

go

avant-garde movement. Researching conditions, potentials and implications of practical

m

wisdom not only pushes the boundaries of conventional thinking and acting, but is also
.co

situated under a ‘boundary condition’, demarcating and delimitating traditional forms

ub

of organisation, leadership and business, while aspiring to a ‘transboundary’ orientation.

rp

Accordingly, wisdom research is not in the centre of academic institutions and practices
we

and Australasia is not only geographically, but also metaphorically, a borderland.

go

In relatively undetermined borderlands, interpreted also as psycho-social territories

om
b.c

of transition, seeming contradictions may be embraced and potentially become a creative

force for new connections, for example between ideas and people, visions and enactments.
rpu

Furthermore, the borderlands metaphor possesses and creates an atmosphere and has the
we

‘power of sustainable engagement, a mixing and a blending that results in the emergence
go

of novelty’ (Tyler 2009: 532).

om

When here in New Zealand the sun rises just over the international dateline, the
b.c

Australasians are the irst to the future: hopefully, being situated so close to the future
rpu

also opens up a prospect for research and practice of a living wisdom to come.
we
go

© Copyrighted Material
12 A Handbook of Practical Wisdom
© Copyrighted Material

Personal Background and Motivation of Editors

om
b .c
rpu
Going further back, the book is the natural outcome of the editors’ developing academic

we
and life interests. Both editors have had a fairly extensive history with knowledge

go
management (KM). One (David Pauleen) has been teaching KM at the graduate level
since 2002. He quickly ascertained that KM was more than technology and information

om
and over the years introduced a more holistic understanding of KM into the classroom

b .c
drawing on his students’ experiences in the workplace. He introduced relective

rpu
assignments into his post-experience Master’s class and was somewhat surprised to ind

we
how much dificulty people in their 30s and 40s had relecting on their work experiences

go
and what they were studying in class, and applying this to future career scenarios. From

om
this, he went on to develop ideas around Personal Knowledge Management, which he

b.c
understood as the skills and knowledge needed for individuals to survive and thrive in

rpu
turbulent environments. He soon realized that these needed skills and knowledge could

we
naturally be understood as an entrée into a life based on wisdom. In his personal life, he

go
began practicing Buddhist meditation at 19, which he has continued, with occasional

om
shamanic and Taoist interludes, ever since.

b.c
The other editor (Wendelin Küpers) has a long-term interest in phenomenology, and
rpu
inter- and transdisciplinarity as well as integral research. In his understanding, advanced
we

forms of phenomenology and hermeneutic philosophy can contribute to reveal the

go

capacity and relevance of practical wisdom through exploring the signiicance of the
om

living body, embodiment and creative engagement in experiential practice and prâxis.
b.c

In particular a phenomenology in the spirit of Merleau-Ponty is critical with regard

rpu

to objectivistic or idealistic thinking and helps overcoming dualistic and dichotomist

we

orientation also in relation to wisdom theory and practice. For him, phenomenological
go

and hermeneutical understanding is itself a form of practical reasoning and practical

m

knowing, thus closely connected to practical wisdom.

o
b.c

Being a cross-disciplinary traveller, he is interested in bricolage, building (living)

rpu

bridges at the intersection of various territories and facilitating interrelation and

we

interaction of researches in and between different territories. For him, practical wisdom
go

research resonates and calls for crossing boundaries and thus invites cross-disciplinary
m

inquiries. Furthermore, practical wisdom provides a proto-integrative potential; it

.co

serves as a reference point or medium for a more integral research. Correspondingly, he

ub

pursues research on relational and integral dimensions in organization and leadership

rp
we

or management as well as possibilities of responsibility and sustainability, which all lead

go

towards exploring practical wisdom.

om
b.c

The Chapters
rpu
we

As editors, we naturally gave a lot of thought to the ordering of the chapters in the book.
go

We thought about having separate sections on leadership, organization and business

om

integration to relect the book’s title. Given the multifaceted nature of wisdom and the
b.c

chapters at hand, this was not so simple. Most of the chapters, as would be expected for
rpu

a subject such as this, link wisdom to leadership and organization: the linking of these
we

partially or implicitly addresses integral business practice.

go

© Copyrighted Material
 Introducing a Handbook of Practical Wisdom for Our Times 13
© Copyrighted Material

om
Rather than trying to divide the chapters into impossibly neat categories, we have

b .c
decided to let the guiding ideas of each chapter low in as natural a manner as possible.

