I have been an adjunct member of
the Management Department at
This is an undergraduate required course. The goal
of this undergraduate capstone course is to tie together all of the business
disciplines students have studied in their undergraduate education. In a
combination of lecture, case study, and simulation, students are shown in this
application-oriented course how managers in a business environment develop and
implement strategy drawing upon interrelated business disciplines.
Business Policy is a Communication Intensive Course, which means students are
coached (in collaboration with a fellow from the
This
is an undergraduate required course. The goal of this first course in the
management education is to introduce students to the historical, developmental,
and contemporary aspects of management. Qualitative as well as
quantitative concepts, tools, and techniques are introduced. The role of
manager as decision maker is also presented and simulated through in class
exercises and workshops. This course is taught using the same principles
as those in a Communication Intensive Course.
This is an Executive MBA requirement. The goal of this course is to introduce the elements of e commerce into the traditional approaches managers have had to profitably deliver their goods or services to their customers. With an understanding of the foundation level tools, economics, and relevant applications of e commerce, students are able to incorporate this added dimension into business plans that they are writing.
This is an Executive MBA pre-requisite. The goal of this workshop is to assist returning executive level students with the transition back to an academic environment that will rely heavily upon a team-oriented learning approach. The workshop introduces different dimensions of leadership and team building. It then utilizes these dimensions in a hands-on team building exercise from which relevant lessons are identified and debriefed.
This is an Executive MBA elective. The goal of this workshop is to introduce verbal communication tools that will enhance entering Executive MBA candidates’ confidence, and ability to deliver a compelling, persuasiveness presentation. The workshop has participants applying these tools in a recorded presentation that they deliver to their peers. The tape is debriefed and areas for improvement are identified.
This is an Executive MBA elective. The goal of this workshop is to enable participants to construct a parameter-driven financial model that incorporates decisions and uncertainties facing managers who are building a business case for either an entity or a project. During the workshop, participants build a series of tools in Microsoft Excel that they can then take with them to apply on existing business plans they are writing.
This is an Executive MBA elective. The goal of this workshop is to introduce basic concepts and tools of Microsoft Excel to entering Executive MBA candidates who have little or no knowledge of Excel. The workshop has participants using these tools in a series of exercises that are relevant to the needs of their future course of study.
I.N.F.O.R.M.S. , “Applying Decision Tools When Implementing Strategy in a Union Environment”
This seminar addressed the communications issues in a work environment populated with individuals of varying educational levels. Language for decision framing and describing decision tools is technically sophisticated and presents challenges to workers who may not have received even an elementary school education. Conversations around this within organizations usually involve highly educated senior managers. However, effective implementation with unions oftentimes causes leadership and membership to diverge. Decision practitioners therefore must also communicate powerful decision concepts to valued stakeholder groups unfamiliar with the supporting theories.
Iacocca
Institute,
This seminar presented emerging marketing and commerce trends associated with the introduction of the web as a business platform to a group of international interns at the Iacocca Institute. The Iacocca Institute brings in college students from around the world into an executive internship program which synergizes the experience of seasoned business professionals with the knowledge and ideas of college students and young professionals.
This seminar presented the importance of teaching communication skills – written, verbal, and motivation – in the classroom environment in a business education. In order to prepare students in a business program for success in their professional careers, a multi-faceted communication program has to be developed and aligned with the teaching of underlying business concepts. Expectations need to be established with students at the beginning of the semester that communication aspects will be both incorporated and evaluated as part of their course work. The role of feedback is instrumental in learning and applying communications tools - group discussions in the classroom, individual feedback, and peer feedback.
Rapid
Reengineering Training Program
This training program takes the theory of business process reengineering and translates it into actionable steps that an organization must undertake when they retool their business processes. It takes participants through a five module program that addresses the major steps in a process redesign program: Identifying the Need for Change, Developing the Business Case, Creating a Vision, Developing a Technical and Social Solution, and Transforming the Organization. This workshop is designed to be delivered to managers and non-managers in an organization.
Parameter-Based Modeling Techniques for Business Planning
See description above.
