Marie HOLM, PhD

In contrast to the traditional mindset (TMS)—the conscious awareness, controlled mental
processes, and analytical-logical manipulation of symbols—an alternative mindset (AMS) is viewed as the
pre-conscious mental processes (i.e. associative, imaginative, intuitive) and holistic thinking. Since Plato,
the West has considered TMS as the hallmark of intelligence and simply of any cognition. Yet, in recent
decades various research explored complementary and/or alternative to analytical-logical cognition
mental. Alternative mindsets were primarily explored for their individual benefits, while our research
focuses on organisational benefits.
To do this, we used a bi-weekly meditative practice to induce an AMS in organisational actors.
We hypothesized that following the shift from TMS to AMS, organisational actors will benefit from
enhanced creative production and well-being. Empirical experiments were conducted with 144 selfselected participants within three organisations, measuring well-being and creativity, consisting of eight
20 minute mindfulness meditation sessions, with a “placebo” relaxation technique for control groups.
Statistical analysis showed significant increase in well-being and creativity for experimental
compared to control groups as of six sessions. As AMS organisational benefits span from enhanced wellbeing and creative production, as our experiments show, to potentially higher employee engagement,
health and relaxation, AMS could potentially aid in minimizing occupational stress.

Citation
Holm, M. (2018), "Learning to Live Well Together: Case Studies in Interfaith Diversity by Wilson T. and Ravat R.", The Learning Organization, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp. 366-368. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-07-2018-123

Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

Modern society presents challenges on how to constructively engage with diversity, of which the world’s religions and ethical convictions are integral. Wilson and Ravat’s book Learning to Live Well Together: Case Studies in Interfaith Diversity provides guidance on approaches towards improving interfaith relationships and practical examples. In so doing, it contributes to literature on learning organisations, bringing valuable insights from a contextual perspective, supporting a process towards a vision, as a continual aspiration, as described by Örtenblad (2013, pp. 7-8). The case studies bring to life the Fiol and O’Connor’s (2007, p. 82) theorising of leadership interventions to incite “behavioral processes of discarding the old and experimenting with the new” in that Wilson and Ravat’s (2007) book exemplify the need for “progressive refocus on positive possibilities and engaging people in activities to explore them”.

As ecological concerns become pressing, attempts to address these remain limited to enforcing laws, while alternative ways of encouraging workplace pro-environmental behaviors (WPEBs), such as cultivating mindfulness, remain unexplored. Informed by theories of PEBs from OB-IO literature, we offer propositions detailing the role that practicing mindfulness plays in (directly and indirectly) enhancing managerial propensity to engage in WPEBs. Our paper contributes to extant literature: (1) on theories of PEBs, by showing that some of the same theories that apply to the private domain also hold for commercial organizations; (2) relating mindfulness to PEBs, by expanding the exploration from personal and consumer domains to managerial contexts; and (3) on interventions to enhance WPEBs, by exposing the underlying mechanism of ‘how’ practicing mindfulness enhances managerial engagement in WPEBs. We call for companies to offer more mindfulness-based training programs to employees, since such initiatives complement laws and other interventions in supporting WPEBs.

The rapid emergence of mindfulness programs within organizational settings reflects an amalgam of humanistic, spiritual, and managerial perspectives. While impact studies have focused on effects of mindfulness programs on employees, how such programs are implemented by trainers, managers, and employees and how the mindfulness concept operates within organizations are not well understood. In this study, we draw upon Laclau’s notion of the ‘empty signifier’ to argue that mindfulness programs work to encode oppositional organizational elements, drawing on competing discourses that shape, in practice, how mindfulness evolves within organizations. Through an empirical qualitative study of organizational mindfulness practitioners, we show how practitioners leverage heterogeneous meanings to represent oppositions within organizations, and that in the course of mindfulness programs, these oppositions are framed to align with dominant managerial perspectives. We discuss the ramifications of these findings to understanding the uses of mindfulness for ideological purposes while speculating on the emancipatory possibilities of mindfulness as a solidaristic and collective practice.

Mindfulness programs, and related practices of contemplation and spirituality, are a growing trend in contemporary work organizations. Increasingly adopted into corporations, mindfulness is often described as a remedy for workplace challenges such as constant hurry, interruptions, and stress. Despite increasing research on mindfulness, little research examines how mindfulness is adapted in corporate settings, including concerns of co-optation during implementation. This article addresses this gap by qualitatively examining corporate mindfulness practices within an international, knowledge-intensive firm. We identify the processes of scientization, instrumentalization, and commodification of mindfulness programs, exploring the mechanisms by which these three processes interact with each other. We conclude by discussing the importance of scientization, instrumentalization, and commodification for understanding mindfulness in practice, and for building a research agenda around emic and situated understandings of corporate mindfulness.

A state-of-the-art overview of the field of management, spirituality and religion, comprising concise chapters written by experts in the sub-fields and edited by recognized leaders in the field of management, spirituality and religion.

Each chapter, while flexible in format, addresses the following questions:

What is the state-of-art in the subfield; what are the questions researchers ask?
What are the notable achievements in this subfield in the last 10 years?
What are the common methodological approaches in the subfield?
What are the key publications?
What are the challenges ahead?
What would be great to see in 10 years?
1) Provides a current overview of the field
2) Written by leading scholars
3) Offers a long-term perspective

L'ouvrage présente les avancées concrètes du leadership et de la spiritualité en s'appuyant à la fois sur des connaissances théoriques et appliquées. Un certain nombre de pratiques sont mises en avant à l'attention de dirigeants, managers et responsables RH afin de mieux comprendre ce que le leadership spirituel peut leur apporter et contribuer à un développement durable des organisations. De nombreux cas et exemples de pratiques présentés par les auteurs ouvrent des perspectives nouvelles à propos du bien-être, de l'identité, de l'intelligence spirituelle.

The case gives a brief outlook of the major world challenges within the chemical fertilizer industry in the dawn of the Third Millennium. It then positions Yara as a key actor in this industry, highlighting its unique advantages and presents a detailed international timeline starting from Norwegian Hydro fertilizers activity's expansion since its inception. Hence, successive phases of the corporate geographical display are distinguished, introducing this international firm's resulting adaptation issues. After a focus on Yara's corporate values, culture and diversity, emphasis is given to Human Resources and financial functions, to spur reflection on the international development and implementation of strategy.

Objectifs pédagogiques
To identify, at corporate and functional levels:
- The needs for coordinating the activities (here: upstream, industrial and downstream), the various locations (groups of countries where the company operates) as well as the key functions questioned by the internationalization process (especially HR and Finance.
- The needs for harmonizing the corporate procedures and the principles that are prioritized, in terms of reporting, while respecting local/cultural or professions/industry specificities, trying to find an appropriate corporate organizational scheme balancing between centralization and decentralization.
- The need for optimizing the international corporate value chain, between the upstream, industrial and downstream activities, within a world displayed structure among more than 50 countries, taking into account the necessary flexibility imposed by dynamic changes of costs, and the repartition and reorientation of demand throughout the world.

Face aux mutations accélérées et souvent brutales de l'environnement international, traversé par les crises et marqué par la montée en puissance des économies à croissance rapide, les responsables des organisations - entreprises, comme ONG -, mais aussi des territoires, se doivent : de discerner ce qui détermine désormais l'ouverture internationale, pour mieux appréhender la dynamique des organisations, en s'attachant aussi à celle des divers territoires et activités, afin d'identifier et d'anticiper les opportunités et menaces auxquelles elles sont confrontées ; d'adopter une démarche applicable à chaque organisation, partant de l'analyse et allant jusqu'à la prise de décision ; mettant en évidence les facteurs clés de succès à maîtriser dans l'espace d'expansion géographique et sectoriel retenu, pour mieux formuler ou reformuler sa stratégie d'internationalisation et effectuer sa mise en oeuvre. S'appuyant sur de nombreux exemples, cas et situations tirés de l'actualité la plus récente et de leur observation directe, à partir du terrain, cette nouvelle édition entièrement refondue s'adresse : aux étudiants et participants à des programmes de développement international, ainsi qu'à leurs formateurs, à travers une démarche déclinable en différents " formats " pédagogiques ; aux professionnels, en quête d'outils d'analyse et d'aide à la décision, en prenant en compte la diversité des situations qu'ils peuvent rencontrer ; à tous ceux, observateurs - inquiets et/ou curieux - des mutations de l'environnement international, qui cherchent à en comprendre les ressorts et les voies qui s'offrent aux acteurs de cette "ouverture internationale", aux caractéristiques en permanente évolution.