Five questions with Commerce professor Dr. Gina Grandy
2011-03-28 15:43:15

Originally from Burin, NL, Dr. Gina Grandy is an associate professor at the Ron Joyce Centre for Business Studies. She teaches courses in Dignity of Work, Management of Organizational Change, and Organizational Theory, among others. She obtained her Bachelor of Commerce and MBA from Memorial University and her PhD from Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University in England.

1- You have researched some diverse organizations, including churches, business schools, and tattoo parlours. Why did you choose these particular organizations?

One of the reasons I selected these sites is that, in business schools, we often focus on more mainstream organizations. Churches, for example, regardless of one’s personal views about faith, are all around us. There is something that we can learn from these organizations. That is how I approach it. What can I learn from these sites and from other disciplines? What can I bring to this and, in turn, bring to my classroom to challenge students’ assumptions? I also choose these sites to challenge my own assumptions. I end up learning a lot about myself.

2- What was your favorite in-class experience?

There are so many. A couple of years ago I had students make films in my organizational theory class. I started to do this because students often struggle with the theorists — interesting to me, not so interesting to them. I remember when I first studied theorists, I learned them by remembering something quirky about their lives. So I assigned students a theorist and they had to be creative and make a ten-minute film about them. The films were great. One group made a film on Frederick Taylor that was so funny, it had me crying. I still use that film as an example in class.

3- You have coached many winning case competition teams. What do you and the students get out of this experience?

Leading up to the case competition is incredibly time consuming and challenging for the students. We have some amazing students and witnessing their growth during this process is one of the greatest rewards for me. When I work with students I make it clear that I am not working with them to win. Ultimately my goal is that they walk away feeling good about what they did, regardless of how they rank in the competition. Of course they are disappointed if they do not win, but we have been fortunate over the years to have experienced a number of ‘wins,’ which motivates students. These competitions also provide students with an opportunity to see how they stand up to other business students in the region and across the country.

I really enjoy getting to know the personalities of the students. We take it very seriously, but you can be a little less formal than a classroom setting. Long after graduation most of these students still contact me from time to time to keep me up to date on what is happening in their lives.

4- You collaborate with academics from the UK. What are the advantages of collaboration in research?

One of the greatest advantages is complementary expertise. Most of the people I work with share my interests, but their expertise is slightly different from mine. Together we make a good team. We come with our own biases, our own interests, our own theoretical perspectives, and sometimes having that other voice in the room when you are toying with a complex topic, ideas surface that you had not considered.

When I travel to the UK I often spend a week or so pretty much locked in the dining room of a co-researcher, and I have had some of my best intellectual experiences in this room. It is amazing that we still speak to each other at the end of those weeks, but at the heart of that relationship is mutual respect. That is critical for the relationship to work. We may disagree, we may get frustrated with each other, but we have this respect.

5- What do you like to do when you go home and put your feet up?

I don’t think I am good role model for work-life balance and that is something I continue to work on. I don’t pay much attention to the regular scheduling of TV shows and usually end up buying the DVD sets to watch during holidays or travelling. Over the holiday break this year I watched the entire first season of The Good Wife.

I do have one television show I like to watch regularly. I am not sure if I should admit this, but it is Coronation Street. Fortunately my partner likes it also, so if I miss it he will give me an update and if we both miss a week, we have a Sunday morning marathon to look forward to.