Publications and Download area
On this page we will continue to add work that is associated with The Humanistic Management Network. This includes publications written or edited by ourselves or individual members of our Network as well as work that has been done by or in collaboration with partners.
We will also upload calls for papers or other calls for contributions on this page so come back every now and then to have a look at what's new.
New call for cases: Banking Differently
Forthcoming Publications
Humanism in Business, Perspectives on Responsible Business in Society
Humanism in Business, edited by The Humanistic Management Network lays out the theoretical grounds for Humanistic Management Research (HMR). The book is divided into four main parts: firstly an introduction into humanist thought, history and today's relevance for businesses and, more generally, economic activities. The second, third and fourth parts then look in depth at what humanism can mean for businesses and the way we organize our economies on a system, an organizational, and an individual level.
Humanism in Business will be published in early 2009 by Cambridge University Press and we are proud that we were able to receive many outstanding contributions from some of the most distinct scholars of their respective fields. Please follow this link to the books page in the Cambridge University Press Catalog.
To view a contents outline of Humanism in Business please click here. You can also see a first pre-release book review of Humanism in Business by Paul Lawrence, Professor of Organizational Behavior Emeritus at Harvard Business School, which he was kind enough to post on his blog.
Banking Differently
In this book we are taking a look at those financial services companies that are doing relatively well in the current market environment or are even benefiting from the crisis. We are looking to gain insight into what has made them more robust during and after the financial markets shocks that began with Bear Stearns running into trouble in June 2007 and culminated in the entire disappearance of independent investment banks within 3 weeks in September 2008.
The Humanistic Management Network wants to profile financial services companies that are standing surprisingly firm in these stormy times in order to find some common threads that have made them less vulnerable than most in the industry. In doing so we demonstrate the connection between ethical, values based corporate cultures and management decisions and good financial performance.
Banking Differently will come out mid 2009. Please have a look at the call for cases for more information on this publication.
Humanistic Management in Practice, How Responsible Businesses Create Success Stories
Aiming to create actionable knowledge The Humanistic Management Network is compiling a case collection with positive examples of how businesses can succeed in generating social value whilst running a profitable organization. A prerequisite for managing a business in tune with humanistic principles is the emancipation from a singular focus on maximizing profits. Emancipated businesses, in the context of this book, have therefore freed themselves from the restraints of a one dimensional goal-set. Their managers have liberated themselves from voluntarily submitting their human rationality to market rationality. And their employees have been liberated from working in a company whose values they often do not share.
This book will cover cases from around the world as well as differently sized businesses that were either founded using business means to address a social objective or that have changed the ways in which they operate to actively contribute to a more life serving economy.
Humanistic Management in Practice will come out mid 2009. Please have a look at the call for cases for the structure and some background information on this publication.
Actionable Management Concepts for a Humane Economy
Many managers are torn by the need to maximize profit on one hand and their innate wish to make a positive contribution to society. All too often these two intentions collide, profit maximization prevails, and managers are increasingly dissatisfied. When trying to manage humanistically many managers lack structured support to base their actions on. Structured management frameworks akin to the Porter 5 forces, 6 Sigma etc.. are sparse and not mainstream yet. The purpose of the book is to provide an overview of actionable management frameworks that help managers to humanistically deal with management dilemmas in the 21st century.
This book will provide practical insights useful for managers, executives and business leaders as well as consultants seeking to combine business and public value creation
We are aiming to publish Actionable Management Concepts for a Humane Economy in mid 2009
Academic Responsibility: Humanistic Management and the Role of Executive Education Institutions
Stakeholders continue to demand more from companies. The latter should impact their region positively and run their businesses in a scandal-free, profitable way. In order to excel and implement humanistic working conditions and solutions, companies are likely to benefit from additional help. While companies have to fulfill their corporate social responsibility, academic social responsibility calls on institutions of higher learning and executive education to fulfill a twofold obligation. First, learning institutions must provide businesses with the concepts, frameworks, tools and ideas to create more balanced, long-term viable solutions for business dilemmas. Second, they need to provide graduates of degree or executive education programs which are well trained in constructing more holistic solutions. Complexity due to the added dimension of social and environmental ends - next to and not in contradiction to financial ends - should represent a challenge graduates are well equipped to respond to.
This research and book project by The Humanistic Management Network aims to shed light on how institutions of higher learning can effectively fulfill their academic social responsibility.
The Humanism Kaleidoscope
In today's era of increasing globalization, companies are confronted with differing value systems in the countries where they operate. Multinational outfits have learned - often the hard way - how critical it is to understand these diverse cultural sensitivities for conducting successful business. From marketing to employee retention, demonstrating sensitivity toward locally idiosyncratic solutions has proved essential in various aspects of business and management time and again. Humanistic management goes a step further. While it is logical to expect both subtle and stark differences in interpreting the nuances of humanistic management across different settings, the basic principles of humanistic business focus on the holistic notion of human beings, and emphasize on societal improvement through potential personal growth. In other words, humanistic management believes that (hu)man is the measure of all things, and its principles can be applicable in any given setting, regardless of contextual idiosyncrasies. In this book, we take an alternative approach to multicultural management – by highlighting the common underlying theme of humanistic management across cultures; and thus serving as a basis for value management on a global level.
By showcasing humanistic principles at work in different cultural settings, this book provides hands-on examples of how to deal with value conflicts arising in a global business world.