Schulich ExecEd enriches leadership development at TIFF

September 8, 2023

Schulich ExecEd, an extension of the Schulich School of Business at York University, and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), are partnering to launch leadership and management programs, as well as workshops and speaking engagements, with the goal of strengthening the leadership capabilities of TIFF’s management and senior teams. The joint venture was launched in May and will continue alongside TIFF 2023, currently underway until Sept. 17, and into next year.

Targeting managers, senior managers and executive leaders across TIFF, these new programming and professional development offerings aim to meet the current needs and strategic goals of the film organization by empowering its leaders with advanced training in areas such as: strategy; resilience; leadership; management change and transformation; and diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Schulich ExecEd is proud to be the official training partner of the Toronto International Film Festival,” says Rami Mayer, executive director of Schulich ExecEd. “Through custom programming and a bespoke learning journey, we will empower TIFF senior leaders and management with advanced training on skill sets integral to today’s business landscape. Through a series of programs, workshops and speaking engagements, we will incorporate TIFF’s mission and goals with strong, strategic leadership skills that are at the core of the program.”

Schulich ExecEd’s programming is customized to address relevant business trends as well as skills gaps and needs specific to TIFF. Through a blend of “soft” and “hard” skills, the programming is designed to allow TIFF leaders to fully engage in interactive sessions, learn and practise key business concepts, with a curriculum that blends academic rigour with industry relevance.

“The goals of the partnership are to augment and enrich the management and leadership development program at TIFF by engaging with Schulich ExecEd’s research excellence and expertise to: co-develop a diverse curriculum intended to elevate leadership competence and empower TIFF people leaders at all levels; to secure best-in-class resources and tools that will increase team effectiveness and organizational performance; and to position TIFF as a learning organization committed to investing in its employees’ growth and development,” says Nathalie Sato, director of people and culture at TIFF.

Taking the lead on programming creation and facilitation in this partnership, Schulich ExecEd, ranked 30th in the world in the 2023 Financial Times Executive Education rankings, is drawing on its experience professionally developing, upskilling, and reskilling other non-profit and media-based organizations, including Women in Film and Television, the McGillivray Group and the American Marketing Association.

Upon completion of the new programming, TIFF participants will receive a digital credential from Schulich ExecEd, recognizing their new skill development and commitment to continuous improvement.

“The TIFF-Schulich ExecEd partnership will amalgamate our mission to support the professional development, upskilling, and reskilling of today’s business professionals and TIFF’s aim to transform the way people see film,” says Mayer.

For more information about Schulich ExecEd, visit Executive Management Programs & Training | Schulich ExecEd (yorku.ca). For more information about TIFF, visit TIFF – Toronto International Film Festival.

First-year Schulich student wins free tuition contest

September 8, 2023

Mehwish Imran holding oversized tuition cheque

First-year Schulich School of Business student Mehwish Imran sat down for a video-taped interview with York University’s marketing team recently, which she initially thought was part of a recruitment initiative. Instead, she was thrilled to learn that her name had been randomly selected from 3,000 entries to win free first-year tuition – a win that she said will drive her to excel in her studies.

“It’s a privilege and I’m extremely grateful for it,” said Imran of her tuition win. “Even though I was prepared to do my best in school this year, winning free tuition is definitely motivation to work even harder.”

The Bachelor of Business Administration student, who said she was most looking forward to making friends and connecting with her professors this year, was born in Pakistan and immigrated to Mississauga, Ont., in 2014, when she was just nine years old. Leaving her extended family behind was difficult, she said, but her adjustment to Canadian life was smooth and pleasant overall.

Since she was a child, Imran excelled at math, and in high school she pursued her business interests by getting involved in clubs like the Model United Nations and attending DECA student leadership conferences. “I think that’s where my passion for business really came from,” she explained.

Imran chose Schulich for her post-secondary studies because of its international reputation, specialization offerings and tight-knit community environment. “It also has an amazing recruitment network, especially focused on accounting,” she said, “which is what I’m planning to further specialize in.”

After completing her undergraduate degree, Imran currently has her sights set on pursuing her Certified Public Accountant designation or continuing on to law school – but she’s reserving the right to change her mind.

Government invests more than $15.5 million in York-led research projects

August 30, 2023

light bulb in front of colorful background

More than 30 projects led by York University researchers in the social sciences and humanities were awarded a combined total of $15,541,343 in federal funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grants, Partnership Development Grants and Insight Grants.

The funding, announced on Aug. 29 by the Randy Boissonnault, minister of employment, workforce development and official languages, on behalf of the François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry, goes towards 33 projects, ranging from research on migrant labour and gender inequality in retirement to heritage design in Canada.

