management Archives | University of Central Florida News Central Florida Research, Arts, Technology, Student Life and College News, Stories and More Tue, 24 Jun 2025 17:22:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /wp-content/blogs.dir/20/files/2019/05/cropped-logo-150x150.png management Archives | University of Central Florida News 32 32 Study Shows Keeping Gratitude Journal Reduces Gossip, Incivility in Workplace /news/study-shows-keeping-gratitude-journal-reduces-gossip-incivility-in-workplace/ Wed, 23 Sep 2020 12:48:14 +0000 /news/?p=113108 A few minutes a day writing about what you 麻豆精品 S檙e grateful for can make you less of a jerk.

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Researchers suggest employees should take a cue from Jimmy Fallon 麻豆精品 S檚 Thank You Notes segment on The Tonight Show聽to improve workplace behavior. A recent University of Central Florida study suggests employees who keep a gratitude journal exhibit less rude behavior and mistreatment of others in the workplace.

麻豆精品 S淕ratitude interventions are exercises designed to increase your focus on the positive things in your life. One intervention involves writing down a list of things you are thankful for each day, 麻豆精品 S says management Professor Shannon Taylor, who teamed up with fellow management Professor Maureen Ambrose and doctoral student and lead researcher Lauren Locklear for the study. 麻豆精品 S淭hat simple action can change your outlook, your approach to work, and the way your co-workers see you. 麻豆精品 S

Lauren Locklear, lead researcher for the study and a doctoral student

Workplace mistreatment is widespread and can cost organizations millions of dollars each year. Bullying, gossip, and exclusion or ostracism have been shown to negatively impact physical health, job performance and job satisfaction. Mistreatment also hurts the bottom line, as it creates costs from productivity loss, employee turnover, and litigation.

 

Shannon Taylor, UCF associate professor of management

麻豆精品 S淲hile organizations spend quite a bit of time and money to improve employee behavior, there are not a lot of known tools available to actually make the needed changes, 麻豆精品 S Locklear says. 麻豆精品 S淲e found the gratitude journal is a simple, inexpensive intervention that can have a significant impact on changing employee behavior for the better. 麻豆精品 S

For two weeks, study participants spent a few minutes a day jotting down the things, people and events they were grateful for 麻豆精品 S and as a result, their coworkers reported that they engaged in fewer rude, gossiping, and ostracizing behaviors.

Maureen Ambrose,

麻豆精品 S淕ratitude exercises are becoming increasingly popular products to improve employee attitudes and well-being, and our study shows managers can also use them to foster more respectful behavior in their teams, 麻豆精品 S Taylor says.

The study was recently published in the . Locklear studies workplace deviance and mistreatment, as well as interventions in gratitude and mindfulness, and expects to graduate in the spring.

Taylor, who joined UCF in 2012, has a doctorate in organizational behavior from Louisiana State University and a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in finance from Bradley University. His areas of research include leadership and workplace mistreatment.

Ambrose is the Gordon J. Barnett Professor of Business Ethics at UCF College of Business. Her research interests include organizational fairness, ethics and workplace deviance. Locklear studies workplace deviance and mistreatment, as well as interventions in gratitude and mindfulness, and expects to graduate in the spring.

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WebBizLauren Locklear Lauren Locklear shannon-taylor-DSC_3671 Shannon Taylor, UCF associate professor of management WEBBizMaureenAmbrose Maureen Ambrose
UCF Awarded $170K Grant to Explore Cybersecurity Risks Amid COVID-19 /news/ucf-awarded-170k-grant-to-explore-cybersecurity-risks-amid-covid-19/ Tue, 18 Aug 2020 13:54:19 +0000 /news/?p=111853 UCF faculty members Clay Posey and Mindy Shoss will research behaviors of temporary work-from-home employees.

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A $170,000 grant award from the National Science Foundation will allow a research team led by Clay Posey, associate professor of management and a cybersecurity expert, to explore the ramifications of home-based work environments on company security.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in March, the country 麻豆精品 S檚 business landscape has rapidly shifted in favor of remote work, with very little time to plan for many companies. Researchers will review how companies moved to secure at-home work environments, examine remote workspaces and assess the overall impact on sensitive organizational information. What Posey 麻豆精品 S檚 team finds will likely have implications for companies long after COVID-19.

