Wisdom Management: Tensions Between Theory And Practice In Practice

Because modern managerial discourse emerges from a dominant discourse characterised by neo-liberalism and rational managerialism, there is little place for wisdom in its theory and practice. A rare instance of management seeking to retain wisdom is a Canadian Public Service document, The Getting and Keeping of Wisdom. This document is (computer-assisted) text-analysed to determine the extent to which it meets nine criteria of wisdom derived from Aristotelian philosophy and recent psychological studies. Although the document soundly applies empirically-based psychological theory, there is a tension this and the values and assumptions privileged in the dominant discourse. Thus the capacity for wise management is inhibited to the extent that it attempts to work within the dominant managerialist discourse. Just as knowledge management is limited by a limited theory of knowledge, it is likely that wisdom management will be weakened by a lack of knowledge about wisdom