“This week’s funding announcement highlights the council’s faith in the high calibre of our researchers’ work, ranging from Indigenous circumpolar cultural sovereignty, ecological footprint, to renewable greener transition and policy gaps in international mobility, in collaboration with other local and international subject experts,” says Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation at York. “I thank SHHRC for their support and I commend York’s research community for their ongoing commitment to creating positive change, both locally and globally.”

The new round of grants will support 605 social sciences and humanities research projects across Canada. Learn more about the York-led projects below.

Partnership Grants

SSHRC Partnership Grants support teams of researchers from post-secondary institutions working in new and existing formal partnerships with public, private or not-for-profit organizations. Through collaboration, sharing of intellectual leadership and resources by cash or in-kind contributions, the grants support work for four to seven years to advance research, training and knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities.

Four York-led projects received a combined total of almost $10 million ($9,978,586) in funding.

Peter Victor, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
The International Ecological Footprint Learning Lab: Training, research and novel applications
$2,486,161

Richard Saunders, Department of Politics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
African Extractivism and the Green Transition
$2,498,948

Leah Vosko, Department of Politics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Liberating Migrant Labour?: International Mobility Programs in Settler-Colonial Contexts
$2,499,975

Anna Hudson, Department of Visual Art & Art History, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Curating Indigenous Circumpolar Cultural Sovereignty: advancing Inuit and Sami homelands, food, art, archives and worldviews
$2,493,502

To learn more about the York-led projects, click here.

To view all Partnership Grant recipients, click here.

Partnership Development Grants

Partnership Development Grants support teams of researchers from post-secondary institutions working in a formal partnership with public, private or not-for-profit organizations for one to three years. The grants support research development, existing and new partnerships, knowledge mobilization, and related activities in the social sciences and humanities.

Eight York-led projects received a combined total of more than $1.5 million ($1,514,498) in funding.

Anna Agathangelou, Department of Politics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Building an International Partnership to Research and Address Reparative Justice in Post-Conflict Situations: Canada, Africa and Europe
$176,127

Thi Viet Nga Dao, Department of Social Science, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Slow violence and water (in)justice: Feminist political ecologies of intergenerational struggles in the Mekong region
$199,689

Anne MacLennan, Department of Communication & Media Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Interrogating Canadian Identities/ L’identités canadiennes – une interrogation (ICI)
$173,836

Jan Hadlaw, Department of Design, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
The xDX Project: Documenting, Linking, and Interpreting Canada’s Design Heritage
$193,400

Christopher Kyriakides, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Refuge, Racisms, and Resistances: A Co-Created Analysis of the Experiences of Syrian and Ethiopian Refugees in Canada
$196,426

To learn more about this project, click here.

Abigail Shabtay, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Strengthening Participatory Drama-Based Research in Institutional, Community, and Educational Contexts
$199,341

Susan Winton, Faculty of Education
The Public Education Exchange
$175,679

Debra Pepler, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
Walking the Prevention Pathway for Indigenous Communities’ Journey of Change
$200,000

To view all Partnership Development Grant recipients, click here.

Insight Grants

Insight Grants are awarded to emerging and established scholars in the social sciences and humanities to work on research projects of two to five years.

21 York-led projects received a combined total of more than $4 million ($4,048,259) in funding.

Tasso Adamopoulos, Department of Economics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Inequality and Productivity in Developing Countries
$125,669

Kee-hong Bae, Department of Finance, Schulich School of Business
Incentive-focused corporate culture
$74,440

Anh Nguyen, School of Administrative Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Labour force aging and business vibrancy: Evidence and solutions for businesses and workers in Canada and around the world
$193,356

Thanujeni (Jeni) Pathman, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
How accurate is memory for time across childhood and adolescence? Theoretical and practical implications for forensic settings
$240,030

Alexandra Rutherford, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
Intersecting difference: Gender, race and sexuality in 20th century U.S. psychology
$134,090

Robert Savage, Faculty of Education
Tackling two of the most important unresolved tasks in reading intervention
$278,472

Marlis Schweitzer, Department of Theatre, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Decoding the Lecture on Heads: Performing Objects and Satire on the 18th-Century Stage
$99,923

Simon Adam, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health
Entangled identities: Exploring neurodiversity through social media expression
$103,553

Kean Birch, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
Digital Data Value Paradox: An Empirical Investigation of Personal Data Valuation
$328,946

Antony Chum, School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health
Social and policy determinants of self harm across gender identities in Canada
$328,104