rpu
That said, the contents of the chapters mingles and interlinks, hence providing a recursive

we
and relective journey for the reader. To emphasize the relective nature of this voyage,

go
and to bridge between the reader and the an aspired practical nature of wisdom, we have
asked the authors to provide a set of programmatic questions at the end of their chapters

om
to invite further contemplation and perhaps ‘activate’ the chapters’ messages or visions.

b .c
The book begins with a chapter by the co-editor Wendelin Küpers on ‘The Art

rpu
and Practice of Wisdom’. This contritution sets the stage for the book by providing an

we
advanced phenomenological understanding of practical wisdom as a situated, embodied

go
and relational ‘inter-practice’ as well as creative action in organization and leadership.

om
A special emphasis is given to the aesthetic and artful dimensions of practical wisdom

b.c
and it proposes a critical phrónêsis understood as a responsive and responsible poiêsis.

rpu
Furthermore, moral perceptions and moral imaginations as well as artistic practices

we
are described as phrónêtic capacities. Finally, this chapter offers some implications and

go
perspectives on a professional artistry related to practicing wisdom.

om
The art and practice of wisdom is speciically embodied in the hermeneutic circle. In

b.c
Chapter 2, Phrónêsis in Action: A Case Study Approach to a Professional Learning Group,
rpu
Claire Jankelson shows how practical wisdom may be engendered by the application of a
we

hermeneutic phenomenological approach when working with professionals engaged in

go

PhD research in a management school. It is at this nexus of higher education, research

om

and management that the manifestation of phrónêsis as practical wisdom may emerge.
b.c

The chapter moves from description of experience to theoretical analysis and back again
rpu

in a spiralling fashion, anticipating that clarity, comprehension and engagement best

we

eventuate within a hermeneutic circularity.

go

In Chapter 3 Peter Case offers a non-Western perspective on the cultivation of embodied

m

wisdom in Cultivation of Wisdom in the Theravada Buddhist Tradition: Implications for

o
b.c

Contemporary Leadership and Organization. While very much present in the ‘mundane’
rpu

world of social human interaction, in this Buddhist tradition, wisdom, in the form of
we

insight, may provide an entrée into a supra-mundane world. The chapter also draws
go

comparisons between Buddhist wisdom and contemporary philosophical interest in the

m

art of living, and suggests that Buddhism can contribute to the exploration of alternative
.co

ways of being and acting in organizations based on the reduction of egocentricity and
ub

development of a deeper sensibility with regard to the holistic or interconnected nature

rp
we

of all phenomena.
David Rooney’s ‘Being a Wise Organizational Researcher: Ontology, Epistemology
go

and Axiology’, Chapter 4, allows us to step back and look at the foundational basis of
om
b.c

practical wisdom, particularly ontology and epistemology as elements of research as well

rpu

as ontology and epistemology of practical and social practice wisdom. Going further,
the chapter also discusses the beneits of doing organizational wisdom research that
we
go

uses a wisdom-based methodology (phrónêsiology) and methods rather than traditional

epistemology. The ive core principles of Social Practice Wisdom are introduced and used
om

as a framework for discussing what is involved in using phrónêtic research methods.

b.c

In Chapter 5, somewhat in contrast to Rooney’s more conceptual chapter, Boyle and

rpu

Roan, in The Paradoxical Nature of the Representation of Women in Management, point

we

out some of the concrete inconsistencies and practical challenges that are still to be found
go

in the organizational embrace of practical wisdom. The authors discuss why women remain
© Copyrighted Material
14 A Handbook of Practical Wisdom
© Copyrighted Material

om
under-represented in the top layers of many areas of upper management and show that

b .c
while classifying women’s wisdom as ‘special’ and ‘different’ may appear advantageous to

rpu
women, there are also dangers in that women’s wisdom is often classiied as coming from

we
the private sphere of nurturing and care and thus undervalued in organizations.

go
In an empirical approach in Chapter 6, ‘Evaluating the Process of Wisdom in Wise
Political Leaders Using a Developmental Wisdom Model’, Biloslavo and McKenna draw

om
upon contemporary psychological research to identify core assumptions about wisdom

b .c
and then propose a model of wise leadership. They use a textual analysis of the lives

rpu
and leadership of Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi and conclude that these two

we
leaders display high levels of performance in the four dimensions. The authors argue that

go
the model provides a useful parsimonious account of the major factors contributing to

om
wisdom and call for further testing.

