2016 BPS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS
CALL FOR PROPOSALS REMINDER AND FINAL INSTRUCTIONS
Assistant Program Chair: Xavier Martin, Tilburg University
The Business Policy and Strategy (BPS) Division invites submissions of creative proposals for PDW sessions for the 2016 AOM Conference in Anaheim, CA. Our continuing goal is to offer PDWs that are as innovative, diverse, and interactive as possible. The BPS Division continues to value rigorous and insightful research on all topics within its domain. PDW topics could include emerging theoretical and phenomenological developments, connections between strategic management and other fields and disciplines, cutting edge methods, and paper development sessions, just to name a few. In addition, the BPS Division recognizes the variety and sometimes-increasing importance of other academic tasks its members undertake, and thus welcomes submissions for PDWs that address teaching (topics and methods), applied research and links to practice, and other tasks such as service, outreach and fundraising/grant seeking, provided the PDWs clearly address strategic management questions and the needs of BPS members.
The preconference portion of the conference offers opportunities to experiment with new session formats and ideas that might not fit easily within the confines of the regular conference program. For instance, session formats might include roundtable discussions, methods workshops, town hall meetings, debates, exercises and 'games' involving participants, technology demonstrations, breakout group sessions, research incubators, meetings with relevant non-academic speakers, and even off-site events. PDWs may involve participants in preparation and follow-up extending beyond the in-conference PDW program timeframe, where justified. Sessions with standard paper presentations are more appropriate for traditional symposia.
PDWs are specifically intended for professional development. Accordingly, organizers should explain in their proposals how they will foster interaction and personal development among participants, and what audience they will aim to attract. Befitting this interactive component, PDWs are normally at least two hours long, though sessions may be as short as 1.5 hours if specifically justified by the organizers or as required to accommodate enough quality submissions in the program.
PDW proposals that are of interest to other divisions besides the BPS division are encouraged, although this is not a requirement for acceptance. Please indicate in the submission document what divisions and interest groups may be suitable to be invited by the Assistant Program Chair as potential co-sponsors. We also welcome proposals that address the overall AOM 2016 conference theme, "Making Organizations Meaningful" (please see the conference website for additional details). Among other things, this theme encourages BPS members to reflect on whether, when and in what ways goals other than "economic value" may be pursued, and with what consequences (expected and unexpected).
PDW proposals may be submitted online at
http://aom.org/annualmeeting/submission/. The deadline for submissions is January 12, 2016, at 5PM ET (NY Time). The PDW program runs from 8 am Friday through 8 pm Saturday (August 5-6, 2016). All named PDW participants must commit to participation in advance. All proposals require a statement indicating that all named 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 during the preconference from Friday to Saturday, regardless of whether the sessions are held on-site or off-site." Space and time for PDWs is limited, and we cannot guarantee acceptance of all proposals, yet our goal is to have as large and broad a representation of the BPS membership as possible.
Finalized submissions should include
- a title page including the submission number, the title of the workshop, and mention of BPS as the primary sponsor and of any other divisions that may be interested in co-sponsoring the PDW,
- a three-five page overview of the workshop,
- an explanation of why the workshop would be of interest to BPS members and any other sponsor(s),
- a description of the workshop's format, which should make clear how the PDW will serve participants' professional development (as a rule of thumb, in the workshop's time allocation rountables or other components whereby participants are actively involved should be prioritized over panelist presentations and the like).
Please feel free to contact Xavier Martin, Assistant Program chair, at
BPSdivision@tilburguniversity.edu for questions about possible BPS PDWs.