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FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS The Role of the Contemplative in Workplace Organization: Exploring Spiritualities, Theologies, Philosophies, and Ethics CMS6 Stream The Sixth International Critical Management Conference July 13-15, 2009 Warwick Business School, The University of Warwick, UK Stream Convenors Peter Case UWE Bristol Business School [log in to unmask] Matthew Eriksen Providence College [log in to unmask] Albert J. Mills Saint Mary’s University [log in to unmask] Angela Hope (Lead Convenor) Saint Mary’s University [log in to unmask] Stream Description: This stream explores the interface between the academic disciplines of Philosophy, Theology/Religious Studies and the discipline of Critical Management Studies. Theistic or atheist, practicing or ‘not practicing,’ it is difficult for many organizers and organizations (critical or not) in the West to remain uninfluenced by a theological cultural conditioning rooted in classical interpretations of Judeo Christian narratives (Hope, 2007). Should these narratives be contained? Should they be re-interpreted? Should they be ignored altogether and room made for other religious and spiritual influences and practices? The exploration of this linkage between the organization and the ‘contemplative’ is, we suggest, foundational to understanding the nature of contemporary organization. The discourse on spirituality is often met with hesitation and skepticism in Critical Management Studies for various reasons but, perhaps, primarily because of its tendency to be complicit in the disciplining of bodies and minds in work organizations. Might it be possible, however, to develop a critical spirituality which resists and transforms instrumental and oppressive practices in work organizations? In the dominant capitalist discourse and mainstream management theorizing, spirituality has been represented as one which “treats spirituality in ahistorical and apolitical terms as yet another neutral resource to be harnessed and husbanded by the erstwhile custodians of organizational performance” (Case, 2008). Despite the burgeoning writing on spirituality in the field of organization studies (OS), explorations of the relationship between the organization of work, religion and spiritual life is hardly new to philosophy and social science. Indeed, analysis of this nexus of relationships is foundational to the social theorizing of Feuerbach, Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Nietzsche and Freud. It is also present, either explicitly or implicitly, in theories of post-modern social organization, such as propounded by Bauman, Beck, Foucault, Lyotard, and Giddens. However, much of what passes as original contributions to the debate on spirituality in OS – with some notable exceptions - appears to be written in blind ignorance of this legacy. Mainstream writing on workplace spirituality also often ignores the impact of spiritual thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, and Anselm on Western culture and their implicit influence in shaping contemporary organizations. In short, much of the contemporary literature on spirituality is narrowly utilitarian and instrumental in its intent, often concerned directly to commodify spirituality. Bell and Taylor (2003), Case and Gosling (2007), Casey (2002), Carrette and King (2005) and Roberts (2001) have all raised concerns about this tendency and attempted to account for the instrumental rediscovery of organizational spirituality through the invocation of relevant philosophy and social theory. Such writing serves as a useful starting point for the kind of constructive critique that we hope to pursue in this stream. Writing in the aftermath of Nietzsche’s (in)famous ‘God is dead’ assertion, philosophers and theologians have embarked on a journey to address the oppressive and instrumental facets of Christian grandnarratives, tradition, and the analgesic aspect of belief. Thus, the ‘discourse on theology’ has become plural and should - in a postpositivist context - now be understood as comprising theologies and spiritualities which embrace multiple perspectives and interpretations drawn from of a variety of religious traditions. Organization and management scholars have, arguably, an important role to play in relation to this debate. Should theological influences and other spiritual practices be resisted at all costs when it comes to businesses and organizations? Should the discourse on spirituality be further expanded away from the dominating position of modern theory using various perspectives rooted in poststructuralism, postpositivism, postcolonialism, and critical theory? And if the latter question is answered in the affirmative, then what directions might postpositivist spirituality take within organization studies? This stream invites papers which explore but are not limited to the following areas: • Atheistic and agnostic philosophies and organizations: pursuing whether or not spiritualities have a place within management thought and practice. • How the insights of Judeo-Christian Postmodern theologies and Liberation theologies - Black Liberation Theology, Feminist/Womanist