b.c
In Chapter 7 Jay Hays offers an aspirational approach to motivated leaders in his

rpu
contribution on ‘Transformation and Transcendence for Wisdom: the emergence and

we
Sustainment of Wise Leaders and Organizations’ by introducing a dynamic model that

go
integrates transformational leadership, transformational learning and transformational

om
organizational change (T3) with transcendence and wisdom. The exploration and synthesis

b.c
of the respective elements and their relationships signiicantly contributes to a practical
rpu
and systemic understanding of the dynamics of learning and change and the potential
we

for leader and organizational wisdom. Exercises are included and are designed to help
go

readers operationalize and make the most of the theory, philosophy and principles of
om

transformation and transcendence.

b.c

Intezari and Pauleen, in Students of Wisdom: An Integral Meta-competencies

rpu

Theory of Practical Wisdom, Chapter 8, discuss how wisdom may be taught to business
we

students and business people. They introduce an integral meta-competencies theory of

go

wisdom, suggesting that wisdom is the manifestation of a person’s cognitive and practical
m

interactions with the real world, which can be fostered through the development of a set
o
b.c

of meta-competencies. Some classroom strategies for developing these meta-competencies

rpu

are proposed.
we

Subsequently, Bernard Kleimann in Chapter 9, ‘University Presidents as Wise

go

Leaders? Aristotle’s Phrónêsis and Academic Leadership in Germany’ connects university

m

leadership with practical wisdom. The focus on the deliberation and decision-making
.co

processes of university presidents in contemporary German higher education renders

ub

revealing insights and effects as well as offers important lessons for leaders in other large
rp
we

organizations.
go

Finally, the book closes with a thoughtful contribution by Mark edwards chapter on
‘In Wisdom and Integrity: Metatheoretical Perspectives on Integrative Change in an Age
om

of Turbulence’, Edwards raises the paradox that organizations, managers and leaders today
b.c
rpu

face in responding to the imperative for radical transformation while also safeguarding
the welfare and the investments of their members and key stakeholders. This chapter
we
go

considers the quality of wisdom that is concerned with this kind of discernment, in
particular the role of integrity in holding together the many aspects of high-performance
om

functioning. A typology is presented which describes different kinds of wisdom with its
b.c

shadow sides and their relationships to types of environmental change and corresponding
rpu

organizational responses. Finally, he offers some implications of the meta-theoretical

we

conceptualizations for studies of organizational.

go

© Copyrighted Material
 Introducing a Handbook of Practical Wisdom for Our Times 15
© Copyrighted Material

om
We view this handbook as a suitable platform and medium for reassessing and

b .c
rearticulating more responsible ways of research and relexivity, connecting to ‘prâxis’

rpu
in the ield of organization and management research and beyond. In this spirit, the

we
juxtapositions of the chapters in this book open a space for expressions of divergent

go
perspectives as well as for encounter and dialogue. Rather than offering closures and inal
answers, we hope the contributions in this book invite further explorations, inquiries,

om
and conversations.

b .c
rpu
we
Further Thoughts and Invitation by the Editors

go
om
Overall, the book tries to offer departure points or a sources for those engaging with and

b.c
learning more about practical wisdom and its research. Moreover, as we would like to see

rpu
the network of wisdom researchers grow we invite all those would like to be involved to

we
get in touch with us. It is our intention to organise further symposia and we welcome the

go
participation of all who are interested. Correspondingly, we hope to see these symposia

om
result in further published books. To this end, Gower has been very supportive in agreeing

b.c
to allow us to serve as series editors and publish a number of books on a range of issues
rpu
fundamental to understanding and supporting the role of wisdom in organizational and
we

management respectively leadership studies and practices. Therefore, we invite those of

go

you who are interested in (co-)authoring chapters or (co-)editing a book to contact us

om

with your ideas or proposals.

b.c

On the whole, we do hope that the handbook breathes new life into the ancient
rpu

idea and potential of practical wisdom as we irmly see it placed at the forefront of
we

responsible, ethical and sustainable organisation and management/leadership: a much

go

needed approach at the dawn of the twenty-irst century and the futures to come.
m

