Written by Taylor Reed, Career Track MBA – Second Yr
COBE’s professor of supply chain and chair of the Department of Information Technology and Supply Chain Management, Tom Gattiker, was recently selected to be featured in Wiley’s 4th annual International Women’s Day Celebration Blog. Gattiker’s article, “Managerial Commitments to Sustainable Supply Chain Management Projects,” was published in the Journal of Business Logistics, and was invited to be a part of the blog posted by Wiley to promote gender equality. Gattiker was asked these questions:
Question #1
Why is research on women—their rights, their issues, their inequalities and stereotypes—important to you?
Gattiker’s answer: Women’s rights are important in their own right. They are important to me as a human being for many reasons. More narrowly they are important to me as a researcher because gender equality researchers have done much heavy lifting when it comes to advocating for the rights of underrepresented constituencies in general. In particular, my work on championing environmental issues within companies, draws heavily on work by Ashford, Dutton and other on championing gender issues within organizations.
Question #2
What do you see as the role of research and the academy to impact and enact social change, such as gender equality?
Gattiker’s answer: My academic research is primarily targeted to others in the academy–i.e. other professors. Each of these academic readers touches hundreds of students others through teaching and consulting. Our students and clients are looking to us to be thought leaders. Research provides this thought leadership.
Diversity and inclusion are critical issues for the College of Business and Economics, as well as our external stakeholders in the community. The College’s Responsible Business Initiative has focused on diversity and inclusion as one of three critical competency areas. Additionally, during the creation of the college’s strategic plan last year, College stakeholders identified one of COBE’s core values as Respect: we strive to be an inclusive, collegial community that values all forms of diversity. We are committed to integrity and ethical behavior in all that we do. Through these conversations with stakeholders and the strategic planning process, COBE recognizes that diversity and inclusion is crucial to the way it operates and educates students. Faculty research is one way that we strive to contribute and evolve these critical issues.
The Responsible Business Initiative’s three focus areas are:
- Health as a Competitive Advantage
- Sustainability Reporting and Measurement
- Diversity as a Business Driver