| MSR Division Newsletter January/February 2024 | | | A Message from MSR's Chair-elect Joan Marques Hello! My name is Joan Marques, and I have served on the MSR leadership track since 2021. Having completed my service as PDW and Scholarly Program Chair, I currently serve as the Chair-Elect. In this position, my task is primarily focused on assisting the current Chair wherever needed, meanwhile, identifying areas to focus on next year. Our leadership team meets weekly to discuss emerging opportunities and challenges, while also reviewing the submission and review progress as reported by the PDW and Scholarly Program Chairs. In addition, we discuss implementations of earlier set strategies, and hold monthly meetings with the executive committee to learn about and assist on updates from the MSR Representatives at Large. At this time, we also work on the election ballots for open positions. This task is overall coordinated by the past Chair, but happens in a democratic way, giving as many community members as possible the opportunity to nominate themselves or others. On an intertwined (MSR-Scholar) note, I have started an Encyclopedia of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Spirituality (DEIS) through Springer, and would like to invite all interested scholars to consider contributing. I would happily share more information if contacted. I am passionate about providing upcoming and seasoned scholars opportunities to share their research and thought-leadership findings with the world, as long as it pertains to the subject. I also have another set of collective projects in the proposal stage and hope to announce calls for submissions as soon as these are fully approved. May All Beings Be Happy. You can contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. | | | Current Trends in MSR Research | | Oneness as a Way to Business for Good Tom Culham, Lecturer at Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University Hyper individualism has been proposed as the cause of the crisis we face today. The dominant, extremely narrow view of the self, known as hyper individualism, that assumes that the self is confined to the physical body and thrives by maximizing "its own best interest", is seen as the cause of negative social and environmental impacts. Hyper individualism is deeply embedded in Western culture however, it is not the only aspect of who we are as beings. Through evolution all higher-level animals exhibit significantly different consciousness to support survival. These modes of consciousness become apparent when one or the other of the brain's hemisphere is shut down medically or through illness. Left hemisphere consciousness is designed for hunting where a self-centered, exclusive, narrow-focused attention is required to identify, grasp and manipulate things. The right hemisphere on the other hand sees itself as one with the world and supports an open attention for the purpose of relating to others and understanding the bigger picture. Pogo said "We have met the enemy and he is us". The problem and the solution are within each of us. Management education over emphasizes left hemisphere consciousness and neglects the right which needs to be developed for balance personally and socially. In this article I argue that business education can foster a more holistic and caring approach by drawing on the insights of Eastern contemplative practices and philosophies which are aligned with and can develop right hemisphere consciousness. Business hyper individualism can be shifted to a broader view resulting in a deeper connection with others, creating a better world. You can reach Tom by email here. Culham, T.E. 2024. Oneness as a way to business for good. Journal of Management Spirituality and Religion | | If we can highlight your work in one of our future newsletters please use this link to send us a headshot and 200-250 words about yourself and your scholarship. | | | | | Stacey Guenther, Ph.D. 2021 Fetzer Scholar I am an executive leadership coach (PCC) and organization development consultant currently teaching in the Organization Development and Knowledge Management graduate program at George Mason University. I completed my doctoral education with Antioch University in January 2022, and my research interests are group coherence, collective consciousness, intersubjectivity, leadership development, and emergence. Since graduating, I find myself doing a great deal of writing and editing. I am currently co-editing two books. Leadership at the Spiritual Edge is an edited volume most likely being published in the middle of 2024. I am also co-editing a book for the Fetzer Institute called, Redefining Sacred Spaces in the Age of Technology. It is also an edited volume and should be published in 2025. For both of these books, I am also a chapter author. I am a guest editor for a special issue of the Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion focusing on technologies that enable global consciousness, which will be published at the end of 2024. In addition to these three projects, I have drafted a manuscript of my own book, which I'm calling Coherence: Cultivating Group Magic, and I'm currently working on finding a publisher. I live on the East Coast of the U.S. in the mountains of North Carolina with my spouse and two rescue dogs. | | | | | | | | Judi Neal MSR Flamekeeper and Co-Founder of the Global Consciousness Institute I am an author, scholar, and consultant. My primary focus for the past 35 years is on