As a Chinese wisdom proverb says, ‘Even a very long journey begins with a single
o
b.c

step’. Baltes and Staudinger (2000: 133) add: ‘And this step is more effective the more it
rpu

is a step in the right direction’. They even state that ‘In fact, if the directional movement
we

is correct, such as is true for the direction and destination of wisdom, we can even afford
go

slow progress.’ (Ibid.).

m

In this sense and as a counterforce to ‘over-rushing’ knowledge-production, research

.co

on practical wisdom resonates with the ‘slow science’ movement, which not only follows
ub

a different pace, but proceeds with more deliberation and caution (The Slow Science
rp
we

Manifesto, 2010).
As the stoic Roman Marc Aurel said: ‘It is better to move slowly along the right path
go

than walk stridently in the wrong direction’. In accordance with this sentiment, we would
om
b.c

like to invite researchers in the area of practical wisdom in organization and leadership
to continue the exploration of and dialogue about possible understandings, approaches,
rpu

interpretations, but also operationalization and practices of wisdom.

we
go

Practical wisdom can only be realized if research, organizations, its members

and stakeholders as well civic and globalised society learn not only to aspire to, but
om

actually co-create, design and live excellence in their local, interwoven relation-‘ships’.
b.c

Correspondingly, a timely and properly understood ‘-ship’ moving through responsible

rpu

and sustainable relations may then set out for a ‘re-evolution’ of enacted practical wisdom
we

at present while journeying towards wiser futures.

go

© Copyrighted Material
16 A Handbook of Practical Wisdom
© Copyrighted Material

References

om
b .c
rpu
Alvesson, M. and Spicer, A. (2012). A stupidity base theory of organization.h Journal of Management

we
Studies, 49(7), 1194–1220

go
Arnsperger, C., Goerner, S. and Brunnhuber, S. 2012. Money and Sustainability: The Missing Link.
Report from the Club of Rome. Axminster: Triarchy Press.

om
Argyris, C. 2008. Organizational defenses: denials and denials of the denial, in The SAGE Handbook

b .c
of New Approaches in Management and Organization, edited by D. Barry and H. Hansen. London:

rpu
SAGE, 217–9.

we
Baltes, P.B. and Staudinger, U.M. 2000. Wisdom: a metaheuristic (pragmatic) to orchestrate mind

go
and virtue toward excellence. American Psychologist, 55(1), 122–36.

om
Bernstein, R. 1983. Pragmatism and Hermeneutics Beyond Objectivism and Relativism: Science,

b.c
Hermeneutics, and Praxis. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

rpu
Bernstein, R. 1986. Philosophical Proiles: Essays in a Pragmatic Mode. Cambridge: Polity Press.

we
Brookield, S.D. 2010. The Power of Critical Theory for Adult Learning and Teaching. New York: Open

go
University Press.

om
Burchell, J. and J. Cook, J. 2006 Confronting the corporate citizen: expanding the challenges of

b.c
corporate social responsibility, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 26(3/4).
rpu
Butcher, D. and Clarke, M. 2002. Organizational politics: the cornerstone for organizational
we

democracy. Organizational Dynamics, 31(1), 35–46.

go

Carroll, J.E. 2004. Sustainability and Spirituality. Albany: SUNY Press.

om

Clegg, S. 2002. Frameworks of Power. London, UK: SAGE.

b.c

Crane, A., Matten, D. and Moon, J. 2008. Corporations and Citizenship. Cambridge: Cambridge
rpu

University Press.
we

Crespo, R. 2008. ‘The economic’ according to Aristotle: ethical, political and epistemological
go

implications. Foundations of Science, 13(3–4), 281–94.

m

Daly, H.E. and Cobb, J. 1994. For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy Towards Community, the
o
b.c

Environment, and a Sustainable Future. Boston: Beacon Press.

rpu

Dickens, C. 1859. A Tale of Two Cities. London: Chapman and Hall.

we

Edwards, M. 2009a. Organizational Transformation for Sustainability: An Integral Metatheory. London:

go

Routledge.
m

Edwards, M. 2009b. An integrative metatheory for organisational learning and sustainability in

.co

turbulent times. The Learning Organization, 16(3), 189–207.

ub

Edwards, M. 2009c. Visions of sustainability. An integrative metatheory for management education,

rp
we

in Management Education for Global Sustainability, edited by C. Wankel and J. Stoner. Greenwich:
go

Information Age Publishing, 55–91.

