The DeGroote School Welcomes 4 New Faculty

The DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University welcomed four new faculty members for the new school year. In July, Goran Calic, Alina Nastasoiu, Erin Reid, and Manaf Zargoush officially joined the school to provide teaching and world-class research. Their expertise spans a wide range of fields including creativity in the workplace; customer loyalty programs; consumer habits; coping with demanding careers in a changing economy; and using data analytics to solve healthcare issues.

Goran Calic

Goran holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Management from Purdue University, where he also earned his MBA. He’s interested in studying and lecturing on the impact of creativity in the workplace. His work involves a blend of psychology, mathematical modeling, computer science, and strategic management. He explains his work as follows:

“Creativity can result in the discovery of the next profitable opportunity, or it can result in the solution to a particular difficult social problem, of which, there are obviously very many. My research is relevant to any organization trying to solve problems to which there are no algorithmic, simple answers.”

Alina Nastasoiu

Alina is a 2010 graduate of Central European University in Budapest where she earned her Master’s degree in Economics. She also recently earned her Ph.D. in Marketing from the DeGroote School where she studied customer loyalty programs. She’s interested in studying how these programs change consumer behavior and impact company profit. She had this to say about her teaching style:

“Learning doesn’t take place in a vacuum, as students already have intuitions, or what have been called ‘lay theories,’ about different business or marketing strategies. My goal is to stimulate discussion, bring out these intuitions and help students organize their insights and build know-why and know-how.”

Erin Reid

Erin is a graduate of Harvard University, where she earned her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Sociology. Her focus is specifically on how men and women cope with their demanding careers, particularly during stressful times. She spent the last four years teaching and studying this topic at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. As for her teaching methods, Erin had this to say:

“In my teaching, I combine instruction on theory with case studies and experiential education. I have also found that my fieldwork with consultants, journalists, teachers and my own work experiences have allowed me to offer students real, memorable examples of how management theories play out in the workplace.”

Manaf Zargoush

Manag graduated from McGill University with his Ph.D. His areas of interest include data analytics and optimization to solve healthcare issues. He uses his expertise in data science, management science, and health science to be one of the leading researchers in the area of Health Policy and Management. He had this to say about accepting a position at McMaster:

“As a world-class university, McMaster is one of the best places an academician can choose for research and teaching. Collaborating with the Center for Health Economics and Public Analysis at McMaster will also provide me with a unique opportunity to do research and teaching in my areas of expertise.”

Read the full press release.

regions: Toronto

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