Elizabeth Ravlin
Associate Professor, Faculty Director, Professional MBA Program at Darla Moore School of Business
Biography
Darla Moore School of Business
Background
Elizabeth C. Ravlin is an associate professor of organizational behavior and management on the faculty of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, and is the current Faculty Director of the Professional MBA Program. She received her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from the Graduate School of Industrial Administration at Carnegie Mellon University. Ravlin serves on the Editorial Boards of the Academy of Management Review and the Journal of Management, and is an associate editor for the Human Resource Management Review.
Ravlin''s research examines interpersonal processes, cross-cultural and diverse teams, work values, and status influences in organizations and has been funded by grants from such organizations as CIBER and the Riegel and Emory Human Resource Research Center. Her publications have appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Management, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Organizational Behavior and Research in Organizational Behavior, among others. Her teaching and consulting are in the areas of team and organizational processes. Previously, she has served as the research director of the Riegel and Emory Human Resource Research Center, as the director of the Management Organizational Behavior Ph.D. Program and as chair of the University Graduate Council.
What courses do you teach?
Competing Through People, PMBA (MGMT 770), Managing Cross-Border Teams, Masters (IBUS 717), Organizational Behavior, Undergraduate (MGMT 376), Managing Teams in the Workplace, Undergraduate (MGMT 402)
Why should a student take your class - how does your class help students become employable?
We continue to hear from our executive and management advisors that an understanding of and skills in interpersonal behavior are some of the most important things they look for in a potential new hire. I teach these principles in both Organizational Behavior and my Teams courses to help students embrace the importance of these skills to management, and to provide opportunities for any student to interact more effectively with others.
What research/what kind of projects are you working on?
My research examines how people with dissimilar backgrounds (culture, demographics, values) perceive their work in different ways and how they can learn to work better together.
How do your research/projects make a difference?
Demographic, social and economic trends lead more people to work with others who are quite different from themselves. Research shows that organizations need skills to resolve issues created by differences and to leverage these differences for improved performance.
Briefly describe a few of your current projects.
I am currently looking at how business-to-business sales agents pursue relationships with targets who are different from themselves. In addition, I am examining how cross-cultural relationships are developed to provide added value, and the role of status perceptions in the development of these relationships.
How do you involve students in your projects?
Doctoral students work on my research projects, either leading the project or working closely with me to develop theory, design studies, create surveys, analyze data, and write manuscripts. I work with both Masters and Undergraduates when they are interested in my research.
What inspires you about your work?
Finding an answer about some aspect of human behavior is like solving a very complex, fascinating, and important puzzle. I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned with students, who then go on to use this knowledge in their work lives and beyond.
What are you doing when you''re not working?
Traveling, outdoor activities, visiting with my family.
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