Basic Considerations on the Organizational Ikigai

An almost continuous dynamic and unpredictability, coupled with a change in the desires of employees, are altering the way we view people within an organizational system, and beyond. People can no longer be viewed as an isolated “concept”. Instead, they are in search of meaning in their work, and a gap emerges between common concepts and the need to view people and their environment as a whole. This is where the organizational purpose comes into play, with organizational development, including its structures and processes, being based on a humane image of man. Building on this, organizations are to be understood as places that open up the possibility for individuals to find and implement their individual meaning also in a professional context, as they are enabled to bring their individuality to life in a vibrant way. Starting from a “classical” view of the management of organizations, this chapter lays the foundations for the organizational Ikigai. The digitalization, with its great challenges, serves as an example to underline the relevance of a rethinking towards purpose-driven. On this basis, the necessity of a image of man worthy of human beings is presented, before the authors derive a blueprint between individual and organizational Ikigai for management and sketch the Ikigai organization.