The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of archetypes on collective fantasies and covert ideations and argue that archetypal fantasies, dreams and emotions impact…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of archetypes on collective fantasies and covert ideations and argue that archetypal fantasies, dreams and emotions impact organisational performance all the way down to the bottom line.
Design/methodology/approach
The author maintains that role‐figures in fairy tales and mythology can teach us significant lessons about the management of organisations. The impact of the Hero archetype is elaborated in particular.
Findings
In order to manage hidden, yet important, dimensions of organisational life, the study of managerial behaviour should focus more on archetypal dimensions of human interaction.
Originality/value
The paper asserts that allowing scholars, management, and leadership practitioners to study organisational behaviour and cultural patterns from an archetypal perspective, offers prospects of more effective leadership and decision making.
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Tom Karp and Thomas I.T. Helgø
The objective of this article is to explore and challenge the concept of leadership by presenting a perspective on leadership as identity construction. The perspective presented…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this article is to explore and challenge the concept of leadership by presenting a perspective on leadership as identity construction. The perspective presented is based on premises from the complexity sciences.
Design/methodology/approach
The article is based on a conceptual discussion.
Findings
Leadership is better understood as identity construction. This is because leadership emerges in the interaction between people as the act of recognising and being recognised. Leaders' images of themselves are therefore social constructions and the development of a leadership self (and thereby leadership) is coupled to the interaction between leaders and followers.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to a conceptual discussion. The findings need to be further explored and challenged by other methods. The discussion is focused on organisational leadership.
Practical implications
Leaders do not always have the control that mainstream leadership theory suggests. The act of leadership is therefore better understood as identity construction. In the article the authors suggest a conceptual framework for reflecting on leadership identity because self‐images influence people's acts as leaders. The concept of leadership is hence the ability to mobilise the discipline necessary to develop one's self by reflecting on identity in different contexts and coupling this to the acts of leadership.
Originality/value
The principal contribution is a conceptual discussion on the concept of leadership. This contribution provides managerial ideas and insights into the act of leadership in organisations faced with increasing complexity.
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The purpose of this paper is to clarify the concept of self as applied to leadership and propose an understanding of how a leader should form conceptions of self, and use these in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the concept of self as applied to leadership and propose an understanding of how a leader should form conceptions of self, and use these in his or her own development.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on self‐, personality‐ and developmental psychology, the paper examines a variety of theoretical foundations, and ties these into the context of leadership and self‐development.
Findings
The paper concludes that the self is core, consciousness, and action. The particular characteristics and qualities of the self determine the leader's comprehension of him or herself as a human entity, and is a leader's gateway to self‐confidence and self‐esteem. Leaders therefore need to cultivate an understanding of self by engaging in formative processes which are related to their ability to learn from defining situations, thus raising awareness of points of convergence in a leader's career.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is limited to a conceptual discussion, and further research is needed to verify the proposed hypothesis. Future research should concentrate on empirical work.
Practical implications
The practical outcome is concrete advice, that leaders must engage in processes where their own willpower, beliefs, assumptions, values, principles, needs, relational patterns and social strategies are subject to feedback and testing if their aim is to develop themselves. Self‐development is not the training of skills, nor solely dependent on cognitive strategies.
Originality/value
Most leaders face pressure to develop themselves. The recommendations herein clarify what is a self concept applicable for leaders, and assist in identifying domains, processes and schemata applicable for leadership self‐development.
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Do managers have the creative and innovative ability needed for their organisations to survive in an increasingly competitive environment? A study of 200 managers from eight…
Abstract
Do managers have the creative and innovative ability needed for their organisations to survive in an increasingly competitive environment? A study of 200 managers from eight companies gives an answer to this question. If intuition is an indication of creativity and innovation, we find that almost 25 per cent of all managers were primarily intuitive when solving problems and making decisions. The concept of intuition and other decision functions is based on Jung’s typology. Is intuition in managers an important asset to their organisations? An investigation of problem‐solving and decision‐making styles of 33 managers related to organisational effectiveness throws some light on this question. What is called the “creative‐innovative” decision‐making style was found in 23 per cent of the managers. This article suggests that intuition as decision‐making style appears to be related to organisational effectiveness. Several managers are intuitive. Whether the intuitive managers are more effective than others remains to be seen.
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Guidance on the many questions of life can be found in stories and tales. These are carriers of a collective wisdom gathered by our forebearers which resonates deep within our…
Abstract
Guidance on the many questions of life can be found in stories and tales. These are carriers of a collective wisdom gathered by our forebearers which resonates deep within our minds and souls. The chapter builds upon C. G. Jung’s work on archetypes to reflect upon the pitfalls and challenges facing organisations and individuals who wish to improve lives. Two tales are introduced and discussed with a view to highlighting how lessons can be drawn from tales with practical implications for organisational life and for the implementation of meaningful change in relation to well-being inside and outside of work. The tales notably bring attention to the learning and maturing process of a consciousness overly identified with certain aspects of the archetypal masculine and outline how generative solutions need not be sought out far from home; instead, the undervalued wisdom of a grounded, earthy archetypal feminine are ready to be engaged with if only we open our mind and heart to her.
