Who is that person running the Zoom classroom? Getting to know your professors is one of the joys of the UVic MBA in Sustainable Innovation, and we thought we’d get the conversation started with some quick facts about a few of them. (See other Study Break profiles here.)
Cheryl Mitchell, Academic Director, MBA Programs
BA, Psychology, Queen’s University
MA, Counselling Psychology, Pacifica Graduate Institute
PhD, Organizational Systems, Fielding Graduate University
Hometown: Vancouver
Fun Facts
Coffee or tea: Coffee in the morning, black tea in the afternoon, green tea in the evening.
Last book you read: The System of Professions by Andrew Abbott
Most recently played song on your playlist: Woo Hoo by Blur – it is the song I play on my first ski run of the day and I miss skiing during the pandemic!
Teaching
MBA class taught: MBA 552 (Strategic Collaboration and Partnerships):
We know that innovative solutions often involve others; therefore the focus in the collaboration course is on how we collaborate within organizations and across industries. The currency of collaboration is relationships and information. In the course we examine the levers and barriers for successful collaboration, as well as when and how to use different types of collaboration including co-opetition, public/private partnerships, networks, and acquisitions and alliances to create value and address wicked problems.
A question you hope students will ask: How does collaboration contribute to creating or capturing value in my organization or sector?
Research
Topics:
- Design Thinking & Collaborative Processes for Solution-Building in Organizations
- Group Process in Complex Social Systems, specifically Healthcare
- Negative Group Dynamics in Organizations (Blame, Fundamental Attribution Error, Projection)
Recent publications:
1) Attila J Hertelendy, Gregory R Ciottone, Cheryl L Mitchell, Jennifer Gutberg, Frederick M Burkle (2020) Crisis standards of care in a pandemic: navigating the ethical, clinical, psychological and policy-making maelstrom. International Journal for Quality in Health Care. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzaa094
What’s it about:
The paper bring to forefront the importance of declaring a crisis standard of care to acknowledge that health care in a pandemic is not business as usual and thereby mitigate some of the moral and ethical distress.
Other projects you are working on?
As part of a Canadian research project, I am working with a team from across UVic to finish a case study that looks at supply chains in healthcare during the pandemic. I am also finishing up a paper on moral distress in healthcare leaders, as well as one on a crisis leadership model for healthcare.
