(Apologies for cross-posting)
FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS
Abstract submission deadline: November 1, 2008 to
angela.hope@smu.ca
CMS6 Stream: "The Role of the Contemplative in Workplace Organization:
Exploring Spiritualities, Theologies, Philosophies, and Ethics"
The Sixth International Critical Management Conference
July 13-15, 2009
Warwick Business School,
The University of Warwick, UK
Stream Convenors
Peter Case
UWE Bristol Business School
peter.case@uwe.ac.uk
Matthew Eriksen
Providence College
mattheweriksen@hotmail.com
Albert J. Mills
Saint Marys University
Albert.mills@smu.ca
Angela Hope (Lead Convenor)
Saint Marys University
angela.hope@smu.ca
Stream Description:
This stream explores the interface between the academic disciplines of
Philosophy, Theology/Religious Studies and the discipline of Critical
Management Studies. Theistic or atheist, practicing or not practicing, it
is difficult for many organizers and organizations (critical or not) in the
West to remain uninfluenced by a theological cultural conditioning rooted in
classical interpretations of Judeo Christian narratives (Hope, 2007).
Should these narratives be contained? Should they be re-interpreted? Should
they be ignored altogether and room made for other religious and spiritual
influences and practices?
The exploration of this linkage between the organization and the
contemplative is, we suggest, foundational to understanding the nature of
contemporary organization. The discourse on spirituality is often met with
hesitation and skepticism in Critical Management Studies for various reasons
but, perhaps, primarily because of its tendency to be complicit in the
disciplining of bodies and minds in work organizations. Might it be
possible, however, to develop a critical spirituality which resists and
transforms instrumental and oppressive practices in work organizations?
In the dominant capitalist discourse and mainstream management theorizing,
spirituality has been represented as one which treats spirituality in
ahistorical and apolitical terms as yet another neutral resource to be
harnessed and husbanded by the erstwhile custodians of organizational
performance (Case, 2008). Despite the burgeoning writing on spirituality
in the field of organization studies (OS), explorations of the relationship
between the organization of work, religion and spiritual life is hardly new
to philosophy and social science. Indeed, analysis of this nexus of
relationships is foundational to the social theorizing of Feuerbach, Marx,
Durkheim, Weber, Nietzsche and Freud. It is also present, either explicitly
or implicitly, in theories of post-modern social organization, such as
propounded by Bauman, Beck, Foucault, Lyotard, and Giddens. However, much of
what passes as original contributions to the debate on spirituality in OS
with some notable exceptions - appears to be written in blind ignorance of
this legacy. Mainstream writing on workplace spirituality also often ignores
the impact of spiritual thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, and Anselm on
Western culture and their implicit influence in shaping contemporary
organizations. In short, much of the contemporary literature on spirituality
is narrowly utilitarian and instrumental in its intent, often concerned
directly to commodify spirituality. Bell and Taylor (2003), Case and Gosling
(2007), Casey (2002), Carrette and King (2005) and Roberts (2001) have all
raised concerns about this tendency and attempted to account for the
instrumental rediscovery of organizational spirituality through the
invocation of relevant philosophy and social theory. Such writing serves as
a useful starting point for the kind of constructive critique that we hope
to pursue in this stream.
Writing in the aftermath of Nietzsches (in)famous God is dead assertion,
philosophers and theologians have embarked on a journey to address the
oppressive and instrumental facets of Christian grandnarratives, tradition,
and the analgesic aspect of belief. Thus, the discourse on theology has
become plural and should - in a postpositivist context - now be understood
as comprising theologies and spiritualities which embrace multiple
perspectives and interpretations drawn from of a variety of religious
traditions. Organization and management scholars have, arguably, an
important role to play in relation to this debate. Should theological
influences and other spiritual practices be resisted at all costs when it
comes to businesses and organizations? Should the discourse on spirituality
be further expanded away from the dominating position of modern theory using
various perspectives rooted in poststructuralism, postpositivism,
postcolonialism, and critical theory? And if the latter question is
answered in the affirmative, then what directions might postpositivist
spirituality take within organization studies?
This stream invites papers which explore but are not limited to the
following areas:
Atheistic and agnostic philosophies and organizations: pursuing whether or
not spiritualities have a place within management thought and practice.
How the insights of Judeo-Christian Postmodern theologies and Liberation
theologies - Black Liberation Theology, Feminist/Womanist Theology,
Mujerista Theology, Queer theology - can inform and influence management and
organization.
