Please note that faculty are subject to change and not all faculty teach in each session of the program.

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  John Carroll

  Morris A. Adelman Professor of Management
  Professor of Organization Studies and Engineering Systems
  Co-Director, Lean Advancement Initiative
  

  John S. Carroll examines individual and group decision making, in particular, their relationship to organizational learning and change practices, such as self-assessment and root cause analysis.

  Carroll’s areas of expertise include organizational learning and change, leadership, safety culture, and decision making...

  ... (more)

  John S. Carroll examines individual and group decision making, in particular, their relationship to organizational learning and change practices, such as self-assessment and root cause analysis.

  Carroll’s areas of expertise include organizational learning and change, leadership, safety culture, and decision making. His recent work focuses on industries that manage significant hazards, such as nuclear power, petrochemicals, and healthcare. He has examined the relationships among management philosophies, mental models, safety culture, and human performance improvement.

  He is a faculty member of the MIT Engineering Systems Division. (less)

• 

  Roberto Fernandez

  William F. Pounds Professor in Management
  Professor of Organization Studies
  

  Roberto M. Fernandez is an organizational sociologist who currently serves as the head of MIT Sloan’s Behavioral and Policy Sciences area, and as co-director of its Ph.D. program in Economic Sociology. His executive teaching duties include the management of innovation, change, and human resources; negotiations; networks; and power and politics in organizations... ... (more)

  Roberto M. Fernandez is an organizational sociologist who currently serves as the head of MIT Sloan’s Behavioral and Policy Sciences area, and as co-director of its Ph.D. program in Economic Sociology. His executive teaching duties include the management of innovation, change, and human resources; negotiations; networks; and power and politics in organizations. In addition, Fernandez is the chief professor in charge of MIT Sloan’s required MBA course on Organizational Processes. He has traveled extensively, lecturing in Abu Dhabi, Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Iceland, Singapore, and South Africa.

  Fernandez has extensive experience doing field research in organizations, including an exhaustive five-year case study of a plant retooling and relocation. He is continuing his research on networks and hiring by studying financial services, market research, manufacturing, and retail sales jobs. His current research focuses on the organizational processes surrounding the hiring of new talent using data collected in 14 organizations.

  Before joining MIT in 2000, Fernandez was a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business from 1994 to 2000, serving as the area coordinator in charge of the school’s organizational behavior faculty. Prior to Stanford, he was associate professor of sociology and urban affairs at Northwestern University from 1989 to 1994. His first academic job was as an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Arizona from 1984 to 1989.

  Fernandez is the author of over 40 articles and research papers published in the top academic journals in his field. A noted expert in organizational sociology, he is the recipient of numerous academic honors and awards.

  He holds a BA in sociology magna cum laude from Harvard University, and both an MA and a PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago. (less)

• 

  Janice Klein

  Senior Lecturer, Organizational Change
  

  Janice A. Klein currently teaches leadership in the Leaders for Manufacturing (LFM) and System and Design Management (SDM) Programs at MIT. Her recent research, summarized in True Change: How Outsiders on the Inside Get Things Done in Organizations (Jossey-Bass, 2004), explores knowledge transfer and the application of new ideas and concepts at the workplace... ... (more)

  Janice A. Klein currently teaches leadership in the Leaders for Manufacturing (LFM) and System and Design Management (SDM) Programs at MIT. Her recent research, summarized in True Change: How Outsiders on the Inside Get Things Done in Organizations (Jossey-Bass, 2004), explores knowledge transfer and the application of new ideas and concepts at the workplace. In addition, she leads a multidisciplinary research team investigating virtual collaboration and the development and maintenance of high-performance, globally dispersed teams.

  Klein’s earlier research focused on aligning operations and human resource strategies in the areas of job design, team leadership, employee empowerment, and organizational change. Her publications include “Why Supervisors Resist Employee Involvement” (Harvard Business Review, August/September 1984), “The Human Costs of Manufacturing Reform” (Harvard Business Review, March/April, 1989), “A Reexamination of Autonomy in Light of New Manufacturing Practices” (Human Relations, 1991), “Maintaining Expertise in Multi-Skilled Teams” (Theories of Self-Managed Work Teams, 1994), and “Job Design” (The Handbook of Technology Management, 1998).

  From 1983 to 1991, Klein was a member of the production and operations management faculty at Harvard Business School, where she taught in both the first and second years of the MBA program as well as the Program for Management Development (PMD) and Manufacturing in Corporate Strategy (MCS). Her textbook, Revitalizing Manufacturing: Text and Cases (Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1990), is a compilation of the material she developed for her second-year course, entitled the Management of Operations, which focused on the implementation of new manufacturing systems and technologies.