Theology, Mujerista Theology, Queer theology - can inform and influence management and organization. • The role of traditional religious ethics – e.g, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist - in work organizations. • Existentialism and organizing: philosophical explorations which link the thoughts of Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Sartre and other existentialist thinkers to contemporary organizational ethics. • Platonic, Aristotelian and other metaphysical interpretations of reality and their relevance to contemporary organization. • ‘Care of the self’ – critical reinterpretations of Classical scholarship and their implications for contemporary organizational ethics and spirituality (following Hadot and Foucault). • The nexus of culture, identity, and power in the spiritual organization. • Spiritual epistemologies and ontologies: exploring how the ‘spiritual’ subverts, resists and/or privileges certain forms of knowledge and interpretations of reality. • ‘Unchurched spiritualities’: examining the contemporary trend of being ‘spiritual but not religious’ in work organizations. • Critical conceptions of suffering, evil, sin and redemption in relation to management and organizational practices. • ‘God-talk’: why is this so unsettling within the Critical Management Studies community? Exploring critical reflexivity within CMS. • Militarism, war, soldiering, and its linkage with theological narratives and traditions KEY DEADLINES: Submission of abstracts (maximum 1000 words, A4 paper, single spaced, 12 point font) to Angela Hope at [log in to unmask] by - 1st November 2008. Full papers to be submitted - 1st May 2009. About the convenors: Peter Case: currently Professor of Organization Studies, Bristol Business School, University of the West of England, Peter served as chairperson of the Standing Conference on Organizational Symbolism from 2002-7 and is general co-editor of Culture & Organization. He is also a member of the editorial boards of Leadership and the Leadership & Organizational Development Journal. Peter has held visiting scholarships at Helsinki School of Economics and the Royal Institute of Technology of Stockholm. His research interests encompass organizational ethics, organization theory and multicultural aspects of management development. Recent publications include The Speed of Organization (with S. Lilley and T. Owens, 2006: CBS & Liber) and John Adair: the Fundamentals of Leadership (with J. Gosling and M. Witzel, 2007: Palgrave). Matthew Eriksen: teaches leadership and organizational behavior at Providence College. Previously, he held positions at the University of Tampa and U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He headed the Leadership Institute at the Transportation Security Administration and worked for Ford Motor Company. His research interests lie in the areas of leadership development, gender and leadership, leadership and spirituality, diversity, organizational change, and pedagogy. Albert J. Mills is Professor of Management and Director of the PhD in Management at the Sobey School of Business, at Saint Mary’s University (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada). He is the incoming co-Chair of the CMS Division of the Academy of Management and co-convened the Gender and Management Stream at the first three CMS conferences in the UK. He is the author of twenty books and numerous articles that reflect his broad interest in human liberation. His latest book – Sex, Strategy and the Stratosphere (London: Routledge, 2006) – explores the impact of organizational culture on gender and discrimination. Angela Hope: is Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas. She received her Masters in Theological Studies from Boston University School of Theology, and is currently a PhD student at St. Mary’s University Sobey School of Business in Halifax, Canada. She is a captain in the US Army Reserve. Her interests are in exploring the impact of mobilized theological grandnarratives in organizations, specifically the military, and the implications of this for women and marginalized others. Angela is also an Associate Editor for the journal Gender, Work, and Organization. References: Bell, E. and Taylor, S. (2003). The Elevation of Work: Pastoral Power and the New Age Work Ethic, Organization, 10(2), pp.329-349. Carrette, J. and King, R. (2005). Selling Spirituality: the silent takeover of religion, London: Routledge. Case, P. (2008). The spiritual organization: Critical reflections on the instrumentality of workplace spirituality discourse. Paper presented at ‘Organizations and Belief Systems’ conference, University of Tampa, 17-19 March 2008. Case, P. and Gosling, J. (2007). Wisdom of the Moment: Premodern Perspectives on Organizational Action, Social Epistemology, 21(2-3), pp.87-111. Casey, C. (2002). Critical Analysis of Organizations: Theory, Practice and Revitalization, London: Sage. Hope, A. (2007). Restructuring god ideologies in work spaces: A critical catholic perspective, Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion, 4(4), pp.505-520. Roberts, R.H. (2001) Religion, Theology and the Human Sciences, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.