The Virtuous Organization: Insights From Some Of The WorldÆs Leading Management Thinkers

by Manz Charles C, Kim S. Cameron (Editor), Karen P. Manz (Editor)

This book focuses on a new and emerging, yet as old as recorded history, organizational virtue. Virtue has recently become a topic of serious examination among organizational researchers and progressive companies who are exploring their role in creating new, more holistic, healthy, and humane work environments. With interdisciplinary insights by many of the world's leading management thinkers, the book includes conceptual treatments, empirical research, and actual cases concerning virtuous behavior and leadership under conditions of crises, and ordinary and exemplary times.Until recently, scholarly research paid scant attention to virtue, especially in organizations. The pursuit of virtue, as opposed to the bottom line, remained outside the acceptable domain of practising managers faced with economic pressures and stakeholder demands. Concepts such as efficiency, return on investment (ROI), and competitive advantage were emphasized over more virtuous concerns such as caring, compassion, integrity and wisdom. The Virtuous Organization fills this void by presenting paradigm-shifting insights of leading scholars that have the potential to change the face of management thinking and practice for both this and future generations.

328 pages, Hardcover

First published August 7, 2008

Reviews

[Glenn Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I continue to research the importance of virtues and how their presence and/or absence directly impact leadership effectiveness, I found this book to be extremely helpful.

This is an outstanding book of essays from some of the world's leading management thinkers, with significant contributions from Charles C Manz, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Kim S Cameron, University of Michigan. Some of the topics include:

1. Why there is a considerable shift from corporate values to virtues, along with providing a theoretical model and research agenda. The book also addresses the challenges of language in relation to virtues
2. Corporate Conduct Continuum
3. The ability of virtuous organizations to manage crises
4. Spiritual challenges of power, humility and love as offsets to leadership hubris and situational narcissism
5. The importance of cultivating and nurturing organizational culture
6. Virtues in the context of Corporate Global Citizenship

There is a wealth of content in this book, made easier to analyse by each chapter containing distinct essays.