Aruna Ranganathan

Research Statement

Aruna Ranganathan studies questions of work and employment in the context of economic development. By applying novel methods that combine field-experimental and quantitative research designs with ethnography and interviews, Aruna's research investigates how low-income occupations in developing countries are governed, organized, seek meaning through their work and navigate the market. Through her research, Aruna strives to advance our theoretical understanding of work, while informing the design of labor-market institutions and policy for the developing world. In previous projects based in India, Aruna has studied the boom of IT and business process outsourcing, the professionalization of plumbing, price-setting behavior among handcraft artisans and the transition of women into formal employment in garment factories.

Bio

Professor Aruna Ranganathan spent her childhood in the Middle East, India and Singapore before graduating with honors from University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business with a B.Com in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources in 2006. She also received an MS in International and Comparative Labor from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations in 2008 and an MS/Phd in Management from MIT’s Sloan School of Management in 2014. Her doctoral dissertation, “Working with Your Hands: Essays on Craft Occupations in India” explored the intersection between economic sociology, the sociology of work and industrial relations.

Academic Degrees

• MS/PhD, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014
• MS, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, 2008
• B.Com, University of British Columbia, 2006

Academic Appointments

• Assistant Professor, Stanford GSB, 2015
• Post Doctoral Associate, TATA Center, MIT, 2014-15

Professional Experience

• Reviewer for British Journal of Industrial Relations (BJIR)
• Contributor to Employment Policy Research Network and Perspectives on Work
• Member of American Sociological Association (ASA)
• Member of Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA)
• Member of Academy of Management (AOM)

Awards and Honors

• Clayman Institute's Stanford Faculty Research Fellowship, 2017-2018
• Finalist, Research Paper Competition, Wharton People Analytics, 2017
• Runner Up, Best International Paper Award, OMT Division, Academy of Management, 2016
• Louis R. Pondy Award for Best paper based on a dissertation, OMT Division, AOM, 2016
• William H. Newman Award for Best Paper Based on a Dissertation, Academy of Management, 2016
• Honorable mention for the Ron Burt award for outstanding student paper by Economic Sociology group, ASA 2013
• Martin Fellowship, 2013-2014
• CIS Summer Grant, 2013
• Sarofim Fellowship, MIT Sloan School of Management, 2011-2012
• India Innovation Seed Fund, MISTI, 2011
• UBC International Leader of Tomorrow all-inclusive Scholarship, 2002-2006

Teaching

Degree Courses

2017-18

HRMGT 286: Managing People in the Global Context

The world of work has changed fundamentally - firms are now integrally linked to the global economy and many of you will manage teams of people located in different countries. What are the typical "people"€ challenges that arise when working...

2016-17

HRMGT 286: Managing People in the Global Context

The world of work has changed fundamentally -€“ firms are now integrally linked to the global economy and many of you will manage teams of people located in different countries. What are the typical "€œpeople"€ challenges that arise when working...