Spirituality, Virtue, and Management: Theory and Evidence

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Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of the conceptual and empirical literature examining the interrelationships between spirituality, virtue, and management. Against the background of a Weberian conceptual framework, it will examine what the term spirituality refers to, how it is related to virtue, and what this means for management. As speculated by Weber, the literature suggests that there is a strong link between spirituality and virtue and also that spirituality often gives rise to an alternative form of management that may enable escape from the materialist-individualist type. This “radical” form of management is typically associated with virtue ethics and counterposes the utilitarian assumptions of “conventional” management. Management guided by spirituality is often presented as pointing to a new paradigm in business.

Keywords

Max Weber Spirituality Virtue Materialism Individualism Self-interest Iron cage Radical management Interconnectedness Consequentialist utilitarianism Management 2.0 Process model 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Christopher Eads, James Leaman, and Kenman Wong for their encouragement and helpful comments on earlier drafts of this chapter.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Asper School of BusinessUniversity of ManitobaWinnipegCanada

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