“One editorial decision can make or break a career”

Portrait of Dr. Ajnesh (Ash) Prasad with ocean in background

The magnitude of the position is not lost on Dr. Ajnesh (Ash) Prasad, School of Business Canada Research Chair who was recently appointed as the incoming associate editor at the journal, Human Relations, one of the oldest and most influential peer-reviewed business school journals in the world.

Prasad credits his first sole-authored publication in Human Relations for the multiple, impressive academic job offers he received from universities in Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and the United States while he was still in his doctoral program—he ultimately accepted a tenure-track position at UNSW Business School (incorporating the Australian Graduate School of Management) in Sydney, Australia in 2010.

First published in 1947, Human Relations is a highly competitive journal—it is on track to receive well over 1,100 submissions in 2020 (it publishes only 60 articles a year). Consistently recognized as a top journal in the field, it is included in the prestigious Financial Times 50 list and holds the highest rating of ‘A*’ on the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) and ‘4’ in the Association of Business Schools (ABS) journal quality lists.

“This appointment is clearly in recognition of the incredible impact and contribution that Ash has made at the highest levels in our field,” says Dr. Robert Mittelman, interim dean of the Faculty of Management. “His approach to interesting and often ignored research questions and contexts has made for a diverse publication record that broadens the scope of management literature. As an associate editor, I’m sure Ash will continue to champion this approach and give back to the scholarly community,” he says.

Prasad will be beginning his term as associate editor in January 2021. The appointment comes at an opportune time as he wraps up his five-year term as the chair of the Critical Management Studies division at the Academy of Management, the largest association of management and organization scholars in the world.

Besides sophisticated theoretical frameworks, sound methodologies, and rigorous practical execution, courage is something Prasad will be looking for when screening submissions for publication. In this post-pandemic world, courage is what we all need, to imagine and explore new ways to not only survive but thrive. It is a core value at the university and we look forward to articles published in the journal that “create space for research that is unconventional, interesting and courageous.”