Papers
Call for Papers:
People & Strategy Call for Papers on the Green Economy (PDF)
CALL FOR ARTICLES
“Transitioning to the Green Economy”
Special Issue of
People and Strategy:
The Journal of the Human Resource Planning Society
Theme of the Issue
Scientists and political and business leaders are sounding an urgent call to action. Scientific studies point to alarming and unprecedented trends in global warming and climate change, species extinction and biodiversity loss, and freshwater shortages. The United States is working to reduce the economic and security risks caused by the country’s dependence on oil and carbon-based energy. There is growing recognition on the part of the developed and rapidly developing world that our consumption patterns and resulting ecological footprint
are no longer sustainable.
The green economy is being hailed as a much-needed antidote, focused on economic activities and business models that reduce or reverse environmental impacts, promote economic growth and improve social well-being. Transitioning to the green economy is the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s job-creation strategy. This can potentially lead the way to a healthy environment and a sustainable future for the United States and the world.
While thousands of grassroots organizations are springing up to support this transition, these efforts often lack the human-resource-professional know-how and expertise to ensure their success.
How can we help individuals, organizations and industries navigate this seismic shift and position themselves for sustainable success? How might we link much-needed talent with the most-critical opportunities that demand action? What skills and principles do workers need to master? What should our green organizations look like? How should they function?
People and Strategy (formerly Human Resource Planning) has scheduled a special issue on transitioning to the green economy for early 2010. For this special issue, we are looking for relevant, new and rigorous research, in-depth case studies, and empirically grounded policy recommendations and frameworks that suggest new directions for human capital policies and management, including articles on the following specific topics:
- workforce development through retraining, redeployment, and transferability of skills;
- leading the charge through leadership and management development;
- catalyzing and guiding needed changes for individuals, organizations, functions and institutions;
- cultivating new expectations, mind-sets, behaviors and consumption patterns;
- career paths, patterns and new possibilities;
- deploying sustainable business models and frameworks;
- the role of technology as a driver and enabler of helping organizations adopt more sustainable practices;
- examples of green models for work design and management;
- engaging employees in the shift to the green economy;
- workplace programs and practices;
- organizational governance and designs for the green economy;
- knowledge generation and sharing;
- stakeholder engagement and collaboration;
- creating traction and momentum;
- sustainability, triple bottom line, and corporate social responsibility; and
other closely related topics.
Our intent is to produce a detailed, objective and methodologically sound look at approaches to transforming businesses and other organizations so they are economically successful while simultaneously addressing the challenges of global warming, climate change and related issues. We expect to provide cutting-edge thinking on these issues, as well as practical information that governments, policy makers, boards and executives—especially CEOs, general managers, and HR leaders—can use to help guide their organizations and people. We
appreciate that this topic can stimulate diversity of opinions, and we welcome fact-based analysis, perspectives and commentary from all sides.
Types of Articles We Want
We are especially interested in the following types of contributions to this special issue:
- New research that identifies quantitative links between factors driving and inhibiting organizational performance in the green economy
- New research that demonstrates leading directions in human capital that policy makers should consider as they work to create high-quality, sustainable career paths for people in the green economy
- Company case studies from around the world detailing examples of businesses that have successfully made the transition to the green economy
- Company case studies of initiatives in this arena that did not succeed, including the lessons they are learning from these unsuccessful efforts (especially using action learning and action research methodologies)
- Policy recommendations that are fact-based and will help companies formulate successful models and frameworks for transitioning to the new green economy
- Commentary that is grounded in facts, raising and responding to such critical dilemmas as limits to growth, transforming patterns of consumption, and reinventing various industries and their associated ways of life (e.g., green-collar jobs, transforming and electrifying the transportation system, sustainable local food systems, green building and construction, green redevelopment in urban, suburban, and rural areas, scaling up clean energy, green chemistry, green IT, true cost accounting, cap and trade systems, and the like)
We are not interested in literature reviews or purely theoretical pieces.
Writing Style and Guidelines
Length: Full-length articles are typically 4,000 to 6,000 words (no more than 7,000).
Style: We are looking for articles that have the following attributes:
- Strategic importance: Has a link to business decisions and doesn’t rehash well-known information; should be the type of article an HR reader might pass on to a business executive to educate him or her about a concept, provide the basis for a discussion or influence thinking
- Impact: Has a “so what” for the HR-executive reader as well as a business reader; for example, does not just present research findings but also discusses consequences
- Actionable: Focuses on solutions, not just descriptions of issues
- Grounded: Based on research, theory (with examples) or proven policy to provide a “proof of concept,” not just armchair observation; provides frameworks that can be applied in a variety of situations
- Point of view: Makes a case for thinking about a topic differently
- Readable: Nonacademic prose; active verbs and minimal jargon
About People & Strategy
People & Strategy: The Journal of the Human Resource Planning Society is a professional journal published quarterly by the Human Resource Planning Society (HRPS). HRPS, begun in 1977, is comprised of organizational Human Resources Leaders, university faculty, consultants, and general managers in private and public organizations. The journal is read by members of HRPS and other professionals interested in better understanding the ways in which informed human resource management contributes to the achievement of business strategies and superior organizational performance. The journal provides management knowledge and tools based on recent advances in management thinking and research. It includes reports of original research, interviews with top managers and scholars, articles on trends and techniques, as well as research briefs and book reviews. Designed to meet the knowledge needs of contemporary leaders, the articles and other features are selected on the basis of their cutting edge thinking, practical application and value to our readers.
The Executive Editor (Ed Gubman), the Managing Editor (Jay Strother) and other members of the Editorial Review Board and/or ad hoc reviewers evaluate manuscripts. Criteria for evaluation include significance of contribution to the field of human resource management; usefulness of knowledge; timeliness of content; originality; provocative nature of content; quality of the data supporting the points; logical; and well-written. Reviewers’ comments will
be sent to authors.
Please download the PDF for submission guidelines.