麻豆精品 S淚n a nutshell, COVID-19 has thrown many things out of whack and prompted rapid decision-making for organizational leaders, 麻豆精品 S Posey says. 麻豆精品 S淭his research will be important for executives overseeing employees in non-traditional work environments. 麻豆精品 S

Clay Posey
UCF researcher Clay Posey is part of a project that will explore remote work cyber behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As businesses continue to grapple with the effects of the pandemic, employees are learning to share their workspaces with children, pets and housemates 麻豆精品 S all the while dealing with the resulting distractions. These unexpected working conditions can create a variety of responses among employees. Posey hopes his team 麻豆精品 S檚 research will uncover these behaviors and help prevent cybersecurity threats at companies large and small.

麻豆精品 S淪ome employees might pay more attention to cybersecurity risks in the face of a disaster like the coronavirus because they are in a protective state of mind, 麻豆精品 S Posey says. 麻豆精品 S淥n the other hand, the added stress from working at home could lead other employees to pay less attention to security and take risky shortcuts and workarounds. 麻豆精品 S

Supported by the National Science Foundation 麻豆精品 S檚 Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace program, the UCF team will identify a sample of workers temporarily assigned to their homes due to the pandemic. Participants will be surveyed over a two-week period on their daily attitudes, stressors, actions and emotions regarding cybersecurity. In-depth interviews and assessments will be performed using several pools of participants working at home. Associate Professor Mindy Shoss of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Industrial/Organizational Psychology program will co-lead the research team with Posey. The proposal was accepted by the NSF as part of its Rapid Response Research funding mechanism, which supports studies with a severe urgency.

Mindy Shoss
UCF researcher Mindy Shoss will co-lead the remote work cybersecurity project.

Posey received his doctorate in business administration from Louisiana Tech University and joined UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 , part of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Business, in 2017. He is also a member of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Cybersecurity and Privacy Cluster.

Shoss earned her doctorate degree in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Houston. She joined UCF in 2015.

About UCF College of Business Established in 1968, the UCF College of Business offers degrees at the bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚, master 麻豆精品 S檚, doctoral and executive levels. All programs, as well as the Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting, are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business 麻豆精品 S AACSB International. The college provides high-quality academic programs designed to give students a competitive advantage in the world of business now and in the future. Learn more at .

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Clay Posey_for_web UCF researcher Clay Posey is part of a project that will explore remote work cyber behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. mindy_shoss_for_web2
UCF Management Chair Ron Piccolo to Receive Community Champion Award /news/ucf-management-chair-ron-piccolo-receive-community-champion-award/ Tue, 07 Nov 2017 15:13:00 +0000 /news/?p=79505 The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando and Prospera announced Monday that Ronald聽F. Piccolo, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Management at the University of Central Florida 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Business, will be the recipient of the Hispanic Community Champion Award at the 20th Annual Don Quijote Awards Gala on Dec. 9.

The Don Quijote Awards Gala honors outstanding entrepreneurs, professionals and community leaders who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the Hispanic community. The Hispanic Community Champion Award is given to a non-Hispanic individual who has supported the progress of the Hispanic community in Central Florida.

Piccolo, who also is the Galloway Professor of Management at UCF, is being recognized for his strategic planning efforts with the Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund of Metro Orlando (HHSFMO), and with Prospera, an economic development, nonprofit organization that specializes in providing bilingual assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs who want to establish or expand their business. Piccolo facilitated the development of a long-range strategic and operational plan for HHSFMO, and studied and authored the 25-Year Economic Impact Analysis that estimated Prospera 麻豆精品 S檚 economic and philanthropic impact in Florida.

Piccolo returned to UCF for his second stint last fall before being named chair of the management department in February. He had served as an assistant professor of management at UCF from 2005-09. Before rejoining UCF, he was the Cornell聽Professor of Management and Academic Director of the聽Center for Leadership Development & Executive Education聽in the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College. He has a Ph.D. in management from the University of Florida, an M.B.A. from Rollins, and a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Stetson University.

