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I recently stumbled over an article published June 1st:

Title: Rediscovering Communities: Lessons From the Hurricane Katrina Crisis

Author(s): Cowen AP, Cowen SS

Source: JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT INQUIRY   Volume: 19   Issue: 2   Pages: 117-125   Published: JUN 2010

Amanda P. Cowen

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, acowen@virginia.edu

Scott S. Cowen

Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

In an era of globalization, the importance of communities-particularly local ones-receives relatively little attention in management education and research. Even academic institutions consider themselves to be "boundary-less" organizations, defined more by ideas and discourse than geographic locations. In this article, the authors describe their process of "rediscovering" communities, and their enduring organizational relevance, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Drawing on their experiences with the recovery efforts at Tulane University, the authors explore the interdependencies which exist between organizations and their communities, and the challenges that leaders confront in managing them. They highlight three central observations: the dynamic nature of community relationships, the embeddedness of organizations in multiple communities, and the need to balance initiative and collaboration when solving interdependent challenges. They argue that there is significant merit in reintroducing these themes both inside and outside the classroom, and outline implications for organizational strategy and leadership.

Quotes selected somewhat arbitrarily by me:

[from p. 120] However, following Hurricane Katrina, those of us involved with Tulane's recov­ery learned that "global" and "local" are both critical to organizational success-even universities operate in Ghemawat's "semi-globalized" world (2007b).

[p. 124] For example, Tulane and others have led efforts to create a physical incubator to house all the major educational nongov­ernmental organizations (NGOs) involved in the rebuilding of the city's public education system. This incubator allows orga­nizations with similar goals to connect, share resources, and increase the impact of their initiatives.

References

Ghemawat, P. (2007a). Why the world isn't flat. Foreign Policy, 159, 54-60.

Ghemawat, P. (2007b). Redefining global strategy: Crossing bor­ders in a world where differences still matter. Boston, MA: Har­vard Business School Press.

Marquis, C., & Battilana, J. (2009). Acting globally but thinking locally? The enduring influence of local communities on orga­nizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, forthcoming.

Roberto, M. (2002). Lessons from Everest: Cognitive bias, psycho­logical safety, and system complexity. California Management Review, 45, 136-158.

Bios

Amanda P. Cowen is an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce. She received her doctor­ate from the Harvard Business School. Her research explores how organizations' social contexts shape decisions regarding strategy and governance.

Scott S. Cowen is the President of Tulane University and theSeymour S Goodman Memorial Professor of Business at the A.B. Freeman School of Business. Prior to joining Tulane, he was Dean of the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. He received his doctorate from George Wash­ington University. Dr. Cowen's areas of scholarship and teaching focus on strategic financial management systems, corporate gover­nance and leadership.

Best regards,

Charles Wankel

St. John's University, New York

http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~wankelc
Add me on LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/wankelc

Dear Charles.

Thanks for sharing this interesting work. People like me, working at a regional university, have a strong feeling for the  importance of the local community and localities in the globalized world.

Best regards,

Professor Ingi Runar Edvardsson

Faculty of Business Administration

University of Akureyri

Borgir, Akureyri, Iceland

email: ire@unak.is

Tele: +354 4608613

Mobile:  +354 8647790

I recently stumbled over an article published June 1st:

Title: Rediscovering Communities: Lessons From the Hurricane Katrina Crisis

Author(s): Cowen AP, Cowen SS

Source: JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT INQUIRY   Volume: 19   Issue: 2   Pages: 117-125   Published: JUN 2010

Amanda P. Cowen

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, acowen@virginia.edu

Scott S. Cowen

Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

In an era of globalization, the importance of communities-particularly local ones-receives relatively little attention in management education and research. Even academic institutions consider themselves to be "boundary-less" organizations, defined more by ideas and discourse than geographic locations. In this article, the authors describe their process of "rediscovering" communities, and their enduring organizational relevance, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Drawing on their experiences with the recovery efforts at Tulane University, the authors explore the interdependencies which exist between organizations and their communities, and the challenges that leaders confront in managing them. They highlight three central observations: the dynamic nature of community relationships, the embeddedness of organizations in multiple communities, and the need to balance initiative and collaboration when solving interdependent challenges. They argue that there is significant merit in reintroducing these themes both inside and outside the classroom, and outline implications for organizational strategy and leadership.

Quotes selected somewhat arbitrarily by me:

[from p. 120] However, following Hurricane Katrina, those of us involved with Tulane's recov­ery learned that "global" and "local" are both critical to organizational success-even universities operate in Ghemawat's "semi-globalized" world (2007b).

[p. 124] For example, Tulane and others have led efforts to create a physical incubator to house all the major educational nongov­ernmental organizations (NGOs) involved in the rebuilding of the city's public education system. This incubator allows orga­nizations with similar goals to connect, share resources, and increase the impact of their initiatives.

References

Ghemawat, P. (2007a). Why the world isn't flat. Foreign Policy, 159, 54-60.

Ghemawat, P. (2007b). Redefining global strategy: Crossing bor­ders in a world where differences still matter. Boston, MA: Har­vard Business School Press.

Marquis, C., & Battilana, J. (2009). Acting globally but thinking locally? The enduring influence of local communities on orga­nizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, forthcoming.

Roberto, M. (2002). Lessons from Everest: Cognitive bias, psycho­logical safety, and system complexity. California Management Review, 45, 136-158.

Bios

Amanda P. Cowen is an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce. She received her doctor­ate from the Harvard Business School. Her research explores how organizations' social contexts shape decisions regarding strategy and governance.

Scott S. Cowen is the President of Tulane University and theSeymour S Goodman Memorial Professor of Business at the A.B. Freeman School of Business. Prior to joining Tulane, he was Dean of the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. He received his doctorate from George Wash­ington University. Dr. Cowen's areas of scholarship and teaching focus on strategic financial management systems, corporate gover­nance and leadership.

Best regards,

Charles Wankel

St. John's University, New York

http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~wankelc
Add me on LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/wankelc