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Kalpana Tokas and Arnab Kumar Deb
The paper is in the area of international business and international trade. Specifically, this paper aims to focus on cross-border trade flows of goods and services between India…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper is in the area of international business and international trade. Specifically, this paper aims to focus on cross-border trade flows of goods and services between India and its partner nations.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the Cultural, Administrative, Geographic and Economic (CAGE) distance framework (Ghemawat, 2001), this paper provides empirical support for the impact these distance factors exert on the volume of trade in goods and services between countries. The sample used for empirical analysis consists of a set of 62 OECD countries which are involved in trade in goods and services with India over the period 2005 through 2015. This paper estimates a fixed-effects model to provide a comprehensive examination of all the distance factors impacting the bilateral cross-border trade flows of India.
Findings
The empirical findings in this paper show that different dimensions of the CAGE distances have varied influence on volume of trade flows between India and its trading partners. Also, the extent of this influence is guided by the nature of industries – manufacturing or services.
Originality/value
Departing from the common practice in the literature, using the trade flow data for both Indian manufacturing and service sectors separately, this paper examines to what extent is the impact of these distance factors industry driven.
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Among the many perspectives to analyze war, such as rational actor, organizational process, governmental politics and ethics, the perspective that actually incorporates the costs…
Abstract
Purpose
Among the many perspectives to analyze war, such as rational actor, organizational process, governmental politics and ethics, the perspective that actually incorporates the costs and benefits into a systematic theoretical structure has hardly been analyzed. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the costs and benefits perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Three kinds of value are distinguished, i.e. human, economic and influence. Different actors (politicians, populations, stakeholders, etc). assign different weights to the three kinds of value. Six gradually more complicated models are developed. The first subtracts losses from gains for the three kinds of value. Thereafter, the paper accounts for multiple periods, time discounting, attitude towards risk, multiple stakeholders, subcategories for the three kinds of value, sequential decision-making and game theory.
Findings
The rich theoretical structure enables assessing costs and benefits more systematically and illuminatingly. The cost benefit analysis is illustrated with the 2003-2011 Iraq War. The paper estimates gained and lost value of human lives, economic value and influence value, and show how different weights impact the decision of whether to initiate war differently.
Originality/value
The paper provides scientists and policy makers with a theoretical structure within which to evaluate the costs and benefits of war, accounting for how different actors estimate weights, the future, risk and a variety of parameter values differently.
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John H. Humphreys, Jane W. Gibson and Jennifer D. Oyler
Based upon an analysis of 30 historic narrative accounts of mutinies, Coye, Murphy, and Spencer recently extended voice theory to clarify the ontological status of the concept of…
Abstract
Purpose
Based upon an analysis of 30 historic narrative accounts of mutinies, Coye, Murphy, and Spencer recently extended voice theory to clarify the ontological status of the concept of upward defiance. The purpose of this article is to extend the framework of Coye et al. and illustrate the process of escalation towards hostility to offer practicing managers guidance on appropriate steps to interrupt the extreme escalation of member resistance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examined the significant historical insurrection within the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain. With the case of the Blair Mountain War, the historical record provides ample narrative data for a textual, interpretive, pseudo‐ethnographical analysis.
Findings
The examination of the Battle of Blair Mountain provides additional support for the upward organizational defiance framework proposed by Coye, Murphy, and Spencer. In addition, the authors have extended the theoretical upward defiance framework to account for the escalation of constructive to destructive forms of voice towards mutiny to reveal managerial actions and attitudes to mitigate follower defiance.
Research limitations/implications
The common limitation to any historic case study is one of generalizability, although it often useful to accept the trade‐off between limited generalizability and the potential discernment associated with the methodology.
Originality/value
The paper investigates a mutiny outside of a maritime setting to offer support for Coye et al.’s conceptual framework, extend that framework in a manner more consistent with organizational practice, and offer guidance to practitioners.
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The ability to project oneself into a future landscape is a critical aspect for studying and practicing the science of foresight and foresight-based learning systems. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
The ability to project oneself into a future landscape is a critical aspect for studying and practicing the science of foresight and foresight-based learning systems. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how we can construct immersive spatial narratives through multimedia-enhanced learning approaches, to increase deeper learner immersion and levels of creativity to transport the learner into a simulated 2030 landscape by reducing the distance between the projected reality and the Self.
Design/methodology/approach
The author designed a foresight-based course on the Future of Mobile Learning underpinned by a new learning system that embraced the concept of immersive spatial narratives, combining physical, virtual and cognitive learning spaces, which enable students to explore complex, undiscovered or unstructured knowledge. Practicing was carried out on 35 students who had completed the course during the preceding three years through a questionnaire and interviews to establish increased levels of creativity in a simulated future landscape.
Findings
The paper established that the addition of multimedia learning environments and tools to foresight-based learning creates immersive spatial narratives that increase creativity and learner ability to project him/herself into a simulated future landscape. In all, 75 per cent of the respondents stated that having to think about the future and place themselves in a practicing landscape increased their creative skills.
Originality/value
A new, foresight-based learning system driven by the concept of immersive spatial narratives, enhanced with student-created multimedia learning tools. The system demonstrated how this approach helps to increase learner creativity and the ability to transition from their Present Self to their Future Self.