Call for Papers: The Contribution of Fiction to Organizational Ethics.
Michael Schwartz and Howard Harris for Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations http://www.emeraldinsight.com/products/books/series.htm?id=1529-2096
Alasdair MacIntyre described humans as storytelling animals. Stories are essential to any organization. They help organizations define who they are, what they do, and how they do it. Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, in explaining their well-known search for excellence in leading organizations, wrote how they "were struck by the dominant use of story, slogan, and legend as people tried to explain the characteristics of their own great institutions" and how those "convey(ed) the organization's shared values, or culture". Indeed there is the distinct possibility of those inherited stories, slogans and legends creating ethical organizations.
Our forthcoming issue of Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations is interested in exactly that: the contribution of fiction to the organization. We admittedly use the word fiction with caution. The bestselling novelist, Sebastian Faulks, has acknowledged that "the separation between fact and fiction is not as clear-cut as purists, including me, would like it to be". And so what we term fiction might in certain cases not be completely fictitious.
Fiction incorporates not only literature but movies, television, poetry and plays. Arguably it incorporates other aspects too such as corporate logos and brand names. Plato and Aristotle disputed the merits of such fiction. Indeed, whilst Aristotle encouraged it, Plato saw it as dangerous. Friedrich Nietzsche who has been described, perhaps unfairly, as not a philosopher but a writer described fiction as a lie which enabled us to see the truth. Nina Rosenstand argued that such fiction can "be used to question moral rules and to examine morally ambiguous situations". In this issue we therefore seek contributions that show how fiction has questioned the moral rules, and examined such situations, and in doing so how it has contributed to our understanding of organizational ethics.
Iris Murdoch successfully combined the role of novelist and philosopher. Regarding her novels Alasdair MacIntyre wrote that "Iris Murdoch's novels are philosophy: but they are philosophy which casts doubt on all philosophy, including her own". Arguably much the same could be said regarding other fiction. Peter and Renata Singer have argued that "in telling stories, and in writing novels, plays, short stories, and poems, the authors and narrators raise moral questions and suggest possible ways of answering them". In our forthcoming issue we are interested in papers which explore that very dimension. We are interested in the power of fiction to both raise questions regarding organizations and also to answer them.
Whilst Nina Rosenstand contrasts analytic philosophy with narrative philosophy, she has described the "increasing rapprochement between literature and philosophy". In doing so Rosenstand mentions both Martha Nussbaum and John Steinbeck. The former she argues is a philosopher who sees the value of fiction. The latter is a novelist who "fuses literature and ethics". Such a fusing Alex Mero has described as "philofiction" which "appeals to the intellect and imagination simultaneously" and is, he explains, how we experience life.
The above should serve as some indication of how broad we believe the field is. We welcome for submission a wide range of contributions which explore fiction in its various forms and its power to influence the ethics of those in the organization and hence the organization itself.
Please submit completed papers which conform with the author guidelines http://www.emeraldinsight.com/products/ebookseries/author_guidelines.htm by email to Michael Schwartz at michael.schwartz@rmit.edu.au before the 13th of December 2013. All papers will be double blind reviewed.
If you have any enquiries please do not hesitate to contact Michael Schwartz (michael.schwartz@rmit.edu.au) or Howard Harris (howard.harris@unisa.edu.au).
Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations is included in Scopus.
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Howard Harris, PhD Acting Head of School, School of Management, UniSA Business School
e: howard.harris@unisa.edu.au p: +61 8 8302 9309 UniSA Business School is EQUIS accredited
University of South Australia www.unisa.edu.au/business/management/ CRICOS Provider00121B