Diary

Strategic Direction

ISSN: 0258-0543

Article publication date: 26 June 2007

34

Citation

(2007), "Diary", Strategic Direction, Vol. 23 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/sd.2007.05623hac.001

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Diary

Philadelphia, USA, 3-8 August 2007Conference Organiser: Academy of Management.

About the Organiser: The Academy of Management (the Academy; AOM) is a leading professional association for scholars dedicated to creating and disseminating knowledge about management and organizations.

This year’s theme builds upon last year’s theme linking management and the public concern, and is a logical extension of the new vision for management called for during the Honolulu conference.

There are many ways to evaluate how well a firm is doing. Many of these are concerned (out of necessity) with the bottom line, focusing on stock prices and financial returns. But developments in other areas, such as the balanced scorecard, make it clear that there are multiple ways in which success can be gauged. Furthermore, any measure of success or performance must suffer from some degree of criterion deficiency, so that there are other indicators of performance that could be just as useful.

One such indication of performance is the extent to which a firm improves the lives of its members and its stakeholders. Some have referred to this as Social Entrepreneurship but, whatever the name used, it represents the recognition that there is more to corporate success than the financial bottom line. More importantly, there is no reason to believe that a firm which spends it energies trying to improve the world around it, will necessarily suffer for those efforts. In fact, there is evidence that firms which “do good” are often the same firms that “do well”. Furthermore, many of the “best practices” our colleagues from all parts of the Academy have suggested can lead to both financial success and social success. Thus there would seem to be micro, macro and international research topics that are consistent with these ideas.

Contact: Angelo DeNisi, programme chair, Tel: 504-865-5407; Fax: 504-865-5491; Web site: meeting.aomonline.org/2007/ index.php?option= com_frontpage &Itemid=1

 

International Conference on “Leadership in a Changing Landscape”

Subang, Malaysia, 7 to 8 August 2007(organized by: Faculty of Business Administration, UNITAR, Malaysia)

The business landscape is changing. Economic, political and complex social transformations are demanding change from the business leaders at a faster rate than ever before. The changing cultural and ethnic makeup of our societies and the changing political/social environment in the context of the new globalize economy are undeniable factors that leaders need to address today. The business world long characterized by stability, autocracy, and strictly bounded processes would have to become more change embracing in this changing landscape, which would require the development of nimble, adaptable leaders up and down the company hierarchies.

The challenges facing organizations are becoming increasingly complex. Increased complexity, contextual unfamiliarity, and knowledge intensity in firms today have put business firms in a state of confusion. Leadership is considered as a guiding star on horizon that helps people master these challenges. Leaders consider these challenges to be within their problem solving expertise. But what kind of leadership is necessary in this age? How will our leadership needs to be different in the future? Is the good leader of the past still effective today? What does the organization need leadership for? Who needs it? Do current leaders have too much power or too little? What is obstructing the exercise of leadership? Which stakeholders are benefiting from leadership, and who is missing out? Is the current leadership culture serving the business well? What are the various ways we can improve?

This conference aims at addressing some of the issues mentioned above.

Contact: Prof. Dr Kamal K. Jain, e-mail: drjain@unitar.edu.my Tel: 0063-78092118 or 0063-78092071; Fax: 0063-78801744; Web site: www.unitar.edu.my/fba_conf/index.htm

Related articles