On Dec. 9, Piccolo will be recognized at a gala at Epcot 麻豆精品 S檚 World Showplace Pavilion.

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UCF Assistant Director Joins Prominent Science Professionals 麻豆精品 S Association /news/ucf-assistant-director-joins-prominent-science-professionals-association/ Mon, 18 Nov 2013 14:45:49 +0000 /news/?p=55254 Tara Johnson, Assistant Director of Information/Publication Services of the University of Central Florida College of Graduate Studies has been elected to the 2014 Board of Directors of the National Professional Science Master 麻豆精品 S檚 Association (NPSMA).

Johnson, also the Professional Science Master 麻豆精品 S檚 (PSM) Coordinator at UCF, brings a wealth of experience to the Board including four years assisting in the coordination of a statewide PSM initiative between 12 state universities.

The appointment of a UCF employee to the NPSMA represents a national interest in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 role in expanding the PSM program 麻豆精品 S檚 collaborative graduate education. And, perhaps more importantly, the move enhances UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 position as America 麻豆精品 S檚 Leading Partnership University.

The PSM is a unique, innovative program that prepares graduates for science careers in business, government, or nonprofit sectors. UCF has five PSM programs including Health Care Informatics, Modeling and Simulation, Biotechnology, Conservation Biology, and Professional Engineering Management.

The hybrid degree program combines rigorous technical study in science or mathematics with practical training in leadership, management, ethics, and communication. Designed to increase industry partnerships, the PSM connects students directly to potential employers through required internships and employer/industry advisory boards. Each PSM program is guided by employer advisory boards. The goal is to provide industry, government, and nonprofits with employees who have a deep scientific knowledge as well as skills to apply that knowledge in innovative ways.

The PSM was started in 2000, and there are now more than聽302 programs at聽over 139聽universities.

The National Professional Science Master 麻豆精品 S檚 Association (NPSMA) joins together PSM degree program directors, faculty, administrators, industry representatives, alumni, and students that support PSM degree initiatives.聽The mission of NPSMA is to promote and support the growth and development of professional science master 麻豆精品 S檚 degree programs.

Johnson and four other individuals begin their three year terms with NPSMA on January 1, 2014. The new board members also include professionals and educators from SUNY Buffalo State College, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Colorado at Boulder, and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

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$1.4 Million Donation Will Help Transform Students’ Ideas into Successful Businesses /news/1-4-million-donation-will-help-transform-students-ideas-into-successful-businesses/ /news/1-4-million-donation-will-help-transform-students-ideas-into-successful-businesses/#comments Mon, 11 Mar 2013 21:51:40 +0000 /news/?p=46799 More UCF students soon will be able to transform entrepreneurial ideas into viable companies without leaving campus, thanks to a $1.4 million donation from the .

Blackstone and UCF leaders gathered Monday to celebrate the donation and its impact on the university and the region. By expanding the resources UCF offers to students with entrepreneurial ideas, the Blackstone LaunchPad has the potential to generate more than 300 new business ventures in Central Florida over the next five years.

麻豆精品 S淭he increased interaction between business professionals and our passionate students through the Blackstone LaunchPad will expand the strong relationships that our university enjoys with our regional business community, 麻豆精品 S UCF President John C. Hitt said during the celebration at the Morgridge International Reading Center.

麻豆精品 S淢ost of our graduates choose to live and work in Central Florida, and we are optimistic that many of the students who benefit from the Blackstone LaunchPad at UCF will start innovative companies that will enhance the well-being of our local economy. 麻豆精品 S

The Blackstone LaunchPad, which UCF expects to open this summer in the Student Union, will host a wide array of speakers and events focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. Four staff members and several graduate fellows will serve as advisers to the students, challenging them to turn ideas into more robust proposals. And students who develop strong proposals then will be matched with mentors from the local business community.

麻豆精品 S淲hen we have students serious about entrepreneurship as a career path, we want to do everything we possibly can to help them be successful, 麻豆精品 S said Cameron Ford, an associate professor of management who will lead the Blackstone LaunchPad initiative.

Students from all majors are invited to participate, and even students who don 麻豆精品 S檛 intend to start their own businesses can attend the programs. Many companies look specifically for employees who are innovators and who have strong entrepreneurial skills, Ford said.

