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*** apologies for cross-postings ***

Dear colleagues,

We are delighted to welcome Prof. Snejina Michailova (University of Auckland, New Zealand) as the next speaker in our IHRM Webinar series. Join us next week (February 29/March 1, depending on your time zone), when she will discuss the business of modern slavery, and associated HR issues. Find information on timing, registration link, and presentation details below.

Modern slavery is widespread. Hardly any country is immune to it, and almost no industry is shielded from it. Both formal and informal economies breed it. Some of it is found domestically, some of it crosses borders.

Modern slavery is typically viewed as a societal issue; it is enabled by socioeconomic, institutional, and geographical factors. It is, however, also an organizational phenomenon - modern slavery thrives because certain organizational actors are involved, particular business conditions exist, and specific management capabilities and practices are utilized. Modern slavery can creep into the employment relationship, making labor commodification extreme. Hence, it becomes an inherently HR issue.

This webinar will offer insights into (the business of) modern slavery. The talk will argue that unless modern slavery is understood as a business, there would be minimal chance of ending it. Persisting myths will be discussed briefly, and a reasoning behind some assumptions will be put forward. A case will be made for why HR scholars are well-positioned to pursue lines of inquiry related to modern slavery. Just because the phenomenon has remained largely under their radar so far and because research challenges endure, it doesn't need to, and indeed, it shouldn't be that way.

• Feb 29 - 11:30am - 12:30pm PST (Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco)
• Feb 29 - 2:30pm - 3:30pm EST(Toronto, Boston, New York, Miami)
• Feb 29 - 7:30pm - 8:30pm GMT(London)
• Feb 29 - 8:30pm - 9:30pm CET (Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Zagreb)
• Mar 01 - 3:30am - 4:30am CST (Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei)
• Mar 01 - 4:30am - 5:30am JST (Tokyo, Kyoto)
• Mar 01 - 6:30am - 7:30am AEDT (Melbourne, Sydney)
• Mar 01 - 8:30am - 9:30am NZDT (Auckland, New Zealand)
• Feb 29 - 7:30pm - 8:30pm (UTC).

* As an international partnership, the IHRM series welcomes speakers from all over the world and multiple time zones. This session will be recorded to share with registrants who are not able to attend the live session.

Registration. The event is free and open to anyone who is interested, but you must register to receive the zoom link to attend. This link will be emailed to you 24 hours before the event. Find the registration link here https://beedie.sfu.ca/events/modern-slavery-why-should-hr-scholars-care. For any additional inquiries, email us at beedie-events@sfu.ca

About the speaker
Snejina Michailova (PhD from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark) is a Professor of International Business at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She researches people- and knowledge-related issues in organizations and multinationals in particular. Some of her work is on theory and methodology. One of her current lines of scholarly inquiry is modern slavery. She has published more than 100 articles, with her work appearing in the Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Executive, Academy of Management Learning & Education, British Journal of Management, California Management Review, Global Strategy Journal, International Journal of Management Reviews, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Inquiry, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of World Business, Long Range Planning, Organization Studies, Organizational Dynamics, and others.

She has co-authored Talent Management in Small Advanced Economies (2019) and has co-edited A Guide to Key Theories for Human Resource Management (2024), The Routledge Companion on Cross-Cultural Management (2015), Research Handbook on Women in International Management (2014), Knowledge Governance (2010), Human Resource Management in Central and Eastern Europe (2008) and Research Methodologies in Non-Western Contexts (2005).

Snejina has served in various editorial roles and has received numerous international research awards. In 2023, she became the President of the Australia and New Zealand International Business Academy. She also serves as Associate Dean (Research) in her Business School. <https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/s-michailova>

This session will be moderated by Elaine Farndale, Professor of Human Resource Management, at Penn State University, USA.

This event is part of an IHRM Webinar Series, organized by the Centre for Global Workforce Strategy at Simon Fraser University (Canada), the Center for International Human Resource Studies at the Pennsylvania State University (USA), Pennsylvania Western University (USA), ESCP Business School and RIT Croatia (Europe).

Previous installments of the IHRM Webinar Series are available online on our YouTube Channel.