MINDFULNESS & MANAGEMENT (Extensive)

Management education, especially regarding subjects such as business ethics and corporate social responsibility, needs to focus more on personal development and to find ways to include innovative and even aspirational ideas (Waddock 2006, cited in Schneider & Zollo, 2010).
"Mindfulness & Management” is an introductory course to the practice of mindfulness in the context of a management setting. Mindfulness enables us to focus wholeheartedly and be present with whatever we are doing or experiencing moment by moment. It is the key to quality relationships, quality communications, intuition, creativity, and wisdom (Levy 1995).

This course draws from the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) methodology developed by John Kabat-Zinn at the UMass Medical School in the US. Through six sessions of 2h40 over a period of 6 weeks, students will undertake a journey into mindfulness and as such, this course is most probably unlike any that you may have encountered in your curriculum in business school in that it focuses not so much on ‘doing’ or on achievement and performance but instead on simply ‘being’. This may appear simple but it is actually difficult and particularly so for people who are used to being achievement, and performance oriented.This seminar is designed as a journey-like retreat where you will experience the sensation of having traveled far away from your everyday busy and (maybe) stressful life. We will do this through a series of mindfulness exercises and practices that will allow us to open up to fully experience and enjoy the present moment of our being. There will also be personal exercises to be done at home throughout the six weeks.

The following are some of the questions that will be addressed during the course:

• What is mindfulness?
• What are the scientific benefits of mindfulness practice?
• What are the benefits of mindfulness for managers?
• What are the key areas of research about mindfulness in the management field?
• What are some of the key ethical issues to consider when practicing, developing or implementing mindfulness in a business school or managerial setting?
The 16-hour module will be based on a balance between practice (exercises, class discussions) and theory (discussion of the assigned readings). Participants are expected to contribute to the overall learning through their active participation in class exercises and discussions. Presence during the four days is mandatory in order to pass the class.