Overview
The SMS Member Circle is a members-only space for those involved with the Strategic Management Society (SMS) to communicate, engaging in conversations on research, events, careers, and a variety of other subjects. This platform invites members to connect directly with each other, creating peer-to-peer interactions for collaboration and networking.
The SMS Member Circle Guidelines outlined below establish the standards and expectations of behavior for users on the platform and appropriate uses of the online tool. These guidelines create ground rules for interaction and guide moderation of the platform content, encouraging a valuable experience in the online community for all participants.
All participation in the SMS Member Circle is subject to the SMS Code of Conduct. These guidelines outline the values of SMS that all members and individuals affiliated with the organization should strive toward.
- Post in an honest and objective manner.
- Respect those of different backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, and genders, especially when you disagree with a comment. Do not disparage another’s experience because it does not match your own. For example, comments that perpetuate stereotypes or paint entire generations in a negative light are not permitted.
- Respectful, professional disagreement is encouraged in the community. Do not disparage another member in your comments.
- Do not comment in discussions where you have a conflict of interest without explicitly stating your involvement.
- Post discussions in a constructive, conversational manner.
In addition to these values, we have outlined more specific guidelines for the SMS Member Circle below.
Appropriate Engagement on the SMS Member Circle
- Ask questions – The more focused and specific your question, the better the response.
- Contribute generously with a conscious effort to share your expertise.
- Bring value to the community by sharing best practices.
- Respect the privacy of others, as well as your own. Use the names of individuals only when relevant to the topic; provide citations and give credit when due.
- Opinions are welcome if they are identified as opinions, but you should not present an opinion as fact or solely to promote contention.
- All conversations need to be constructive conversations toward the advancement of the field and SMS members.
- Make comments that are relevant to the current topic. If your response brings in a different topic, consider starting a new thread on that topic. Do not distract or redirect conversations.
- Ask participants for permission to share or republish their words elsewhere, especially if elsewhere would be publicly viewable.
- Decide which platform or group within the SMS Member Circle is best for your message. Topical messages will likely receive better feedback when aligned with the group in which it is posted.
- When commenting in areas outside of your competence, acknowledge publicly that you are not an expert in the field.
Basic Internet Etiquette
- Do not type in all capital letters. It could be perceived by the reader as yelling. Use bold or italics to emphasize a word.
- Be very cautious about using sarcasm and humor. Without nonverbal cues and voice tone, “subtle” humor can easily be misunderstood. Use words, or emoticons, to convey emotion.
- Avoid unsolicited or repetitive attempts to communicate, especially should the receiver not respond, or request that you desist.
- Remember there are human beings with feelings who read your messages.
Inappropriate Use of the SMS Member Circle
- Do not post any defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal comments or materials.
- Do not use the “Send a message” feature on member profiles to spam or harass another member.
- Do not use this platform to handle disputes or air grievances. Address any issues with another SMS member, staff person, or entity directly with a personal communication, not publicly on the forum.
- Do not send administrative messages, such as “remove me from the list,” to the group. Instead, change your settings in your profile. If you are changing email addresses, you should do this in your SMS profile. If you need additional assistance, please reach out to the SMS Executive Office at sms@strategicmanagement.net
- Posts should not share confidential items, information, or research.
- Posts that include business promotion, affiliate links, and links to purchase products are not permitted.
The Strategic Management Society reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.
If you encounter any post or comment on the SMS Member Circle that is not in accordance with these guidelines, please use the “Report as Inappropriate” button found on the lefthand menu inside each Member Circle post. You may also follow up with the administrators of that group directly via message on the platform or contact the SMS Executive Office at sms@strategicmanagement.net with your concerns.