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Love, with its various forms, is depicted as a dynamic force propelling creativity, care, innovation, progress, and overall well-being. Our analysis delves into the significance of love in business management. The challenge lies in bridging the gap between personal and professional selves, fostering the translation of love from personal to workplace settings, and transforming self-interest into a moral emotion that extends beyond oneself. Based on these premises, we aim to operationalize the concept of love, framing its importance in the organizational context and trying to understand the factors that enhance or detract from its complete application. We highlight various definitions that have been offered in the literature, with a focus on ethics. We then seek to provide an overview of love in the context of organizing, highlighting varying conceptions of love. Finally, we assess the impacts of these conceptions of love on the study and practice of leadership and management. Developing an organizational culture of inclusiveness may enhance the ethic of love. A culture can outlast the individuals who reify it, thus leading to a virtuous cycle capable of self-perpetuation, encouraging close identification with that created value system. We seek to demonstrate that a relational collective environment can foster love at an organizational level and that its various forms can drive human flourishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains how the virtue of managers and organizations can be promoted with corporate constitutions that distribute power with polycentric governance as described by Ostrom. It allows paradoxical humanistic behavior described as "tensegrity" to emerge. DNA generates behavioral variety, like approach ~ avoidance, suspicious ~ trusting, cooperative ~ competitiveness, and so on to drive adaption and survival. This can likewise become embedded in organizations with corporate charters that introduce bottom-up stakeholder polycentric governance. The introduction of dynamic humanistic behavior means that the static dominant models reviewed by Meckling & Jensen lose their relevancy. We identify how a self-funding tax incentive for shareholders could introduce both polycentric governances with systemic re-birthing of enterprises over the life of a patent. This neglected process to distribute corporate ownership and control to bioregional citizens creates a process to form circular self-governing economies. A universal well-being dividend income becomes established to sustain all citizens with fewer taxes and government. This provides a way for simplifying on a bottom-up basis the complexity of managing both operating and existential risks to humanity locally and globally. UN SDGs are promoted. Democracy is enriched to self-determine population levels for the eternal well-being of people and the planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Putting the Worker front and center is fundamentally an invitation to rewrite the essence of management as a professional and scholarly practice. It is also an invitation to ask more fundamental questions about the human condition, the meaning and purpose of work, working and what the workplace represents that marks the contribution of the workforce not only in getting things done, but through collective action that serves the common good. These are not new questions, and the Human Resource Management field has been calling for shifting the focus away from treating workers as a resource and putting back the emphasis on the human and do so by reinventing management itself such that it can support the development of humanity. These calls return to the essence of management as Drucker originally conceived The Practice of Management as intimately connected to a new version of man -- the Industrial Man -- putting an end to earlier versions of the Economic Man. This is a critical juncture to also embrace 'human flourishing' more fully, mindful that it is anticipated to mark the makings of the 5th Industrial Revolution soon to be officially announced by the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2023. The symposium brings together a unique set of voices beyond the management field for a truly inclusive and interdisciplinary conversation which will also create room for outlining collective actions towards framing a new Management Manifesto as a key outcome of the event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that when you put the worker front and center you honor the dignity of work and that of the worker. By dignity we refer to the intrinsic value of people as invaluable, i.e. priceless. In this symposium several leading scholars and practitioners will explore the concept of dignity as the "highest common denominator" and how it can inform leadership practices that put the human being front and center. Michael Pirson will set the conversation in the context of humanistic organizing practices. Donna Hicks, a leading dignity expert will share the conceptual background and why dignity is such a critical element for good leadership. Bob Chapman, CEO of a Multi-Billion Dollar manufacturing business will share his practical experience putting workers front and center and share insights on how this contributed to a better, more performing organization where "everybody matters." Raj Sisodia, his co-author of a book with the same title will reflect from a scholarly perspective and Sandra Waddock will share ideas on how we can align the needs of workers with that of the environment to address the polycrisis successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of conducting a research to investigate the importance of management theory in solving the missing link of social welfare.

