Catching up

So it has been over a year since I've written, and some of that is my design….but a lot of it is due to always having something else that needed to be done. In the last year and a quarter I have made tremendous progress towards my dissertation and I want to start reengaging the conversation about it.

When I stopped writing I was unsure what direction my work was going to take and quite honestly there was so much chaos in my mind, trying to deliver coherent posts was difficult. In addition, I was not at a point where I felt I could effectively convey what I was trying to say. Now, I feel like I am at a place where I know what I’m working on, I’m far enough along to have confidence it’s not going to change drastically (famous last words), and finally I feel I have a grasp on how to express it.

Over the next few posts I am going to cover my area of research as well as my method of approach. I am also going to start posting some abstracts from some of my papers which I am trying to get published. For now I will give a quick overview of my dissertation – and by quick I mean really quick.

The problem I am exploring is the issues organizations have with change, in particular the stress employees feel when change happens – and right now it is happening a lot. My research is analyzing if a trusting environment in an organization can reduce the stress employees experience during change. Current research I’ve uncovered says that trust counters the negative effects of stress, but does not go as far as to say it is due to a reduction in stress. That is what I’m exploring, along with understanding the common mechanisms between trust and stress.

What I like about my topic is that it’s easily understood by non-academics. Most everyone I discuss my work with responds the same way ‘oh yeah, I know exactly what you mean’. That is where the title of this blog comes from: It’s not just academic. I think there is a real opportunity to develop new research which has clear applications in the work space.

One down, many to go....

I have officially completed my first doctorate class (800). It was a lot more work than I realized, but also I learned a lot more than I expected. In many ways it was much more difficult than I expected. However, I also think I could have gotten away with doing a lot less work. I'm happy with the outcome, I believe I have a good focus on where I want to go research wise.

And then there were none

A lot of good and bad has happened in the last month. On the positive side, I am very proud to say that I performed very well on the last two papers (abstracts to follow soon). I am a little surprised with how much I struggled in 600, but also very proud of my performance. Especially given where I place myself in the class, it's a nice feeling to be performing at such a high level.

The last step now will be to sit for the comprehensive exam next weekend. It's pass/fail and does not impact our grade, so that takes a lot of stress of me. However, it is a very intense 24 hour exam.

On a very sad note, one of my classmates who I was quite close with dropped the class. I completely understand his reasons, but it was still very upsetting. I was mostly angry at the program for not engaging him and making him want to say. I know they tried, but I think the issues were far more fundamental.

Bell Analysis Paper Abstract

Since I have no idea how to protect my content online, I am only posting my abstract, though I may add additional content once I figure that out. This paper was on a critical analysis of Daniel Bell's book the Coming of the Post-Industrial World. I focused on one very specific aspect (I only had 8 pages).

Abstract

We consider the current state of management practices in comparison to what Bell predicted for his post-industrial society. Unlike the evidence-based paradigm Bell forecast the post-industrial society to have, today’s management practice is overwhelmingly guided by non-scientific methods. The practices currently dominating management are a result of both the education system and the short-term profit focus of business. This paper explores some of the potential causes and impacts of this culture, particularly in the area of human capital management.

Keywords: human capital, evidence-based management, management education

© 2011 by Joseph Drasin. All rights reserved

Trying to calibrate

Today I will be turning in my second paper, an analysis of 'The Road to Hell'. This has been a stressful paper partially because I had not received my grade on the first paper. It's hard to calibrate or know the expectations without a single significant data point.

Well, yesterday I got my first major grade of the doctoral work, and I was quite happy. I certainly didn't hit it out of the ball park, but it was solid. This helps me with an idea of the expectations. However, this paper is a very different type (case analysis vs. book critique) so in some ways I'm still flying blind.

Thanks to everyone who encouraged and helped with edit (at some point I'll have to start naming names). I'll try and post my abstract shortly.

Thanks again, off to the museums today with Sam. Even though they delayed the second paper deadline to Wednesday, I still plan to turn it in today.

On The Road to Hell

I turned in my first paper this morning, I feel like I either did very well or completely missed the point. The instructions were to write a critical analysis of Daniel Bell's book The Post Industrial Society. However, a number of classmates and I determined the real assignment was to pick a single aspect of the paper and just focus on that. It made a lot more sense, since in 8 pages you can't get very deep into one topic, let alone trying to cover many.

The next assignment is a case review of 'The Road to Hell'. Once again, I'm focusing on one single area of it and digging into it. My classmate and I discussed it last night and I was amazed how we focused on completely different areas. I think it's really interesting how we are writing about the same case study, but 90% of our paper will be unique.

I am starting to really get into a research area dealing with a lot of concepts important to me. My interests in the meaning of being and how that relates to motivation, management styles, etc... is leading me to explore dignity, self-efficacy, empowerment, etc... Eventually I will have to narrow down even more.

That's all for now, today I'm trying to focus on family time, so I can do more school work tonight and tomorrow. I'm spending 30+ hours a week on school, and juggling time is a major effort.

Grinding away

My updates have not been as frequent as I would have liked, but honestly it's hard to keep up with everything going on.

First, last week (9/27) was welcome Catherine Sylvia into our family. This of course is making school even more challenging as time seems to be non-existent. Luckily, I have taken some time off work which is helping me take care of the first couple papers for school.

Trying to balance to tactical reading, understand the theorists, contribute to the conversations, and still focused on larger papers is a real challenge. I know that's part of the strain of such a program, and why most people do it before they have a job and kids.

The first paper I'm doing is a critical analysis of Daniel Bell's Post-Industrial Society. I enjoyed a lot of his book, but certainly found a few areas that seem ripe for criticism. Specifically his thinking that scientific thinking would permeate society. I'm almost done with my primary writing and by tomorrow will hopefully be in full edit phase.

I still need to learn a better way to write. My current method of research is going to have trouble scaling to the size of the larger papers.

That's it for now. I'll post again when my paper is done.