Minutes
Executive Committee Meeting
Business Policy & Strategy Division
February 26, 2000
Philadelphia, PA

Present: Peter Lane, Javier Gimeno, Ranjay Gulati, Ming-Jer Chen, Rita McGrath, Russ Coff, Diana Day, Bruce Lamont, Bert Cannella, Ed Zajac, Gabriel Szulanski, Aks Zaheer, Bill Bogner, and Steve Phelan. (Dave Ketchen, Avi Feigenbaum, Phil Anderson, and Nandini Rajagopalan were absent.)

The meeting began after lunch at 1:30pm and ended at 6:30pm.

1. Welcome – Diana Day graciously introduced and welcomed all in attendance. She then distributed and briefly went over the meeting’s agenda also displayed via computer projector. A copy of the agenda is attached.
2. Old Business
• Secretary’s Report—Bruce Lamont mentioned that the minutes from the August 8^th meeting would be distributed later via email. Bruce then discussed the electronic distribution of the fall newsletter. He reported that things went reasonably well, with 2273 of the 2512 Division members receiving the newsletter by email. Attempts were being made to update the email database of Division members. Bruce suggested sending just a web address via email in the future instead of both a web address for the newsletter and an electronic copy as an attachment in PDF format. Much discussion followed about various possibilities and innovations. Diana asked to hold the discussion until later
• Treasurer’s Report – Bill Bogner distributed and discussed the attached report. In general, Bill reported that the Division is in strong financial condition. With the decreased newsletter expenditures with electronic transmission, increased membership receipts, and increased spending on consortia, things are about the same as last year. Bill then reviewed the report further in detail.
  
  Bert asked about the Division endowments. Peter then explained that special withdrawals are required to draw down the endowments. This has not been done yet due to surplus funds. This may be necessary in the future, however. There was an extensive discussion of the program and very high food and catering expenses this year. It was generally agreed by the EC that joint meal activities are useful for consortia, but off-site meals, particularly for dinner, should be encouraged.
• BPS Web Report – Steve Phelan discussed recent updates and innovations to the website. He mentioned there were 8,000 hits to the site since November. Steve mentioned the need for a Division web policy about what to post, the use of banners, etc. Rita suggested creating a task force to formulate web policy and to identify useful enhancements. An extensive discussion followed about the possibilities of web use. Rita McGrath agreed to head up the task force with Steve Phelan and Peter Lane. Ranjay Gulati suggested to support the task force with Division dollars. All agreed.
  
  Rita asked for some metrics to know if the task force will have accomplished its charge. Another extensive discussion followed about the possibilities. No consensus emerged. Rita requested that EC members send her 3 ideas/comments/feedback on the existing website. All agreed to do so.
• Other – Bert suggested that the Teaching Award should be determined by March and require the Program Chair to submit the name in time for program printing. Peter suggested the same should be done for the Management Practice Award. All agreed.
  
  Ed Zajac asked if BPS/OMT joint efforts should be further pursued. It was agreed that such initiatives should continue and be encouraged, although BPS may need to take the lead.
3. New Business
• Report on Professional Development Sessions – Ranjay Gulati discussed the BPS/OMT connections used to expand the pre-conference sessions this year. Bert suggested using a feedback form to evaluate each PD event. Ranjay said that he would create one for this year’s events. Steve suggested having a sign-up sheet with email addresses at each session. Then a random sample of attendees could be used for assessment purposes. All agreed.
  
  Diana asked Aks Zaheer about the New Faculty Consortium. Aks noted that  panelists were selected with inclusion and diversity in mind. Also, he noted that all of the Editors of the major journals have agreed to participate. Aks expects about 40 attendees this year.
• Report on BPS Program – Bert Cannella distributed and discussed the attached report in detail, highlighting a number of differences since last year, including fewer papers per session. There was considerable discussion of additional awards that may be worthwhile to recognize paper and member contributions. No motions were made. Extensive discussion also followed about ways to improve the program. Russ Coff suggested posting paper posters in the “main” BPS rooms so they can be viewed throughout the conference. Bert said he would do so.
• Innovations – Steve Phelan brought the BPS webpage online for everyone to see and then reviewed its contents and recent enhancements. Diana thanked Steve for his talents and initiative. All applauded.
• Other – Rita asked if we should have more of a connection with SMS. Limited support was evident. Steve raised the issue of creating an e-journal supported by the Division. Significant discussions followed. Little support was offered for such an undertaking.
4. Elections – Bruce Lamont distributed a slate of candidates, prepared in advance by the EC via email, for discussions and amendment. Ed Zajac solicited input on the slate. The EC voted for a slate of candidates to be included on the ballot for member vote for the positions of Program Chair, Assistant Program Chair and Executive Committee. The EC also voted to appoint Division members to the Teaching Committee, Research Committee, and to serve as Regional Representatives.

The meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Bruce T. Lamont

Attachment

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