We are excited to invite you to participate in our PDW-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Organizations in South Asia!
Call for Research Proposals in PDW
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Organizations in South Asia
Saturday, August 05, 8 – 9:30 am
Boston Marriott Copley Place, Simmons, 3rd Floor
Organizers: Samina M. Saifuddin1, Rana Haq2, Ravi S. Ramani1, and Isis Gutiérrez-Martínez3
Affiliation: 1 Morgan State University, USA; 2 Laurentian University, Canada; 3 Universidad de las Américas, México
The accelerating pace of globalization and the rapidly changing nature of work necessitate us to periodically take stock of and examine contemporary challenges facing management and organizations. Yet, most workplace and organizational research have originated in the West using Western-centric models and tested using Western samples. Practices emerging from such research are then generalized to non-Western contexts with a modest or insignificant variation. These variations often neglect contextual factors such as historical contexts, local and regional norms, social behaviors, political landscape, religious influence, and institutional environments unique to local contexts (Bhagat, McDevitt, and McDevitt, 2010; Haq, Klarsfeld, Kornau, and Ngunjiri, 2020; Klarsfeld, Knappert, Kornau, Ngunjiri, and Sieben, 2019). Consequently, when introduced in non-Western organizations, these practices become superficial and do not have a meaningful impact (Rowley, Oh, and Jang, 2019). The same is true for research in the DEII space (Klarsfeld et al., 2019; Ӧzbilgin and Syed, 2010; Saifuddin, Chinna, and Zaman, 2022).
Thus, we invite research proposals for the roundtable discussion portion of the PDW. These small group discussions provide an excellent learning experience led by experts in the topic with intended takeaways for the participants. The PDW is sponsored by the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), human resources (HR), international management (IM), and social issues in management (SIM) divisions. Thus it will encourage multi-way conversation and interaction among participants from multiple divisions, disciplines, regions, career stages, or demographic backgrounds.
Associated with this PDW, we envision an edited volume of a book titled "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity in Business in South Asia." The book proposal is under consideration with Palgrave MacMillan. Thus, the preselected research proposal will be considered for a book chapter. If interested, please submit a two to three page proposal by July 16 using the following link: https://forms.gle/VKG1vFmjv5G2P8cK6.
Please do not hesitate to contact samina.saifuddin@morgan.edu or rahaq@laurentian.ca, or ravi.ramani@morgan.edu, or isis.gutierrez@udlap.mx for any questions regarding the submission process.
Roundtable Discussion Questions
1. What historical, legislative, political, societal, religious, and corporate forces unique to South Asia affect DEII policies and practices?
2. What are the DEII policies and related management practices in South Asian countries? How are these policies and practices similar or different among the countries in the South Asian region and outside?
3. How are South Asian organizations responding to the changing nature of work in response to the pandemic and other global disruptions, and what does it mean for the DEII space?
4. What role do leadership, managers, and teams play in formulating and implementing DEII policies and practices?
5. How do macro, meso, and micro factors influence leadership and management styles for meaningful DEII policies and practices in South Asian countries?
6. To what extent do South Asian organizations emulate the West? And how does that shape DEII in South Asia?
7. What traditions or forces have helped South Asian organizations fare better or differently than in the West regarding DEII? What lessons can be learned, and how can they be applied in other contexts?
We encourage proposals that fit the research questions but are open to other novel challenges.
PDW Format
The PDW begins with an introduction to the workshop's purpose, followed by participant introductions. We will then ask the participants to join the table organized around the research questions. Each table will present a summary of their discussions identifying the key takeaways.
We hope this call encourages you to think about DEII in business in South Asia or further develop your research for a possible book chapter contribution. We look forward to your submissions!
References:
Bhagat, R. S., McDevitt, A. S., and McDevitt, I. (2010). On improving the robustness of Asian management theories: Theoretical anchors in the era of globalization, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 27(2), 179-192.
Haq, R., Klarsfeld, A., Kornau, A., and Ngunjiri, F. (2020). Diversity in India: Addressing Caste, Disability and Gender. Introduction for the Special Issue on perspectives on diversity and equality in India. In Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.
Klarsfeld, A., Knappert, L., Kornau, A., Ngunjiri, F. and Sieben, B. (2019). Diversity in under-researched countries: new empirical fields challenging old theories? Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, 38(7), 694-704.
Ӧzbilgin, M. F., and Syed, J. (2010). Introduction: diversity management travels to underexplored territories. In S. Jawad, & M. F. Ӧzbilgin (Eds.), Managing Cultural Diversity in Asia A Research Companion (1-13), Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
Rowley, C., Oh, I., and Jang, W. (2019). New perspectives on East Asian leadership in the age of globalization: Local grounding and historical comparisons in the Asia Pacific region, Asia Pacific Business Review, 25(2), 307-315.
Saifuddin, S. M., Chhina, H., and Zaman, L. (2022). Perspectives on diversity and equality in Bangladesh. In A. Klarsfeld, L. Knappert, A. Kornau, E. Ng, F. Ngunjiri, & B. Sieben (Eds.), Research Handbook on New Frontiers of Equality and Diversity at Work (pp. 36-53). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
See you there.