Organization and Management Theory OMT

Please join us for our All-Academy Theme Symposium,

Mobilizing Meaning in Times of Crisis

Sunday, August 7 from 4:15 - 5:45PM at the Hilton Anaheim in the Santa Monica Room

Panelists:

Marlys K. Christianson, University of Toronto

Rich DeJordy, Northeastern University

Christi Lockwood, Boston College

Ryann Manning, Harvard University

Trent A. Williams, Syracuse University

The past few years have seen a string of crises, ranging from terrorist attacks to the greatest refugee crisis since World War II, unprecedented outbreaks of the Ebola and Zika viruses, political rancor and turmoil in various countries, and global talks to avert a pending climate catastrophe. Organizations are at the center of these crises, not only directly affected by them, but also responding, resolving, rebuilding, and charting new paths forward. As such, this is an important moment for organizational scholars to reflect on the role of organizations in times of crisis, and particularly on how organizational actors can derive meaning from crises, mobilize that meaning as a source of resilience, and restore meaning after it has been eroded.

This symposium will bring together a group of scholars to discuss some new empirical work on recent crises, but also to reflect on how the theories and empirical studies of the past might apply to the turbulent events and challenging circumstances we face today. Please join us for this timely discussion.