"
Objectivism and
Christianity" (2011).
The Journal of Ayn Rand
Studies. 11(1), 189-213. The two primary philosophies upholding
reason in the United States today are Objectivism and
Christianity.They
may seem like strange bedfellows, but many of the large
perceived gaps between them disappear upon close inspection.As exponents of
reason, Christians and Objectivists can learn from each
other as they forward their respective agendas.As a foundation
for exploring these two philosophies, the terms reason and faith are analyzed.We conclude that
Objectivists and Christians deal with matters of uncertainty
in the same way – by holding a tentative decision based on
the best information available. This
paper then analyzes five areas in which Objectivist philosophy
can be enhanced by assuming Christian philosophical axioms.The argument focuses
on Christianity as a philosophy and intentionally does not
assume a transcendent God, which is an article of
Christianity.The
five areas addressed are creation; tabula rasa; life as
the ultimate standard; romantic love, sex, and marriage; and
altruism and the trader principle.In each case, the
Christian philosophical axioms are more realistic and better
supported empirically than the Objectivist axioms.
"America, A
Proselytizing Society" (2005). Spirit at Work. 4, 14. This brief essay
points out that Americans proselytize about all kinds of things,
but some people don't believe that proselytizing about
faith/religion is acceptable. Scroll down a little since the
article starts mid-page.
"Can We Agree on
the Force, and Call it God? Multi-disciplined Evidence and
Organizational Implications" (2005). Academy of
Management. This paper offers evidence for the existence of
God using only scientific and humanist sources. Evidence is
offered from the fields of philosophy, physics, neuroscience,
biology, psychology, and management. Materialism is
critiqued, establishing that people who choose not to believe in
God are doing so because their worldview does not allow for
non-materialist explanations, even when the preponderance of
evidence points in that direction.
"Spirituality
in
Organizations: An Empirical Review of Definitions and Other
Embedded Assumptions" with Eileen Higgins and Deborah
Wharff. Leadership
Quarterly (2005). 16 (5), 625-653. This paper
reviews the scholarly literature and reports results about the
articles along ten dimensions, including whether they define
spirituality in the context of religion (or not), whether it is an
individual or a collective phenomenon, and whether or not it leads
to increased productivity.
"Reconciling
Complexity
Science
in Organizations and Christian Spirituality" (2003) Emergence: A Journal of Complexity
Issues in Organizations and Management. 5 (4),
124-140. This paper demonstrates how the recent work in
complexity science in organizations reinforces the claims and
teachings of the Christian scriptures.
"Modeling
U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness" (2006) Dent, Eric B.
& Hughes, Robert. Journal of Business and Public
Administration. 3(1), 67-78. This article creates a
model for understanding the characteristics of U.S. manufacturers
that have successfully kept their businesses in the United States
rather than moving to countries with lower-cost labor.
"The
Complexity Science OD Practitioner," Organization
Development Journal (2003). 21(2), 84-88.Article provides a
taxonomy of how complexity science is being applied to
organizations. Shows examples of complexity science OD
interventions.
"Employees
Actually Embrace Change: The Chimera of Resistance,"
Journal
of
Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, (2002).
7(2), 56-73. Article unmasks "resistance to
change" and shows that it is not a helpful mental model.
"Resistance to change" is challenged by deconstruction, by
examples from the literature of the field, and by an empirical
study.
"Challenging
Resistance to Change,"Dent, Eric B. and Susan
Galloway Goldberg (1999). "Challenging 'resistance to
change,'" Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35 (1),
25-41. Article challenges the widely-held mental model of
"resistance to change."
"The
Observation, Inquiry, and Measurement Challenges Surfaced by
Complexity Theory" (2005) In K. Richardson (Ed.), Managing the Complex: Philosophy,
Theory and Practice. 253-283. Greenwich, CT:
Information Age Publishers. The purpose of this chapter is (1) to
gather in one place, the measurement and inquiry challenges
surfaced by complexity theory. (2) to offer insights into how
complexity theory can better inform both organizational
researchers and practitioners as they deal with these measurement
challenges.
“Worldview
Assumptions:
Paradigm Shift in Progress?” (2004) Journal of
Behavioral and Applied Management. 5 (3), 280-306.
This
paper is an empirical test of the change in worldview assumptions
in articles written in ASQ, comparing 1957 with 1997. Some shift
was found in perspectival observation and cooperation. No shift
was apparent toward holism or mutual causation.
"Reconciling
Complexity
Science
in Organizations and Christian Spirituality" (2003) Emergence: A Journal of Complexity
Issues in Organizations and Management. 5 (4),
124-140. This paper demonstrates how the recent work in
complexity science in organizations reinforces the claims and
teachings of the Christian scriptures.
