79th Annual Meeting Day 4 Recap: AI and Sustainability

Nobody had a case of the Mondays here at the 79th AOM Annual Meeting. After four days of annual meeting sessions the energy level is still high, and our management and organization scholars’ sessions continued to focus on some of today’s most important business issues. Here’s a sampling of the discussions.

Artificial intelligence and robotics process automation

We were honored to have IBM CEO Ginni Rometty with us today. Frank Miller (@masscustom), shared a great quote from her that is important for all industries to know, “Skills matter more than degrees…we need more collars of workers – [the] divide between white and blue collar workers is over.” On a related note, Christopher Tucci (@cltucci) shared that strategy and technology are becoming intertwined and we all need to better understand emerging technologies.

Jamie Ladge (@jladge) shared a great insight, “Rather than waiting for robots to take over our careers, change your mindset and let technology take over your grunt work so you can focus on improving your strategic and human functioning at work.”

From a different perspective, Sue Ashford (@sueashford) shared a quote she heard about AI and jobs, “save like mad because you have no idea when the robots will come and take it away…if it looks like you’re in a job that will be taken away, move fast and move first!”

To show that people have vastly different opinions about AI, AOM asked its online Twitter followers, “What role do you envision AI might play in management?” The results were mixed. The small majority (40%) said that it would cause divide, 35% said it would be a catalyst for change and 25% said it would be a pillar of support.

Sustainable business models

From a session with Dr. Donald Hambrick, Rosalvo Gomes (@KsepkaGomes) shared what Dr. Hambrick thought AOM Scholars should be focusing on next:

• How CEOs think about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
• How CEOs see lobbying and corporate political donations
• How CEOs think about personal activism

It’s important to know that while AOM Scholars are working on sustainability and how CEOs think about CSR and personal activism, they are also making sure AOM is focused on sustainability efforts. Judith Walls (@ProfWalls) noted that 92% of AOM members think it is important for AOM to look at ways it can become carbon neutral.

The value of collaboration and appreciation

Danna Greenberg (@dannagreenberg) was kind enough to share a slide from her session about collaboration and these are key points for everyone to remember from Jeanie Forray and Kathy Lund Dean:

• Collaborations are built with/among the right people
• Collaborations are built on trust, respect and reciprocity
• Collaborations are effective and efficient by using division of labor
• Collaborations require a willingness to step in for the other(s) with short notice
• Collaborations require communications skills: willingness to engage in difficult conversations while supporting and preserving the relationship

Along with the slide she asked, “Have you thanked your most important academic collaborates today?” So, as we head into the final day of the 79th annual meeting, we want to thank YOU – our members, our online followers, our host city and everyone who played a role in making this event possible. It was a tremendous collaboration that leverage all the above.

We’ll be tackling more vital topics to business managers and leaders tomorrow. We encourage you to come back for highlights from the last day of the AOM annual meeting. And, if you want to join us on social media, search for #AOM2019.