James Walsh

Research

Research, teaching, and service define my professional life. Two qualities distinguish much of my work. I am fascinated by cross-level relationships: the influences between and among individuals, organizations, and society. And as romantic as it may sound, I think we are all called to try to leave the world a better place. The desire to better understand these cross-level relationships, done with a clear eye on bettering our world, animates most everything I do.

Broadly, the study of how organizations enhance or undermine our well-being is the study of corporate governance. My research explores the purpose, accountability, and control of the firm (and even more generally, business itself) in society. My teaching aspiration is to help students learn to lead. With leadership rooted in a person's being, knowing and doing, I am open to all kinds of teaching approaches. I am particularly drawn to action-based learning. Ultimately, we are called to service. I have tried to contribute to the University of Michigan, Dartmouth College earlier in my career, and my profession over the years.

In many ways, our lives are defined by the duties we embrace and the responsibilities we shoulder. The challenge is to integrate these duties and responsibilities, not to be pulled apart into a kind of schizophrenic existence. How are we to live an authentic life? Oddly enough, we are often more comfortable talking about the purpose of the firm than we are the purpose of a life. Our lives are as animated by purpose as is any firm's life. Professors might do well to ask themselves what purpose animates their research, teaching, and service commitments. For me, the idea of service orients and sustains most everything I do. Done well, I think our research, teaching and yes, our service activities themselves are best motivated by a desire to leave the world a better place.

My personal web page depicts the life I live. Take a look if you would like to learn more about my specific research, teaching, and service commitments. Most recently, I teamed up with Tom Donaldson in an effort to develop a theory of business. Download a copy of our work if you are interested. I would love to talk about these issues with fellow travelers. The work continues....