CALL FOR PAPERS
The Role of the Contemplative in Workplace Organization: Exploring Spiritualities,
Theologies, Philosophies, and Ethics
CMS6 Stream
The Sixth International Critical Management Conference
July 13-15, 2009
Warwick Business School,
The University of Warwick, UK
Stream Convenors
Peter Case
UWE Bristol Business School
peter.case@uwe.ac.uk
Matthew Eriksen
Providence College
mattheweriksen@hotmail.com
Albert J. Mills
Saint Mary’s University
albert.mills@smu.ca
Angela Hope (Lead Convenor)
St. Mary’s University
angela.hope@smu.ca
Stream Description:
This stream explores the interface between the academic disciplines of Philosophy,
Theology/Religious Studies and the discipline of Critical Management Studies. Theistic
or atheist, practicing or ‘not practicing,’ it is difficult for many organizers and
organizations (critical or not) in the West to remain uninfluenced by a theological cultural
conditioning rooted in classical interpretations of Judeo Christian narratives (Hope,
2007). Should these narratives be contained? Should they be re-interpreted? Should they
be ignored altogether and room made for other religious and spiritual influences and
practices?
The exploration of this linkage between the organization and the ‘contemplative’ is, we
suggest, foundational to understanding the nature of contemporary organization. The
discourse on spirituality is often met with hesitation and skepticism in Critical
Management Studies for various reasons but, perhaps, primarily because of its tendency
to be complicit in the disciplining of bodies and minds in work organizations. Might it be
possible, however, to develop a critical spirituality which resists and transforms
instrumental and oppressive practices in work organizations?
In the dominant capitalist discourse and mainstream management theorizing, spirituality
has been represented as one which “treats spirituality in ahistorical and apolitical terms as
yet another neutral resource to be harnessed and husbanded by the erstwhile custodians of
organizational performance” (Case, 2008). Despite the burgeoning writing on spirituality
in the field of organization studies (OS), explorations of the relationship between the
organization of work, religion and spiritual life is hardly new to philosophy and social
science. Indeed, analysis of this nexus of relationships is foundational to the social
theorizing of Feuerbach, Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Nietzsche and Freud. It is also present,
either explicitly or implicitly, in theories of post-modern social organization, such as
propounded by Bauman, Beck, Foucault, Lyotard, and Giddens. However, much of what
passes as original contributions to the debate on spirituality in OS – with some notable
exceptions - appears to be written in blind ignorance of this legacy. Mainstream writing
on workplace spirituality also often ignores the impact of spiritual thinkers like Plato,
Aristotle, and Anselm on Western culture and their implicit influence in shaping
contemporary organizations. In short, much of the contemporary literature on spirituality
is narrowly utilitarian and instrumental in its intent, often concerned directly to
commodify spirituality. Bell and Taylor (2003), Case and Gosling (2007), Casey (2002),
Carrette and King (2005) and Roberts (2001) have all raised concerns about this
tendency and attempted to account for the instrumental rediscovery of organizational
spirituality through the invocation of relevant philosophy and social theory. Such writing
serves as a useful starting point for the kind of constructive critique that we hope to
pursue in this stream.
Writing in the aftermath of Nietzsche’s (in)famous ‘God is dead’ assertion, philosophers
and theologians have embarked on a journey to address the oppressive and instrumental
facets of Christian grandnarratives, tradition, and the analgesic aspect of belief. Thus, the
‘discourse on theology’ has become plural and should - in a postpositivist context - now
be understood as comprising theologies and spiritualities which embrace multiple
perspectives and interpretations drawn from of a variety of religious traditions.
Organization and management scholars have, arguably, an important role to play in
relation to this debate. Should theological influences and other spiritual practices be
resisted at all costs when it comes to businesses and organizations? Should the discourse
on spirituality be further expanded away from the dominating position of modern theory
using various perspectives rooted in poststructuralism, postpositivism, postcolonialism,
and critical theory? And if the latter question is answered in the affirmative, then what
directions might postpositivist spirituality take within organization studies?
This stream invites papers which explore but are not limited to the following areas:

Atheistic and agnostic philosophies and organizations: pursuing whether or not
spiritualities have a place within management thought and practice.

How the insights of Judeo-Christian Postmodern theologies and Liberation
theologies - Black Liberation Theology, Feminist/Womanist Theology, Mujerista
Theology, Queer theology - can inform and influence management and
organization.

The role of traditional religious ethics – e.g, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu,
Buddhist - in work organizations.

Existentialism and organizing: philosophical explorations which link the thoughts
of Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Sartre and other existentialist thinkers to contemporary
organizational ethics.

Platonic, Aristotelian and other metaphysical interpretations of reality and their
relevance to contemporary organization.

‘Care of the self’ – critical reinterpretations of Classical scholarship and their
implications for contemporary organizational ethics and spirituality (following
Hadot and Foucault).

The nexus of culture, identity, and power in the spiritual organization.

Spiritual epistemologies and ontologies: exploring how the ‘spiritual’ subverts,
resists and/or privileges certain forms of knowledge and interpretations of reality.

‘Unchurched spiritualities’: examining the contemporary trend of being ‘spiritual
but not religious’ in work organizations.

Critical conceptions of suffering, evil, sin and redemption in relation to
management and organizational practices.

‘God-talk’: why is this so unsettling within the Critical Management Studies
community? Exploring critical reflexivity within CMS.

Militarism, war, soldiering, and its linkage with theological narratives and
traditions
KEY DEADLINES:
Submission of abstracts (maximum 1000 words, A4 paper, single spaced, 12 point font)
to Angela Hope at angela.hope@smu.ca by - 1st November 2008.
Full papers to be submitted - 1st May 2009.
About the convenors:
Peter Case: currently Professor of Organization Studies, Bristol Business School,
University of the West of England, Peter served as chairperson of the Standing
Conference on Organizational Symbolism from 2002-7 and is general co-editor of
Culture & Organization. He is also a member of the editorial boards of Leadership and
the Leadership & Organizational Development Journal. Peter has held visiting
scholarships at Helsinki School of Economics and the Royal Institute of Technology of
Stockholm. His research interests encompass organizational ethics, organization theory
and multicultural aspects of management development. Recent publications include The
Speed of Organization (with S. Lilley and T. Owens, 2006: CBS & Liber) and John
Adair: the Fundamentals of Leadership (with J. Gosling and M. Witzel, 2007: Palgrave).
Matthew Eriksen: teaches leadership and organizational behavior at Providence College.
Previously, he held positions at the University of Tampa and U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
He headed the Leadership Institute at the Transportation Security Administration and
worked for Ford Motor Company. His research interests lie in the areas of leadership
development, gender and leadership, leadership and spirituality, diversity, organizational
change, and pedagogy.
Albert J. Mills is Professor of Management and Director of the PhD in Management at
the Sobey School of Business, at Saint Mary’s University (Halifax, Nova Scotia,
Canada). He is the incoming co-Chair of the CMS Division of the Academy of
Management and co-convened the Gender and Management Stream at the first three
CMS conferences in the UK. He is the author of twenty books and numerous articles that
reflect his broad interest in human liberation. His latest book – Sex, Strategy and the
Stratosphere (London: Routledge, 2006) – explores the impact of organizational culture
on gender and discrimination.
Angela Hope: received her Masters in Theological Studies from Boston University
School of Theology. She is a PhD student at St. Mary’s University Sobey School of
Business in Halifax, Canada. She is a captain in the US Army Reserve. Her interests are
in exploring theological grandnarratives in organizations, specifically the military,
linking the discourse on feminist theology with organization studies, and the role of
redemption, suffering, and violations in work organizations.
References:
Bell, E. and Taylor, S. (2003). The Elevation of Work: Pastoral Power and the New Age
Work Ethic, Organization, 10(2), pp.329-349.
Carrette, J. and King, R. (2005). Selling Spirituality: the silent takeover of religion,
London: Routledge.
Case, P. (2008). The spiritual organization: Critical reflections on the instrumentality of
workplace spirituality discourse. Paper presented at ‘Organizations and Belief Systems’
conference, University of Tampa, 17-19 March 2008.
Case, P. and Gosling, J. (2007). Wisdom of the Moment: Premodern Perspectives on
Organizational Action, Social Epistemology, 21(2-3), pp.87-111.
Casey, C. (2002). Critical Analysis of Organizations: Theory, Practice and
Revitalization, London: Sage.
Hope, A. (2007). Restructuring god ideologies in work spaces: A critical catholic
perspective, Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion, 4(4), pp.505-520.
Roberts, R.H. (2001) Religion, Theology and the Human Sciences, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.