Aesthetics, Organization, and Humanistic Management

This book explores the relationship between humanistic management and organizational aesthetics, aiming to broaden the horizons of possibility for managers and scholars. It combines the focus on the human condition and dignity with reflection, openness, and appreciation for the complexity of existence. By engaging with art, it promotes imaginative insights into and reflection on the beauty and complexities of organizing, management knowledge, and collective expression.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 254 pages
Publication date: 29 April 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book is a powerful response to the dominant reductionist and exploitative ideas that permeate mainstream contemporary management discourse and practice. It seeks to expand the horizons of possibility for both managers and organizational scholars by bringing together the scholarly fields of humanistic management and organizational aesthetics. Humanistic management emphasizes the unwavering focus on the human condition, championing dignity, emancipation, and the pursuit of the common good. On the other hand, organizational aesthetics promotes reflection, openness, and an appreciation for the irreducible complexity of existence. Together, these fields form a transformative journey toward wholeness, undertaken by a collective of management and organization theorists, philosophers, artists, and art curators.

By delving into the contributions of this book, academics and practitioners can work towards creating organizational practices that aim to (re)acquire wholeness by developing aesthetic awareness. This heightened aesthetic awareness enables deeper understandings of performativity, offers insights into the dynamics of power, fosters appreciation of ambiguity and ambivalence, and provides a much-needed grasp of complexity. The authors explore diverse ways of engaging with art, fostering imaginative insights into and reflection on the beauty and vicissitudes of organizing, management knowledge, and collective expression.

This book holds immense interest for researchers, academics, practitioners, and students in the fields of organizational theory and practice, business and management history, human resource management, and culture management. Its insights and perspectives offer valuable contributions to the ongoing dialogue and evolution of management thought and practice.

Weight: 467g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367550103