"Complex Adaptive
System in War, Bureaucratic Machine in Peace: The U. S. Air
Force Example" with Cameron Holt Emergence: The Journal
of Complexity in Management and Organizations, (2001). 3
(3), 90-107. This paper suggests that the Air Force
has done a good job of seeing itself as a CAS in war time, but
reverts primarily to a bureaucratic mindset during peace time.
"The
Complexity Science OD Practitioner," Organization
Development Journal (2003). 21(2), 84-88.Article provides a
taxonomy of how complexity science is being applied to
organizations. Shows examples of complexity science OD
interventions.
"System
Science Traditions: Differing Philosophical Assumptions,"Systems Journal, 6 (1-2), 13-30, looks at several
traditions of system sciences (cybernetics, organizational
learning, system dynamics, TQM, general systems theory, and
systems analysis) and compares and contrasts the philosophical
assumptions which underpin them.
"Complexity
Science:
A Worldview Shift" Emergence: The Journal of Complexity
in Management and Organizations (1999). 1 (4), pps.
5-19. Discusses the changes in thinking, or mental models,
necessary to function effectively in a world of chaos and
complexity, a world of permanent white water.
"The History
and Origins of Several Traditions of Systems Theory and
Cybernetics"Cybernetics
and Systems:An
International Journal. 30 (2), 79-103. This paper traces
the history of several strands of thought on systems thinking
which developed in relative isolation from each other. Perhaps we
are at a time now when these works can be synthesized.
" Communicating
Science: The Difficulty Introduced by the Historical Politics of
the English Language," Buck, John A., Dent, Eric B., and
Umpleby, Stuart A. (2000). Science Communication.
22 (1), 73-87. This paper notes that Americans seem to have
greater difficulty grasping systems thinking than peoples of other
cultures. We suggest that part of the reason is the English
language itself which was formed by the three peoples of England
centuries ago.
“Top 10 Reasons
for Online Learning." In this paper I describe the
shift in teaching philosophy necessary to teach effectively
online, and the tremendous benefits the online environment offers.
"Developing
Scholarly Practitioners" In C. Wankel & R. DeFillippi
(Eds.), Rethinking
management education for the 21st century, 135-155.
Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishers.. This chapter describes
the current state of management doctoral education and the current
environment of management and organizations. It then presents the
Doctor of Management program at UMUC as a case study. The chapter
concludes by briefly reporting on other doctoral programs and
reflecting on future directions.
"The Unique
Governance Challenges of Graduate Contract Cohort Programs"Journal of Management Education (2000) 24 (1), 55-72.
This paper, as the title implies, discusses the major challenges
of governing a university degree program when there is a new,
major stakeholder involved - an employer sending dozens of
students for the degree. This is the first work I know of on this
subject.
" Managing Performance in
a Volatile Environment: Contrasting Perspectives on Luck
& Causality
," (accepted) with John Parnell, Timothy Hughes, and
Nicholas O'Regan. British
Journal
of Management.
Performance management is an increasingly perilous and
challenging activity for many firms, and involves understanding
the drivers and measurement of performance. Academics tend to see
performance in terms of rationality whereas business leaders tend
to interpret drivers of overall performance in a broader
context. When global crises and high uncertainty confound causal
links to performance, practitioners often invoke the notion of
“luck” as a prospective explanation. Academics are less inclined
to do so because they tend to conceptualize luck differently. This
paper considers the academic/business gap and how Mode 2 research
into luck and causality could produce findings that are more
meaningful to practicing managers in both understanding and
affecting performance. It concludes by identifying ways to
encourage greater academic-practitioner congruence to meet the
challenges of a volatile operating environment.
"
Propensity
for
Participative Decision Making in Turkey and the United States
," (2012) with John Parnell and Mehmet Koseoglu.
International
Journal of Business Excellence.
Increased subordinate participation in management decisions
has been a recognised trend in both private and public
organisations in many western nations. Less is known about such
practices in other parts of the world, however, especially in
emerging countries. This study assesses similarities and
differences between US and Turkish managers with regard to
propensity for participative decision making (PPDM). The first
hypothesis tests the validity of the PPDM scale among a sample of
Turkish managers, and was supported. The second hypothesis
examines whether US managers report higher levels of participation
with respect to the four dimensions of organisational
effectiveness, power, culture, and commitment. Surprisingly, the
Turkish
managers reported higher levels of participation in the first
three dimensions, with no statistical difference with the US
managers on commitment. Other findings are discussed and
directions for future research are also presented.
"A
Work Behavior Analysis of Executive Coaches
," (2011) with Glenn Newsom.