  Klein is a graduate of General Electric (GE) Company’s Manufacturing Management Program (MMP). During her years at GE (1972–81), she held various manufacturing and human resource management positions. In addition, she coordinated several organizational change efforts aimed at increasing employee involvement. She has consulted or taught internationally, particularly in Australia and Scandinavia. Among the domestic companies she has consulted with concerning teams and organizational change are United Technologies, Xerox, Polaroid, Hewlett-Packard, and Goodyear.

  She holds a BS in industrial engineering from Iowa State University, an MBA from Boston University, and a PhD in industrial relations from the MIT Sloan School of Management. (less)

• 

  David Krackhardt

  Professor of Organizations
  Heinz School of Public Policy and Management, and the Tepper School of Business
  Carnegie Mellon University
  

  David Krackhardt pioneered the concept of “cognitive social structures,” wherein individuals provide their perceptions of the entire network in which they are embedded. Empirically, he has related these perceived structures to turnover, reputations, and power in organizations. Prior to his current position at Carnegie Mellon University, he served on the faculty at Cornell University Graduate School of Management, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, INSEAD (France), and Harvard Business School... ... (more)

  David Krackhardt pioneered the concept of “cognitive social structures,” wherein individuals provide their perceptions of the entire network in which they are embedded. Empirically, he has related these perceived structures to turnover, reputations, and power in organizations. Prior to his current position at Carnegie Mellon University, he served on the faculty at Cornell University Graduate School of Management, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, INSEAD (France), and Harvard Business School.

  Over the past 15 years, Krackhardt has focused his research on how the theoretical insights and methodological innovations of network analysis can enhance our understanding of how organizations function. He also is interested in developing methodologies that improve the understanding of networks and their implications. In this arena, his contributions include adapting the quadratic assignment procedure to multiple regression analyses of network data. In addition, Krackhardt has developed methods drawing from graph theory for studying the shape and structure of organizations as a whole.

  His current research agenda includes developing models of diffusion for controversial innovations, exploring and testing visual representations of networks, identifying effective leverage points for organizational change, and exploring the roles of Simmelian (that is, super-strong) ties in organizations. Krackhardt’s work has been published in a variety of journals in the fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology, and management.

  Krackhardt holds a BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD from the University of California, Irvine. (less)

• 

  Alex Pentland

  Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences
  Director, Human Dynamics Lab
  Director, MIT Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program
  School of Architecture and Planning
  School of Engineering
  

  Alex `Sandy' Pentland directs MIT's Human Dynamics Laboratory and the MIT Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program, and advises the World Economic Forum, Nissan Motor Corporation, and a variety of start-up firms.

  Sandy is among the most-cited computational scientists in the world, and a pioneer in computational social science, organizational engineering, and mobile computing...

  ... (more)

  Alex `Sandy' Pentland directs MIT's Human Dynamics Laboratory and the MIT Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program, and advises the World Economic Forum, Nissan Motor Corporation, and a variety of start-up firms.

  Sandy is among the most-cited computational scientists in the world, and a pioneer in computational social science, organizational engineering, and mobile computing.

  He has won numerous international awards in the arts, sciences, and engineering; in 1999 he was chosen by Newsweek as one of the "100 Americans Most Likely to Shape the Next Century," in 2009 he won DARPA's 40th Anniversary of the Internet Grand Challenge, and in 2011 he was named one of the "world's seven top data scientists" by Tim O'Reilly in Forbes magazine.

  His research has been featured in Nature, Science, the World Economic Forum, and Harvard Business Review, as well as being the focus of TV features including Nova and Scientific American Frontiers. His most recent book is Honest Signals, published by MIT Press. (less)

• 

  John Sterman

  Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management
  Professor of System Dynamics and Engineering Systems
  Director, MIT System Dynamics Group
  

  John D. Sterman’s research centers on improving managerial decision making in complex systems. He has pioneered the development of “management flight simulators” of corporate and economic systems. These flight simulators are now used by corporations and universities around the world. His recent research ranges from the dynamics of organizational change and the implementation of sustainable improvement programs to experimental studies assessing the public’s understanding of global climate change... ... (more)

  John D. Sterman’s research centers on improving managerial decision making in complex systems. He has pioneered the development of “management flight simulators” of corporate and economic systems. These flight simulators are now used by corporations and universities around the world. His recent research ranges from the dynamics of organizational change and the implementation of sustainable improvement programs to experimental studies assessing the public’s understanding of global climate change. Sterman‘s research includes systems thinking and organizational learning, computer simulation of corporate strategy, and the theory of nonlinear dynamics.

