The Organizational Scientist: Top Story

Showing posts with label Top Story. Show all posts

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Organizational Science’s First Exchange Student Completes Year with Program

by Joe Allen

Yufeng “Jane” Ma, an exchange student from Renmin University of China, arrived in Charlotte, N.C., on Oct. 29, 2008. She was invited to attend the Organizational Science program for a year to experience doctoral education in the United States. Ma’s main purpose in visiting was to learn about class structure and how American professors train their students.

She sought out opportunities to “Talk with professors and students to see their logic in approaching research questions.” Her motto was to “Not be shy and ask questions.” While attending various classes and activities, Ma had the opportunity to join or initiate several projects with current students at UNC Charlotte.

For example, she had an interest in studying emotional labor across cultural boundaries. This led her to collaborate with Joe Allen. They are currently working on a project looking at how emotional labor is manifested in the United States and China. Ma also connected with April Spivack and David Askay and is working on a project concerning abusive supervision in organizations.

And if that wasn’t enough work, Ma took time to develop a model for her dissertation, work on a few papers from her work at Renmin, publish one paper in a Chinese journal, and have a conference paper accepted to an international research conference in Moscow.

When asked about her experiences at UNC Charlotte, she said “American students are very patient. They always were kind and helped. My American friends are polite and seemingly empathetic to my needs.”

Even as Ma prepared to return to China, she couldn’t help but reflect on all the things she’s going to miss. “I will miss my colleagues the most. We had a good time and shared funny stories.” She also acquired a distinct affinity for American cuisine, saying “I will miss the food: macaroni and cheese, hamburgers, and pizza; and desserts like muffins, cookies, brownies, cakes, etc.”

Regarding her return to China, Ma said, “I want to stay longer to see what happens in the future. I want to be around you guys. I am really thankful to the Organizational Science program. This program is so, so, so nice. I am so, so, so happy when I am here. You guys are very, very, very helpful.”

Where is she now…

In a letter to the program Jane wrote:

“It took me a while to get used to China. Beijing is very noisy and crowded compared to Charlotte. Even now I am still not used to it, like the bad traffic. I also saw my friends and family after my arrival. Of course, I ate a lot of authentic Chinese food.

“I was working on my dissertation and had my proposal defense on November 30. I am also working on a few projects, finished two Chinese papers … I also presented one paper at the fourth management conference in China. Now I really hope I can finish my dissertation in time. It is also a big task to apply for a job. I am working on it.

“Now I know SIOP [the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology] at Atlanta accepted one of my papers, so I am going to apply for the travel grant from my university. I am looking forward to attending SIOP in this coming April and see my dear friends there. I am also looking forward to seeing any of you guys in Beijing and show this capital city to you. Whenever I meet an American, it makes me think of you guys. I really miss you all.”

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Inaugural Summer Institute Provides Undergraduates with Inside View to Graduate Education

by Kate Frear

Members of the UNC Charlotte’s Organizational Science doctoral program have long discussed the issue of diversity in the field. And in May 2009, those early conversations culminated in the Organizational Science Summer Institute (OSSI), a week-long program designed to give undergraduates from historically underrepresented groups an insider’s view into organizational science education and research.

“It was an exciting and exhausting week,” said Dr. Shawn Long, Organizational Science faculty member and OSSI coordinator. “On all accounts, it was a very successful and well-received initiative.”

The crux of the issue is that certain minority groups are underrepresented in graduate programs and professions within the organizational sciences. Rather than tackle the problem with recruitment and selection strategies, OSSI leaders decided to go a step further and target the pipeline itself. Specifically, that meant focusing on undergraduate students. “It’s a cutting edge approach to promoting diversity,” said Dr. Steven Rogelberg.

To that end, the OSSI leadership team invited ten undergraduate students from underrepresented groups to participate in the inaugural OSSI. Because of sponsorship by Development Dimensions International Inc., Applied Psychological Techniques Inc., Valtera Corporation, UNC Charlotte’s Graduate School, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Belk College of Business, and the Chancellor’s Diversity Challenge Fund, program participants attended completely free of charge. The ten students, or “fellows,” were chosen based on interest in the organizational sciences and potential for graduate school success. The goal was to give these students a realistic preview of graduate school while helping them strengthen their applications. As such, the program featured daily

interactions with Organizational Science students and faculty members, in which they learned about conducting organizational research and about strategies for applying to graduate school.

A normal day at the OSSI began at 8 a.m. with two hours of GRE preparation training, followed by workshops given by guest speakers and Organizational Science faculty members. In the afternoon, fellows had hands-on research sessions with faculty members and student mentors. Research sessions ranged from designing the method of a research project to analyzing data previously collected by one of the mentors. “I felt like I was learning all the time, whether it was GRE prep or just expanding my own research,” said OSSI fellow Erik Garcia, an undergraduate student from Colorado State University. At the end of the week, fellows gave formal presentations of their research sessions.

OSSI was a program-wide event developed and coordinated Long as well as Organizational Science students Adrian Goh, April Spivack, Kate Frear, and David Askay. Nearly everyone else in the Organizational Science community contributed too, whether it was in the form of mentoring students, facilitating workshops, or networking at one of the community meals. “It was a pleasure working with these young folks,” said Dr. Linda Shanock. “Shawn [Long] and the OSSI team did a great job making this a great experience for them.”

For all who participated, the OSSI was an enjoyable, rewarding experience. “The Institute was great,” said OSSI fellow Brandon Crosby, an undergraduate student from Morehouse College. “I learned more than I could have ever hoped for.” Garcia added, “OSSI this summer was one of those experiences where I felt like I really gained a new perspective. It was an awesome experience!”

Given the success of this year’s OSSI, the program has a promising future. “The Institute is truly amazing and should continue for many years to come,” said Rogelberg, “On a personal level, I truly felt honored to be one of the mentors. It was a wonderful experience.”
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