Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät der Katholischen Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt Auf der Schanz 49 // Ingolstadt

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1 Professur für Christliche Sozialethik und Gesellschaftspolitik Project Manager Practical Wisdom for Sustainable Management Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät der Katholischen Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt Auf der Schanz 49 // Ingolstadt List of MA Thesis Topics A pivotal idea of the project is to include students who are willing to choose wise decision making in business practice as a point of departure for their MA thesis. In order to facilitate the access to our MA program for interested students we have developed and discussed some concrete topics for potential MA theses, which you can find below: Moroccan topics The boss is the first servant An Islamic perspective on humility in leadership Humble leadership is an emerging concept of management research that recently gained a lot of attention. Many of its ideas and hypotheses have their roots deeply planted in philosophy and theology. This thesis explores the topic from an Islamic perspective. Nielsen, R., Marrone, J. & Slay, H. (2010). A new look at humility Exploring the humility concept and its role in socialized charismatic leadership. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 17, Owens, B.P. (2012). Modeling How to Grow: An Inductive Examination of Humble Leader Behaviors, Contingencies, and Outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 55 (4), Measuring the balance in organizational culture A validation of the FOGO in French & Arabic A crucial measurement tool (FOGO Fragebogen für Offenheit und Geschlossenheit in Organisationen) for a balanced corporate culture has been published in German, but despite an increasing interest in such topics in recent years was never translated in other languages or transferred to other cultures. The two master theses translate and validate French, respectively Arabic versions of the FOGO using a sample of Moroccan firms. Gebert, D. & Boerner, S. (1999). The Open and the Closed Corporation as conflicting Forms of Organization. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35 (3), Gebert, D., Boerner, S. & Matiaske, W. (1998). Offenheit und Geschlossenheit in Organisationen - Zur Validierung eines Messinstruments. Zeitschrift für Arbeits- u. Organisationspsychologie, 42 (1),

2 Practical Wisdom State of the Art In any work-related situation that involves human interaction, rules, procedures, job descriptions, incentives may not be effective to entice people to do the right thing. In this regard, what seems to be missing is the character trait that Aristotle dubbed practical wisdom. However, there is evidence of a lack of systematic and homogenous studies that examined the concept of practical wisdom. The purpose of this thesis is to synthesise and critique the literature related to practical wisdom. The study will draw the attention to theoretical insights and practical implications of the concept under study. Gibson, P. S. (2008) "Developing practical management wisdom", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 27 Iss: 5, pp Schwartz, B., & Sharpe, K. (2010). Practical wisdom: The right way to do the right thing. New York: Riverhead. German topics Practical wisdom revisited A longitudinal analysis adopting a Popperian perspective Popper s framework of the open society has attracted the attention of business administration scholars in the last 20 years. Nevertheless, only one measurement instrument has been developed and validated 15 years ago. In the meantime, various minor and major incidents have influenced the global economy. The theses empirically tests today s companies corporate culture applying the classic framework and comparing the data in a longitudinal analysis. Gebert, D., Boerner, S. & Matiaske, W. (1998). Offenheit und Geschlossenheit in Organisationen - Zur Validierung eines Messinstruments. Zeitschrift für Arbeits- u. Organisationspsychologie, 42 (1), Gebert, D. & Boerner, S. (1999). The Open and the Closed Corporation as conflicting Forms of Organization. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35 (3), A holistic view on management A case study In the research of organizational paradox research on balancing paradox needs in the organization to attain sustainability Quinn`s Competing Values Framework (CVF) is one of the dominant models. Based on this competing values model of organizational effectiveness, Quinn further developed a model of balanced leadership that has largely been used in paradox research. However, the measurement tool used by Quinn merely has some serious flaws and as an American model can only hardly be adopted in Europe. The aim of this thesis is to develop a validated measurement tool for leadership that can be used across country- and industry borders. Quinn, R. & Rohrbaugh, J. (1983). A spatial model of effectiveness criteria: Towards a competing values approach to organizational analysis. Management Science, 29(3),

