An Opening in Management for Martin Heidegger
Annual Philosophy of Management Conference, June 2008
13 Pages Posted: 25 Dec 2011
Date Written: February 24, 2008
Abstract
This paper expounds an aspect of Heidegger’s corpus with the ultimate objective of his enlightening management practice. It begins with a summary of Heidegger’s practical involvement in management, particularly his experience as a university manager in Nazi Germany. Further, it suggests an area of Heidegger’s theory that might be of serious interest to practical managers who seek to understand management. This is Heidegger’s distinctive theory of Dasein and the paper introduces the notion of Dasein-manager. The paper does not assume that all its readers are familiar with Heideggerian ontology and accordingly takes a pedagogical approach. Finally, the paper provides a rudimentary ontological analysis of customers. It argues that customers are inevitably equipment. The paper will succeed if it wedges open a door to a radical re-interpretation of management founded upon the concept of Dasein-manager.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation