Abstract
The Global Wealth Report of 2022 reveals that we are wealthier, healthier, and living longer than ever before. However, this doesn't necessarily seem to equate to success as a society. The prevailing view in the western business world is that companies must generate high returns and great profits, which requires precise management and planning based on rational, explicit information and ‘profound’ knowledge. This view is being increasingly questioned by researchers and practitioners who argue that more is not always better. Instead, an ‘aesthetic of the right measure’ is needed to achieve long-term sustainability.
This position paper explores the idea of the right measure that may also include a shift of what we consider desirable in an organizational context. In the light of current movements towards ‘Spiritual Knowledge Management’ and ‘Responsible Knowledge Management’, the field of Knowledge Management may need to shift more towards knowledge creation for the greater good. This requires developing a tacit understanding of the meaning of sustainability and a shift in what is considered to be ‘working beautifully’ from something technically rational to something sustainable and organic.
Presumably, the only way for a company to achieve sustainability in the long run is to change the premises by which it operates away from the culture of ‘more is better’ towards what I coin as an ‘aesthetic of the right measure’.
Ultimately, being a sustainable company needs to become as aspirational as being a financially successful company is today. This involves a shift of the aesthetic image that we have of success as being mainly drawn to financial wealth. Instead, the aesthetics of restraint involve finding pleasure in needing less. The paper suggests that this shift towards sustainability and organic growth is based on a positive aesthetic image of sustainability and requires a change in decision-making methodology and a strong sense of the organization's true purpose.
This position paper explores the idea of the right measure that may also include a shift of what we consider desirable in an organizational context. In the light of current movements towards ‘Spiritual Knowledge Management’ and ‘Responsible Knowledge Management’, the field of Knowledge Management may need to shift more towards knowledge creation for the greater good. This requires developing a tacit understanding of the meaning of sustainability and a shift in what is considered to be ‘working beautifully’ from something technically rational to something sustainable and organic.
Presumably, the only way for a company to achieve sustainability in the long run is to change the premises by which it operates away from the culture of ‘more is better’ towards what I coin as an ‘aesthetic of the right measure’.
Ultimately, being a sustainable company needs to become as aspirational as being a financially successful company is today. This involves a shift of the aesthetic image that we have of success as being mainly drawn to financial wealth. Instead, the aesthetics of restraint involve finding pleasure in needing less. The paper suggests that this shift towards sustainability and organic growth is based on a positive aesthetic image of sustainability and requires a change in decision-making methodology and a strong sense of the organization's true purpose.
| Originalsprache | Englisch |
|---|---|
| Titel des Sammelwerks | Proceedings IFKAD (2023) |
| Publikationsstatus | Veröffentlicht - 2023 |