Message from the EAM President

Eric Kessler

Hello and a happy 2006 to all my EAM colleagues.  I write this note from sabbatical which has allowed me to get reacquainted with many research projects, push forward on others, and of course focus even more on EAM matters.  The following is an update on some recent developments.

The Eastern Academy of Management Membership and PR initiative has been launched.  Letters from me were sent to every AOM member in the northeast United States, and letters from AOM President Tom Cummings were sent to every business school dean in the same area.  This may have contributed to the impressive submission rate for the conference and surely helped spread the word about our organization and activities.

The Eastern Academy of Management White Paper Series initiative has been launched and it is my pleasure to announce the participants for the inaugural volume: (1) Leveraging Diversity in Organizations – Alison Konrad.  Alison is an EAM Fellow and Past President, Editor of Group and Organization Management, former chair of the Gender and Diversity Division of the AOM, and editor of the recently published “Cases in Gender and Diversity in Organizations.”   (2) Empowered Leadership in Organizations – Gary Yukl and Wendy Becker.  Gary has been involved in the EAM over a long period of time and is the author of many books on the subject, including the highly regarded “Leadership in Organizations” now in its fifth edition; Wendy is an expert in human resource management and high performance work systems.  (3) Developing and Applying Emotional Intelligence in Organizations – James Bailey, Craig Seal, and Richard Boyatzis.  James is coordinator of the conference’s last several keynote panels, editor of the Academy of Management Learning and Education, and co-editor of the forthcoming “International Encyclopedia of Organizational Studies;” Craig is a regular attendee and fast-rising scholar; Richard is one of the world’s most renown experts on EI and the author of several books, including the recent best seller “Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting to Others through Mindfulness, Hope and Compassion.”  These three papers will be published in a December 2006 special issue of Organization Management Journal as well as circulated among several practitioner outlets and associations.  Shanthi and Ed have agreed to maintain this project in their presidencies so hopefully the EAM White Paper Series will have a continuing opportunity to make a real difference in putting management theory to practice.

The Conference Site Selection initiative to extend the planning cycle is looking very promising.  The board has just voted to approve the 2007 conference site in New Brunswick NJ, and we are working toward a May announcement on the 2008 site.  Some other matters: I had the opportunity to participate in this year’s program meeting and the 2006 conference agenda looks to be very impressive – congratulations to all who have had their work accepted.  Fundraising and arrangements matters are also on track to support a successful meeting in Saratoga.  The revised job manual is moving forward and much is being done in committee, including efforts to further advance our use of technology.   The ethics committee has developed a draft policy statement that we will discuss at our May conference.  In addition, we are moving toward finally slaying the dragon of election improvement to increase member representation in the election of our officers.  This has been talked about every year but nothing seems to change.  Hopefully a plan will be presented at the Saturday business meeting so stay tuned.  We are also looking at potential partner organizations, such as in the field of information technology and human resources management, whose participation in our annual conference might be mutually beneficial.  Any good ideas…let me know.

I look forward to seeing you in a few months, if not sooner.