Julia M. Creet, Department of English, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Digital Afterlives
$283,757

Robert Cribbie, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
Extensions of Negligible Effect Statistical Testing
$251,006

Ganaele Langlois, Department of Communication & Media Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
The Art of Necessity: Making Sustainable and Just Worlds through Local Textiles
$228,206

Brenda Longfellow, Department of Cinema & Media Arts, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Abolition Feminism: Collaborating Across Communities
$352,679

Kinnon MacKinnon, School of Social Work, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Detransition: Examining pathways and care needs
$112,113

Jonathan Nitzan, Department of Politics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
The capital-as-power fractal: toward a general theory of the capitalist mode of power
$111,766

Yuval Deutsch, Schulich School of Business
Social capital, corporate social responsibility and corporate irresponsibility
$133,799

Caitlin Fisher, Department of Cinema & Media Studies, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Mobilizing the arts for global health: a virtual museum of antimicrobial resistance
$236,457

Kamila Kolpashnikova, Department of Design, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Gender Inequality in Retirement: Understanding Social Organization in Domestic Tasks
$88,145

Palma Paciocco, Osgoode Hall Law School
The Gatekeeper and The Timekeeper: Regulating Expert Evidence and Trial Delay in Criminal Courts
$51,777

Yan Shvartzshnaider, Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Lassonde School of Engineering
Virtual Classrooms Privacy
$291,971

To view all Insight Grant recipients, click here.

Professors recognized at international management conference

August 30, 2023

Speaker giving a talk in conference hall at business event. Audience at the conference hall.

Two faculty members from York University’s Schulich School of Business received awards at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management held in Boston earlier this month, where more than 10,000 academy members from around the world gathered to explore the theme “Putting the Worker Front and Centre.”

Maxim Voronov, a professor of organization studies and sustainability at Schulich, won Best Article for his co-authored paper titled “Commercializing the Practice of Voyeurism: How Organizations Leverage Authenticity and Transgression to Create Value,” which was published in the Academy of Management Journal in July of last year.

“My co-authors and I were absolutely shocked to even be nominated – never mind to win – the award,” admits Voronov. “Of course, we were proud of the paper, but it was surprising and humbling to see it recognized via a rigorous selection process as the best contribution published in the journal the entire year. It is without a doubt one of the highlights of our careers.”

This win is extra rewarding, he says, because all of his co-authors are former Schulich PhD students.

Voronov believes the article is important because while there are many businesses that are commercializing voyeurism, there was previously no theory to explain how and why such business models succeed. “Understanding what makes such businesses work is essential for truly understanding both positive and ‘dark’ sides of commercialized voyeurism by various businesses,” he explains.

Going forward, the researchers hope the article will promote a more reflective conversation about authenticity, which is a key component of commercialized voyeurism. “We tend to think of authenticity as unambiguously ‘good,’ ” says Voronov. “But our paper reveals that our society’s preoccupation with authenticity can also be associated with more negative outcomes – for workers, companies and society at large.”

Schulich Professor Geoffrey Kistruck, RBC Chair in Social Innovation and Impact, won the Kauffman Best Paper Award in Entrepreneurial Cognition for his co-authored paper titled “Reframing Entrepreneurship: A Field Experiment on the Relative Efficacy of Reflexive vs. Habitual Framing for Entrepreneurial Education.”

Kistruck and his authorship team were “thrilled” to be recognized for their intensive, multi-year field experiment, he says. Conducted in partnership with Desjardins International Development and funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the team designed and delivered entrepreneurship training to 683 entrepreneurs in rural Sri Lanka, and then tracked the subsequent changes in the participants’ attitudes and behaviours.

The team’s alternative approach to entrepreneurship training focused on highlighting the ways participants were already being innovative in the non-business aspects of their lives, such as cooking and child rearing, and asking them to transfer those practices to their business tasks.

“The results of our field experiment indicate this new approach can create a more positive change in entrepreneurial ‘mindset’ as well as innovative behaviour,” explains Kistruck. “We think identifying an alternative training approach not only works to delineate the boundary of existing theory from a contextual perspective, but hopefully will also spur the adoption of this new approach by governments, non-profits and other organizations seeking to leverage entrepreneurship as a tool for poverty alleviation.”

For more information about the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, visit aom.org/events/annual-meeting.

Two Schulich professors organize prestigious finance conference

August 23, 2023

The Northern Finance Association (NFA) Annual Conference, the largest finance research conference in Canada and one of the world’s best known, is being organized this year by two Schulich professors who also serve as co-vice-presidents of the NFA Board of Directors – Professor Lilian Ng, Scotiabank Chair in International Finance; and Associate Professor Yelena Larkin. The conference is being held at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto from Sept. 8 to 10.

