Dear MSR folks –

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday (if you celebrate the US event or a similar one elsewhere) and are well-rested for wrapping up your MSR PDW submission (and your regular - "scholarly" - program submission, of course).

The submission deadline for both is January 14, so it rapidly approaches.... And the holidays celebrating the end of this year and the beginning of next year may take a bit of a bite out of your work days, so you may soon want to get your submission moving along or (better yet) being wrapped up.  We are eager to see them.

AND the submission system is open!

We are embedding the call for PDW submissions -- although you hopefully received it from us already.  We are posting it on MSR-L and sending it to the MSR membership list, so please excuse us for any duplicates you receive.... Or better yet, allow the two of them to double your submission energies.

Of course, if you'd like to discuss any session ideas in advance of submission, I'd be happy to do so – as I am sure is true of everyone on the MSR Executive Committee  ... and very likely anyone in MSR.  So please feel most welcome to contact me or anyone you think might be helpful.

I am at stoner@fordham.edu and stonerpdw@gmail.com and Skype:  jafstoner and cell: 1-203-246-5323 and home 1-203-454-7464 and office 1-212-636-6178. ... I also respond promptly to carrier pigeon deliveries.

Warm regards,

Jim

I am committed to Fordham University's becoming Carbon Neutral by 2020
.
Please feel welcome to join me and many others by signing up at
http://fucarbonby2020.wordpress.com

Management, Spirituality & Religion (MSR) PDW Special Instructions

Management, Spirituality & Religion (MSR)

PDW Chair:  James A.F. (Jim) Stoner, Fordham University stonerpdw@gmail.com

2014 MSR Professional Development Workshop: Call for Proposals

The Management, Spirituality and Religion (MSR) Interest Group cordially invites you to submit a Professional Development Workshop (PDW) proposal for the Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 1-5, 2014.  The conference theme is "The Power of Words", which, in today's ever more closely integrated and connected world, has clear implications for research, practice, and teaching.

MSR is committed to understanding the nature, influence, and relationship of spirituality and religion in management and organizations.  Major areas of investigation include theoretical and empirical evidence about the effectiveness of spiritual or religious principles and practices in management, from approaches represented in the literature, including religious ethics, spirituality and work, and spiritual leadership, as well as applications of particular religions, and secular spiritualities to work, management, leadership, organization, and the business system; and evaluation studies of the effectiveness of management approaches that nurture the human spirit in private, non-public or public institutions.

AOM 2014 Meeting Theme: The 2014 Conference Theme regards the effect that words can have on the subsequent events of individuals, groups/teams, organizations, industries, and even nations- depending on who or what is the subject of conversation, how many hear or see the conversation, and the extent to which the conversation inspires action. At a micro-level, such actions may include: initiative-taking, creativity, innovativeness, ethicality, inclusionary behavior, cross-cultural sensitivity, and high-quality performance by individuals and teams (influenced, at least in part, by whether processes and behaviors associated with these actions are seen within organizations' strategic mission statements, codes of ethics, and performance-appraisal forms or heard in authorities' or others' verbal communications). At a more macro-level, the actions inspired by words in texts and speeches delivered by authorities or others include the organizational-, industry-, and even country-level consequences associated with the actions just named (e.g., organizations' innovativeness, institutionalized corruption, exclusionary (diversity-unfriendly) cultures, and economic performance of organizations or nations).

The MSR PDW provides the perfect platform to share cross-disciplinary knowledge and expertise in exploratory research and also offers opportunities for personal and professional development. PDWs enhance our exploration of new and innovative constructs, methodologies, pedagogies, and practices, establishing a foundation for future MSR scholarship and application. MSR encourages PDW submissions that are innovative, interdisciplinary, and highly interactive.  We encourage you to involve participants from other AOM divisions and to explore connections with the Power of Words 2014 conference theme, and of course other themes of associated with your teaching, research, and service.

MSR and the Academy Theme:  Under the theme of the power of words, conference questions of particular interest to MSR members might include:

1. How are employee- and team-performance outcomes (e.g., perceptions, organizational or team identity, work-related attitudes, task-related decisions, or behaviors) influenced by the words and symbols used to communicate organizations' strategic mission statements, shared identities, codes of ethics, and performance appraisal processes  How may notions of religion and spirituality, and the words and symbols used to conceptualize and communicate those notions  reshape these processes and outcomes?

2. What is the role of religion and spirituality in new communication technologies and their impact on individuals and organizations, and how do those new communication technologies influence religions and spirituality? In what ways could religious and spiritual practices affect managers in their pursuit of goals such as setting norms, grappling with the problems of global unsustainability, motivating desired employee or team behavior, enhancing employee wellbeing, creating and sustaining desired team or organizational climates of justice and ethicality, creativity, inclusivity, high-performance?  Alternatively, could new communication technologies be disruptors of intuitive ways of being and acting?

3. How is organizational effectiveness (e.g., profits, customer satisfaction, sales, repeat-business, referrals, environmental impact, etc.) affected when organizations use social media such as twitter, blogs, etc.? Is there a religious and/or spiritual perspective to these influences, from both enabling and critical perspectives? 

4. Given the ease with which digital content can be duplicated (as compared to print media), how are these new technologies affecting the way organizations deal with privacy and security?  What are the implications of this for ethical and unethical behaviors in organizations? 

5. What qualities distinguish the businesses and industries that have thrived rather than died as a result of the various revolutions in communications technologies? How do the awareness of one's own inner virtues and the words and symbols used to conceptualize and communicate those virtues affect organizational flourishing? 

6. How do differences in language-fluency affect processes and outcomes of multicultural or multinational teams? How can spiritual and religious practices help to overcome (unintended or intended) exclusivity when members of such teams speak a language unknown to other members? 

7.  How do religious and spiritual words bring together the world's differing religious, spiritual, and non-religious peoples in common pursuit of meaningful and fulfilling work and careers, the alleviation of poverty, the pursuit of social and economic equality and justice, and the seeking of a more sustainable world?   And how do the words and symbols of individuals, organizations, and governments -- in their shared pursuit of social, economic, and environmental justice -- contribute to, or get in the way of, the peaceful uniting of the world's peoples, with their differing religious and spiritual practices?

These questions suggest possible areas of research but are not considered definitive.  Indeed, we suggest that MSR members have the potential to explore and demonstrate the power of all words, but perhaps especially the world's religious and spiritual words and symbols, in many new and creative ways.  We encourage bold, innovative, and risky submissions.

PDW proposals must include:

1.       A title and AOM assigned submission number (in the proposal and in the file name)

2.       A primary sponsor and other potential sponsors

3.       An abstract of up to 250 words

4.       A 3-5 page workshop overview

5.       A case for why the PDW would be of interest to MSR and potential co-sponsors

6.       A description of the chosen format for delivery

7.       An attendance commitment. Upon acceptance, at least one author or participant must commit to attending the conference. An explicit written statement of commitment is required (e-mail is acceptable).

8.       File formatting in either PDF, DOC, DOCX, or RTF

9.       Key words capturing the most important aspects of your proposed session

PDWs missing any of these items will not be reviewed or evaluated for acceptance.

PDWs will occur on Friday, August 1st and Saturday, August 2nd.  All-Academy Theme PDWs will occur on Sunday, August 3rd. The "rule of three" applies: individuals may submit, appear in, or be associated with up to three PDWs.  We urge you to submit proposals to this highly competitive review process.  If you would like to assist with or attend the MSR Doctoral and New Faculty Consortium, one of our annual PDW highlights, please contact Judi Neal at judi@judineal.com. 

Questions regarding the PDWs should be sent to Jim Stoner, stonerpdw@gmail.com. 

The submission deadline is TUESDAY, JANUARY 14th 2014, 5 PM EST. All submissions must be made through the AOM website at: http://submissions.aomonline.org/2013.

Thank you for your support of MSR.   We look forward to receiving your submissions.