The Sixth Organization Studies Summer Workshop - " Bringing Public Organization and Organizing Back In " - 25-28 May 2011
Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay, Paris, France, 25-28 May 2011
As a field of research, organization studies is interdisciplinary, even ecletic, favoring multiple objects, methods, and levels of analysis. Yet, over time, it appears that some of the disciplines involved in this field have grown increasingly unaware of one another.
Such is the case for studies and research dealing with public policymaking, public administration, and political regimes. While having contributed in a decisive manner to the emergence of knowledge about social organizations (authors like Weber, Selznick, Blau, Lipset, March, Crozier, Mayntz and others), their influence seems to have declined somehow in the last twenty years.
Such is also the case for business administration and management focused knowledge. While playing today a major when not hegemonic role, it may underestimate what to learn from public organization and organizing research, and not address any longer fundamental issues of its core domain.
The scientific agenda.
This call for papers wishes to break down these disciplinary silos, by putting the emphasis on the reconfiguration of knowledge frontiers and research agendas between public administration, policy making, and organization studies, as well as between public, non-profit and business organizations and organizing. To this extent, we invite theoretical and empirical papers, welcoming those that are situated in diverse geographies and disciplinary traditions, and are exploring knowledge frontiers.
· Is cross-fertilization still relevant between organization study perspectives and public phenomena studies?
· What could perspectives dealing with the public sector and public affairs still learn from research on profit and non-profit organizations, and vice-versa?
Indicative, but not exhaustive, topic areas
Public administration and public policy are themselves interdisciplinary fields that interrelate with organizations studies in very diverse forms.
The following is a list of indicative, but not exhaustive, topic areas, all of which could be addressed in different geographical and cultural spheres:
* The local, the global and the transnational: local governments and inter-governmental relations; internationalization of organizational linkages; the role of local government in competitiveness, security and economic development; organising inter-governmental and international policy-making; transnational public and governmental networks.
* Organizational implications of public policy making: agenda setting, design, implementation, and evaluation. Policy domains: health, education, security, intergovernmental relations, regional development, etc
* Governance, governmentality, new public management and other "waves": the political and organizational assumptions for reforming public sector. Improving the regulation capacity of public sector not just "through" bureaucracies but also through new organizational designs.
* Citizen participation, public policy design and public organizations.
* Power and public organizations: organizations and public policy as political endeavors. Conflict resolution, political interrelationships (i.e., between public organizations and legislative power), unions, interests groups, among others.
* Public/private dichotomy: reconfiguration or blurring of the traditional boundaries between the public and private spheres or between the professional/technical and the governmental spheres, through public-private partnerships (PPP or P3), delegated management, management by contract, boundary organisations, etc.
* The organizational and organizing factors and dynamics of democracies and other types of political regimes
* Administrative public sector reform: change and transformation of public organizations, networks of organizations, and inter-organizational relationships. The organizational "variable" in reforming public sector: budgeting, e-government, environment, tax reform, civil service reform, etc
Conveners
David ARELLANO GAULT, CIDE, Mexico (david.arellano@cide.edu)
David DEMORTAIN, London School of Economics and Political Science, Great Britain (ddemortain@gmail.com)
Christian ROUILLARD, University of Ottawa, Canada. (christian.rouillard@uottawa.ca)
Jean-Claude THOENIG, Dauphine Recherches en Management, Paris, France (jeanclaude.thoenig@free.fr)
Administrative support
Sophia TZAGARAKI, Organization Studies managing editor. (osofficer@gmail.com)
Keynote speakers
Barry BOZEMAN, University of Georgia, USA
Johan OLSEN, ARENA Center for European Studies, University of Oslo, Norway
Yves SCHEMEIL, Institut Universitaire de France and Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Grenoble, France
Location
The Vaux de Cernay Abbey.
An eight century old enchanted place in the forest of Rambouillet, 45 kms southwest from the center of Paris. See : www.abbayedecernay.com <http://www.abbayedecernay.com/>
Dates
Starting on Wednesday 25 May 2011 at 12h00
Ending on Saturday 28 May 2011 at 12h00
Submission
Interested participants must submit to osofficer@gmail.com <mailto:osofficer@gmail.com> an abstract of no more than 1, 000 words for their proposed contribution by December 6, 2010 indicating on the subject line: 6th Organizations Studies Workshop. The proposal must be submitted as an email attachment (doc. or .rtf) and should contain authors' names, institutional affiliations, email and postal address. Authors will be notified of acceptance or otherwise by January 10, 2011. Full papers must be submitted by April 11, 2011. Further details on the venue of the workshop will be published through the EGOS website.
Following the workshop, a Special Issue will be announced in Organization Studies. To be considered for publication, papers must be electronically received by November 28 2011. The latest guidelines for submission and information on the review procedures can be found on the OS web page. Participations in the Workshop is not a prerequisite to submit a paper for the special issue.
