Virtuous work and organizational culture: How aristotelian practical wisdom can humanize business

This chapter aims to overcome the rationalistic and mechanistic paradigm of organizational theory redefining the nature of organizations as a community of work. We sustain that Aristotelian practical wisdom deepens our understanding of organizations by incorporating different features of personal work in organizational contexts, such as meaning, interpretation, ambiguity, conflict, context-dependence, productivity and reflexivity. In this chapter, we will explain (i) how the organization aimed to excellence is better defined as a community of work, and (ii) how practical wisdom in an organization must be defined in light of work as a deliberative and participative production. Thus, the goal of the chapter is twofold: first, it seeks to introduce a concept of work into the Aristotelian organizational theory; second, it aims to show the potential of Aristotelian practical wisdom for deepening our understanding of organizations by integrating an Aristotelian definition of the community of work and common good into organizational theory.