University of La Verne

Faculty Member, Organizational Leadership

Other Affiliations: Missouri University of Science and Technology, Engineering Management & Systems Engineering

Associate Professor of Organizational Leadership

About

I do work in organizational learning and effectiveness, simulations and games for learning and research, action research and Action Science. I'm interested in how to facilitate learning in groups and workplaces.

I teach or have taught the following courses: 
Research 1 (doctoral)
Teams and Teaming 2 (doctoral)
Management for Engineers and Scientists,
Total Quality Management,
Managerial Decision-making and Judgment, and
Managing Engineering and Technology

I'm currently working on an integrated hardware and software system (protected by USPTO patent number 7769705 with other patents pending) that helps teams work together more effectively. The system helps members improve their “team intelligence”, which can lead to successful innovation, effective decision-making, and team learning. I received a $500K plus grant to fund this work from the National Science Foundation.

Here's a bit more depth on this...

--begin academic speak--

Postmodern organizational theory views leadership, power, and other organizational phenomena in terms of discourse, “voice”, and narrative.  The term “dialogic” was used by Bakhtin to describe a narrative in which multiple voices, perspectives, or discourses are present and engage and interact with each other. Dialogic discourses and processes are central to resolving conflicts, creating shared understandings, devising new knowledge, and effective group processes.  Instead of the oppositional form of dialectic discourses, they have a focus on engagement and integration of divergent views.  My research interests deal with approaches to dialogic processes and their effects on leadership, change, learning, innovation, and conflict. 

My research investigates the effects of various approaches to dialogue (such as Chris Argyris's "Model II" behavior and Marshall Rosenberg's "nonviolent communication") through experimental studies. In these studies, I seek to answer two basic questions:
a) How do certain approaches to dialogue affect outcomes, such as those related to leadership, innovation, negotiation, etc.?
b) How might individuals acquire dialogic skills?

To do this research, I created a computationally intelligent system that could reliably interject dialogic discourse into conversations.  The resulting system is a social learning technology that is at the bleeding edge of web-based social media.  It is designed to foster peoples’ ability to innovate, make effective decisions, resolve conflicts, and engage in collaborative learning and effective dialogues.  I am just beginning experimental studies using this system.  If you would like to have a class participate in a study please let me know. 

--end academic speak--

I'm also very interested in transforming education through setting up organizational structures that foster dialogue and student self-determination.  You may want to see some videos concerning various aspects of this at http://www.youtube.com/user/luechtef .

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