  He is the author of many scholarly and popular articles on the challenges and opportunities facing organizations today, including the book, Modeling for Learning Organizations, and the award-winning textbook, Business Dynamics. His articles on the innovative use of interactive simulations in management education and corporate problem solving have appeared in Fortune, the Financial Times, BusinessWeek, as well as other newspapers and journals. He has been featured on Public Television’s News Hour, National Public Radio’s Marketplace, and CBS television.

  Sterman twice has been awarded the Jay W. Forrester Prize for the “Best Published Work in System Dynamics.” He also has won a 2005 IBM Faculty Award as well as the 2001 Accenture Award for the “Best Paper of the Year” published in the California Management Review (with Nelson Repenning). Five times, he has won awards for “Teaching Excellence” from the students of MIT Sloan, and was named one of MIT Sloan’s “Outstanding Faculty” by the 2001 BusinessWeek Guide to the Best Business Schools. (less)

• 

  Robert Thomas

  Executive Director
  Accenture Institute for High Performance Business
  
  

  Robert J. Thomas is a Boston-based senior executive with Accenture and the executive director of the Accenture Institute for High Performance, where he specializes in leadership and transformational change. He also serves as Visiting Professor of Leadership at the Brandeis University International Business School and chairs the advisory panel of the Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership... ... (more)

  Robert J. Thomas is a Boston-based senior executive with Accenture and the executive director of the Accenture Institute for High Performance, where he specializes in leadership and transformational change. He also serves as Visiting Professor of Leadership at the Brandeis University International Business School and chairs the advisory panel of the Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership.

  Thomas is the author, co-author, or co-editor of seven books, including Geeks and Geezers: How Era, Values, and Defining Moments Shape Leaders (with Warren G. Bennis; Harvard Business School Press, 2003) and Crucibles of Leadership: How to Learn from Experience to Become a Great Leader (Harvard Business School Press, 2008). Most recently, he co-authored Driving Results Through Social Networks: How Top Organizations Leverage Networks for Performance and Growth (with Rob Cross; Jossey-Bass, 2008) and co-edited The Organizational Network Fieldbook (with Rob Cross, Jean Singer, Sally Colella, and Yaarit Silverstone; Jossey-Bass, 2010. (less)

• 
  John Van Maanen

  Erwin H. Schell Professor of Organization Studies
  

  John Van Maanen works within the fields of organization behavior and theory, and is an ethnographer of organizations ranging from police departments to educational institutions to a variety of business firms. In addition, he has worked with numerous public and private organizations in North America, Europe, and Asia, including BP, IBM, BMW, Siemens, the U... ... (more)

  John Van Maanen works within the fields of organization behavior and theory, and is an ethnographer of organizations ranging from police departments to educational institutions to a variety of business firms. In addition, he has worked with numerous public and private organizations in North America, Europe, and Asia, including BP, IBM, BMW, Siemens, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Lafarge, Warburg Dillon Read, and the National University of Technology (Singapore).

  He has taught at MIT Sloan since 1972. He was the faculty chair of the MIT Sloan Fellows Program at MIT from 1994 to 2000, and is currently faculty chair of the Organization Studies Group. Van Maanen has been a visiting professor at Yale University, University of Surrey, and, most recently, at INSEAD.

  Van Maanen has published a number of books and articles in the general area of occupational and organizational sociology. Cultural descriptions figure prominently in his studies of the work worlds of patrol officers on city streets in the United States, police detectives and their “guv’nors” in London, fishermen in the North Atlantic, MBA students at MIT and Harvard Business School, and park operatives in the Sistine Chapel of Fakery, Disneyland. He is the author, co-author, and editor of numerous books, including Organizational Careers (Wiley, 1977), Policing: A View from the Street (with Peter Manning, Random House, l978), and Tales of the Field (University of Chicago Press, l988). His most recent books are Qualitative Studies of Organizations (Sage, 1999) and Organizational Transformations and Information Technology (with Joanne Yates, Sage, 2001).

  He is a member of the American Sociological Association and a fellow of the American Association of Applied Anthropology. Van Maanen has served on the editorial boards of a variety of journals, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Human Organizations, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Human Relations, and Studies in Cultures, Organizations, and Societies.

  Van Maanen holds an MS and a PhD in social administration from the University of California, Irvine, and a BA in political science and sociology from California State University at Long Beach. (less)