Under the aegis of the College of Business and Economics, Australian National University, the conference will bring together a wide range of scholars and practitioners all who have commitment to advancing understandings and applications of wisdom in management, leadership, and organisations. The conference will be held predominantly in the outstanding new College facilities at ANU in Canberra. Attendance is free thanks to a grant awarded by the College for primary conference costs. http://www.cbe.anu.edu.au/
Wisdom in Management
Interest in organisational and management applications of wisdom is growing, as evidenced by inclusion of the “wisdom workshop” at the recent annual conference of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM), held December 2-4, 2010. This was the first known gathering of its kind. Ten scholars from Europe, Australian, and New Zealand presented academic papers on various aspects of wisdom during a half-day session. What made this workshop different and exciting was discussion periods built into the designated time period for presenters and attending participants to explore further themes arising from the presentations and the research on which they were based. Numerous opportunities for collaboration were identified.
It was clear from the 40 participants that continuing dialogue on wisdom in management is needed and highly desirable, and that few, if any, forums for dialogue and advancing research on wisdom exist. Commitment from many participants to continue the dialogue after ANZAM was gained. Interest was bolstered by the announcement that Philosophy of Management journal would be issuing at least one special edition based on papers shared at ANZAM.
Participants and Target Groups
Participation will be invited from individuals comprising a wide range of academic disciplines and organisational settings. A draft call for papers is appended.
We hope to attract participation from a wide range of disciplines and professions, management and leadership, psychology, education, health sciences, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, and others. By no means is this meant to be exclusively an academic conference. We seek practitioners of all ilk, including artists and musicians, ministers, leaders, healers…
The vision for the conference and subsequently is to form an association (Community of Practice) of scholars and practitioners interested in wisdom and its application in management and organisation. This presents a unique opportunity to assemble professionals from multiple disciplines and to create a centre or corpus of expertise (virtually, if not physically). The network is expected to generate a high level of research activity into wisdom and its application, to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and to open avenues into organisations for both research and consulting engagements.
Leadership and organisational wisdom are increasingly being recognised as crucial in dealing with the competing demands, complexity, and uncertainty that characterise the 21st Century. Current ways of approaching global crises and opportunities are insufficient, if not disastrous. A new, enlightened way of confronting problems, working across disciplines, and engaging diverse stakeholders is needed. Wisdom holds promise, but much needs done. Those working in the area need stimulus and mechanisms for connecting and collaborating, extending and multiplying their efforts.
Direct research output for the conference is expected to be:
1. An edited volume of selected peer-reviewed papers and book chapters under the aegis of the proposal author and project coordinator (and possibly with one or two co-editors). ANU University Press will be sought to publish the text.
2. A conference proceedings edition of all accepted papers, and workshops and seminar materials, published as a hard copy or DVD or both, with ISBN.