Both the Covid-19 crisis and the emergence of innovative business models offer a powerful signal that the foundational assumptions of capitalism are increasingly in doubt. Business schools, however, appear to be followers rather than leaders in this historical moment of social change. While citizens, consumers and businesses are experimenting with new models of capitalism premised on balancing profits with social purpose and the private, public, and plural sectors (Mintzberg, 2015; Sachs, 1999; Sachs et al. 2021), business schools have been slow to change and appear to be struggling with their identity and purpose. But, What might be the foundational values of a post-pandemic market system? What might be the purpose of business organizations in a post-pandemic scenario? What would a post-pandemic business school look like? The aim of this Symposium is to explore the answer to these questions and their practical application in a conversation with three former Editors of the Academy of Management journals (Suddaby, Phan, Hollensbe) and two thought thinkers and innovators of management (Mintzberg), capitalism and sustainable development (Sachs, pre-recorded interview). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the Covid-19 crisis and the emergence of innovative business models like B-Corps, Conscious Capitalism, and Blueprint for Better Business offer a powerful signal that the foundational assumptions of competitive capitalism are increasingly in doubt. Business schools, however, appear to be followers rather than leaders in this historical moment of social change. While consumers and businesses are experimenting with new models of capitalism premised on balancing profits with social purpose, business schools have been slow to change and appear to be struggling with their identity and purpose. But, what might be the purpose of business in a post-pandemic scenario? What would a post-pandemic business school look like? What might be the foundational values of a post-pandemic market system? The aim of this symposium is to explore these questions in conversation with four thought leaders and prominent innovators of management education and business practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This symposium takes off from David Korten's observation that 'We are living beings born of and nurtured by a living Earth,' and brings together leading thinkers, including Korten, to broaden our academic 'sight' on how developing a living systems approach to organizing might shift the core organizing logics of management and economic theories. Viewing human and socio-ecological systems, and, indeed, reality, as living entities means broadening our sight to taking in what Claus Weber calls an enlivenment (versus enlightenment) perspective that can help shape new cultural understandings as well as new organizing frameworks. David Korten, who will serve as keynote speaker, argues for an ecological civilization that could create better balance, innovation, and creativity, while simultaneously providing sufficiency. He will discuss the need to assure that all businesses are accountable to and serve the well-being of the community in which they do business. Commentator/panelist Andrew Hoffman will examine the institutional frameworks around which a cultural shift as broad and sweeping as the Enlightenment of the 18th century is underway. Chris Laszlo will highlight the power of direct intuitive practices in what he terms quantum leadership to transform consciousness. Michael Pirson will bring the lens of humanistic management to the question of how living systems theory can enhance both management and economic practice. Sandra Waddock will discuss principles of what gives life to systems in the interest of advancing living systems theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humanistic management practices are often perceived as 'unrealistic', as they stand in steep contrast to 'normal' business reality shaped by the commercial logic of neoclassic economics. The conceptual lens of performative practices focuses on how practices that appear to be unrealistic can be 'made real' through their enactment. This paper studies such performative humanistic practices of the three companies Greyston (USA), Good-Ark (China), and Allsafe (Germany). Through a thematic template analysis, we identify two distinct types of accompanying practices that enable the performativity of the core humanistic management practices studied. Enabling practices favored the initial performativity the humanistic practices by providing a local 'proof of concept'. Disseminating practices aided performativity by spreading humanistic practices and therefore increasing practices' global verisimilitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Popular Culture reminds us of the importance of love in leading a good life (i.e. All you need is love). Inclusive societies and organizations embrace loving and caring practices as a form of protecting dignity and promoting well-being of its stakeholders. In this symposium several leading scholars in business management and beyond will explore the concept of love as a heretofore neglected notion in management studies. They explore the possibilities of a conceptual foundation of love, its relevance to managerial work and the goal of creating inclusive organizations. The call for submissions asks: 'Are there critical perspectives on organizational inclusion that move beyond managerialism?' This panel will discuss if and how we need to rethink business and management theory and practice from the ground up. The central notion of the conversation is love and the panel will explore the conceptual possibilities the notion of love can provide to achieve organizational excellence. Is love indeed all we need? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dignity is sometimes described as the highest common denominator. It is an often overlooked concept in the conversation on diversity. Still it provides a rich conceptual background to the conversation of how people can create inclusive organizations. Examining dignity from various perspectives the panelists, prominent thought and action leaders, this panel is presenting examples on how dignity can inform inclusive organizational practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this session some of the Academy's most prominent thought leaders will share their perspectives on how management theory needs to change to enable better lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Panel Symposium will argue that improving lives begins with the stories we tell. Thinking and acting in ways that balance human interaction with ecological and social imperatives, informed by aesthetic and spiritual sensibility, requires the creation of new narratives-stories that inform actions, attitudes, and practices. Changing the stories that influence attitudes, practices, and behaviors of business toward improved lives and collective well-being requires changing the memes, i.e., core units of culture like words, phrases, images, and symbols. Panelist David Korten states that 'We will prosper in the pursuit of life, or we will perish in the