“I am proud to co-organize Canada’s premier finance research conference with Prof. Lilian Ng,” said Larkin. “I’m happy to continue Schulich’s strong ties with the NFA and promote finance research excellence.”

Since its inception in 1989, the NFA Conference has been hosted in various parts of Canada and has grown significantly. This year’s event has already experienced record-breaking participation, with about 1,300 paper submissions and 132 papers selected for the program.

The keynote speaker is Professor Lauren Cohen, the L.E. Simmons Professor in the Finance and Entrepreneurial Management Units at Harvard Business School, and conference participants are coming from all over the world.

The Schulich School of Business has maintained a long-standing relationship with the NFA, as both an event sponsor and donor. Schulich professors Mark Kamstra, Pauline Shum and the late Gordon Roberts have also held positions on the conference’s board, and Shum and Roberts organized the conference in Toronto in 2007.

For more information and to register for the conference, visit northernfinanceassociation.org.

Research examines human emotions in the workplace

August 23, 2023

A new literature review co-written by Schulich School of Business Professor Maxim Voronov examines how human emotions affect a variety of aspects associated with organizational behaviour, from social interactions and connection to social action, power and inequality.

The findings are shared in a recent article published in the Journal of Management Studies, titled “Beyond the Feeling Individual: Insights from Sociology on Emotions and Embeddedness.” The article was co-written by Voronov, a professor of organization studies and sustainability at Schulich, together with Rongrong Zhang, an assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Madeline Toubiana, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management; Russ Vince, a professor emeritus at the University of Bath’s School of Management; and Bryant Ashley Hudson, a professor at the IÉSEG School of Management in France.

The researchers propose a toolkit for deepening the understanding of what they term “emotional embeddedness,” which is the idea that emotions are an intrinsic part of our existence in the social world – not just feelings we have, but part of our lived experiences. They look at emotional embeddedness through three different lenses: collective emotions and social bonds; emotional energy and moral batteries; and emotional capital.

As an example, Voronov cites the concept of “emotional energy” and notes that it is “more than a transient and fleeting emotion – it is generated through and with collective emotions, which are driven by bonds and ties to people as well as institutions.”

“We need to move beyond the idea that emotions exist in organizations as properties of their individual members, and more toward a view or understanding that emotions are essentially social,” says Voronov. “They’re both socially constructed and socially authorized.”

Looking at emotions beyond the individual, as the researchers have done with this work, advances the view that understanding organizations requires attention to people.

“Our intent is to stimulate more research on emotions in domains where they have not received significant attention,” says Voronov, “and to encourage new ways of thinking about emotions.”

Global crisis leadership research earns Article of the Year recognition

August 16, 2023

A research publication co-authored by Schulich School of Business Professor Abi Sriharan was recently named Article of the Year by the Medical Care Research and Review, an influential, peer-reviewed journal that is central to health-care and medical research.

Produced in collaboration with co-authors from Canada, the U.K. and the U.S., the article, “Public Health and Health Sector Crisis Leadership During Pandemics,” examines global crisis leadership amidst pandemics, a topic underscored by the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research findings shed light on the political, structural and cultural dynamics that influence health-care policy decisions.

The authors observed that traditional leadership models often fall short in the dynamic environment of pandemics. The study calls for a paradigm shift in leadership training, to encompass both task- and people-oriented competencies to empower leaders to navigate unprecedented situations with transparency and efficiency.

“We are honoured to be recognized for redefining crisis leadership in the pandemic era,” said Sriharan. “This recognition by Medical Care Research and Review reaffirms the significance of our findings for health-care systems globally.”

Sriharan, an award-winning leadership scholar specializing in the health sector, joined Schulich earlier this year and currently serves as a senior scientist and research director at Schulich’s Krembil Centre for Health Management and Leadership.

Committed to supporting and nurturing thought leadership like Sriharan’s, Schulich recently launched the Master of Health Industry Administration program to equip future health-industry leaders with the skills and knowledge they need to effect meaningful change.

Schulich receives legacy gift to support health industry students

August 9, 2023

Medical,Healthcare,Research,And,Development,Concept.,Doctor,In,Hospital,Lab

Inspired by the Schulich School of Business’s Health Industry Management programs, Dr. Leonard Orville “Brad” Bradley’s family has chosen to honour their late father by creating the Dr. L. O. Bradley Leadership Entrance Award with a $250,000 legacy gift to support incoming students to Schulich’s Master of Health Industry Administration program.

