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Conversations about the future of organization studies

Invitation to the first seminar on Conversations about the future of organization studies
OBS The seminar is closed for further registrations

Invited external academic speakers:

Mary Jo Hatch, Professor Emeritus at University of Virginia and adjunct professor CBS
Eero Vaara, Chairman of European Group for Organization Studies (EGOS) and Professor at Hanken School of Economics, Management and Organization, Helsinki
Invited practitioner: Eva Zeuthen, Director, Gentofte hospital
IOA commentator: Signe Vikkelsø, Associate Professor, IOA
Organization studies, at least in its traditional form, seems to be losing terrain in business schools and universities.While it may still be going fairly strong in Scandinavia, it seems to be regressing in other parts of Europe and in the U.S.
Although the Academy of Management and EGOS attract continually growing memberships, it is increasingly questioned whether there is, and whether there should be, a field worthy the name Organization Studies.
Whereas OS exhibits a rich past of close links both with social science and the world of practice, we fear that we might be witnessing a field in a state of fragmentation and/or a field that is closing in on itself. One sign is the virtual absence of practitioners at the Academy of Management Conference. Another sign is the lack of social scientists outside the management field at the EGOS conference.
Is OS becoming outdated, empirically irrelevant, or losing its scholarly touch? Is it losing out to other fields? Is there hope of renewal, and if so, in what form? What is happening to the field, what can we as scholars do to save it, or should we do anything to save it?
We invite scholars and practitioners to a series of seminars hosted by the Department of Organization, to reflect on the past, the present and possible futures of organization studies.
We suggest that conversations might focus on – but not limited to – questions such as:
» What is to happen to the analytical life-blood of OS, once provided by theories at university departments?
» Do we have, should we have, a voice in social science and in public debate?
» Should we rethink the empirical basis of OS, and with it, the very definitions that we apply to organizations?
» Should we accept that OS is no longer an approach in itself, but a conglomerate of thematic studies, such as HRM, leadership, mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing, entrepreneurship, corporate
governance, and ethics?
» Is OS to be condemned to stay within the walls of business schools, if so, in which form?
» Does it have a future in corporate in-house programmes, Bachelors, MBA, M.Sc programmes?
» Is OS to be excluded from sociology and social anthropology departments at universities?
Arranged by Department of Organization

Tid: 15.03 9.00 -12.00


Sted: Copenhagen Business School
Kilen, Kilevej 14A
2000 Frederiksberg


Lokale: K150




Sidst opdateret af Dorrit Majlund 25.02.2010