Professional Development Workshops (PDWs) are a platform for colleagues to share knowledge and expertise and foster the professional development of workshop participants. It is an opportunity to develop innovative and creative workshops that will benefit Academy members.
The mission of the Asia Academy is to assume a global leadership position in the advancement of management theory, research and education of relevance to Asia. It is a global organization that welcomes both researchers and managers who are interested in management issues relevant to Asia.
The 2013 Academy of Management annual meeting is of great interest to us as it focuses on the theme: Capitalism in Question. Many countries in Asia have adapted certain facets of a capitalist economy: such as market competition, wage employment and limited government intervention, albeit in their own different ways. Countries like South Korea, India, China, Hong Kong and Thailand have each utilized divergent combinations of government intervention, firm ownership, market competition and labor employment in propelling the industrial development in their countries. As management scholars from all over the world seek solutions on how to improve capitalism, the economic successes and failures from the varieties of Asian capitalism may provide new avenues for exploring better capitalism. Below we suggest some interesting issues related to the broad theme of the conference for symposia and PDWs:
§ What is informal economy and how it contributes to economic activities in Asian countries? Informal economy manifests itself in several forms such as micro finance institutions, social entrepreneurship, micro entrepreneurship, informal management style in formal organizations etc. Asian context could be a useful laboratory to advance our understanding of these issues pertaining to informal economy.
§ How do we apply traditional social science and management theories to understand informal economy in Asian countries? How can we use the Asian context to enrich our existing theories or develop new ones?
§ What are different types of organizational forms that we observe in Asian countries? How are these organizational forms impacted by informal and formal institutions prevailing in Asian countries?
§ What are the similarities and differences in the strategies and management styles of Asian firms compared to firms in the rest of world? What are some of the unique management practices followed by Asian firms that could be of relevance to firms globally?
§ What are the pathways of influence used by business to influence government today? How do they differ across economic systems? What social-structural and psychological factors encourage some business leaders to act in a more statesman-like, far-sighted manner while others focus only on their own parochial interests?
§ The legal form of the corporation and the legal standing of employees vary considerably over time and across economic systems. What accounts for these differences? What new trends are we seeing?
§ In a growing number of industries, firms are creating mechanisms for private self-regulation. Where has this been effective? What are its limits? What is the relationship between public and private regulation?
§ What are the context specific factors that allow informal economy to contribute to the economic growth of some countries? How do actors involved in informal economy become more formalized over time?
§ How do MNCs make use of the informal economy to effectively compete in Asian countries?
§ What would be appropriate research methodologies and data sources to conduct research on Asian firms?
The issues listed above are only exemplary. We encourage academy members to be creative, adventure beyond these frames, and propose new ideas and questions that reflect the theme of the conference and are of relevance to Asian management. Such activities could include:
1. Panel sessions
2. Developmental workshops for junior faculty and doctoral students
3. Round table discussions on specific research areas/topics
4. Feedback on preliminary research ideas by experienced journal reviewers
5. Any other creative forms of scholarly activities
Any proposals for sessions organized in collaboration with other divisions, associated or affiliated societies of the Academy of Management will be highly appreciated.
The deadline for proposal submissions is January 15, 2013 5PM EST. Please submit your proposal through the online submission system, http://submissions.aomonline.org/2013. You are welcome to connect with Roberto Galang (email: rgalang@ateneo.edu ) for initial inquiries and coordination before submitting your final proposal.