Kent State's College of Business Administration Assistant Professor Awarded Grant by the SIOP Awards

KENT, Ohio - Oct. 31, 2016 - PRLog -- Mark Whitmore, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Management and Information Systems at Kent State's College of Business Administration, received the Douglas W. Bray and Ann Howard Research Grant of $4,000 by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Awards Committee for a recent study on assessment centers.

The Douglas W. Bray and Ann Howard Research Grant is designed to support research on assessment center methods as well as research into the development of managers and leaders. The grant may focus on the assessment method, the content area of interest or preferably both. Criteria for this award include:

• Having a sound technical/scientific base
• Showing innovation and excellence
• Advancing the understanding of assessment center techniques, managerial or leadership development, or preferably both
• Using a longitudinal design where appropriate
• Being submitted by members of SIOP, including Student and International Affiliates
• Having a clearly defined project plan, defined deliverables and budget

"On behalf of myself and research partner Ryan Powley, graduate student from Minnesota State, we were both surprised and grateful to receive the recognition and the award from the SIOP," said Whitmore.

The study looks at the ability for leaders to learn the impact that this type of learning has on leader performance through the use of assessment centers. An assessment center presents participants with a series of simulations. Participants go through the simulations and are viewed by external trained observers. The study collects data on assessments without self-evaluation, assessments with self-evaluations but no feedback and assessments with self-evaluation and periodic feedback.

"The idea is that if you go through a center and are more mindful of your behavior, this mindfulness could improve your performance," said Whitmore. "If you are not aware of your behavior in the moment, it is difficult to be an effective leader. If we can show that this learning occurs during the development process, it can also establish that it's really valuable skill that you can apply to other aspects of your life."

Practitioners, consultants and companies that develop assessment centers are the target audience for Whitmore and Powley, who want to illustrate that self-evaluation is important for leadership development.

As a recipient of this research grant, Whitmore will be recognized at the 2017 SIOP Annual conference in Orlando, Florida.

For more information on the award, visit http://www.siop.org/siopawards/bray_howard.aspx

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Kent State University's College of Business Administration is fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) and one of the largest colleges of business in Ohio. The College has more than 4,300 students representing 50 countries with over 85 full-time faculty from 16 countries.

The college grants undergraduate through graduate degrees, and is one of only three public business colleges in Ohio with a comprehensive Ph.D. program. The MBA program is offered in an accelerated format. The Executive MBA program offers two tracks: one targeting corporate professionals and the other healthcare executives. The M.S. in Accounting and M.A. in Economics are specialized master's degrees for those seeking advanced study in these disciplines. The College also offers a Master of Science in degree in Business Analytics (MSBA) for those with business analytics expertise that spans all industries and organizations. The college boasts 10 undergraduate majors, 12 minors and a Professional Sales Certificate program.

The college is listed as a Best Business School by Princeton Review, ranked as a Best Business College by U.S. News and World Report, one of only 23 accounting programs worldwide to be endorsed by the IMA (Institute of Management Accountants), ranked Top-Tier for Executive Education in North America by CEO Magazine and ranked fourth by the SEF (Sales Education Foundation) in Ohio for Professional Sales Education.

The college boasts an onsite Career Services Center and International Programs Office dedicated to business students, and operates the Global Management Center, the Center for Information Systems and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation all propelling scholarly research, establishing innovative industry partnerships and providing outreach to Northeast Ohio and beyond.

Media Contacts:
Joni Bowen, Public Relations and Media Specialist, (330) 672-1279, jbowen1@kent.edu