Q. Illustrate your commitment to MOBTS and management teaching with examples of your involvement in MOBTS-related activities, including but not limited to; Board/leadership roles, domestic and international MOBTS conferences, roles (author/publisher/editorial) within Journal of Management Education and Management Teaching review, as well as roles outside of MOBTS that have helped further management education.

My primary involvement with MOBTS is through MOBTC. Over the past four years, I have submitted and reviewed an average of two presentation proposals each year. I was also a participant in the Doctoral (2008) and Early Educator Institutes (2017), which were two of my favorite experiences in my academic career. Though I have yet to publish in Journal of Management Education or Management Teaching Review, I have started working with senior colleagues in hopes of turning some of my conference presentations into manuscripts either might publish. Outside of MOBTS, my commitment to management teaching is evidenced by my students nominating me for teaching excellence awards for each of the past two years. Much credit for this honor goes to the various members of the MOBTS community who have provided me valuable feedback and recommendations via the listserv as well as during MOBTC sessions.

 

Q. What specific personal, professional, and/or technical qualities and experiences will you bring to the MOBTS Board of Directors?

My 13-year history with MOBTS makes me familiar with and sensitive to the evolving character of the organization. I have had the good fortune to see a new generation of scholars begin to fill in gaps left by members who have retired from the field and MOBTS (e.g., Mike Morris). My professional and pedagogical experiences also give me unique perspectives on management education. Prior to starting my academic career, I worked in telecommunications where I got to witness firsthand how poor management led to the total collapse of what had been one of the industry leaders (Nortel Networks). As a management professor, I have gotten to teach traditional courses, like OB and HRM, as well as develop completely new ones on managerial decision making and organizational alignment. Finally, I have worked in somewhat similar voluntary leadership roles such as serving on the board of directors of a Homeowners Association as well as starting and running the IU Tango Club during my doctoral studies.

 

Q. The academic landscape is constantly changing. This not only impacts our institutions, but so too does it greatly impact not-for-profit organizations such as MOBTS. What issues and/or situations do you perceive to be on the horizon that MOBTS will have to assess and adapt to?

A growing number of publications make it clear that our current model of teaching management needs an overhaul. Among these, reports from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (2013), National Association of Colleges and Employers (2018), and the World Economic Forum (2016) specifically inform us that business school graduates are consistently underprepared in managerial capacities such as critical thinking, interpersonal skills, and teamwork. MOBTS will be well-positioned to address these learning needs if we shift our collective focus accordingly. One such shift would be to increase engagement with management practitioners and consultants who could provide insights regarding which types of problems are students needs to be able to solve as well as how better to solve them. I have already moved in this direction with my projects on integrating consulting projects in OB courses and identifying why managers routinely choose dysfunctional solutions to routine people problems.