Stephen A. Schwarzman, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Blackstone, visited UCF Monday along with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, University of Miami President Donna Shalala and Jim Atchison, president and chief executive officer of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and a UCF Board of Trustees member.

Blackstone LaunchPad is modeled after a successful program developed at the University of Miami in 2008, which has generated more than 100 start-up ventures, 215 new jobs and drawn nearly 2,000 participants.

Since 2010, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation has opened Blackstone LaunchPads on eight campuses in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Each regional initiative will be linked together, drawing ideas and best practices from more established programs, and giving student entrepreneurs at UCF access to a stronger network of expert advisers for their ventures.

麻豆精品 S淓ntrepreneurship is the single most effective way to spur economic growth and job creation, 麻豆精品 S Schwarzman said. 聽“We must all play a role in nurturing talent and through Blackstone LaunchPad, we can foster new generations of entrepreneurs who will transform local economies by creating new and innovative companies. 麻豆精品 S

Rubio praised Blackstone LaunchPad 麻豆精品 S檚 goal of helping students develop important skills entrepreneurs must have to succeed, such as how to navigate complex rules and regulations and how to market a business to potential customers.

Atchison described Central Florida as a 麻豆精品 S渉ub of entrepreneurial spirit 麻豆精品 S and said that if the program had been around when he was a UCF student, 麻豆精品 S淚 would have been the first one to sign up. 麻豆精品 S

Students who develop strong business proposals through the Blackstone LaunchPad program may benefit from additional assistance offered by UCF. The university will establish a 麻豆精品 S渧enture accelerator 麻豆精品 S designed to prepare them to seek seed funding and angel investments and to become potential clients for the university 麻豆精品 S檚 Business Incubation Program. The goal of this stage will be to turn 麻豆精品 S済ood prospects into outstanding prospects, 麻豆精品 S Ford said.

Blackstone 麻豆精品 S檚 commitment in Central Florida, in addition to the $1.4 million grant announced today, includes investments in several companies in its portfolio, which it manages on behalf of investors. 聽The companies in Blackstone 麻豆精品 S檚 portfolio with operations in Central Florida, which includes Merlin, Hilton Worldwide, Performance Food Group, Michaels, and Sea World, have collectively invested close to $600 million in Central Florida in recent years.

Funding for this program is made possible through The Blackstone Charitable Foundation 麻豆精品 S檚 $50 million, five-year Entrepreneurship Initiative, which seeks to target support services regionally for aspiring entrepreneurs, and in turn, the high-growth businesses and industries that are most known to spark economic growth.聽 Due to the early success of the program, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation was recognized by President Obama 麻豆精品 S檚 麻豆精品 S淪tartup America Initiative 麻豆精品 S and pledged to expand LaunchPad to five new regions over the next five years.

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Students to Assist at HR Conference /news/students-to-assist-at-hr-conference/ Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:06:18 +0000 /news/?p=29820 Six officers from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) at UCF are assisting at the Learning 2011 Conference. Former President聽Bill Clinton聽is the keynote speaker at the event, which attracts human resources and training attendees and speakers from business and industry. The conference is hosted by聽Elliott Masie, founder of The MASIE Center, an international think tank dedicated to exploring the intersection of learning and technology.

The students’ role is to highlight the skills that the younger generation (millennials) add to the workplace. They will showcase their natural generational strengths by providing the conference attendees with technical support for the custom Learning 2011 App (a multi-platform app for the event), which will run on iPhones, iPads, Androids, BlackBerrys or a web browser. The app will include social networking, content updating and note taking functions.

The six students are:

  • Jillian Borodemos, president
  • Kelli Browning, vice president
  • Heather Montes, treasurer
  • Devin Werdenberg, social media chair
  • Kristen Mackey, historian
  • Jeries Barakat, marketing chair
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    College of Business Names Interim Dean /news/college-of-business-administration-names-interim-dean/ Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:54:15 +0000 /news/?p=24367 Foard Jones has been named interim dean of the University of Central Florida 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Business Administration effective June 25.

    Jones, an associate professor of Management, joined UCF in 1989 and has served in several administrative capacities, including Management Department chair, associate dean for Graduate and External Programs and his current position of associate dean of Administration and Human Resources.