pursuit of money,' and will frame a new story that guides us towards an ecological civilization. R. Edward posits that business needs a new story that incorporates a broad array of stakeholder relationship in its purpose, not just shareholders. Nancy J. Adler will argue that new framing of business and leadership that incorporate spirituality and the arts are needed. Michael Pirson argues for a different set of core assumptions that move away from homo economicus towards more realistic, humanistic assumptions. Sandra Waddock will argue that understanding the foundational role of memes-core units of culture-in shaping narratives is essential to effecting needed system change. The central objective of this symposium is to spotlight actionable next-generation memes and stimulate the creation of new narratives to support and advance organizational capabilities in the service of improving lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the multiple global social and environmental crises, management theory has been questioned for some time (Ghoshal & Moran, 1996; Hart, 2005). Management theory has (at least in part) been remarkably influential despite numerous critics deploring its irrelevance (Ghoshal, 2005; Hambrick, 1994). As an example, Davis (2009) argues that management theory lead the shift from managerial capitalism towards financial capitalism in which the main objective is shareholder value maximization. He similar traces the adjustment of corporate governance structures to satisfy financial markets to the intellectual shift supported by agency theory. It has been argued consistently that the most influential ontological assumptions are those guiding agency theory (Davis, 2009; Jensen & Meckling, 1994; Khurana, 2007; Mintzberg et al., 2002). Agency theory underpins the dominant perspective on corporate governance, which in turn influences priorities in business strategy (Davis, 2009). Governance and strategy influence organizational culture, at least in part, and provide constraints to organizational practices (Child & Rodrigues, 2004). It can be argued therefore that the ontological assumption of agency theory have cascading effects on managerial practice such as in motivational pay-per-performance structures (Frey & Osterloh, 2005). Given that influence, it seems apt to question the foundational assumptions of human nature that support a large part of management research and practice. The purpose of this paper is therefore twofold: 1) to examine the ontological foundations of management theory and 2) to present alternatives that emerge from what E.O. Wilson calls the consilience of knowledge (Wilson, 1998). This paper therefore starts by examining the axiomatic propositions about "Who we are as human beings" that underlie the dominant, economistic perspective on management (Lawrence & Pirson, 2015). It analyzes the theoretical arguments provided by Michael Jensen and William Meckling (1994) in their seminal paper entitled "The Nature of Man," which decidedly argues the theoretical precepts guiding agency theory. Presenting emerging evidence that questions these precepts, the paper will develop an alternative set of ontological assumptions. The presented evidence and emerging ontological premises may serve as stepping stone for alternative, more humanistic modes of management theorizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how contingency misfit can possibly be compensated. The paper particularly focuses on stakeholder enactment as a dynamic adaptation mechanism to overcome configurational misfit. By analyzing data from 238 firms located in eight countries, our study shows that stakeholder enactment can indeed buffer for contingency misfit. Enactment of internal stakeholders buffers the structure-strategy misfit, while enactment of external stakeholders buffers both the environment-organization misfit and structure-strategy misfit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making Organizations Meaningful as a AAT presumes that many organizations lack meaning and purpose. In this session, leading scholars are discussing why a lack of meaning and purpose exists and will suggest that our theorizing has been influenced by a very reductionist view of human nature, one that does not encompass a need for meaning or purpose. We will also discuss what can be done to rethink management in theory and practice to allow for more meaning and purpose. The main premise of the symposium is based on the development of a humanistic management paradigm which focuses on the notion of human dignity and the promotion of well-being. Tom Donaldson and Jim Walsh present a Theory of Business that protects dignity and promotes collective value creation, i.e. well-being. Otto Scharmer will share his insights on organizing for well-being and Sandra Waddock will draw on the Shamanic insight to more meaningful organizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines the development of a 14-item measure of socio-cognitive mindfulness. Using 8 samples (including multisource and multi-wave data) with a total of 4,139 responses the authors developed a reliable scale with a tri-dimensional factor structure that replicated across 5 separate samples. The scale possessed both convergent and discriminant validity, and criterion related validity was demonstrated through the scale's relation with psychological well-being, such as life satisfaction and humor, dimensions of physical well-being, e.g. strength, flexibility and reaction time, as well as aspects of social and organizational well-being including job satisfaction, creativity. Overall, the present study suggests that the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS14) is a reliable and valid measure and that the LMS has important implications for both individuals and social relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this symposium five leading management thought leaders will present their perspectives on the future of governance of the Academy of Management itself. Starting off, two former presidents of the Academy of Management (Don Hambrick and Anne Tsui) will represent an internal perspective on how opening governance can help the AOM itself. Then two public intellectuals (Otto Scharmer and Hunter Lovins) will suggest ways the AOM can open governance more effectively to include ultimate stakeholders of practice, the public and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Words matter, but some words are seldom used in management discourse-- and that gap has important implications for what is and is not considered relevant for research, teaching, and management practice. In particular, we argue that organizational research should connect more directly with other social sciences to update and enlarge its theoretical repertoire to encompass core elements of humanism, particularly the concepts of human dignity, rights, and responsibilities. Specifically, we propose articulating that connection with the social sciences around three main terms (words): 1) The notion of human dignity which has played a central role in many social sciences, and is credited as a main driver of economic and civilizational progress (Kateb, 2011; McCloskey, 2010; Rosen, 2012). 