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Position
Academic Background
Sample Courses
Teaching Philosophy
Research & Interests
Notable Academic Appointments & Awards
Publication Highlights
Selected Scholarly Presentations
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Position
- Associate Professor of Management
Academic Background
- University of Rhode Island - Doctorate of Philosophy in Business Administration / Management, 2001
- University of Pittsburgh - M.B.A., concentration in Finance and Accounting, 1990
- The Pennsylvania State University - B.S. in Finance, 1987
Sample Courses Taught at Providence College
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Leadership Development
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Organizational Behavior
Teaching Philosophy
"[E]ducation is a development within, by and for experience."
- John Dewey
My teaching is based in the philosophies of social constructionism and instrumentalism. Social constructionism assumes language, rather than being representative of reality, constitutes reality. In other words, our social realities, knowledge, and sense of self are created between us in our dialogical practices (i.e., everyday interactions and conversations). Under social constructionist suppositions, learning is conceived of as a dialogic and open-ended process rather than as a purely cognitive and close-ended process.
Instrumentalism is based on the assumption that all knowledge is ultimately practical. It is concerned with the practical, day-to-day problems and challenges of the learner. Rather than focusing on independent and objective 'reals', it starts with the learner's experience and understanding of the world and her self. Instrumentalism assumes that there are no natural laws or final, completely adequate descriptions of what happens in life, but rather, merely more and more adequate instrumentalities for dealing with always changing and developing human experiences. Engaging in the process of seeking these "more and more adequate instrumentalities" is the process of inquiry.
Based on these two philosophies, I assume learning as an embodied, social, dialogic, and responsive process that involves feelings and emotions. Also, being a social activity, learning is inherently a moral activity. Learning allows individuals to effectively and meaningfully work through their present and future day-to-day experiences. The learner does not stand outside knowledge but is part of and in transaction with it. All of this points to the importance of experiential learning, effective learning conversations, and reflective and reflexive learning in facilitating the creation of meaning and significance for students. Learning should involve experiential learning opportunities for the students, assist them in relating the course material to their lived experience, and creating 'mirrors' through which they can 'see' themselves. To facilitate this learning, students are provided with experiential learning opportunities and taught how to engage in self-reflection and practical reflexivity. As opposed to theories and neat case studies, experiential learning requires the learner to address and work through the messiness and complexity of lived experience. Thus, it facilitates the learner's critical, self-reflection, practical reflexivity, and problem solving abilities that allow learners to become more effective and moral practitioners.
Social life is inherently complex and social theories are generalizations of a multiplicity of individual experiences and, therefore, do not capture the uniqueness and complexity of an individual's lived-experience. Thus, theories are a point of departure from which to begin to understand one's individual experience, not a complete and definitive explanation of that experience. As well as critically examining normative concepts, ideas, and theories, my classroom is a space within which students may employ their imagination to transcend these normative concepts, ideas, and theories to create unique understandings of the course content that are significant to their day-to-day lives. In my classroom, students must think for themselves and critically evaluate the course content that is presented to them and attempt to makes sense of it through reflecting on their lived-experience and engaging in practical reflexivity.
My classroom is organized as a democratic community of inquiry in which I am an actively engaged member. The foundation of this pedagogy is based in critical thinking and I employ Socratic, experiential, reflective, reflexive, and cooperative learning methods. Students are not objects that passively receive information spouted at them by an all-knowing professor. Rather, they are active participants in and creators of their learning and knowledge. Students are able to inquire into, reveal, and transcend their own tacit assumptions, as well as inquire into and transform their practice. The ultimate goal is that each student becomes the author of and takes responsibility for his or her understanding of self and social reality.
Research & Interests
Notable Academic Appointments and Awards
- Conference Organizer - Stream Convenor, "The role of the contemplative in workplace organization: Exploring spiritualities, theologies, philosophies, and ethics." The Sixth International Critical Management Conference, The University of Warwick, UK., July 13-15, 2009
- Associate Editor (The Americas), Culture and Organization, September 2008 - present
- Conference Organizer, Organization and Belief Systems, March 17-19, 2008, Tampa, Florida.
- Associate Director, TECO Energy Center for Leadership, 2006-2008
- On the Spot Cash Award, Department of Management and Leadership, USCGA, 2005,
2004 & 2001
- Best Dissertation Award, International Academy of Business Disciplines, 2002
- Most Influential Professor of Scholar Athletes, University of New Haven, 2001
- Beta Gamma Sigma, 2001 & 1990
Publication Highlights
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Eriksen, M. "Authentic Leadership: Practical Reflexivity, Self-Awareness and Self-Authorship." Journal of Management Education, forthcoming.
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Eriksen, M. & Tompson,G. H. "Mason biodiesel: A family's new venture in a
new industry." New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, 2009
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Eriksen, M. "Leading adaptive organizational change: self-reflexivity and self- transformation." Journal of Organizational Change Management, 21 (5), 622-640, 2008
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Eriksen, M., Deis, A., Jefferson, S. & Kraemer, K. "Female Leadership Development in the Military: Experience, Consequences, and Recommendations." Central Business Review, 27 (2), 11-20, 2008
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Eriksen, M., Chaves, W., Hope, A. & Dugal, S. 2007. "Creating a Community of Critically Reflexive Feminist Scholars." Tamara Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry l, 6 (4), 222-241, 2007
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Eriksen, M. "Personal Leadership Conundrum." Journal of Management Education, 31 (2). 263-277, 2007
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Eriksen, M. "Resistance, Relationships, Meaning and Identity." Intervention Research: International Journal on Culture, Organization and Management, 1 (1), 61-80, 2004
Selected Scholarly Presentations and Activities
- Eriksen, M. & Sherer, P. "Creating Communities of Inquiry in the Classroom: Creating
Learning Bridges between Alumni, Students and Professors." 27th Standing
Conference on Organizational Symbolism., Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden, July, 2009
- Cunliffe, A. & Eriksen, M. "Leadership Abstraction, Distraction, and Practice: What CMS has to Offer." 5th International Critical Management Studies Conference, Manchester, UK, July 2007
- Eriksen, M, Jefferson, S., Kraemer, K., & Travers, C. "Female Leadership Development in the Military: Observations, Insights, and Recommendations," 'Studying Leadership': Future Agenda. The Fourth International Annual Conference on Leadership Research, Lancaster: UK, December 2005
- Eriksen, M. & Dugal. S, "Competitor Analysis: Empathy and Imagination," 4th International Critical Management Studies Conference, Cambridge, UK, July 2005
- Eriksen, M. & Dugal S. "Facilitating Practical Consciousness through the Mirror of History and the "Other," European Group for Organizational Studies, 18th Colloquium, Barcelona, Spain, July 2002.
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