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Division Bylaws
-- [Last Updated: 2024] --
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMUNICATION, DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION (CTO) DIVISION OF THE ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT
ARTICLE I: Name
The name of this organization shall be the Communication, Digital Technology and Organization Division of The Academy of Management, hereinafter referred to as the Division.
ARTICLE II Purpose
The mission statement of CTO promotes an interdisciplinary approach to further the understanding of behavioral, social, and economic processes at the intersection of communication, technology, and organizing. CTO emphasizes communication topics that reflect changes in the contemporary nature of work enabled through the use of mainstream and emerging technologies and systems. It constitutes a vibrant, inclusive, and intellectually stimulating community, open to scholars from a wide range of disciplines, theoretical frameworks, and research methods, who are conducting novel and cutting-edge research based on rigorous and creative scholarship. Major topics of interest integrate some combination of communication, technology, and organizing and include: artificial intelligence; changing nature of work; computational and data science; knowledge work on digital platforms; digital transformation; distributed and virtual work; IT diffusion and infrastructure; new organizational forms such as global teams, online communities, and digital social networks; organizational change; organizational design and strategy; organizational innovation; platform governance; processes of digitalization; the quantified self; sharing economy; user-generated content and social media.
ARTICLE III: Membership
Membership in this Division shall be open to members of the Academy of Management who are interested in the Division’s purposes and goals.
ARTICLE IV: Executive Committee and Their Duties
Section 1. The executive committee members of the Division shall consist of a Chair, a Chair-Elect, a Past Chair, a Program Chair, a Program Chair-Elect (also called “officers”, or leadership), a Treasurer, three general at-large representatives, four international representatives (one internal representative-Asia Pacific, one international representative- Europe and two international representatives-at-large), a practitioner representative-at-large, two student representatives-at-large, a communication officer and a webmaster. Duration of the mandate:
· Chair: 1 year (elected)
· Chair elect: 1 year (elected)
· Past chair: 1 year (elected)
· Program chair: 1 year (elected)
· Program chair elect: 1 year (elected)
· Treasurer: 3 years (elected) (plus one additional year to assist the incoming treasurer, see below)
· Representatives at large: 2 years (elected)
· Student representatives-at-large: 2 years (elected)
· Communication manager: 5 years (appointed by the Chair and renewable for 1 term)
· Webmaster: 3 years (appointed by the Chair and renewable for 1 term)
In addition to the above, the Chair can appoint, at any time, additional members of the executive committee (maximum term of appointment, 5 years). An exception is made for appointing officers. These appointments are made by the Chair at any time (e.g., in case an officer resigns) but the appointed officer must be confirmed (elected) on the next election year’s ballot. All executive committee members are required to attend the annual meeting.
Section 2. The Chair shall be the chief executive officer of the Division and shall administer all affairs of the Division under the coordination of the President-Elect of the Academy of Management and its Professional Division Policy Committee. The Chair is responsible for the conduct of the Division’s activities in a manner that will assure the accomplishment of the Division’s purposes, subject to the provisions of the Division Constitution and the Academy of Management Bylaws. The Chair shall have the responsibility for the appointment of a Communication Manager and a Webmaster as deemed necessary. The Chair shall be responsible for coordinating Division committees, but may delegate this responsibility to the Chair-Elect. The Chair will also be responsible for information management functions as specified in the job descriptions. The Chair will also chair the Communications Committee, which consists of the Communication Manager and the Webmaster, as well as any other invited members. The Chair shall present a report on the status and progress of the Division at its annual business meeting. The Chair cannot serve two consecutive terms, but may be elected for any of the Division’s positions in the future.
Section 3. The Chair-Elect shall serve in the absence of the Chair and shall succeed the Chair at the termination of the Chair’s year in office. The Chair-Elect shall serve as assistant to the Chair, organize professional development workshops for Division members as deemed appropriate, and carry out such duties as may be delegated by the Chair. The Chair-Elect will also be responsible for information management functions as specified in the job descriptions.
Section 4. The Past Chair shall serve as counselor to the Chair and serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee. The Past Chair will be responsible for coordinating the Division’s international efforts and initiatives. The Past Chair will also be responsible for information management functions as specified in the job descriptions.
Section 5. The Program Chair shall be responsible for planning and supervising the Division’s program at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management and information management functions as specified in the job descriptions. The Program Chair shall become the automatic candidate for the Chair-Elect position at the end of her/his term of office.
Section 6. The Program Chair-Elect shall assist the Program Chair in planning the Division’s program at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, shall be responsible for planning and supervising the Division’s pre-conference program at the Annual Meeting, and shall carry out such duties as may be delegated by the Program Chair. The Program Chair-Elect will also be responsible for information management functions as specified in the job descriptions. The Program Chair-Elect shall succeed the Program Chair at the end of his/her term of office.
Section 7. The Treasurer shall be responsible for understanding the Division’s income and expenses, and providing this information to members of the executive committee so they can decide how to prudently spend the Division’s money. The Treasurer will also be responsible for information management functions as specified in the job descriptions.
Section 8. The Communication Manager shall be responsible for all communication activities aimed at promoting the Division within the Academy of Management and beyond. They will also be responsible for managing social media and reaching out to the Division’s members throughout the year to promote initiatives, activities, workshops etc.
Section 9. The Webmaster shall be responsible for ensuring currency and archival of the content in Division’s Internet Website and for contacting appropriate contributors to update content. They shall be responsible for setting up tools and content areas within the Division’s Internet Website that enable the presentation, archival, and security of Division’s information and for enabling, maintaining, and trouble-shooting access to this information. Webmaster shall also be responsible for recruiting and training ad-hoc volunteers to provide technical assistance and for briefing the Division’s Executive Committee about potential enhancements to electronic support provided by the Division to its members.