workplace spirituality, transformation, and global consciousness. I received my Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Yale University. My dissertation was on how to gain middle management commitment to organizational change. I worked as an internal consultant at Honeywell for eight years, and then taught management at the University of New Haven for 17 years. My research was on business leaders who have a strong commitment to their spirituality. I explored the ways in which they bridged the inner world of spirituality and the outer world of business. That led to my first book, titled Edgewalkers: People and organizations that take risks, build bridges, and break new ground (2006). I am now President of Edgewalkers International, a community organization focused on supporting leaders who integrate their spirituality and their work. I was founding director of the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace at the University of Arkansas. I'm proud to have been a co-founder and former chair of the Management, Spirituality and Religion (MSR) Division. Currently, I chair the MSR Scholarship Committee and am a member of the MSR Flamekeeper Committee. I'm on the boards of the International Association of Management, Spirituality, and Religion, OCTAVE Institute, INDICA Academy, and on the editorial board of the Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion. I have authored ten books on workplace spirituality and transformation as well as numerous journal articles. My recent books are Personal, Educational, and Organizational Transformation (2023) and Inspiring Workplace Spirituality (2023). With several MSR members, I helped co-found the Global Consciousness Institute and am the Executive Director. In my spare time, I write songs and play guitar and bass. Music is an important spiritual practice for me. | | | | | Join Our Next MSR Flamekeepers' "Big Question Webinar" Monday, 19 February 2024 12:30pm ET Join via Zoom The Flamekeepers Committee recognizes and honors long-time members of MSR who have made a significant contribution to the science and practice of MSR and to the leadership of the Division. The Committee provides opportunities for deep relational connection among the MSR elders, in support of the founding vision of MSR. The big question for this webinar will be: What does it mean to build an "MSR Movement?" What are we currently doing that works and what more can we do to expand our field? At AOM we don't normally think of a Division, or an academic field of study as a "movement". But what if we began thinking of ourselves as a part of a larger movement? How would we describe the movement? Who else in AOM might be a part of this movement? Who else outside of AOM might be a part of this movement? What can this movement accomplish? What would it look like if we are successful? The webinar will examine three models relevant for movement building: Sandra Waddock's Catalyzing Transformation, John Paul Lederach's "Critical Yeast Theory" (see chapter 9), and Meg Wheatley's and Deborah Frieze's Emergence and Social Innovation. | | Join Our Next MSR Monthly Gathering Wednesday, 21 February 2024 4pm CET | 10am ET | 7am PT | 8.30pm IST You are warmly invited to join our next MSR Monthly gathering, an informal hub for MSR scholars and researchers. The sessions provide an interactive platform for sharing, dialogue, and building strong connections. As Danny always says, it's more than a meeting; it's an opportunity to contribute to our vibrant field and celebrate the year's achievements. Whether you're a veteran researcher or new to MSR, your insights are invaluable to us. Our goal is to: - Focus on collaboration and exchange - Our gatherings emphasize collaboration and the exchange of ideas in Management, Spirituality, and Religion. We discuss the latest in conferences, events, and workshops, fostering a rich environment for growth and learning.
- Create interactive sessions for collective growth - Each meeting invites you to share and discuss your MSR research, challenges, and questions. This collaborative environment not only broadens our knowledge but also strengthens our community ties.
- Foster a unified MSR community - These gatherings are key in developing global and regional collaborations within the AOM MSR Community. We aim to nurture an atmosphere conducive to idea exchange and forming new partnerships.
| | Danny Sandra is the facilitator of this network, please contact him with any questions. Look for his announcements each month on MSR's Discussion Board for the Zoom information. | | AOM Call for Reviewers If you have not yet signed up as a reviewer for conference submissions, we would greatly appreciate your help. The success of our program depends on our team of reviewers. If you have not yet done so, please click the button below and sign up as a reviewer now. | | If you would like to highlight a recent MSR event in one of our future newsletters please use this link to send us a headshot and 200-250 words about the event. | | | Recent Publications and Conferences @ MSR | | Sharing our research is yet another way to connect with one another. This section is an opportunity to share our MSR scholarly work. If you have a recent publication or conference paper, please use this form to share the details, and we will include it in a future issue. | | | We want to hear from all our MSR Members! Would you like to contribute to a future newsletter? Click the button below to share your content! | | | | | | | |