    He has won several awards for his teaching, including the Teaching Incentive Program Award, the Carl H. Galloway Faculty Performance Incentive Award and the Faculty Leadership Award. Jones received his Ph.D. in Human Resource Management from the University of Georgia.

    His vast experience working with staff and faculty members and students has prepared him for his new role.

    麻豆精品 S淚 am pleased to continue my work within the college and am excited to expand my role externally as I meet with our graduates and supporters, 麻豆精品 S Jones said. 麻豆精品 S淚 look forward to this exciting opportunity. 麻豆精品 S

    Jones replaces Thomas Keon, who has served as the college 麻豆精品 S檚 dean for the past 14 years. Keon has accepted a position as chancellor of Purdue University Calumet.

    UCF will conduct a national search to fill the position permanently.

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    Ambrose Named Professor of Business Ethics /news/ambrose-named-gordon-j-barnett-professor-of-business-ethics/ Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:21:54 +0000 /news/?p=20693  

    Maureen Ambrose, professor of management in the College of Business Administration, has been named the Gordon J. Barnett Professor of Business Ethics.

    Her new position allows her to spend more time on research. Her research interests include organizational fairness, ethics, and workplace deviance. She is widely published in these areas and has held editorial positions at several peer-reviewed journals.

    麻豆精品 S淚 am honored to step into this position. But beyond the personal satisfaction is the excitement I feel for the opportunities this creates for UCF. We are already an internationally-recognized center for research on issues related to business ethics. This position provides us the opportunity to not only continue those efforts, but to extend them to our doctoral program and beyond, 麻豆精品 S said Ambrose.

    麻豆精品 S淎s a result, we will not only continue our reputation as 麻豆精品 S榯he place to be 麻豆精品 S for serious business ethics research. We will also become known as the source for business ethics scholars of tomorrow. I can’t tell you how proud I am to be a part of that! 麻豆精品 S

    Ambrose has been a faculty member since 1999. Prior to joining UCF, she served on the faculty at the University of Iowa and was director of research for the University of Colorado at Boulder College of Business. She has also been a visiting scholar at the Instituto d 麻豆精品 S橢mpressa in Madrid and the Universit茅 de Toulouse in France.

    Ambrose is a fellow of the Academy of Management and the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She is a member of the Society for Organizational Behavior and has served on the executive committee for the Society since 2007. Additionally, she is a member of the Academy of Management ethics education committee.

    She received her Ph.D. in 1986 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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    Carol Saunders Wins Prestigious AIS Award /news/carol-saunders-wins-prestigious-ais-award/ Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:56:22 +0000 /news/?p=18768 Management Professor Carol Saunders was awarded the LEO award by the Association for Information Systems (AIS). Named after one of the world’s first commercial applications of computing (The Lyons Electronic Office), the purpose of the LEO Award is to recognize truly outstanding individuals in the information systems community who have made exceptional contributions to research in and/or the practice of information systems. LEO Award winners are expected to be a role model and an inspiration to colleagues and students within the information systems field. In addition, they should be capable of commanding the respect of individuals from outside the field, because their contributions will have had an impact in fields other than information systems. To date only 25 of approximately 4,000 AIS members have been inducted as LEO Fellows in recognition of contributions sustained throughout their careers.

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    Stephen Goodman Named Management Chair /news/stephen-goodman-named-management-chair/ Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:14:25 +0000 /news/?p=17079

    Stephen Goodman has been named chair of the Management Department at the UCF College of Business Administration. He replaces Foard Jones, who was recently appointed Associate Dean for Administration and Human Resources. Goodman joined the College of Business Administration faculty in 1984. He received both an MBA and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from The Pennsylvania State University. In addition, he holds undergraduate degrees in electrical engineering and aeronautical engineering. Prior to joining UCF, Goodman spent 12 years on the faculties of Ohio State University and Florida State University. His teaching and research interests include quality management, production/operations management, project management, and management science. He is widely published and has contributed to his profession through numerous seminars and training courses for practitioners in the field of production/operations management. In addition to his academic credentials, he was named a Certified Fellow in Production and Inventory Management (CFPIM) by the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).

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