Over the next 10 years, two recipients who have shown outstanding leadership potential, innovative thinking and community involvement will be awarded $12,500. This prestigious award will attract top health industry students to Schulich, while helping to alleviate financial stress.

Bradley was recognized as a leader in health institution management and his career included many senior positions. He received several honours for his work, including the George Findlay Stephens Memorial Award, the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Medical Alumni Association of the University of Alberta and the Extendicare Award from the Canadian College of Health Service Executives. Bradley also believed in lifelong learning, earning his doctor of medicine degree in 1938 and receiving his final university degree at the age of 86.

“He had a complete commitment to hospital administration and learning, and that commitment never waned,” said Bradley’s son, Tom Bradley. “Dad’s passion in life was his profession. I can’t think of a better way of honouring his memory than by helping the future generation pick up from where he left off.”

The two inaugural recipients will be announced in Fall 2023. To learn more about planned gifts, visit this link.

Schulich research reveals how businesses can support employees with hearing loss

August 2, 2023

New research from York University’s Schulich School of Business shows how employees with severe hearing loss cope with challenges associated with unsupportive work environments and supervisors.

The findings are contained in an article published recently in the Journal of Management. The article, titled “Disability Severity, Professional Isolation Perceptions, and Career Outcomes: When Does Leader–Member Exchange Quality Matter?,” was co-written by Brent Lyons, associate professor of organization studies at Schulich and the York Research Chair in Stigmatization and Social Identity; David Baldridge, professor of management at Oregon State University; Liu-Qin Yang, professor of psychology at Portland State University; and Camellia Bryan, postdoctoral scholar at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

In two studies with employees with hearing loss, the researchers found that in workplaces where there was little or no support, employees with more severe hearing loss improved career outcomes by adopting coping strategies, including psychologically disengaging from professional connections at work.

In other words, says Lyons, these workers protected themselves by placing less value on professional connections, which in turn reduced feelings of isolation; however, that should not discourage effective managers and supervisors from supporting employees with severe hearing loss.

“Managers and colleagues can play an important role in building inclusive work environments that support deaf and hard-of-hearing employees,” says Lyons. “Taken-for-granted ways of socializing at work, if left unchecked, can pose challenges. It’s helpful when managers and colleagues check in and are flexible.”

Adds Baldridge: “One-on-one meetings or lunch in a quiet location would be more effective for an employee with hearing loss than trying to introduce them to people at a cocktail party.”

Lyons cautions that psychological disengagement can have negative ramifications in the long run. “One way to support deaf and hard-of-hearing employees in building professional connections is to ensure that networking events are accessible to all employees, and to make it easy to request accommodation without fear of repercussion or hassle.”

Schulich researcher explores negotiation success in new study

July 28, 2023

diverse group of workers collaborating in meeting room

New research from York University’s Schulich School of Business shows that quality – not just quantity – is important when it comes to attaining fair and successful outcomes in negotiations.

A research collaboration between Nicole Mead, associate professor of marketing at Schulich; Jay Zenkic, marketing lecturer at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia; and Kobe Millet, associate professor of marketing at Vrije University in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, reveals that real-world stakes in business and other negotiations often consist of resources that vary in terms of quality, not just quantity. For example, corporate takeover negotiations can consist of both cash and stock, which can vary in quality. Yet, prior research only focused on how the quantity of money being offered affects negotiation success.

To test whether quality also matters, the researchers conducted three ultimatum game studies, commonly used to analyze how people negotiate with one another. The results of the studies showed that people reject quantitatively equal offers (i.e. half of the money in the pot) when those offers are qualitatively inferior (e.g. they receive coins, whereas the person making the offer receives banknotes).

“For researchers and practitioners who seek predictive accuracy and efficient outcomes, understanding that quantity and quality drive fairness is a boon for effective resource allocations,” says Mead. “Negotiators and allocators may face setbacks if they fail to consider the quality of the resources they allocate.”

As an example of this phenomenon, Mead cites divorce negotiations. Although they often follow a legislated 50:50 financial split of marital assets – in other words, they are quantitatively equal – the negotiations can still fail due to the challenge of allocating familial items that possess qualitative differences.

“Real-world negotiations are likely to vary in both quality and quantity at the same time,” says Mead, “so the study of how people make trade-offs may be a compelling avenue for future research.”

The co-written study was published in the journal Judgment and Decision Making, in an article titled “Fairness is based on quality, not just quantity.”

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Tag: Schulich

Schulich ExecEd enriches leadership development at TIFF

First-year Schulich student wins free tuition contest

Government invests more than $15.5 million in York-led research projects