Judita Peterlin

ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP IN THE DAOIST FRAMEWORK

By embracing creativity and innovation, an entrepreneurs products or services can bring about business growth, productivity improvement, job and wealth creation, an enhanced image for the economy, and ultimately a better quality of life for all. As such, entrepreneurs are an extremely important part of the global economy and of society as a whole. However, as small founder-driven companies tend to grow into larger organisations, the issue of leadership soon becomes of vital importance. In this paper, we discuss a two-phase entrepreneurial leadership model, presenting the challenges entrepreneurs have to meet for a successful transition from phase one of formative growth into phase two of institutional growth. Quoting chapters from the Daodejing, we provide a Daoist framework of entrepreneurial leadership as a response to these challenges and as an alternative to the traditional Confucian and Legalist frameworks. We especially emphasise the concepts of wei wu wei, zi ran, and wateristic leadership personality within the article.

Integrating stakeholders’ multiple intelligences into the leadership development of a cross-cultural entity: Evidence from the CI Ljubljana

This paper presents the first qualitative research study of the multiple intelligences of Chinese and Slovenian stakeholders at the Confucius Institute Ljubljana. Our research question is: “How can the integration of multiple intelligences into leadership development help in accomplishing the mission of CI LJ?” According to a contemporary leadership development literature review, sustainable leadership development – based on the theory of multiple intelligences – is more appropriate for social and environmental needs than a focused leader development. The findings demonstrate that individual differences influence cultural orientation and that management needs to integrate the individual, organisational, social and environmental developmental components through sustainable leadership development.

Authentic leadership in contemporary Slovenian business environment : explanatory case study of HERMES SoftLab

Authentic Leadership in Contemporary Slovenian Business Environment: Explanatory Case Study of HERMES SoftLab The paper explores the authentic leadership in learning organization in Slovenian business environment. The purpose of the paper is to present relationship between authentic leadership and learning organization. Main research thesis is focused on characteristics of authentic leadership in company HERMES SoftLab. The main thesis of this paper is that authentic leadership in learning organization enables the growth of leaders in organizational surroundings through a constant dedication to authenticity and organizational learning that will be explored through the qualitative research method of case study research approach. Key research finding is that authentic leaders can be identified in company HERMES SoftLab and that there is a mutual influence between learning organization and authentic leadership. Therefore, the main research finding is that the learning organization leverages the authentic leadership, which in turn leverages the learning organization.

Smart technologies as social innovation and complex social issues of the Z generation

This paper aims to present how contemporary students are self-organizing using smart technologies (ST) and the future social implications of ST. The research model is based on the concepts of the soft system methodology, social systems thinking, innovative smart systems, and cybernetic and knowledge management.,The study contains elements of exploratory and descriptive case studies. Narrative analysis and interpretation of the collected data have been carried out.,Students mostly use ST to save time when studying and in their free time. Students are surprised by how ST developed and are cautious when imagining how the technology will change and affect their lives. They are concerned regarding several ethical dilemmas of using it, such as privacy and spending time with their loved ones and friends. Students perceive their self-organization in the future as very dependent on the availability of ST in institutional settings (e.g. education and business process) as well as their personal lives. Students discuss their present perceptions about what the future will be and note that social system will be more dynamic in terms of socialization, and loss of personal contact with their friends and family is seen as the main threat.,The research is qualitative, and the questionnaire was carried out among business students at the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.,The paper offers an understanding of the usage of ST among business students. This study provides a road map of a few possible ways for usage of ST among students. The topic is also relevant for human resource managers, technology developers and marketing strategists for their better understanding of the behaviour of young people using ST in professional or private environments.,The findings can be useful for professors in identifying different learning methods that are useful for their students.,The authors offer conceptualizations of ST within the social innovation framework and provide a contemporary understanding young people’s ST usage.

Expanding the Model of Organizational Learning: Scope, Contingencies, and Dynamics

Our paper seeks to contribute to the understanding of organizational learning by (a) integrating existing models of organizational learning into a single model and (b) expanding the model to include inter-organizational learning, adding key contingencies suggested by the growing literature on neuroleadership, and incorporating a process dimension to reflect the fact that organizational learning is continuous and dynamic. The resulting expanded model of organizational learning encompasses four levels on which learning can occur: individual, team, organizational, and inter-organizational. The overall validity of the model is illustrated by applying it to two knowledge-intensive Slovenian firms. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. DOI: 10.15458/85451.21

Rethinking dialogue and education between Slovenia and China: Sustainability – our common language?

The paper presents the methodology of appreciative inquiry with the aim of fostering understanding of the Slovenian and Chinese educational environments. Besides using various methods within an action-based, longitudinal case study, we applied a novel methodology – chain pair interviews – that were conducted by the stakeholders of the Confucius Institute Ljubljana. The findings show that community building is the core value of both Slovenian and Chinese representatives; we therefore propose that sustainability represents a common frame of communication. We recommend that the development of sustainable leadership becomes the focus of the Confucius Institute Ljubljana’s educational activities, thereby presenting it with a competitive advantage.