Originally found at Phys.org

Christopher S. Reina, Ph.D., executive director of the VCU Institute for Transformative Leadership, lays out the foundation for transforming business to be much more people-centered and humanistic in "Humanistic Organizing: The Transformative Force of Mindful Organizational Communication." The paper appears in the Academy of Management Review.

Reina and co-authors Sophia Town and Michael Pirson of Fordham University and Boris Brummans of University of Montreal develop a novel framework for businesses to transform into more people-centered organizations where individuals feel valued and a strong sense of belonging.

"This paper helps us understand how we can design new organizations—and transform existing organizations—to be places where people thrive and flourish rather than be used solely for economic gains," said Reina, who is also faculty director of MBA Programs and associate professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at the VCU Business School. "This is especially important because the pain and suffering people are experiencing across their personal and professional lives has an effect on how they show up at work and, ultimately, how the company performs."

When developing their theory, the authors drew deep inspiration from mindfulness and its underlying philosophical traditions, as well as research on how organizational leaders communicate to create and reinforce organizational cultures.

Continue reading the original article at Phys.org.

Read the original research in Academy of Management Review.

Learn more about the AOM Scholars and explore their work:

• Sofia Town, Fordham University
• Christopher S. Reina, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Michael Pirson, Fordham University