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It's the System Stupid!  

Establishing a Research Agenda on Systemic Problems in Organization Theory

Saturday, August 4^th, 2012

8:00am to 10:00am

Marriott Boston Copley Place in Vineyard

Sponsors: SIM, ONE, OMT, BPS

Participants:

Ruth Aguilera

Oana Branzei

Fabrizio Ferraro

Steve Maguire

Charlene Zietsma

Co-Organizers:

Mike Valente

Jan Lepoutre

Systemic issues in the external environment have become a strategic issue for business. The key distinguishing feature of systemic problems is that, while not resolving the problem can impose significant risk to an organization, resolution is not always possible by any single focal organization affected by it. For problems like the financial crisis, obesity, or climate change, complex, multi- organizational approaches are often necessary. While various theoretical lenses give partial answers to how this can be done effectively, they are inconsistent in building an understanding of how systemic problems can be successfully addressed by organizations. This workshop aims to continue a conversation that began in April of 2012 where leading academics began a dialogue on the impacts of these complex issues on management theory. We'll begin with a set of speakers who will share with the participants a view of systemic issues from their area of expertise. We'll then divide participants into groups according to a specified systemic issue where an academic expert will facilitate a debate/discussion to uncover how existing conversations in management aid in our understanding of organizational response to systemic problems and, more importantly, the limitations of these current conversations. Each group will present the results of their discussion to the audience with an emphasis on research questions that contribute to a broader research agenda. A summary of the common themes across the groups will then be presented to establish a research agenda amongst a community of interested scholars.

Join us for an exploration of the relevance of systemic issues to organization theory.

___________________________

Mike Valente, PhD

Assistant Professor in Strategy and Business Sustainability

Richard Ivey School of Business

University of Western Ontario

1151 Richmond Street North

London, Ontario, N6A 3K7

Phone:  519-661-3447

Fax: 519-661-3959

Mobile: 250-858-0023

mvalente@ivey.uwo.ca

skype: michael.valente

Check out my blog at www.valentemike.blogspot.com