Goal 2: Providing Indispensable Value
DRIVING GOAL 1 / DRIVING GOAL 2 / DRIVING GOAL 3 / DRIVING GOAL 4
Goal Two details: Membership | Division and Interest Groups | Connect@AOM | Career Services
AOM is providing to a diverse membership indispensable value characterized by extensive professional services, vibrant volunteerism, interactive communities, and reimagined governance.
What does that mean for our volunteers and member communities?
The year 2020 impacted everyone around the world. The Academy collectively came together in new ways and advanced AOM's driving goals of connecting members with one another while providing indispensable value and service.
Membership
In 2020, more than 18,000 scholars from over 110 countries made the Academy their home for their intellectual and professional endeavors. As people across the world experienced financial hardship due to the global pandemic, Academy members were also impacted during this difficult year. In response, a temporary dues deferral program – the COVID-19 Financial Hardship Relief Program - was introduced. Several financial assistance measures were also made to enable participation for select member groups facing funding freezes or other economic barriers that resulted from the global pandemic. Measures included a scholarship program for DIGs to fund student and scholar participation in AOM 2020, increased waivers for DIGs, and support for members in Lebanon due to economic restrictions.
Goal Two Details: Membership | Division and Interest Groups | Connect@AOM | Career Services
Division and Interest Groups
Members benefit from involvement in the Academy’s 26 Divisions and Interest Groups (DIGs). Divisions and Interest Groups provide disciplinary “home bases” where members connect and collaborate around specific management domains. These active communities offer a broad range of services tailored to members with interests in a specific management discipline. In 2020, Organizational Neuroscience (NEU) became the Academy’s 26th DIG.
Division & Interest Group Reviews
Every five years, the Academy’s Divisions and Interest Groups are reviewed by a group of DIG leaders and members of the Board serving on the Division and Interest Group Relations Committee. In 2020, the following six divisions were reviewed. Click on each division for their 5-Year Review Reports.
Management History (MH)
Board-Division Leadership Strategy Exchange
On Wednesday, August 12, 2020, the Board of Governors and Division and Interest Group (DIG) leaders came together for their annual “Strategic Leadership Exchange”. This virtual meeting reaffirmed the Board-DIG shared commitment to the Academy’s strategic direction and provided the space for a joint discussion on organizational planning for the coming years.
DIG leaders addressed various strategic themes: environmental realities; member inclusion; experimentation; and the long-term applicability of new ideas. Breakout groups shared learnings and discussed future opportunities for leveraging innovations experienced due to the 2020 Annual Meeting virtual approach. Key outputs emerged, including concern for junior faculty; building an ecosystem that supports both rigorous practice and rigorous scholarship; leveraging different communication channels (e.g., YouTube, op-eds); and developing virtual offerings outside of the physical Annual Meeting, as well as incorporating access for virtual Annual Meeting attendees, alongside physical Annual Meeting attendees, to expand reach.
Goal Two Details: Membership | Division and Interest Groups | Connect@AOM | Career Services
Connect@AOM
As a result of social distancing requirements in 2020, individuals around the world turned to virtual communities to maintain networks, share experiences and exchange information. The Academy’s global membership leveraged the Connect@AOM online community to participate in active discussions, share resources, and support each other in a time of need. Among Academy members, the global pandemic gave rise to common needs that transcended DIG-specific topics or geographic boundaries, including:
- Educators in sudden need of resources to support online learning and teaching, as well as expertise in converting traditional classroom activities to virtual environments.
- Scholars and researchers in search of collaborators as they began to examine the impacts of the pandemic on businesses, health care systems, and the general public.
- Students in search of virtual mentoring or networking opportunities.
Throughout the course of the year, members proved they are willing to share their experience and expertise by engaging in over 10,000 discussions and sharing more than 3,200 uploaded files and resources across the Connect@AOM community.
Goal Two Details: Membership | Division and Interest Groups | Connect@AOM | Career Services
Career Services
In an effort to continue to reach our global membership wherever they are on their career journey, Career Services hosted two Virtual Career Fair events in 2020. One in February, and the second following the Annual Meeting. The Career Services Committee also facilitated triple the amount of coaching sessions (33 to 94 total) with members who took advantage of meeting one-on-one with AOM volunteer coaches. Because of this increase, a new Coaching Center has been added as a Career Resource to better connect members with members.
Career Center at the Annual Meeting
