Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society

Volume 13, 2002

Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Meeting

Multidisciplinary Spectacles for Blind Scholars Encountering the Elephant of Globalization

This session explored the topic of globalization from a variety of disciplinary perspectives or spectacles. The presenters shared their experiences in a colloquium series at the University of Kansas titled, "Globalization, Ethics, and Culture" and engaged in discussion with other IABS members interested in apprehending the elephant known as globalization. The session included (1) an overview and some background on globalization; (2) descriptions of perspectives adopted by scholars in disciplines such as economics, philosophy, psychology, law, sociology, and ethics! and (3) discussion of the benefits and challenges of developing and engaging in multidisciplinary networks for the strengthening of education, research, and practice relating to globalization. The "blind men and the elephant” metaphor was used to illustrate paradoxical perceptions and realities of globalization.