9th Equality, Diversity and Inclusion International Conference (EDI)

22 - 24 June 2016, University of Cyprus, Cyprus

Conference theme:

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Human Rights in Times of Austerity

Stream Title:

Business management practices for inclusive and sustainable development

Stream Organisers:

Dr Susan van Schie, (PhD) Postdoctoral Fellow in Organisational Psychology, School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Dr Ines Meyer, (PhD) Associate Professor of Organisational Psychology, School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Stream Outline:

The beginning of January 2016 marked the launch of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whichguide the development agenda for countries across the globe until 2030 (for an overview see its predecessors, the Millennium Development Goals, the SDGsspecifically incorporate work as a vehicle to end poverty: The eighthSDG seeks to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all. Amongst others, it aims to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for men and women as well as people with disabilities, equal pay for equal value work and to reduce the proportion of young people not in education, training or employment. While these issues are commonly addressed from an economic perspective, business management knowledge and practice have the potential to contribute novel solutions to the development agenda – not only in relation to SDG 8, but to the SDGs at large. Knowledge about diversity and change management, for example, may inform interventions which seek to integrate refugees into the local environment, create employment and contribute to economic prosperity. Organisational behaviour knowledge can improve the sustainability of healthcare as Vallières and McAuliffe (2015) showed in a mother and child health programme in Sierra Leone. And an in-depth understanding of the psychological barriers and resources which hinder or assist unemployed individuals in maintaining job search behaviour may assist government agencies in their efforts to reduce unemployment (Cyster, 2016). Governments are increasingly realising the role business principles can play in enhancing the welfare of society. This, in turn, allows academics and practitioners in the management sciences to broaden their scope from interventions with organisational reach to those at societal level. The Social and Behavioral Sciences Team in the United States (US), for example, has been initiated by the US Government. Its mandate isto improve Federal policies and programmes through the findings and methods of social and behavioural sciences;organisational psychologists serve on this team. Equally so, the International Labor Organisation has taken an interest in work undertaken by organisational psychologist Stuart Carr and colleagues. His team has been able to identify a living wage threshold which is not just based on economic factors, but considers various aspects of psychological wellbeing as additional aspects(Carr, Parker, Arrowsmith, & Watters, in press).

Of course, business itself is a key provider of jobs, enterprise development, and of human services. It in itself can thus play a role in promoting the development agenda,for example, through shiftingits primary focus on profits- while also considering social and environmental sustainability -to social or environmental sustainability becoming the main drivers. Here, too, management research and practice can contribute solutions: Dan Price, CEO of Gravity, is alleged to have determined 70,000 USD as the annual salary amount to be paid to all of his employees based on Kahneman and Deaton’s (2012) research (Cohen, 2015). In their paper Kahnemann and Deaton demonstrated that emotional wellbeing was positively related to salary increases, but only up to an annual salary of approximately 75,000USD.

Possible themes to include:

For this stream we invite conceptual and empirical papers which provide (novel) ideas of how business management and practice can be applied to promote equal and just societies, either by illustrating how it assists organisations working towards sustainable development or how it could inform broader policy.

Questions to consider for this stream are:

  • What are examples of how sustainable development has benefited from the application of rigorous management knowledge and practice?
  • In which way can management practice guide policy decisions?
  • How can management practices designed for a business environment be used to inform novel ways of working which promote equality and inclusion?
  • How can business needs be aligned with decent work?
  • How can psychological processes foster, or counteract, poverty traps?
  • What organisational behavioural competencies are required to foster inclusive business?
  • What kind of management practices enable the up-scaling of micro enterprises to enable job creation and shared prosperity?

These questions serve as examples, but we also invite related research addressing different questions.

Important dates:

  • Abstract/Developmental/full paper submission: March 31, 2016 on
  • Response to authors (acceptance / rejection): April 30, 2016.
  • Deadline for full papers and best paper nominations and submission of best papers to the relevant associated journal (as agreed by submitter): May 30, 2016.

References

Carr, S.C., Parker, J. Arrowsmith, J. & Watters, P.A. (in press). The living wage: Theoretical integration and an applied research agenda. International Labour Review.

Cohen, P. (2015, April 13). One company’s new minimum wage: $70,000 a year. The New York Times. Retrieved from

Cyster, C. (2016). Job search intensity among the unemployed: What incremental value do psycho-social factors have over structural factors?(Unpublished Masters Dissertation). University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Kahneman, D., & Deaton, A. (2010). High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 107, 16489- 16493.

Vallières, F. & McAuliffe, E. (2015). Reaching MDGs 4 and 5: The Application of Organizational Psychology to Maternal and Child Health Programme Sustainability in Sierra Leone. In I. McWha-Herrmann, D.C. Maynard & M. O'Neill Barry (Eds.), Humanitarian work psychology and the millennium development goals (pp. 15-27). London: Routledge.