Robert French
Friendship and organization: Learning from the western friendship tradition
French, Robert
Authors
Abstract
This article describes and explores some key concepts from the classical, Western friendship tradition in order to see whether anything may be learned from them about the processes of organizing today. First, it looks at the difference between the modern notion of friendship, which emphasizes intimacy as the basis for an interpersonal relationship, and the classical tradition, which held a much more differentiated view, extending from the interpersonal to the political and systemic. In particular, the idea of friendship as a hexis is described – that is, as a state of mind or disposition towards others rather than just an intimate relationship. Second, it looks at the idea of ‘levels’ of friendship – from those based on utility or pleasure to those rooted in a striving after virtue – which opens up possibilities for analysing the culture of human relationships in organizations. Finally, it examines ways in which these ideas might be applied in organizations through the elaboration of the practices of friendship in the context of levels of friendship and of the idea of friendship as a state of mind. © 2007 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
Citation
French, R. (2007). Friendship and organization: Learning from the western friendship tradition. Management and Organizational History, 2(3), 255-272. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744935907084013
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Date | Jan 1, 2007 |
Journal | Management and Organizational History |
Print ISSN | 1744-9359 |
Electronic ISSN | 1744-9367 |
Publisher | Taylor & Francis (Routledge) |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 2 |
Issue | 3 |
Pages | 255-272 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1177/1744935907084013 |
Keywords | ethics, friendship, hexis (state of mind/ disposition), tradition, organization, parrhesia (frankness of speech) |
Public URL | https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1023799 |
Publisher URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1744935907084013 |
Downloadable Citations
About UWE Bristol Research Repository
Administrator e-mail: repository@uwe.ac.uk
This application uses the following open-source libraries:
SheetJS Community Edition
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
PDF.js
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
Font Awesome
SIL OFL 1.1 (http://scripts.sil.org/OFL)
MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html)
CC BY 3.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Powered by Worktribe © 2024
Advanced Search