Running
a Grassroots Political Campaign
Based on the popular primer “The Grassroots Technology Workbook” and the corresponding “Campaign Coordinator” software, this workshop introduces the equivalent of a start-up company to the considerations of managing and executing on a campaign or initiative drive. It focuses on the three major components of a campaign effort: Voter Targeting and Contact, Fundraising and Reporting, and Volunteer Management. This workshop is designed to be delivered to campaign managers, their staff, and campaign volunteers.
Building
a Community-Based Emergency Preparedness Plan
Using the same underlying principles of “Running a Grassroots Political Campaign,” this workshop addresses the social and economic considerations a community-based effort must understand in establishing a preparedness plan. This workshop is designed to be delivered to community leaders, emergency and safety personnel, corporate citizens, and other community preparedness personnel.
Developments in the practice of business management continue to move at a fast pace. Students at all levels, in all disciplines, must acquire and continue to refresh relevant business and management skills in order to remain viable in today's job market. It is my belief that the underlying pillars supporting these skills are:
Communication: Recognizing that communication skills need to be built into – not onto – the curriculum;
Diversity: Recognizing the power in diversity;
Self-confidence: Building the self-confidence one needs to become a successful business professional;
Lifelong Learning: Developing an appreciation and a process for lifelong learning;
Business Literacy: Introducing fundamentals of Business Literacy that enhances internalizing core concepts, conversing with colleagues, and better understanding of the business press;
Balance: Recognizing the need to balance professional career, contribution to community and family;
Customer/Partner Orientation: Treating all facets of work within and outside of the organization with a customer/partner orientation;
Data-supported Decision Making: Developing processes to make data-supported decisions, and;
Management of Expectations: Better managing expectations to increase probability for overall workplace success.
I employ the tenets of servant leadership in my educational (and, in general, business) approach. I explicitly position myself as my students’ colleague. I afford my students the respect I afford all business professionals with whom I work as a practicing professional. As peers, I ask students to view their time together with me as a learning laboratory. I encourage them to take risks in the “safe” and “welcoming” environment I hopefully create in the classroom. I let them know that making mistakes within this setting is OK, as these mistakes will serve as a learning experience for both them and their colleagues. Better to make a mistake in a classroom than in a job setting where the consequences can be much geater.
At the start of each semester or seminar, I let my students know what I expect of them and what they, as my customers, should expect of me. In concert, I assume the responsibility of learning each student’s name and aspirations, so I can make sure I leverage touch points that will resonate with them in their learning process. It is my job, then, for the remainder of the semester or seminar, to introduce students to new problem solving tools and techniques with sufficient background theory – and timely, relevant examples that apply the theory - to enable them to apply the tools to new problems and situations.
During the semester, I continually ask them to imagine themselves as professionals in different business settings to apply theory within both known and new contexts. This prepares them to have the confidence to engage in conversations illustrating their understanding of the business environment in which they will make business decisions. They need to be able support their decisions with data, articulate the thought processes they used to make their decisions, and present options for exploring the particular decision topic further. In these simulation exercises, it is important that students make sure to meet their audience where their audiences are in order to achieve effective, quality communication. In doing the above, true learning occurs.
In my experience, students appreciate theory and retain new skills when they are immediately able to apply the current lesson to actual problem solving tasks. Within the classroom environment, I employ a combination of lecture, interrogatories, and group break out sessions. Outside of the classroom, I use a combination of low stakes and high stakes exercises (individual and group) to provide the students with additional hands on practice with the tools and theory which they are learning. I rely on frequent but short homework exercises geared towards boosting the student's confidence while reinforcing the lecture material. Longer homework assignments (2 to 4 weeks) are given which ask the student to assimilate several lectures worth of material to solve more complex problems and integrate individual tools. I have my students participate in working teams (see below). In some of my classes I have my students keep self-reflection professional growth journals to help them develop their written communication skills.
In the classroom, I employ a variety of teaching tools such as prepared notes, overheads, current news clippings, videos, on-line presentations, guest lecturers, and other relevant props (e.g., a 20 oz. Diet Coke bottle). I make most of my course notes and tutorials available on a web page within the Blackboard Learning System and encourage the class to print out the day's lecture notes prior to the start of the lecture. I have found that this gets students more involved in the course as they take an active role in acquiring the materials, have an opportunity to skim the notes before class time, and can subsequently take notes directly on the printed copies during the lecture.
