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  • 1.  disagree about appropriateness --Questions about the Winter MSR newsletter

    Posted 04-17-2007 20:22
    Lee, Marc, and other friends:

    Let's not forget the part about "study and practice of management" --
    which is why MSR is inside the Academy of Management (rather than
    being a religious list). I don't recall seeing anything in the
    original article that suggested that Amma-inspired organizations
    might perform differently that those which are not...

    Tom Bryant.


    Dr. Tom Bryant, Executive Director
    Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
    Rohrer Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies
    Rohrer College of Business, Rowan University
    Glassboro, NJ 08028, USA
    (856) 256-4126; e-mail: bryant@rowan.edu



    On Apr 17, 2007, at 6:14 PM, Lee Robbins wrote:

    > Dear Colleagues,
    > Again I think the issue is the contxt. Spirituality and Religion
    > are after all the unique basic ingredients of our perspective on
    > the study and practice of management. Hence it is of value to have
    > some basic presentations on the nature and range of such practices,
    > perhaps particularly those which are less commonly known.
    >
    > Consider stating the context along the lines of:
    > Varieties of Contemporary Practices of Religion and Spirituality:
    > An Occasional Series
    > In this context, though still perhaps controversial, I think it we
    > would have much less difficulty about publishing such an article.
    >
    > Re the public discussion of such issues on the MSR list: as we
    > continue to figure out who we are, I think this is a useful and
    > appropriate discussion trying to bound our work. It has also been
    > notable for the absence of personal criticism of others who might
    > disagree.
    >
    > Lee Robbins
    > Golden Gate University
    > School of Business
    >
    > -----Original Message-----
    >> From: "Mentzer, Marc" <mentzer@COMMERCE.USASK.CA>
    >> Sent: Apr 17, 2007 2:30 PM
    >> To: MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
    >> Subject: Re: Questions about the Winter MSR newsletter
    >>
    >> Mathew Sheep's concerns are important on a couple of levels: Was the
    >> article appropriate for the newsletter, and more fundamentally,
    >> what is
    >> the purpose of the MSR group?
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >> For those who have not had an opportunity to read it, here is a
    >> passage
    >> that conveys the flavour of the article: "Mata Amritanandamayi, or
    >> the
    >> Divine Mother as she is popularly known, is the biggest and most
    >> unique
    >> blessing that has been conferred upon humankind in recent history....
    >> [later in the article] Amma is a living master. The mere presence of
    >> such a Mahatma is beneficial to the universe."
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >> Because my own research has been in both organization theory and the
    >> sociology of religion, I was excited when MSR was created. I
    >> envisioned
    >> it as a group dedicated to the study of organizational phenomena
    >> where
    >> religion is a variable.
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >> However, as the group has evolved, it seems to be more of a group for
    >> *doing* religion than for *studying* religion. In other words,
    >> members'
    >> religious beliefs have become more central to the functioning of MSR
    >> than I had ever expected. The article in question is appropriate
    >> if MSR
    >> is a forum for worship, but utterly inappropriate if this is a
    >> forum for
    >> research.
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >> Marc Mentzer
    >>
    >> College of Commerce
    >>
    >> University of Saskatchewan
    >>
    >> Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >>


  • 2.  disagree about appropriateness --Questions about the Winter MSR newsletter

    Posted 04-17-2007 21:49
    I am curious to know if the newsletter has author guidelines like some of the academic journals.  I don't think the guidelines need to be as rigorous, but it may be helpful if a list of the  type of articles wanted or needed was provided.

    If such guidelines exist it may be useful to distribute them to this distribution list.

    David Longstreet
    Software Economist
    www.SoftwareMetrics.Com
    816.739.4058

    On Apr 17, 2007, at 5:14 PM, Lee Robbins wrote:

    Dear Colleagues,
    Again I think the issue is the contxt.  Spirituality and Religion are after all the unique basic ingredients of our perspective on the study and practice of management.  Hence it is of value to have some basic presentations on the nature and range of such practices, perhaps particularly those which are less commonly known.  

    Consider stating the context along the lines of: 
    Varieties of Contemporary Practices of Religion and Spirituality: An Occasional Series
    In this context, though still perhaps controversial, I think it we would have much less difficulty about publishing such an article.

    Re the public discussion of such issues on the MSR list: as we continue to figure out who we are, I think this is a useful and appropriate discussion trying to bound our work.  It has also been notable for the absence of personal criticism of others who might disagree.

    Lee Robbins
    Golden Gate University
    School of Business

    -----Original Message-----
    From: "Mentzer, Marc" <mentzer@COMMERCE.USASK.CA>
    Sent: Apr 17, 2007 2:30 PM
    Subject: Re: Questions about the Winter MSR newsletter

    Mathew Sheep's concerns are important on a couple of levels: Was the
    article appropriate for the newsletter, and more fundamentally, what is
    the purpose of the MSR group?



    For those who have not had an opportunity to read it, here is a passage
    that conveys the flavour of the article: "Mata Amritanandamayi, or the
    Divine Mother as she is popularly known, is the biggest and most unique
    blessing that has been conferred upon humankind in recent history....
    [later in the article] Amma is a living master. The mere presence of
    such a Mahatma is beneficial to the universe."



    Because my own research has been in both organization theory and the
    sociology of religion, I was excited when MSR was created. I envisioned
    it as a group dedicated to the study of organizational phenomena where
    religion is a variable. 



    However, as the group has evolved, it seems to be more of a group for
    *doing* religion than for *studying* religion. In other words, members'
    religious beliefs have become more central to the functioning of MSR
    than I had ever expected. The article in question is appropriate if MSR
    is a forum for worship, but utterly inappropriate if this is a forum for
    research. 



    Marc Mentzer

    College of Commerce

    University of Saskatchewan

    Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada