| Chair: Susan Case; Case Western Reserve U.
Join In or Opt Out? A Normative–Ethical Analysis of Affective Ties and Networks in South Korea
Author: Sven Horak; St. John's U. So far overlooked by the international business ethics literature, we introduce, characterize and normatively analyze the use of affective ties and networks in South Korea from an ethical point of view. Whereas the ethics of using Guanxi in China has been comprehensively discussed, Korean informal networks remain a nearly inscrutable challenge for firms in South Korea due to the absence of existing academic debate and research in this field. In this study, we concentrate mainly on the question of whether foreign firms will and can use affective ties in Korea. The informal social network forms are classified and contrasted with the conventional ethical approaches used in international business ethics (relativism, universalism, social contract theory) to assess which categories can be regarded as ethical or unethical. Finally, foreign firms are advised how to cope with and use different affective network types. Though the nature of affective ties and networks in Korea differs from that found for instance in China (Guanxi), consistent with the conclusion of prior research, we recommend particularistic analysis and decision making regarding the circumstances in which to conclude affective ties and networks and when to opt out. We conclude that foreign firms in Korea should invest in establishing Inmaek, refrain from engaging in Yonjul and support host country nationals' Yongo ties. Moreover, it is suggested that foreign firms should find ways to monitor and manage informal ties effectively.
Eco-Islam: Beyond the Principles of Why and Into the Principles of How
Dina AbdelZaher; U. of Houston; Amr Kotb; Prince Sultan U. & Cairo U.; Akrum Helfaya; Keele U. The focus on human actions to address the deteriorating state of the environment has increased in urgency, calling for novel approaches at improving individuals' environmental ethics. Religions have put forth views on the individual's responsibility towards the environment, resulting in a growing literature exploring the relationship between religions and the environment, with new concepts, such as Eco-Islam and Green Bible, gaining literary attention. Such concepts posit a question: how can one's religious teachings encourage environmental conscious behaviour? Based on a thorough multi-phase content analysis of the Qur'anic text, this paper attempts to combine and advance the existing literature on the relationship between Islam and the environmental responsibility to present a comprehensive framework of Eco-Islam. This framework defines the underlying relation between God, human, and the environment, bringing together foundational principles (whys) and the application principles (hows) of Eco-Islam. Policy implications and future research extensions are discussed.
Image Construction and Trust Building: Three Cultural Orientations from Confucian Ethics
Jae Hyeung Kang; Oakland U.; Lizabeth A Barclay; Oakland U. Our paper contributes to the literature on spirituality and management by examining Confucian orientations towards perceived trust. Although Western scholars have rigorously studied the determinants of perceived trust, the mechanism associated with building trust in Eastern workplaces is different and requires attention. We first conceptualize the mechanism by which Confucian relationship-orientation (guanxi) is linked to perceived trust. We suggest that this mechanism is mediated through an image of the trustee constructed by the trustor during the formal and informal interactions. We also argue that righteousness-orientation and benevolence-orientation assume moderating roles during formal and informal interactions respectively.
The Impact of Religious Beliefs and Cultural Identity on Work Ethic
Shiva Taghavi; NEOMA Business School; Michael Segalla; HEC Paris; The cultural and religious antecedents of work ethic have long been a place for debate. This research attempts to explore the impact of religious beliefs on work ethic and the moderating effect of culture. Three studies provide evidence that thoughts related to religiosity impact individuals' work ethic. In a comparative setting, Moroccan participants who were primed with religious thoughts exhibited greater work ethic, while French participants endorsed lower degree of work ethic in the religious condition (study 1). For North African-French participants, religious stimuli interacted with cultural identity to predict work ethic (study 2). Moreover, we found a significant effect of the religious thoughts and cultural identity on work behavior, namely the level of effort (study 3). Specifically, religious thoughts influenced work ethic and behavior positively when the North African cultural identity was salient and negatively when the French cultural identity was salient. We argue that implicit religious beliefs can predict work ethic; however the effect is contingent on cultural setting. In cultures that historically embrace and encourage religious values, work ethic can be considered as a religious construct. In the secular cultures, however, religiosity diminishes work ethic. The contributions and implications are further discussed.
The Effects of Islamic Religiosity on the Ethical Judgment
Faisal Ali Alshehri; TAIBAH U.; Marianna Fotaki; Warwick Business School; Saleema Kauser; The U. of Manchester Despite the obvious link between religiosity and ethical judgment, defining the nature of this relationship remains elusive, arguably due to methodological and conceptual limitations. To address the conceptual limitation, author/s has proposed an integrative faith-based model (IFBM) based on categories presumed to be universally present across religions and cultural contexts, to guide future business ethics research on religiosity. To test the IFBM, this paper aims to examine how different Muslims' views of God, as mediated by their religious practice and knowledge, influence their ethical judgments within organizations. The study comprising focus groups and then vignettes designs was carried out with a random sample of 427 marketing and management professionals from Saudi Arabia. After data collection, the study hypotheses were tested simultaneously using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings confirmed that Hope View (HV) might be more closely associated with unethical judgment in organizations while the Fear View (FV) and more Balanced View (BV) were positively associated with the ethical judgment. Furthermore, religious practice and knowledge were found to mediate the relationship between Muslims' different views of God and their ethical judgments. These results provide unique theoretical insights into religiosity's impact on ethical judgment, with important implications for management. 9:45AM – 11:15AM 3. MSR Plenary #: 975 at Anaheim Marriott in Grand Ballroom Salon E MSR PLENARY: Shaping a Meaningful Scholarly-Practitioner Life Distinguished Speakers: Nancy J Adler; McGill U.; Ilma Barros-Pose; Case Western Reserve U., Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit; Marjolein Lips-Wiersma; AUT U.; Sandra Waddock; Boston College; Discussant: Robert E Quinn; U. of Michigan; Facilitator: Richard Jackson Major; Institut de Gestion Sociale Paris; Organizer: Mary Finney; Ohio U. Please join the MSR Plenary's four distinguished speakers, Nancy Adler, Ilma Barros-Pose, Marjolien Lips-Wiersma, and Sandra Waddock, as they share insights from their individual journeys toward meaningful scholarly and practitioner work, informed by spiritual practice, artistry, and other types of connections that not only enhance personal meaning but contribute to making a difference in the world. Richard Major, commentator, will facilitate this interactive session and discussant, Robert E. Quinn will reflect on what he has heard. Then this participatory session will invite all audience members to contribute to the conversation about how meaningful work, scholarship, artistry, and deeper connections can be combined in the effort to build a flourishing planet for all. Key Words: SUSTAINING GLOBAL FLOURISHING FOR ALL, MEANINGFUL WORK, SCHOLARS-PRACTITIONERS, WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY, PERSONAL JOURNEYS, AUTHENTIC SHARING, HEART-CENTERED MEANING-MAKING, SOCIAL JUSTICE | 11:30AM-1:00PM 4. MSR Showcase Symposium Symposium #: 1080 at Anaheim Marriott in Grand Ballroom Salon E Social Change for a Healthy World: Leading Meaningfully Sponsors: MSR, ODC, MED Facilitator: Kathryn Goldman Schuyler; Alliant Intl U. / Coherent Change;
Distinguished Speakers: Otto Scharmer; MIT Sloan School of Management; Robert E Quinn; U. of Michigan; Riane Eisler; Center for Partnership Studies; Samuel Wilson; Swinburne U. of Technology What is our role as scholars in creating meaningful organizations and a healthy world? This symposium fosters dialogue among noted thinkers on the interconnections among leadership, sustainability, the long-term viability of the planet, organizational development, and how these depend on meaningful organizations. Brought together, these arenas of research and action can influence events globally and contribute to creating a healthy society. The distinguished speakers are respected internationally for their diverse contributions to thought and action related to creating such a healthy world. While all are contributors to a new book on Creative Social Change, the symposium brings them together for a first time in person to discuss the interconnections among their different perspectives and experience. Otto Scharmer brings in the global shift from ego-system understanding to an eco-system approach to collaboration across institutions and sectors, mentioning as well how he has fostered such leadership development through recent MOOCs that attracted over 50,000 participants from 191 countries. Robert Quinn focuses on the possibility of creating positive organizations, particularly in the corporate world, while Riane Eisler captures the crucial contribution of partnership as a perspective, in contrast to the domination mindset that is too commonly seen today. Finally, Samuel Wilson addresses the importance and complexity of measuring progress towards leading meaningfully. | 11:30AM- 1:00PM 5. | Paper Session #: 1078 at Anaheim Convention Center in 212A Global Workplace; Religion, Spirituality and Humanistic Management Chair: Ashwini Gangadharan; Kutztown U of Pennsylvania
Exploring the Source in Translation
Authors: Nurit Zaidman; Ben Gurion U. of the Negev; Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni; Tel Aviv U. This study explores the travelling of ideas and practices from one context to another. Using qualitative data collected at two points in time about the translation of New Age Spirituality (NAS) practices to Israeli public schools, we demonstrate that at the encounter with public schools, NAS practices are molded into a platform supporting diverse and inherently different contexts. Based on these intriguing results, we argue that the properties of the translated source is a factor not discussed in earlier research and form an essential component in the exploration of the translation process.
Changing Employee Mind-set by Developing Human Spirituality: Case Study of a Company from China
Authors: Qing Qu; Tsinghua U.; Ping Ping Fu; Chinese U. of Hong Kong; Workplace spirituality is been increasingly recognized as an important factor in the development of a sustainable workforce. However, the question of how to develop spirituality in organizations has remained under-researched. We use a case study from China to examine how HSD practices such as humanistic care and education, volunteering, social welfare activities and spiritual leadership can work together to change employees' mind-set. Qualitative data emerging from interviews showing that, because of these practices, employees tend to be more faithful to and caring of their parents while being more altruistic, more introspective and more respectful to others and their jobs. We propose a conceptual model based on our findings. The universality of the findings, theoretical contributions, limitations and future research directions are discussed at the end.
Margin Call What if John Tuld Was Christian? Thomistic Practical Wisdom in Financial Decision-Making
Authors: Marta Rocchi; U. Navarra - MCE Research Centre; Ignacio Ferrero; U. of Navarra; Robert McNulty; Bentley U. Margin Call is a film depicting the high-tension 32 hours of an investment bank that discovers that its financial holdings are essentially worthless because it has become highly overexposed in the risky trading of mortgage-backed securities and the entire market is set to implode, triggering what the bank leaders know will be a global financial crisis. In a ten-minute overnight meeting, the CEO, John Tuld, must make a difficult choice for the firm and for himself. This paper aims at analyzing Tuld's behavior in the light of the virtue of prudence as described by Thomas Aquinas, and reflects on how the problem might have been handled differently if John Tuld had been guided by Christian moral teachings. It also examines whether Christian ethics, with its ancient heritage, has sufficient specificity and transformative capacity to serve as a guide in contemporary financial decision-making.
Selling Their Soul for Their Cunning: Employee Experiences of Smartphones They Invoked
Author: Christopher Russell; Cardiff Metropolitan U This longitudinal ethnographic study explores how engineers who exercised agency in the procurement of smartphones subsequently experienced them in use. Prior research suggests that voluntary users would be more inclined to experience, and report, the benefits as opposed to the costs of their use. This study finds that although employees exercised agency in the adoption of the smartphone, over time the smartphone itself exercised agency over the employee. What initially seemed like a bargain in the sense of 'a steal' in the words of one, turned out to be 'a bargain with the Devil' in the words of another. Such a bargain, like that made by Doctor Faustus when he invoked Satan, gave initial gratification but ultimately dissatisfaction, inverting the Protestant Ethic where earthly effort would be ultimately recompensed with redemption. In initiating the adoption of smartphones these engineers could be said to have sold their soul for their cunning. | 11:30AM-1:00PM | 6.
Symposium #: 1079 at Anaheim Convention Center in 303C Faith and Work: Christian Perspectives on Meaning Making Within Organizations Sponsor: MSR Panelists: Timothy G Ewest; Houston Baptist U.; Faith Wambura Ngunjiri; Concordia College; Mitchell J. Neubert; Baylor U.; The 2016 Academy of Management Annual Conference explores, making organizations meaningful. This symposium considers how meaning is brought to organizations by individuals, groups and larger societal movements who adhere to and place the Christian faith as central to their personal identity. This phenomenon is recognized by the guild as important to understanding how employees at every level of the organizations desire to live holistic lives, and how these employees' individual actions create changes within organizations and ultimately society. | 1:15PM-2:45PM 7. Paper Session #: 1199 at Anaheim Convention Center in 212A Diverse Perspectives on Spiritual Leadership: Learning and Development | Chair: Ginger Grant; Sheridan College; Creativity in Business Canada Inc.
Is There a Common Understanding of Spiritual Leader Behaviors
Authors: Emily Lean; Union U.; Daniel C Ganster; Colorado State U.; The goal of this study is to delineate the construct of spiritual leadership and determine which behaviors are unique to spiritual leaders. A definition of spiritual leadership is offered in addition to a list of behaviors relevant to a spiritual leader. This study is the first of its kind to take into account the knowledge and opinions of both academic and practitioner subject matter experts. This study employed a mixed method form of research and included samples from both academics and practitioners; the qualitative results from phase one participants influenced the quantitative data collected from phase two participants.
The Impact of Distinct Attributes of Abrahamic Religions on Leadership Theory
Author: Ali Aslan Guemuesay; U. of Oxford; Religion is a social characteristic of present societies, yet has been largely neglected in leadership theory. The paper addresses this shortcoming by contributing to a religious perspective on leadership. I outline how three distinct attributes of Abrahamic religions, namely a belief in the existence of and relationship to a God, the faith in and pursuit of an eschatological purpose, and the belief in and attempted adherence to a sacred scripture, can impact leadership. Subsequently, I classify two approaches towards examining the characteristics of such a religious perspective on leadership: a scripture-based and an empirical-based one. I highlight implications by both presenting an Islamic perspective and by connecting the distinctive attributes to established theories of leadership. Finally, I mention limitations, areas for future research and conclude.
Spiritual Leadership in Morocco: An Ethnographic Study of Ynna Holding
Author: Khadija Al Arkoubi; U. of New Haven; The literature on workplace spirituality and spiritual leadership is growing around the world reflecting an era of awakening and a movement against frantic materialism. While there is a critical paucity of empirical research on leadership in the Muslim world, the extant publications on this topic are dominated by an Anglo- centric perspective and characterized by the lack of empirical studies based on qualitative methods. This study is the first to focus on spiritual leadership (SL) practices in a business agglomeration in Morocco named "Ynna Holding." It adopts a multi- source, multi-method ethnography and has been conducted between 2006 and 2008 with a close follow up in the following years. This study finds that the founder is considered by other leaders and followers as a spiritual father and has a strong presence in all Ynna companies. His worldview prevails and his identity is blended with the organizational identity. He created and sustained a strong culture of trust, integrity, respect, rigor, passion for work, and moral resilience resulting in a strong collective identity and congruent strategy.
Spiritual Leadership Development: An Exemplar Protocol
Authors: Stacie Chappell; Western New England U.; William C. McCready; Ministry Leadership Center Scholars and practitioners increasingly recognize spirituality as being relevant for both individual leadership and efficient organizational functioning. More specifically, spiritual intelligence is a capacity, distinct from emotional intelligence (Tischler, Biberman & McKeague, 2000; Wigglesworth, 2012; Wolman, 2001; Zohar & Marshall, 2000), that underpins important leadership competencies (Fry & Nisiewicz, 2013; Quatro, 2007; Vaill, 1998). Our review of the literature revealed that university settings are the locale for most reports on spiritual leadership development (Delbecq, 2000; Dhiman & Marques, 2010; Karakas, 2011; Schmidt-Wilk, Heaton & Steingard, 2000; Trott, 2013). This paper reports on a leadership development protocol in a health care setting designed to explore and cultivate spirituality in both individual leaders and as an organizational capacity within and beyond the executive team. We explore the connections between spirituality and leadership theory, connect spiritual leadership development to adult learning theory, and finally, present an exemplar protocol for continuing spiritual leadership development through a qualitative study. The process builds on a successful design for continuing leadership development but adds theological reflection and prayer thereby introducing spiritual dimensions within the design. 1:15PM – 2:45PM 8. Symposium #: 1200 Sponsor(s): (MSR, OB, HR) at Anaheim Convention Center in 303C Spirituality and Religion in The Production of Meaning in Organizations: Diverse Perspectives Sponsors: MSR, OB, HR Organizer: Faith Wambura Ngunjiri; Concordia College
Chair: David W. Miller; Princeton U The aim of this symposium is to advance different perspectives on the role of religion and spirituality in the production of meaningful work in organizations. Taking a global perspective, the presenters provide a deep foray into religion (Hinduism, Christian) and more broadly spiritual values that inform views about work and meaning in organizations. The symposium is situated at the intersections of management, organizational behavior, ethics, and theology. The first paper by Swiss scholars explicates Martin Luther's (founder of German Protestantism in the 16th century) theological reformulation of work as an individual, social, and economic good. Luther condemns sloth as harmful to both individual and society on the one hand, while praising work as a positive contribution to the individual's search for meaning and self-worth on the other. The second paper from the US explores corporate chaplain's lived experiences as providers of spiritual and psychosocial counsel to employees in business organizations, and how this contributes to making organizations meaningful. The third paper demonstrates the relationship between Hindu religious values and organizational practices through a case study of three companies in India.
Martin Luther's Notion of Work as a Source for Meaningful Organizations
Author: Peter Seele; U. della Svizzera Italiana
Author: Lucas Chr. Zapf; U. della Svizzera Italiana
Making Sense of Sense-Making: Workplace Chaplains as Sources of Organizational Author: David W. Miller; Princeton U.
Author: Faith Wambura Ngunjiri; Concordia College
Author: James D LoRusso; Princeton U.
Decoding Spiritual Values to Organizational Practices: A Case Study of Piramal Group of Companies
Author: Ashish Pandey; Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Author: Ajinkya Navare; Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay 3:00PM-4:30PM 9. Paper Session #: 1315 at Anaheim Convention Center in 212A Nourish Work-Spirit Connection, Religious Accommodations, Morals, Ethics of Accountable Human Beings Chair: Linda Robson; Kent State U.
MSR BEST PAPER: Beyond the Law: Psychological and Relational Processes Underlying Religious Accommodation Decisions
Authors: Phillip M. Jolly; U. of Houston; Pooya Tabesh; U. of St. Thomas. Houston Society and the workplace are both experiencing greater religious diversity than ever before, and as a result, organizations are facing a wider variety of religious accommodation requests and more accommodation-related legal issues than they ever have. While significant work has been undertaken in the legal literature to better understand religious accommodation, recent evidence suggests that religious accommodation requests, and the decisions surrounding them in organizations, possess significant space for the application of decision-maker discretion. In this paper, we argue that despite relatively clear legal guidelines surrounding religious accommodation decisions in the United States, many such decisions are made outside the legal framework prescribed by Title VII and other laws. We draw on a variety of theoretical perspectives from psychology, sociology, organizational behavior, human resource management, and even linguistics, to develop a conceptual framework and research agenda for examining front-line decision-makers' responses to employees' religious accommodation requests. The main purpose of this study is to provide a fresh perspective on antecedents of religious accommodation decisions, and to focus attention on the psychological, relational, and situational characteristics of the decision-maker, the requester, and the request, that may influence the perceived sincerity of a request as well as a request's perceived accommodation cost.
The Divine Feminine Emerging in Me: For Heather Hopfl
Author: Rita Durant; U. of South Florida, St. Petersburg; Might a new approach to rhetoric help bring peacefulness to relationships? How can we talk across differences, especially in the realms of spirituality and religion, where denotation maneuvers- saying what and how things are-tend to alienate those who do not participate in our same discourse community? This paper offers one person's perspective on how denoting God as male affected her understanding of her own worth and how that played out one memorable day at an Academy of Management All-Academy Session. Doing so, the author sets out to deconstruct her internalization of her ontological unworthiness by placing connotations as valuable tools for relationships. If accepted, this paper will serve as an invitation to a group conversation about the participants' own experiences with their gender and their connotations of Divinity.
A Moral Being is an Accountable Being: Accountability and Ethics in Monastic Organizations Authors: Ksenia Keplinger; U. of Colorado, Boulder; Birgit Feldbauer-Durstmüller; Johannes Kepler U.; Being one of the most durable forms of communal life, monastic organizations can be credited with remarkable achievements in the areas of leadership, governance, accounting, and ethics. Utilizing the example of a Benedictine monastery, this paper aims to analyze the meaning of accountability and accountability practices in Christian monastic organizations. The paper is based on a case study and employs numerous data sources, including personal interviews, direct observations, and analysis of the main documents of the monastery in Europe. The results show that the essence of accountability in the monastic context is active listening, participation, and an open dialogue. Accountability is a vital social and an inherently ethical process supported by a shared understanding of the core values, regular discussions about ethics-related issues, and the attention from the community leaders to these issues. The Benedictine's accountability practices include developing trust relationships, giving informal reports grounded in the ethical values, actively participating in collaborative decision making, and developing strong social consensus against unethical behavior. The paper advances knowledge about accountability in religious organizations by emphasizing the role of soft factors (trust, interpersonal contact, ethical values, and a sense of community) in understanding the nature of this phenomenon. It also shows the usefulness of Schlenker's accountability model that allows the researchers to translate the "elusive" concept of accountability into daily practices and can be applied to both the religious and commercial context. Recent ethical scandals illustrate very clearly the need for enhanced individual accountability in the corporate world. The Benedictines' experience of living and working in a community, their commitment to ethical values and time- tested accountability practices contain ideas that might be useful even for modern companies.
The Deep Structure and Source of Organizational Resilience
Authors: Abhijit Mandal; City U. London; Ramesh Pattni; U. of Oxford; There exist a variety of definitions of organizational resilience, arising from different cognitive perspectives. This results in incomplete recommendations for managers seeking to strengthen resilience as they are not based on resilience's ultimate foundations. We 'convert' theory-based mechanisms into dynamic processes that will integrate different perspectives into a model that predicts the consequences of managerial actions and show how different levels of feedback processes, interacting in a hierarchical manner, facilitate and sustain resilience. The mechanisms in extant perspectives and definitions are re-conceptualized as dynamic processes based on cause- and-effect, using a continuous-time perspective; subsequently these processes are integrated to form a new dynamic model for sustaining resilience. Initially, resilience may be sustained on the basis of tangible resources; if they become inadequate then it can be based on psychological support; if that becomes inadequate then it can be renewed based on a commitment to spiritual identity – viz. there exists a hierarchy of increasingly intangible and subtler bases that is capable of re-generating resilience. In order to re- generate or sustain resilience using subtler bases, managers have to use the subtler bases over the long-term to build relationships with important stakeholders; a consequence is that managers may find decreasing scope of freedom to manipulate resources with greater degrees of tangibility or manipulate short-term objectives.
Nourishing the Work-Spirit Connection: Should Organizations take Employees' Inner Lives Seriously?
Authors: Meera Alagaraja; U. of Louisville; Joseph Petrosko; U. of Louisville; Drawing upon prior research on employee attitudes and workplace spirituality, we statistically modeled the importance of employees' inner life in determining their intent to turnover. Results from a mediational analysis using 436 employees from a healthcare organization indicated that meaning at work, job satisfaction, positive work unit values, and individual-organization fit mediated the relationship between inner life and intent to turnover. By signaling inner life as the central focus of workplace spirituality in our study, we complement previous research by suggesting that employees who invest in nourishing their inner lives find meaning at work, are satisfied with their jobs and develop positive relationships with their work unit and the organization and are therefore, less likely to leave. These findings emphasize the pivotal role of an employee's inner life in promoting positive effects on individual (meaning at work, job satisfaction), work unit (positive work unit values) and organization (I-O fit) related outcomes. 3:00PM- 4:30PM | 10.
Symposium #: 1316 at Anaheim Convention Center in 303C Spirituality and Religion and the Pursuit of Meaningfulness in Organizational Life Sponsor: MSR Organizer: Eleftheria Egel; International U. of Monaco;
Participants: Yochanan Altman; Middlesex U. and Teesside U.; Dharm P. S. Bhawuk; U. of Hawaii at Manoa; Claus Dierksmeier; U. of Tuebingen; Louis W. (Jody) Fry; Texas A&M U., Central Texas; Daniel E Harris; U. of Arkansas; Rehan Huda; AMANA CANADA HOLDINGS INC; Avi Kay; Jerusalem College of Technology; Mark P. Kriger; BI Norwegian Business School In this symposium each panelist will explore how they find meaning in their work and, in doing so, play a part in making their organizations meaningful. Given the essence of meaning is connection and is inherently spiritual as it is a nonphysical reality, we believe it fruitful to examine how people satisfy Baumeister's four needs for meaning at work (need for purpose, values, efficacy, and self-worth) through a wide spectrum of religious and nonreligious traditions, perspectives, and practices including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, 12 Step spiritual programs, humanistic management, and atheism. In particular, symposium panelists will elaborate on how meaningfulness can foster maximization/realization of human potential at work and how these different framings illuminate the processes of making organizations meaningful. | 4:45PM-6:15PM | 11.
Symposium #: 1435 at Anaheim Convention Center in 212A Tribute to a Pioneer, the Work of Jerry Harvey: The Quintessential Life of Sense and Nonsense Sponsor: MSR Participants: Eric B. Dent; Florida Gulf Coast U.; Eleni Stavrou; U. of Cyprus; Sandra King Kauanui; Florida Gulf Coast U.; Janine L Clarke; Clarke & Associates Int. Jerry Harvey passed away on August 1, 2015 after a long and illustrious career at NTL and George Washington University. In this symposium we intend to tell the story of an outstanding individual who worked at the intersection of practice and academia and should be better known by academics. Harvey was a professor who was iconic, caring, profane, charming, and piercing all rolled into one. He wrote books with titles such as How Come Every Time I Get Stabbed in the Back My Fingerprints Are on the Knife? He was sent to NTL as a "spy" in 1960 to dig up some dirt that Robert Blake could use against the organization (Dent, 2002) and was present at the "Manhattan Project" of Group Dynamics. He made hugely important contributions of his own in articles on Not Teaching, Organization Development as a Religious Movement, Encouraging Students to Cheat, Reflections on Books by Authors who Apparently are Terrified about Really Exploring Spirituality and Leadership, and many others. Audience members will be encouraged to share the impact Harvey has had on their lives and work. | | | 4:45PM-6:15PM | 12.
Symposium #: 1454 at Anaheim Convention Center in 203A Climbing Mount Meaning: Moving from Mindless Marauding to Mindful Management Sponsors: OB, OD, MSR Facilitators: Joan Marques; Woodbury U.; Satinder K Dhiman; Woodbury U.; Svetlana S. Holt; Woodbury U. Facilitated by three management scholars, this symposium presents the practices of three business practitioners, who made a difference by reinventing their careers into a meaningful calling, and thereby changed paradigms in their industries. The practitioners to be highlighted are: Ray Anderson, founder and former CEO of Interface, the world's largest designer and maker of carpet tile; Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, the bank for the poor; and Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity and the Fuller Center for Housing, both organizations devoted to provide adequate shelter for people in need worldwide. The purpose of highlighting the practices of these three individuals (two of which have already passed away) is threefold: 1) to provide illustrative educational material for business students in management, leadership, or organizational behavior-related courses in order to instigate constructive paradigm shifts, 2) to instigate dialogue with the symposium attendees about the reasoning and the actions of these three (and other proposed) business individuals, and 3) to encourage symposium participants to share additional sample stories for all to take back to the class- and training room. | 4:45PM-6:15PM 13. | Paper Session #: 1434 at Anaheim Convention Center in 205A Wisdom, Knowledge, Spirituality and Religion at Work Chair: Richard Peregoy; U. of Dallas
Does Religion Buffer the Negative Psychological Impact of Unemployment?
Authors: Stephen M Garcia; U. of Michigan; Yannis Georgellis; U. of Kent In this study, we investigate whether attendance of religious services buffers the negative psychological impact of unemployment. We argue that attendance of religious services reinforces individuals' values and beliefs, which are often associated with their attitudes towards material well-being, altruistic orientation, volunteering, and pro-social predisposition. Consequently, attending religious services influences individuals' ability to cope with job loss. Attending religious services also strengthens the sense of social identity and the permanency of belonging, which promotes individuals' well-being and acts as a buffer against unemployment. Based on British longitudinal data, our findings support the buffering hypothesis of religion.
Job and Spouse Demands and Work Family-Conflict: Moderating Role of Religiosity and Spirituality
Authors: Barjinder Singh; U. of Houston, Victoria; Donna Y Stringer; U. of Houston, Victoria American employees face growing job demands at work making it difficult for them to balance their work and family responsibilities. Current research addresses an important gap in work-family literature by examining the role of religiosity and spirituality in coping with demands of work and family lives in reducing work-family conflict. Given that a vast majority of Americans are religious, the examination of the influence of religiosity and spiritualty on work family conflict has important theoretical and practical implications. Based on the Job Demands- Resources model, we hypothesized that religiosity and spirituality will positively moderate the relationship between demands in the work and family domain and work-family conflict. Research on religiosity and spirituality suggests that while spirituality has positive influence, religiosity can have either positive or negative influence on work-family conflict. Thus, our research includes competing hypothesis for the moderating role of religiosity. Results, based on a national random sample (N=1130) illustrate that religiosity and spirituality moderate the relationship between spousal demands and family-to-work conflict (FWC), with higher levels of religiosity and spirituality employees experience less FWC. In the work domain, religiosity further exacerbated the work-family conflict for those with higher levels of religiosity while spirituality did not moderate the relationship. We also discuss implications for theory and practice of work-family conflict and the role of religiosity and spirituality.
Exploring the Relationship Between Workplace Spirituality and Knowledge Retention in India Authors: Abhilash Acharya; Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi; Bijaya Mishra; Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi In this competitive era, organizational sustainability is dependent on managing and retaining knowledge workers, by making the workplace more attractive and meaningful. This becomes possible through workplace spirituality (WS) and that, in turn, puts impetus on knowledge management (KM) within an organization. Again, knowledge retention being one of the key parameters of KM (Arif, Egbu, Alom, & Khalfan, 2009) assumes utmost importance from current organizational context. If any relationship (that may exist) can be established between WS and KR, that will help in reducing business losses. Through this study, the researchers try and explore qualitatively to discover the same.
MSR BEST PAPER AWARD and DEXTER NOMINATION: Social Capital, Religious Affiliation and Business Performance in Denmark
Authors: Bodo Steiner; U. of Southern DK / U. of Alberta; Cong Wang; U. of Southern Denmark Values, norms, trust, and community membership are considered key sources of motivation for social capital, providing resource flows that can impact the performance of local actors. Motivated by limited evidence on the link between social capital and business performance, this paper explores the role of values, norms, trust, networks and religious affiliation for firm performance. We employ a novel empirical approach and capture social networks at a community level rather than focusing on firm-based social networks as much of the previous literature. Using Principal Component Analysis to construct novel social network variables for subsequent OLS firm-level regressions, this paper identifies an overall positive and significant effect of social capital and religious affiliation on firm performance in Denmark. These effects are robust to different levels of aggregation (sample structure), different sampling years and alternative measures of firm performance (return on asset, current ratio, solvency ratio and profit margin). | | |