The role of traditional religious ethics e.g, Christian, Jewish, Muslim,
Hindu, Buddhist - in work organizations.
Existentialism and organizing: philosophical explorations which link the
thoughts of Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Sartre and other existentialist thinkers
to contemporary organizational ethics.
Platonic, Aristotelian and other metaphysical interpretations of reality
and their relevance to contemporary organization.
Care of the self critical reinterpretations of Classical scholarship
and their implications for contemporary organizational ethics and
spirituality (following Hadot and Foucault).
The nexus of culture, identity, and power in the spiritual organization.
Spiritual epistemologies and ontologies: exploring how the spiritual
subverts, resists and/or privileges certain forms of knowledge and
interpretations of reality.
Unchurched spiritualities: examining the contemporary trend of being
spiritual but not religious in work organizations.
Critical conceptions of suffering, evil, sin and redemption in relation to
management and organizational practices.
God-talk: why is this so unsettling within the Critical Management
Studies community? Exploring critical reflexivity within CMS.
Militarism, war, soldiering, and its linkage with theological narratives
and traditions
KEY DEADLINES:
Submission of abstracts (maximum 1000 words, A4 paper, single spaced, 12
point font) to Angela Hope at
angela.hope@smu.ca by - 1st November 2008.
Full papers to be submitted - 1st May 2009.
About the convenors:
Peter Case: currently Professor of Organization Studies, Bristol Business
School, University of the West of England, Peter served as chairperson of
the Standing Conference on Organizational Symbolism from 2002-7 and is
general co-editor of Culture & Organization. He is also a member of the
editorial boards of Leadership and the Leadership & Organizational
Development Journal. Peter has held visiting scholarships at Helsinki School
of Economics and the Royal Institute of Technology of Stockholm. His
research interests encompass organizational ethics, organization theory and
multicultural aspects of management development. Recent publications include
The Speed of Organization (with S. Lilley and T. Owens, 2006: CBS & Liber)
and John Adair: the Fundamentals of Leadership (with J. Gosling and M.
Witzel, 2007: Palgrave).
Matthew Eriksen: teaches leadership and organizational behavior at
Providence College. Previously, he held positions at the University of
Tampa and U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He headed the Leadership Institute at
the Transportation Security Administration and worked for Ford Motor
Company. His research interests lie in the areas of leadership development,
gender and leadership, leadership and spirituality, diversity,
organizational change, and pedagogy.
Albert J. Mills is Professor of Management and Director of the PhD in
Management at the Sobey School of Business, at Saint Marys University
(Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada). He is the incoming co-Chair of the CMS
Division of the Academy of Management and co-convened the Gender and
Management Stream at the first three CMS conferences in the UK. He is the
author of twenty books and numerous articles that reflect his broad interest
in human liberation. His latest book Sex, Strategy and the Stratosphere
(London: Routledge, 2006) explores the impact of organizational culture on
gender and discrimination.
Angela Hope: is Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at the University of
the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas. She received her Masters in
Theological Studies from Boston University School of Theology, and is
currently a PhD student at St. Marys University Sobey School of Business in
Halifax, Canada. She is a captain in the US Army Reserve. Her interests are
in exploring the impact of mobilized theological grandnarratives in
organizations, specifically the military, and the implications of this for
women and marginalized others. Angela is also an Associate Editor for the
journal Gender, Work, and Organization.
References:
Bell, E. and Taylor, S. (2003). The Elevation of Work: Pastoral Power and
the New Age Work Ethic, Organization, 10(2), pp.329-349.
Carrette, J. and King, R. (2005). Selling Spirituality: the silent takeover
of religion, London: Routledge.
Case, P. (2008). The spiritual organization: Critical reflections on the
instrumentality of workplace spirituality discourse. Paper presented at
Organizations and Belief Systems conference, University of Tampa, 17-19
March 2008.
Case, P. and Gosling, J. (2007). Wisdom of the Moment: Premodern
Perspectives on Organizational Action, Social Epistemology, 21(2-3), pp.87-111.
Casey, C. (2002). Critical Analysis of Organizations: Theory, Practice and
Revitalization, London: Sage.
Hope, A. (2007). Restructuring god ideologies in work spaces: A critical
catholic perspective, Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion,
4(4), pp.505-520.
Roberts, R.H. (2001) Religion, Theology and the Human Sciences, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
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