Einarsen, S., Aasland, M.S. and Skogstad, A. 2007. Destructive leadership behaviour: a deinition and
om

conceptual model. Leadership Quarterly, 18(3), 207–16.

b.c

Ellett, F. 2012. Practical rationality and a recovery of Aristotle’s ‘phronesis’ for the professions, in
rpu

Phronesis as Professional Knowledge: Practical Wisdom in the Professions, edited by E.A. Kinsella and
we

A. Pitman. Rotterdam: Sense Publishing, 14–33.

go

Flyvbjerg, B. 2001. Making Social Science Matter: Why Social Inquiry Fails and How It Can Succeed Again.
om

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

b.c

Flyvbjerg, B. 2008. Phronetic organizational research, in The Sage Dictionary of Qualitative Management
rpu

Research, edited by R. Thorpe and R. Holt. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 153–55.
we

Flyvbjerg, B., Landman, T. and Schram, S. 2012. Real Social Science – Applied Phrónêsis. Cambridge:
go

Cambridge University Press.

© Copyrighted Material
 Introducing a Handbook of Practical Wisdom for Our Times 17
© Copyrighted Material

om
Gidley, J. 2010. Another view of integral futures: de/reconstructing the IF brand. Futures: The Journal

b .c
of Policy, Planning and Futures Studies, 42(2), 125–33.

rpu
Gygax, M. 2011. Enriching the positive organizational behavior framework with wisdom.

we
International Journal of Business Research, 11(2), 23–41.

go
Hall, S.H. 2010. Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience. New York: Knopf.
Hedberg, B., Nystrom, P. and Starbuck, W. 1976. Camping on seesaws: prescriptions for a self-

om
designing organization. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 41–65.

b .c
Holmstrom, S. 2006. The co-evolution of society and organization, in Organizational Legitimacy and

rpu
the Public Sphere, edited by S. Holmstrom. Roskilde: Roskilde University, 54–72.

we
Ibarra Colado, E. 2007. Future university in present times: autonomy, governance and the

go
entrepreneurial university. Management Revue, 18(2), 117–37.

om
Izak, M. 2013. The foolishness of wisdom: Towards an inclusive approach to wisdom in organization

b.c
Scandinavian Journal of Management, 29, 208–115.

rpu
Jackall, R. 1988. Moral Mazes: The World of Corporate Managers. New York: Oxford University Press.

we
Kellerman, B. (2004) Bad Leadership: What it is, How it Happens, Why it Matters, Boston: Harvard

go
Business School Press.

om
Kemmis, S. 2005. Knowing practice: searching for saliences. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 13(3),

b.c
391–426. rpu
Kemmis, S. and Smith, T.J. 2008. Praxis and praxis development, in Enabling Praxis. Challenges for
we

Education, edited by S. Kemmis and T.J. Smith. Rotterdam: Sense Publishing, 3–14.
go

Kemmis, S. 2012. Phronēsis, experience, and the primacy of praxis, in Phronesis as Professional
om

Knowledge: Practical Wisdom in the Professions, edited by E.A. Kinsella and A. Pitman. Rotterdam:
b.c

Sense Publishing, 147–62.

rpu

Kraut, R. 2002. Aristotle: Political Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

we

Küpers, W. 2005. Phenomenology and integral pheno-practice of embodied well-be(com)ing in

go

organizations. Culture and Organization, 11(3), 221–31.

m

Küpers, W. 2012a. Integral response-abilities for organising and managing sustainability, in Business
o
b.c

and Sustainability: Concepts, Strategies and Changes, Critical Studies on Corporate Responsibility,
rpu

Governance and Sustainability, Volume 3, edited by G. Eweje and M. Perry. London: Emerald,
we

25–58.
go

Küpers, W. 2012b. embodied inter-practices of leader-ship. Leadership, Special Issue, The Materiality
m

of Leadership: Corporeality and Subjectivity (forthcoming).

.co

Küpers, W. and Statler, M. 2008. Practically wise leadership: towards an integral understanding.
ub

Culture and Organization, 14(4), 379–400.

rp
we

Lawrence, T.B and Suddaby, R. 2006 Institutions and institutional work, in Handbook of Organization
go

Studies, 2nd Edition, edited by S.R. Clegg, C. Hardy, T.B. Lawrence and W.R. Nord. London: Sage,
215–54.
om

Lipman-Blumen, J. (2005) The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt
b.c

Politicians – and How We Can Survive Them. New York: Oxford University Press.
rpu

Long, C. 2002. The ontological reappropriation of phrónêsis. Continental Philosophy Review, 35(1),
we

35–60.
go

Mason, M. and O’Mahony, J. 2008. Post-traditional corporate governance. The Journal of Corporate
om

Citizenship, 31(Autumn), 1–14.

b.c

McNiff, S. 2008. Art-based research and the spectrum of possibilities, in Handbook of the Arts in
rpu

Qualitative Research: Perspectives, Methodologies, Examples, and Issues, edited by J.G. Knowles and
we

A.L. Cole. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 29–40.

go

© Copyrighted Material
18 A Handbook of Practical Wisdom
© Copyrighted Material

om
Norman, W. and Néron, R. 2008. Citizenship Inc.: do we really want businesses to be good corporate

b .c
citizens?, Business Ethics Quarterly, 18(1), 1–26.

rpu
Pitman, A. 2012. Professionalism and professionalisation: hostile ground for growing phronesis?, in

we
Phronesis as Professional Knowledge: Practical Wisdom in the Professions, edited by E.A. Kinsella and

go
A. Pitman. Rotterdam: Sense Publishing, 131–46.
Polanyi, K. 1944. The Great Transformation. New York: Rinehart.

om
Raelin, J. 2012. Dialogue and deliberation as expressions of democratic leadership in participatory

b .c
organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 25(1), 7–23.

rpu
Reed, G. 2012. Leading questions: leadership, ethics, and administrative evil. Leadership, 8(2), 187–

we
98.

go
Ricoeur, P. (1997). From text to action: Essays on Hermeneutics II. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University

om
Press.

b.c
Rooney, D. and McKenna, B. 2008. Wisdom in public administration: looking for a sociology of wise

rpu
practice. Public Administration Review, 68(4), 709–21.

we
Rosanvallon, P. 2011. Democratic Legitimacy: Impartiality, Relexivity, Proximity. Princeton: Princeton

go
University Press.

om
Sachs, J. 2008. Common Wealth – Economics for a Crowded Planet. New York: Penguin Press.

b.c
Sandel, M. 2012. What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets. New York: Farrar, Straus and
rpu
Giroux.
we

Scherer, A.G. and Palazzo, G. 2007. Towards a political conception of corporate responsibility.
go

Business and society seen from a Habermasian perspective. Academy of Management Review, 32(4),
om

1096–120.
b.c

Schyns, B. and Hansbrough, T. 2010. When Leadership Goes Wrong: Destructive Leadership, Mistakes
rpu

and Ethical Failures. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

we

Serres, M. and Latour, B. (1995) Conversations on Science, Culture and Time, trans. R. Lapidus. Ann
go

Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

m

Shulman, D. 2007. From Hire to Liar: The Role of Deception in the Workplace. New York: Cornell
o
b.c

University Press.
rpu

Sternberg, R.J. 2004. Why smart people can be so foolish. European Psychologist, 9(3), 145–50.
we

Stiglitz J. 2010. Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy. New York: W.W.
go

Norton & Co.

m

The Slow Science Manifesto (2010), The Slow Science Academy, Berlin http://slow-science.org/
.co

Toubiana, M. 2012 Business pedagogy for social justice? An exploratory investigation of business
ub

faculty perspectives of social justice in business education. Management Learning, 43(5), 1–22.
rp
we

Tyler, J.A. 2009. Moving beyond scholar-practitioner binaries: exploring the liminal possibilities of
go

the borderlands. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 11(4), 523–35.

Varman, R. and Chakrabarti, M. 2004. Contradictions of democracy in a worker’s cooperative.
om

Organization Studies, 25(2), 183–208.

b.c

Umphress, E.E. and Bingham, J.B. (2011). When employees do bad things for good reasons:
rpu

examining unethical pro-organizational behaviors. Organization Science, 22(3), 621–640.

we

Ventura, M. 1993. Letters at 3 AM: Reports on Endarkenment. New York: Spring Publications.
go

Voros, J. 2008. Integral futures: an approach to futures inquiry. Futures, 40(2), 190–201.
om

Walsh, R. 2011. The varieties of wisdom: contemplative, cross-cultural, and integral contributions.
b.c

Research in Human Development, 8(2), 109–27.

rpu

Weaver, G.R. 2006. Virtue in organizations: Moral identity as a foundation for moral agency.
we

Organization Studies, 27, 341–368.

go

© Copyrighted Material