2) The notion of human rights, which is a mainstay of many social sciences but rarely gets treatment within management other than in business ethics(Levy & Sznaider, 2010; McEldowney & Weick, 2003; Meyer & Parent, 1992; Wettstein, 2009, 2009 ), and 3) The notion of responsibility, which has gained more traction in the discourse on management, as the term CSR has gained increasing visibility (Carroll, 1999; Matten & Moon, 2008; Waddock, 2008; Waddock, Bodwell, & Graves, 2002). We suggest, however, that responsibility is critical for sustainable social well-being and without a connection to the prior two terms remains an anemic concept. After a short introduction on the power of the words we RARELY use, specifically, dignity, rights, and responsibilities, Claus Dierksmeier (University of Tuebingen) will outline the central notion of human dignity. Florian Wettstein (University of St. Gallen) will build on the notion of human dignity and will outline the genesis of human rights and their role within management research. Sandra Waddock (Boston College) will argue that well-being should be the central construct in management and economic thinking--with human dignity as the foundational value creating attendant rights and responsibilities for businesses, and by implication, management scholarship. After discussion, the panel will entertain questions and answers from the audience with the goal to inform business school researchers and teachers on how such words could be used more frequently and help management theory to increase accuracy and relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peter Drucker is considered one of the leading management thinkers in the 20th century. Before his passing he had written extensively on the Management Challenges in the 21st century. Now that capitalism is in crisis, it is timely to reconsider some of Drucker's thinking and how it might help address the current problems. In this panel we highlight some of the leading management thinkers that have been inspired by Peter Drucker and present their thinking on how management can effectively address the current problems. After a short introduction, Craig Smith will outline how management's concern and management's responsibility encompasses everything that affects the performance of the institution and its results (Drucker, 1999, p.40). He will use this perspective for managerial responsibility to highlight how the old paradigm of limited responsibility focused on shareholder value maximization is useless and misleading. Roger Martin will develop this thought further and demonstrate how the system of capitalism is broken and how we can learn from the NFL to fix it. He will suggest revisiting the basic admonitions of Peter Drucker around four issues: (1) business exists to serve the customer not the investor (2) integrative thinking not functional specialization is key to addressing business problems, (3) environmental and social sustainability are of central concern to retained legitimacy, (4) and value creation and positive sum interactions rather than value extraction and zero sum transactions (trading) are imperative for long-term business success. Lynda Gratton will then build on Drucker's ideas on self-management and the nature of work and present her thinking on the future and democratization of work. Joseph Maciariello, a close collaborator of Peter Drucker for 30 years will make the case for reconnecting with Drucker's thinking as a lost art of management and innovation, especially the role of virtue as a key element to address the current crises. The panel will be followed by Dr. Andre Habisch (discussant) who will summarize the key points and evaluate various challenges and opportunities developed in terms of informing management practice, management research and management education. He will thereby argue for a more explicit engagement of scholars and teachers with the Peter Drucker's thinking as an alternative perspective of the past with a lot of relevance for the future. After these concluding remarks, the moderator (Dr. Michael Pirson) will open the discussion to the floor. A question and answer session will follow examining the respective challenges and perspectives presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capitalism is at a crossroads and the challenges for management in the 21st century are manifold. From climate change, to increasing inequity, social exclusion, poverty and decreasing social trust in business, many agree that managers are witnessing a perfect storm. While many scholars posit that business needs to be rethought and reenacted, in this panel we wish to highlight some of the proposed solutions. From sustainable business, to inclusive business, to humanistic business, we wish to highlight the variety of approaches taken to highlight how business can become a part of the solution and contribute to the common good. After a short introduction, Stuart Hart will outline the challenges for traditional business institutions to become environmentally and socially sustainable. Anil Gupta will present his thinking how business can become more inclusive by being more embedded in communities they operate in e.g. reaching out to indigenous innovators. Kim Cameron will further outline how organizations can become more life-conducive presenting lessons learned from positive organizational scholarship. Finally, Bob Quinn will outline how leadership needs to be rethought from an ontological perspective, the role of deep change, and the power of shared leadership to solve the current problems. Andre Habisch will discuss the contributions and suggest how management practice could adapt and be serving the common good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]