Section 10. Representatives-at-Large (general, international, student, and practitioner) shall be responsible for talking with the Division’s members about their interests and concerns and representing these interests and concerns in executive committee meetings and during discussions among executive committee members. International, Student, and Practitioner Representatives-at-Large, should focus in particular (but not exclusively) on the concerns of these members. In addition, Representatives-at-Large are encouraged to lead and/or participate in initiatives that serve the interests of the Division’s members.
ARTICLE V: Election of Officers
Section 1. Nominating Committee.
A. Nominating Committee shall consist of the following: the Past Chair and four Division members appointed by the Past Chair. The Past Chair shall serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee. The Division Chair is ex officio member of the nominating committee and is required to attend all meetings.
B. The Nominating Committee shall annually, prior to and during the period established by AOM, solicit by email and through the Academy’s online submission system, nominations from the Division membership for Program Chair-Elect and any other positions on the CTO Executive Committee that need to be filled. The Nominating Committee will select a small number of nominees for each open position based on these nominations. Then, prior to or during the month of April as established by AOM, a final vote solicitation with information on the candidates and voting procedures shall be emailed to the membership:
1. for Chair-Elect, the current Program Chair’s name as the automatic candidate (unless some unusual circumstance prevents this, in which case the same procedure as for the Program Chair-Elect shall be used) and a space for a write- in candidate;
2. for Program Chair-Elect, the names of at least two and not more than four people willing to serve in this position.
3. for any other position that needs to be filled, the names of at least two and not more than four people willing to serve in these positions.
C. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall be responsible for verifying prior to ballot preparation the willingness of all nominees to serve.
Section 2. Vote Tabulation. Voting will be managed by the Academy of Management in collaboration with the Chair of the Nominating Committee or the Division Chair, prior to or during the months of April-May, as determined by Academy Headquarters. All votes shall be tabulated not later than May 30. The staff member at Academy Headquarters who is responsible for elections shall be notified in writing by the Chair of the Nominating committee of the vote count for each candidate. The vote count shall be considered confidential information and shall not be disseminated further. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall notify the Executive Committee, each candidate, and then the Division membership of the winners of the election.
Section 3. Terms of Office. The normal terms of all elected Division officers shall expire on August 15 of the election year (after the annual meeting). The terms of all appointed positions shall expire as scheduled or at the discretion of the Chair if before the scheduled expiration date.
Section 4. In case of a vacancy occurring among these Division officers, the Chair can appoint a replacement at any time.
Section 5. The Nominating Committee may refer to the guidelines spelled out in the Division’s Diversity Statement when selecting members that will be offered on the ballots. With this said, the Diversity Statement is intended to inform rather than mandate diversity practices. The Diversity Statement is available on the Division’s website (cto.aom.org). The diversity statement was initially created by the 2023 officers. Any updates need to be made by the same governance body.
ARTICLE VI: Committees
Section 1. The committees of the Division shall include any ad hoc standing committees as deemed necessary by the Chair of the Division.
Section 2. Executive Committee. Membership on the Executive Committee shall consist of the following members: the Chair (also officer), the Chair-Elect (also officer), the Past Chair (also officer), the Program Chair (also officer), the Program Chair-Elect (also officer), the Treasurer, the Communication Manager, the Webmaster and nine at-large members. This committee shall meet prior to the Annual Division Business Meeting to review the agenda and make recommendations for consideration by the membership and the Chair.
Section 3. Ad Hoc and other Standing Committees. Membership on each ad hoc and standing committee shall be determined jointly by its appointed chair and by the Division Chair, but appointments of the chair and of committee members are made by the Division Chair. Such membership shall provide, insofar as is possible, for representation reflecting diversity (from a geographical perspective as well as gender, race, etc.).
Section 4. All committees shall be coordinated by the Division Chair or by the Chair- elect as delegated by the Chair.
ARTICLE VII: Commitment to Transparency
The Division is committed to be transparent with its members with respect to any processes and decisions of the executive committee, other committees and the leadership (i.e., the officers).
Section 1. Processes undertaken by the Nominating Committee shall be documented and posted on the Division’s website, after the yearly elections and before the annual meeting. The Chair of the Nominating Committee, the Division Chair, the Communication Manager and the Webmaster are jointly responsible for this.
Section 2. Slides of the yearly business meetings, along with any other relevant documentation shall be posted on the website for members’ review. The Communication Manager, the Webmaster and the Division Chair are jointly responsible for this.
Section 3. The Division Chair and the Webmaster are responsible to make sure that a record of business meeting proceedings, elections, awards, reviewers and associate editors for each annual meeting is available on the website.
Section 4. With the exception of businesses that are specifically protected by confidentiality (such as vote counts), the Division is obligated to disclose any and all activities and underlying processes to the members, via the website. Examples include: formation of ad-hoc committees (how they were formed, why and what the main activities and outputs are and so on); report on annual division health check; report on three year division self-study (and response from the Academy of Management Board of Governance); election processes.
ARTICLE VIII: Ratification and Amendments
Section 1. This constitution may be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Division members present at the Annual Business Meeting of the Division or by a majority vote of all members who vote through an email ballot sponsored by the officers of the Division.
Section 2. Amendments to the Constitution shall be by a two-thirds vote of the Division members present at the Annual Business Meeting of the Division or by a majority vote of all members who vote through an email ballot sponsored by the officers of the Division.
Proposed Changes Updated: August 6, 2023 by executive committee