Managing Around

Let me ask you something. When was the last time you actually knew where your knowledge is stored? Not a file. Not a saved email. Not a bookmark you'll never open again. I mean a living sense of what you know, how it connects, and why it matters — right now, in your professional life. For most of us working in management, in social work, in education — the answer is: we don't. We generate ideas in...

Imagine you are developing an idea for new research. You find a mountain of journal articles that seems perfect, but how can we process the vast amount of information, and how can we use it for our own research? Or imagine you need to synthesise 5 studies on “remote work productivity” for your next class on organisation research by tomorrow. In the past, this was a manual grind and involved a grea...

You’re sitting at your desk, staring at a mountain of interview transcripts. Hours upon hours of human stories. Contradictions. Emotions. Moments of confusion. Moments of clarity. Everything that makes qualitative data so beautifully complex… and so incredibly time-consuming. You stretch your shoulders. You breathe in. Likewise, you prepare for the long, slow, careful journey ahead. And then — som...

Picture this: It's 2 AM, and Professor Maik is sitting in his office, surrounded by stacks of research papers, sticky notes covering his monitor, and notebooks filled with half-finished ideas. He's preparing for tomorrow's lecture but can't find that brilliant insight about team dynamics. It's somewhere in his notes, but where? Sounds familiar? This scenario plays out in workspaces worldwide every...

Welcome back, dear listeners, to another fascinating dive into the ever-changing management world around us! Today, we're tackling a topic that's often shrouded in mystery, sometimes fear, but also immense potential: Artificial Intelligence, or Generative AI, and its surprising, often subtle, year powerful role in the field of Social Work. It is no longer a question of whether its inclusion in soc...

As spring unfolds across Central Europe, gardens burst into life. Today, we’ll explore thirteen essential management functions—exactly as laid out in a garden illustration—from The Garden Plan to The Compost Heap. Picture your organisation as a community garden: each element, from planning beds to composting, represents a key management activity. In this episode, we’ll walk through each garden fun...

Today, we're diving into a topic that affects every organization, every team, and quite frankly, all of us – resistance to change. As Waldman and O'Reilly (2022) found in their research, resistance to change is one of the main reasons why up to 70% of organizational changes fail to achieve their desired results. We will unpack why this happens and, more importantly, how you can successfully naviga...

In today’s episode, we’re diving into the topic of “culture”–what it is, where it came from, and how recent thinking challenges our assumptions. One key idea we’ll be looking at is that culture isn’t a rigid, unchanging force pushing people apart but rather a dynamic interplay of multiple influences that can unite us if we learn how to forge a shared sense of belonging. By exploring this idea, we’...

Have you ever wondered why we manage our teams or institutions the way we do? Or how did management even become a discipline? Today, we'll journey back to uncover where management thinking began and how it has evolved. From the ancient roots of "manus" (Latin for "hand") to modern theories that emphasise people, context, and ever-changing environments. We will see that "what management is" truly d...

Imagine a world where economic systems prioritise fairness, resource sustainability, and the well-being of all individuals. Sounds utopian, right? But this vision wasn't just a dream for Walras; it was a carefully constructed framework grounded in rigorous thought and a strong belief in a harmonious society. His ideas challenged laissez-faire capitalism and promoted the ethical management of resou...

Today, we're diving into a topic that has reshaped education and practice for decades. It's the question of training future students and current professionals in many so-called literacies. Although everyone is talking about AI skills at the moment, this discussion is not new. A seminal moment was the publication by the New London Group in 1996, where they introduced the concept of multiliteracies....

In this episode, we’ll unpack phenomenography, how it can be applied to social management research, and its implications for future social and management sciences. By the end of this short discussion, you’ll have a clearer understanding of this innovative research design and its potential impact on your work. References: Hoory, L. (2024, June 1). What is a stakeholder analysis? Everything you need...

Today, we're discussing the role of artificial intelligence in social work and its implications for social service organisations. A recent holiday reading inspired this episode. In this episode, we'll draw some insights from Ethan Mollick's book, 'Co-Intelligence—Living and Working with AI,' to understand both the potential and ethical challenges of integrating AI into social work. Although he did...

Today, we’re diving into the fascinating world of Public Governance. We’ll explore its different concepts and their applications, particularly in the social and healthcare sectors. Buckle up for an educational yet entertaining ride through the intricacies of how public institutions are managed and governed. We’ll start by asking what public governance is and what concepts about it exist. Then, we...

Today, we're peeling back the layers on a topic that often gets plenty of lip service but lacks in-depth understanding and implementation–diversity in social services. Picture this: a social work agency bustling with professionals from all walks of life, each bringing their own rich tapestry of experiences, cultures, and ideas. But here's the catch–does this colourful mosaic translate into the way...

Welcome to today's episode of Managing Around! Imagine a world where every voice, no matter how seemingly contradictory, will be heard. Where the diverse needs, goals, and perspectives within a social work organisation not only coexist but thrive together. This is not a distant utopia. It should be reality in social work institutions. Hybridity and multi-rationality in these organisations help us...

Have you ever wondered what separates the best from the rest in the world of management? What if I told you there's a secret tool that has transformed how we understand leadership, innovation, and organisational development? – The magic is simply the Critical Incident Technique or CIT – a tool that's been shaping management research since the 1960s. This technique, stemming from the innovative wor...

We are drawing inspiration from Paul Bate's seminal work, "Strategies for Cultural Change," in which he challenges traditional views of organisational culture, urging us to see it not just as an attribute an organisation has, but as the very essence. As we explore his insights, we will unravel the complexities of 'thinking culturally' about organisations and discuss practical strategies for enacti...

How, can learning in the field of management be made more exciting, practical, and effective? In today's insightful episode of Managing Around, we delve into an innovative Design-based Research project conducted at the University of Applied Sciences in Dresden. It merges the theories of 'Students as Partners' and 'Learning by Teaching', creating a new approach for theory-practice transfer in manag...

Welcome to another insightful episode of Managing Around. I'm Maik Arnold, and today, we explore project management and teamwork. We're diving into improving project teamwork, a topic crucial for any project's success. We'll explore the contrasts between classical and agile project management and learn about the Team Charter Canvas tool, a game-changer in team and organisational development. Refer...

Systematic reviews such as these are just one of many ways in academic writing to accumulate the current state-of-the-art in a relevant field of research. But fear not, we've got PRISMA as our guiding star. PRISMA stands for “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.” In this episode, we will embark on a journey to let you understand what systematic reviews are and how yo...

In this episode, we dive deep into the latest research and trends to help you navigate the ever-evolving world of management, social sciences and education. Today, we're breaking down a fascinating study that my colleague Mattis Altmann from the TU Dresden and I presented at the GeNeMe 2023 conference titled "Exploring Critical Learning Incidents in Collaborative Online International Learning: Imp...

This episode dives into a topic that's constantly challenging thinking about the future of work. We're talking about the intersection of Industry 4.0 and Human Resources. The key lesson is that as we advance into this new era of interconnected machines and real-time data, the human element doesn't diminish but becomes increasingly vital. So, stay tuned for an insightful and engaging conversation a...

In this episode, we will discuss the topic of "Five theses for the further development of SoTL in higher education teaching". SoTL stands for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and it is a movement that aims to enhance the quality and impact of teaching and learning in higher education. And this is done through research and evidence-based practices. Based on a recently published article by the...

This episode discusses the importance of coaching in social work organisations. Coaching is a powerful tool that can help social workers develop skills, improve performance, and achieve goals. It can also enhance their well-being, resilience, and motivation. But how can you implement coaching in your social work organisation? What are the benefits and challenges of coaching? To answer these questi...