PDW Co-chairs: Moses Acquaah, University of North Carolina at Greensboro (acquaah.afam@gmail.com) and Anastacia Mamabolo, Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria (mamaboloa@gibs.co.za)
2022 Affiliate PDW Program: Call for Submissions
The African Academy of Management (AFAM) invites submissions for Professional Development Workshops (PDW’s) at the 2022 Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, USA.
The workshops will take place any day during the Annual Meeting, Friday, 5 th August – Tuesday, 9 th August 2022.
We encourage members of all Academy divisions, interest groups, and theme committees to submit PDW proposals that explore the African dimensions of management theory and practice and integrate the theme of “Creating a Better World Together”. We look forward to proposals that advance knowledge and scholarship in the theory and practice of management among African scholars and/or academics interested in management and organization issues in Africa.
As the Program Chair for AOM 2022 states, “many organizations and the world’s social structures have been vastly challenged, and, in some cases devastated, by the COVID-19 global pandemic and the broad social unrest of the last couple of years. The resulting uncertainty has stunned and shaken us all. Governments became polarized as millions of people lost their lives during the COVID 19 pandemic while riots over social inequity swept the world. The events that have shaken the world make it clear that if it affects one of us, it affects all of us. While governments have played a key role in responding to these world events, business organizations have been important in leading the world from darkness to better days.”
We invite PDW proposals that broaden our sight on “Creating a Better World Together”, especially with the rise of uncertainty within organizations, institutions, and governments in the African context. Will artificial intelligence render management obsolete? When facing an unanticipated disruption, how much of a manager’s response could lead to creating a better world for Africans and the rest of the world together? How will the Covid 19 pandemic change the role of managers and leaders in African businesses and organizations? What does the future hold for African businesses and organizations? What technologies and methodologies will help us better understand managerial issues to leads to the creation of a better world for Africans? How can businesses and organizations in Africa engender sustainable practices by helping to solve the problems of environmental degradation, inequality, and poverty. How should businesses and organizations manage employees in a post Covid 19 pandemic environment in Africa?
These and other questions will receive support and sponsorship from AFAM. We find this year's theme to be a particularly rich one for a focus on pedagogy, practice, and research agendas in the African context. PDW proposals focused on bringing together scholars representing different African countries, industries and contexts are highly encouraged.
We are particularly seeking interactive and innovative PDW proposals that support AFAM's primary role of helping the Academy "perform and support educational activities that contribute to intellectual and operational leadership in the field of management within the African context." defined broadly to include "all of Africa and individuals of African descent in the Diaspora - i.e., Caribbean, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, Middle East, and North America"- and we invite proposals that answer questions such as these:
- To what extent is there a need to create future institutions, relationships, systems, and processes in Africa that are different from the past?
- What capabilities and skills will businesses, organizations, and managers in Africa need in managing the natural and human resources on the continent in the future?
- How can businesses, organizations, managers, and stakeholders deal with prevailing uncertainties in the global economy while responding to predictable situations that might be ongoing in the continent?
- How can businesses, organizations, managers, and stakeholders develop and enhance capabilities to anticipate and respond pandemics, and new challenges in Africa?
- How can businesses and organizations, and governments in Africa work closely together to deal with the continents’ challenges in the future?
- How can businesses and organizations operating on the continent be sustainable in social, environmental, and economic terms?
- How can managers deal with the impact of COVID-19 on their organizations in the future?
The goals for our PDWs include:
- Helping Academy members become exposed or provide exposure to scholarship in the African context
- Assisting Academy members in their research activities to facilitate the inclusion of research and comparative studies on Africa/African Diaspora
- Encouraging and facilitating an understanding of African management practices and cultural perspectives as they apply to management scholarship
A PDW is a platform for colleagues to share knowledge and expertise and foster the development of workshop participants. Coordinated by the Academy's many divisions, interest groups, affiliated societies and theme committees, PDW sessions are different from regular academy sessions in that they can have a longer time frame and can take many forms (workshops, interactive symposia, tutorials, breakout sessions, debates, case studies, round tables, research incubators, etc.).
All proposals require a statement indicating that all PDW participants have consented to participate in the PDW. The AOM’s “Rule of Three” for the PDW program is that “no one may submit or be associated with more than 3 PDW submissions or appear in more than 3 PDW sessions.
Proposals that violate these rules may be rejected. Space and time allotted for PDW sessions is limited; we cannot guarantee acceptance of all proposals.
Acceptance of proposals for AFAM PDWs will be based on (a) relevance to the interests of AFAM's membership; (b) novelty and creativity; and (c) plans for creating an interactive and engaging session. We further welcome proposals that are of interest to members of other AOM divisions (e.g., ENT, HR, IM, STR, OT, OB, PNP, etc.) although that is not a requirement for acceptance. Please indicate in the submission document what divisions and interest groups may be suitable as potential co-sponsors.
The Academy and AFAM, strongly encourages PDWs that create a common place between practitioners and academics, between members of different divisions, and scholarly dialogue that is inclusive of scholars based in Africa and/or those that reside outside of the USA, Canada, and Europe.
The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, 11 th January 2022 at 17:00 (5pm) ET (NY Time)
All submissions must be made online via the AOM submissions system. If you have any questions regarding the PDW sessions or you would like to discuss your PDW idea prior to submission, please contact the AFAM PDW Co-Chairs, Moses Acquaah, acquaah.afam@gmail.com or Anastacia Mamabolo, mamaboloa@gibs.co.za at your earliest convenience, but preferably no later than January 4th, 2022. We look forward to receiving your proposal.
Moses Acquaah
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Anastacia Mamabolo
University of Pretoria
PDW Co-Chairs
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