3 Hooijberg, R. (1996). A multidirectional approach toward leadership: An extension of the concept of behavioural complexity. Human Relations, 49(7), A balance based measurement instrument of organizational culture Regarding culture in the field of balance management research, there are two interesting concepts: 1. Quinn`s interpretation of the CVF with regards to culture assumes that every organization matches dominantly one of four different categories, or rather cultures (Cameron and Quinn, 2006). In order to be successful, a company should aim at a specific balance within contradictory culture types. 2. The Ambidextrous Interpersonal Motives model of organizational culture by Moon, Quigley and Marr (2011) covers three dimensions (autonomy, collaboration and competition). This model promises very good results, is though not yet empirically tested. This thesis will combine both approaches and base it on solid research. A questionnaire measuring the balance between contradictory elements a driver of long-term success in business will be developed. Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2006). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture, 2. Aufl., San Francisco. Moon, H., Quigley, N. R., & Marr, J. C. (2012). How interpersonal motives explain the influence of organizational culture on organizational productivity, creativity, and adaptation The ambidextrous interpersonal motives (AIM) model of organizational culture. Organizational Psychology Review, 2(2), Joint topics A comparative study of practical wisdom from a competing values perspective Practical wisdom shows itself in a successful balance between competing organizational objectives. Companies need to produce stable results while remaining flexible. They need to keep themselves in the know about their competitors as well as about internal developments. The competing values framework offers a method to measure a company s practical wisdom as defined above. Nevertheless, only data from Anglo-American contexts have been published in scholarly journals so 3

4 far. The two theses collect data from both Germany and Morocco on the levels of organizational culture and leadership. The results which will be analyzed in the next project stages. Denison, D. R., Hooijberg, R. & Quinn, R. E. (1995). Paradox and Performance: Toward a Theory of Behavioral Complexity in Managerial Leadership. Organization Science, 6 (5), Denison, R.D. & Mishra, A.K. (1995). Toward a Theory of Organizational Culture and Effectiveness. Organization Science, 6 (2), Competing frameworks of managing paradox An evaluation A growing body of literature is devoted to the question how competing demands and goals can be met. Such situations have also been called paradoxes or dilemmas. Examples for such demands include collaboration-control, flexibility-efficiency, exploration-exploitation or profit-social responsibility. Two theoretical frameworks describing how to deal with paradoxes have been presented. The thesis evaluates these frameworks by comparing their relevance for current management tools from innovation management, strategy, controlling, and leadership. Smith, W.K. & Lewis, M.W. (2011). Toward a Theory of Paradox: A Dynamic Equilibrium Model of Organizing. Academy of Management Review, 36 (2), Armbrüster, T. & Gebert, D. (2002). Uncharted Territories of Organizational Research The Case of Karl Popper s Open Society and Its Enemies. Organization Studies, 23 (2), Gender differences in applied practical wisdom Evidence from Marocco (+ Germany + Lebanon) Practical wisdom relies on a dynamic interaction between perception, experience, character, and a vision of what is good for people, organizations, and ultimately society. It has been argued that women bring special wisdom to the workplace. The aim of this thesis is to explore the interaction between practical wisdom and gender within organizations. The research can be conducted independeantly in Germany, Lebanon and Morocco espousing a comparative perspective between male and female organizational leaders. Boyle, M.V. and Roan, A. (2009). "Special and wise": The paradoxical nature of the representation of women in management. In: N. Beaumont, 23rd ANZAM Conference 2009 'Sustainability Management and Marketing'. ANZAM 2009 Conference, Melbourne, Victoria, (1-16). 1-4 December Smith, D. (1990) The Conceptual Practices of Power: A Feminist Sociology of Knowledge, University of Toronto Press Inc: Toronto. Moreover, we have created a list with further concrete topics which could inspire your MA thesis. If you want to learn more about some of them or if you are interested in some literature please just get in touch! 4

5 Further concrete topics may include: The corporate culture of family firms in intercultural perspective Wise decisions in Crisis management Restructuring and its ethical self-understanding in both regions Organic products versus Hallal products: perceptions of producers and clients Social responsible investment versus Islamic Banking: differences, similarities? Childcare facilities, female occupation and religious image of women in the contemporary Western and Arab culture Professional training and professional ethics in Western countries and the Arab world: Are there similarities to the German model of dual model? Corporate Social Responsibility: the discussion of business and politics in the Arab world in Western countries Quality Management in the Arab world and the West: different assessments in practice and their different cultural roots Social innovation and their institutional and cultural conditions in both cultural spaces Anti-discrimination and diversity management in Arabic and Western companies Corporate Finance and support for start-ups Responsible Supply Chain Management: perspectives and best practice from Europe and from Northern Africa 5