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More Foxes in the Boardroom: Systems Thinking in Action

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Abstract

An organization’s contribution to the wider public can be seen in different ways. Self-reported data from Switzerland and Germany indicate that top managers vary considerably concerning their awareness of various multiple realities. We explain this phenomenon by drawing on the notion of cognitive style, using the metaphor of hedgehogs and foxes. It is argued that research should move from a focus on moral awareness to value awareness in a very broad sense.

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1956, p. 69)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of St. Gallen, Dufourstrasse 40a, 9000, St. Gallen, Switzerland

    Peter Gomez & Timo Meynhardt

Authors
  1. Peter Gomez
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  2. Timo Meynhardt
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Correspondence to Timo Meynhardt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Morgartenstraße 2c, Bern, 3000, Switzerland

    Stefan N. Grösser

  2. and Arts, School of Business, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, Rösslimatte 48, Lucerne, 6002, Switzerland

    René Zeier

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Gomez, P., Meynhardt, T. (2012). More Foxes in the Boardroom: Systems Thinking in Action. In: Grösser, S., Zeier, R. (eds) Systemic Management for Intelligent Organizations. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29244-6_5

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