Students often have a difficult time ``thinking on their feet'' which is to say, given a novel problem, they will often be at a loss for a solution approach especially under time or social pressures. Often, this discomfort is rooted in cultural differences. To give students some practice in this regard, I will canvas the room with interrogatories during lectures to stimulate class discussion. I keep track of who speaks in class and who does not to make sure students get equal floor time. If I have to provide a script for quiet students initially, that is fine, as it builds their confidence. Oftentimes these students who I coach along in this manner become active participants later in the semester (or seminar). This has several purposes:
I employ teams to supplement the classroom learning experience. I firmly believe, and communicate to my students, that they stand to learn as much from their colleagues as they can from me. To this end, I have breakout groups work on low stakes simulation exercises in class sessions where I can monitor – and subsequently coach - team dynamics. Students produce a work product in the form of a presentation that they then deliver to their colleagues. I also use the group structure outside the classroom to work on larger, more complex assignments. Students must gather data to articulate a point of view and then formally present it to their colleagues. My choice of simulations and projects supports the goal of enhancing students’ business literacy.
For group work outside of the classroom, groups need to keep detailed meeting minutes, indicating, along with the work product, relative contribution of team members. Individuals rotate in the role of team leader, meeting facilitator, and secretary. Groups are encouraged to let those colleagues who need to develop these skills more to assume these roles more often. Groups that experience difficulties are encouraged to resolve these difficulties by themselves, without bring the Instructor in to referee. This serves to teach conflict management tools. Again, the concept is for learning to take place in all possible settings within the “safe” academic environment.
Peer evaluations play an important role in my courses. Students who work shoulder to shoulder in small groups evaluate strengths, areas for improvement, and professionalism of their small group members. These often serve as a platform for conversations about an individual’s areas for professional development. Additionally, when students present in front of the class, their colleagues are asked to provide feedback about the student’s oral communications capabilities.
Student motivation is often a reflection of instructor motivation. I believe in “truth in advertising” and clearly articulate the work – and the subsequent benefits – of taking a course with me. I let my students know they will have to work hard – all of them, no freeloaders – just as I will work hard to provide them instruction, guidance, and feedback. I feel my consistently positive attitude coupled with a high enthusiasm for teaching sends a strong message to my students. Motivating students to become self-learners is also a prime concern. I encourage the use of course materials that require students to think critically about issues and to take a step beyond what is printed in the pages of a textbook.
To summarize, I employ a variety of teaching techniques designed to engage students with the material, to involve students in the class, to challenge them at the appropriate times, to relate theory and course materials to real world problems, and to inspire student's confidence in themselves and the subject.
Peer evaluations from my colleagues
in the management department have been consistently high with most scores in
the 4/5 (1 = Unsatisfactory, 5 = Exceptional).
Complete copies of Peer Evaluations are available upon request. Additional,
complete letters from Baruch colleagues are available upon request.
Teaching evaluations from my students have been consistently high with most scores in the 4/5 (1 = Unsatisfactory, 5 = Exceptional). Complete copies of Teacher evaluations are available upon request.
The following is a sample of comments taken from student feedback about my courses.
Additional, complete letters from individual students are available upon request.
Staying current with both academic and industrial developments in the field of management practice and education is one of my top priorities.
1999
- Zicklin School of Business at
1983 - New York University Stern School of Business, B.S. Economics and Quantitative Analysis (magna cum laude)
1982
-
1981/
- National Bureau
of Economic Research, Undergraduate Intern
1982
In addition to teaching responsibilities, I have worked in the private sector in both line and corporate roles and am currently a Principal in Chenery & Company, Inc., a small business consultancy. Some of the representative companies I have worked in are:
Fortune 500
Mid Cap DMBB Media
Group
Gravograph
Industrial Light and Magic
Navigant Consulting
Primedia Group
Public Service Electric and Gas
Small/Startup Netcentives
Ophidain Games
Victory Tech Publishing WildIreland Media