Dr. Stephen Forsha, a business professor at William Woods University, will present at the 12th annual Philosophy of Management International Conference in St. Louis, July 13–16.
“I am looking forward to presenting at this conference because it is a great opportunity to interact with leading researchers in such areas as leadership, organizational values, organizational aesthetics, ethics, and social responsibility,” shares Forsha, who is chair of William Woods’ business, law, technology, and languages division and program director of the undergraduate online business program.
The St. Louis resident will be presenting his paper: “Tikanga Māori – Lessons for Leading”, which centers on leadership advice that can be learned from the Māori culture of New Zealand. This topic was inspired by a recent rugby match between New Zealand and Ireland that Forsha watched. He wanted to learn more about the influence of this Pacific Islander culture on New Zealand’s sports programs and began seeing similarities between its values and western perspectives of virtue ethics.
“The Māori people provide a unique opportunity to learn and understand a traditional island value system, as they continue to maintain their traditional ways of life while integrating into a western culture,” says Forsha. “Studying tikanga Māori, ‘the Māori way’, should prompt western leaders to reflect upon their own value systems and leadership experiences.”
The conference is typically held at St. Anne’s College, Oxford, and this will be only the second time it has taken place in the United States.
Read Forsha’s blog post about why leaders need to have character to succeed.