Organization Development & Change (ODC) PDW Call for Submissions

PDW Chair: Amit Nigam, Cass Business School, amit.nigam@city.ac.uk

The Organization Development and Change division invites proposals for the pre-conference professional development workshops (PDW) to be held at the 2020 Academy of Management meeting in Vancouver, Canada. PDW sessions will begin at 8:00 AM on Friday, 7 August and conclude on Saturday, 8 August at 8:00 PM.

A PDW provides Academy members with a unique opportunity for professional development. Though not required, we are seeking PDW proposals that relate to the Annual Meeting theme “20/20: Broadening our Sight”. The theme encourages submissions that look beyond dichotomies and boundaries (e.g. qualitative/quantitative, micro/macro, theoretical/applied) in the effort to expand the potential for management research to create knowledge that is valued by diverse audiences, and that speaks to pressing challenges in today’s world.

This year’s theme resonates with the ODC division’s community of scholars and practitioners. The DNA of the ODC division focuses on how to bridge dichotomies, looking broadly at issues related to change and changing. Consistent with the spirit of both the division and theme, we especially look for proposals that develop generative new insights relating to change and changing. All scholars are welcome, regardless of membership, as we seek to build bridges across divisions. We are open in terms of topics and focus and encourage you to communicate with us about potential PDW ideas. Possible topics could include, but are not limited to, proposals that explore:

• Diverse scholarly and practitioner communities relating to a specific change topic (e.g. change in response to AI or other new technologies, change in response to pressing public issues such as poverty, inequality or climate change)
• Diverse disciplinary perspectives relating to change and changing (e.g. psychological and sociological)
• Diverse methodological perspectives (e.g. action research, ethnographic perspectives, laboratory methods, new big data approaches)

These are some tentative ideas, but really, we are looking for proposals that you and others in the ODC community, broadly construed, find to be interesting and engaging.

Successful PDW proposals are highly interactive, create an engaging environment, provoke new ideas and learning, integrate cutting-edge scholarly or applied ideas, connect people and build relationships, and encourage experimentation with new ideas, processes and practices. They should be inclusive and of interest to participants from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives around topics of mutual interest. Since ODC-related work is broadly interdisciplinary, we especially encourage PDWs that will facilitate interactions between ODC practitioners, ODC academics and members of other divisions. We also encourage submissions on research, teaching, and/or practice.

Proposals for PDWs may address a range of issues that emanate from this year’s AOM theme. They may also focus on issues that are unrelated to the theme, but that align with the Division & Interest Group Domain statement. In addition, we encourage the organizers of past, successful PDWs to submit PDWs again for 2020.

PDW proposals are submitted to only one (primary) division; however, we encourage PDW proposals that may be co-sponsored by other divisions or interest groups. Each potential sponsor should be listed on the proposal. Any co-sponsors will be determined after the submission is accepted.

PDW proposals must be submitted through the Academy of Management’s electronic Submission Center.  The Submission Center will open in early December 2019, and the deadline for submission is Tuesday, 14 January 2020 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time (NY time). Earlier submissions are encouraged. If you have questions or would like to discuss a potential workshop idea, please contact the ODC Division’s PDW Chair, Amit Nigam (amit.nigam@city.ac.uk).