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'Insights from the Work of Viktor Frankl to Inform Humanistic Management' Leadership, Organisations, Behaviour and Reputation Research Seminar

Kleio Akrivou New Staff Photo
Event information
Date 13 February 2025
Time 13:00-14:00 (Timezone: Europe/London)
Venue Henley Business School LG01
Event types:
Seminars

Professor Akrivou researches personalist virtue ethics and transcendental anthropology to inform business ethics, human and personal growth, sustainability and ethical education, linked with practical wisdom and the theory of self and human action. Studying how they enable responsible and ethical management to support human, social and ecological values, Professor Akrivou's interest is in bridging business, society and humanistic agendas. Her expertise is in moral philosophy, psychology, adult development, education, research ethics integrity, sustainability and positive social impact within personalist virtue ethics approaches.

Following work in moral and human development in the modern humanistic traditions, Professor Akrivou studied classical moral philosophy. Her PhD was on adult moral development at Case Western Reserve University, USA. She researched revised anthropology to better understand human beings, action and growth to enrich modern frames of reference around ethics, management and education.

She has published works in leading international and peer-review journals such as Business Ethics: a European Review, the Journal of Business Ethics, Leadership Quarterly, Frontiers and the Academy of Management Learning and Education, covering ethics, virtue and moral development, the future of leadership and management education and humanistic management renewal with genuine sustainability orientation involving people and organisations. A visiting scholar at the University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, she is also a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.

The topic of this presentation is 'Insights from the Work of Viktor Frankl to Inform Humanistic Management'. A psychology-based humanistic management was developed in the 20th Century, with authors such as Abraham Maslow and Frederick Herzberg. It focuses on the individual and emphasises the uniqueness, wholeness and human needs, including self-actualisation and higher human motivations. However, other outstanding humanistic psychologists, such as Carl Rogers and Viktor Frankl, have rarely been considered in management.

Spurred by this vacuum, this seminar aims to explore Viktor Frankl's thought, paying particular attention to its possible connection with management and how Frankl's ideas can contribute to a wider view of humanistic management. Frankl focuses on the search for meaning and the will to meaning as primary motivations of an individual, with the principles proposed for a person's life and work meaning relevant for sound management.

Frankl's work also highlights the 'mystery' of the human being, endowed with individual conscience, spirituality and self-transcendence. He emphasises individual responsibility in association with freedom, existential encounters, the intersubjective existence and interpersonal bonds created in interacting. The conclusion is that Frankl's thought can enrich management with specific insights and suggests an existential person-centred approach to humanistic management, beyond formal philosophical principles and closer to human reality.

The seminar will be held on 13 February 2025, 1:00pm, in room LG01 of the Henley Business School building, Whiteknights campus. For those unable to attend in person there is also the option to dial in remotely via Microsoft Teams. If you are interested in joining, please contact Alex Baker on a.j.baker@henley.ac.uk

After the seminar has concluded, Professor Akrivou will lead a 'Research Reflections' conversation with members of faculty and research students from 2:00pm. Members of LOBR faculty may also request to book a one to one meeting with Professor Akrivou. Each appointment will last 30 minutes, between 2:30pm to 3:30pm. Slots are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. To arrange an appointment, please contact Alex Baker on a.j.baker@henley.ac.uk

LOBR research seminars are co-ordinated by Professor Bernd Vogel and Dr Anastasiya Saraeva.

Contact us

For more information please contact Alex Baker.

Email: a.j.baker@henley.ac.uk
Telephone: 0118 3788691
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