Thursday, March 10, 2011, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, March 13, 2011, 7:30 a.m. Preventing Employee Sabotage     Why does it pay to be nice to your waiter? Because if you don’t, he’ll spit in your soup. That’s a concern not only for diners, but managers, who know that great customer service is key to building brand and customer loyalty. Most companies hope their employees are behaving in a friendly, professional and patient manner toward customers, and fulfilling their requests. But sometimes employees actively sabotage customers.

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2010, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 13, 2010, 7:30 a.m. Employee Satisfaction: It’s About Time

College Park, Md. – February 8, 2011 – Ritu Agarwal, professor and Dean’s Chair of Information Systems at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, was named a 2011-2012 Distinguished Scholar-Teacher by the University of Maryland.

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011, 7:30 a.m.; Monday, Jan. 24, 2011, 4:30 a.m. Leading Complex Organizations     With so many public and private-sector organizations becoming increasingly large and complex, what can senior leaders do to align their people around the organizations’ goals? In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Hugh Courtney discusses leadership in increasingly complex organizations.

How do you build teams that are highly adaptive and best draw upon the knowledge, skills and abilities of team members in ways that achieve superior performance? Recent research turns traditional notions of leadership on its head. In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Professor Paul Tesluk shares how your organization can gain competitive advantage by cultivating shared leadership in your teams.

How do you build teams that are highly adaptive and best draw upon the knowledge, skills and abilities of team members in ways that achieve superior performance? Recent research turns traditional notions of leadership on its head. In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Professor Paul Tesluk shares how your organization can gain competitive advantage by cultivating shared leadership in your teams.

Curt Grimm, Dean’s Professor of Supply Chain and Strategy, described coaching his young son’s softball team to a rapt audience in Frank Auditorium. Grimm knew that only two of the children could reliably catch the ball. So he put those boys at first and second base, and then instructed their teammates to only throw the ball to first and second. It proved to be a winning strategy, because his son’s team took the championship that year. Grimm asked his audience to assess his competitive strategy: was it good, bad or ugly?

Join Us for Dr. Grimm’s Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Lecture on Oct. 7, 2010

With a wave of newly minted graduates joining the work force in a very tight job market, those hunting for a new position or jockeying to advance in their current organization may think they have no room for negotiation. But in the Washington-Baltimore region, you may have more bargaining chips than you realized.

College Park, Md. – March 12, 2010 – Curt Grimm, Dean’s Professor of Supply Chain and Strategy at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, was named a 2010-2011 Distinguished Scholar-Teacher by the University of Maryland. Grimm is one of five faculty members recognized campus-wide in the prestigious program, which honors tenured faculty who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments as educators and notable achievements in their respective fields. Each scholar will present a lecture during the school year, and the award carries an honorarium to support professional activities.