International Journal of Evidence
Based Coaching and Mentoring. 9(2), 1-22.
This study has three main purposes. First, it introduces
the Executive Coaching Work Behaviour Survey and takes the initial
steps in validating this instrument. It then explores the
frequency of specific work Behaviours executive coaches use in
their client interactions and examines the variability in these
behaviours based on demographic factors. The Executive Coaching
Work Behaviour Survey is shown to measure three factors:
Professional Coach Activities, Goal Setting and Attainment
Activities, and Relationship Activities. One hundred and thirty
executive coaches affiliated with a major global leadership
training and development organization were surveyed. Results
indicate that the most frequent coaching behaviours are (1)
establishing trust, honesty, and respect (2) using open-ended
questions, and (3) clarifying and understanding client concerns
and challenges. Significant differences in coaching behaviour
occur based on some demographic variables measured. For example,
women score higher than men in Relationship Activities behaviours,
coaches with only a Bachelor’s degree score higher than coaches
with a doctoral degree in Professional Coach Activities, and
coaches with business-related educations perform more Professional
Coach Activities than coaches with counseling-related educations.
An implication of this study is that competencies needed to
achieve professional level performance as an executive coach are
not derived from particular educational or work-related
experiences.
"
The
Senior Leader as Both
a Strategist and Technical Specialist," (2010)
Journal
of Business
Leadership, 114-139.
Although textbooks suggest that as leaders climb the
ladder they dispense with "technical" responsibilities, that
doesn't seem to accurately reflect the current organizational
dynamics. Senior leaders often have a mission-critical
technical expertise and the organization continues to depend on
them for this expertise in addition to their managerial
role. In fact, in many types of organizations today, the
"breakthrough" idea is likely to come from a senior leader, not
someone lower in the organization.
"Philosophy,
Ethics, and Capitalism: An Interview With BB&T Chairman John
Allison," (2009) with John A. Parnell. Academy of
Management Learning and Education. 8(4), 587-596. For
20 years John Allison served as CEO of Branch Banking &Trust
Corporation (BB&T), the tenth largest bank in the United
States. Allison attributes BB&T’s success to operating by a
set of principles that are embodied in the firm’s statement of 10
key values. For example, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a
municipality’s right to seize property by eminent domain for the
purpose of economic development,
BB&T issued a statement that it would not provide loans for
any projects in which the land for the project had been taken in
this manner. In this interview Allison addresses philosophy,
ethics, values, and how BB&T harnesses them to guide its
business decisions. Characterized as a defender of capitalism and
a “philosopher king,” Allison often quotes the likes of Thomas
Aquinas, John Locke, and
Ayn Rand. He discusses leadership development and outlines his
contention that successful leaders “evade less and focus more.”
Allison closes with suggestions for how business schools can
address the topics of ethics and leadership.
"The
Role of Luck in the Strategy-Performance Relationship,"
(2009) with John A. Parnell. Management Decision. 47(6),
1000-1021. Strategic management scholars seek to link
strategic factors to performance. When specific causal links
cannot be identified, however, other potential explanations should
be considered, including the notion of luck. This paper aims to
introduce a distinction between scholarly and practitioner
perspectives of luck and identifies why this distinction is
critical to both scholars and practitioners.
"The
Messy
History of OB&D: How Three Strands Came to be seen as One
Rope"Management Decision, 40 (3), 266-280..
Discusses the early experiences of GWU professors Peter Vaill,
Jerry Harvey, and Erik Winslow with three different seminal fields
of OB&D. Those represented by Harvard, NTL, and Herzberg,
respectively. Named by the journal as Outstanding Paper in
2002
"Leadership
in
Permanent White Water: Research Challenges". This paper in
progress addresses the difficulty in studying leadership if you
assume a white water environment. It also chronicles some of my
work in Bogota, Colombia. It appears in the proceedings of
the Chesapeake Bay Organization Development Network 2002
conference.
"Can Conflict
Be Healthy?" This paper describes the use of the
Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument as it applies to Christian
churches.
Final draft chapters from my book Management:
Perspectives, Processes, and Productivity, University of
Maryland Press, 1995.
"Ethics
in Organizations," Chapter 8 - Discusses "game" ethics and
"personal" ethics, corporate social responsibility, and ethics
checklists
"Communication,"
Chapter 10 - Presents a different model of communications,
discusses Covey's notion of empathic listening, discusses
negotiation strategies and communication via email.
"Managing
Diversity," Chapter 11 - Presents my own views for the
best way to frame the topic of diversity in organizations.
"Emerging
Management," Chapter 13 - Describes new ways of looking at
and understanding management.