Call for Papers:
Relational Perspectives in Organization Studies
EURAM 2006, Oslo
May 17-20, 2006
DEADLINE for submission of full papers: February 1st, 2006
Convenors:
Mustafa Ozbilgin, Centre for Business Management, Queen Mary, University of London, m.ozbilgin@qmul.ac.uk
Olivia Kyriakidou, Department of Business Administration, University of the Aegean, O.Kyriakidou@aegean.gr
Laura Costanzo, School of Management, University of Surrey, L.Costanzo@surrey.ac.uk
Rapid changes in the composition and functioning of organisational life witnessed the emergence of new forms of organisations and ways of organising. The creation of informal and network-like organisations, the shifting configurations of networks among groups of actors, the blurring of the boundaries in and around formal organisations as well as the changing employment relationship, shift our attention to the conceptualisation of organisations as sets of dynamic relationships. Such an approach demands employment of a layered analysis, encapsulating micro, meso and macro levels of relationality. The emergence of a relational perspective promises to overcome the problems of reification so that organising could be seen as is - an individual and group sensemaking process taking place in a social context that is the product of constant and ongoing human production and interaction in organisational settings. The aim of this track therefore is to develop a language and perspective which allows us to speak of individuals and organizations in terms which are commensurate with meso level analysis, in which agency and structure are intertwined, objective and subjective dimensions of organizational phenomenon are recognized and schism between macro and micro perspectives are bridged. In this way we hope to prevent the negative consequences of traditional approaches which misrepresent the qualities of relational processes and distort the relationships between people and organization by theorizing people and organizations as entities independent of each other.
Faced with the challenge of understanding organisations as sets of dynamic relationships, management scholars and professional managers are in need of innovative approaches that will aid them understand and accommodate these pressures. Aiming to address this emergent need, the objective of this track is to conceptualise a number of organisational phenomena and current organisational developments with a view to allow academics and practitioners to share their cutting-edge and fresh insights into empirical, conceptual, and professional developments in the fields of organisation science, strategic management and human resource management. Involvement of both academic and practitioner communities in the symposium will promote better communication between them.
TRACK QUESTIONS
To reflect and reinforce the relational perspective, we invite papers from a multiplicity of disciplines and perspectives that focus on the study of relationships and the reconceptualisations of a number of organisational phenomena from a relational perspective and within different levels of analysis. The following is a small sampling of some of the questions that might be addressed:
A) How organisational processes (like management, coordination, decision-making) can be conceptualised from a relational perspective? What is the impact of relations on formal and informal processes of organising?
B) What are the relational approaches to the management of organisational change? Is the aim of change research to create organisational knowledge rather than to document the ongoing processes of knowing and to explore the role of personal accounts in the reflective activity of "knowing what is going on"?
C) Organisational identity has often been indicated as a prime referent for strategic action acting as both an enabler and constraint of the development of new strategies. Much has to be unveiled however, about the dynamics relating organisational identity and strategy. Could a relational perspective render conceptualisations of identity more flexible? How could such a perspective make us think about identities? Under what conditions organisational identities really change?
D) What forms of relationships exist between organisations and research institutions? How can these relationships be managed in order to develop communities of practice and achieve effective knowledge transfer? What is the effectiveness of exchanges? How does learning take place? Is collaborative working relationships developing?
E) What are the implications of new organisational forms (i.e. networks) on management capability? How do organisations manage their relational capabilities in order to achieve their strategic ends?
F) What are the innovative ways of managing equality of opportunity, diversity, creativity and relationships in organisational settings? How could these be understood in the context of organisational relationships? How could relationships that are damaged through discrimination, inequality and unfair practices be repaired? What are the implications of layered and relational analysis on formulation of equality and diversity in work settings? How
G) What kind of methodological terrain does relationality project? How do we envision and operationalise relational and layered analysis of organisations in methodological orthodoxies of organisational studies demarcated by traditional dichotomies of qualitative and quantitative perspectives, and objective and subjective stances to research? Is it possible to reconcile practice, theory and philosophy of relationality in organisational settings?
I) Where next for relational perspectives? Is there convergence or closure in studies that are branded as relational? What are the divisions, strands, threads than run through relational studies of organisational phenomenon today?
Please visit the EURAM website for further information on submission procedures.