Vern Glaser, PhD, MBA, BA
Contact
Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise, Alberta School of Business - Department of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Management
- vglaser@ualberta.ca
- Phone
- (780) 248-1788
- Address
-
3-20J Business Building
11203 Saskatchewan Drive NWEdmonton ABT6G 2R6
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Organizational Theory Strategy Artificial Intelligence
About
Prior to entering academia, I gained experience in sales, customer service, operations management, business development, merger integration, and management consulting. In 2005, I founded Red Hill Advisors, Inc., a niche consulting firm which provided management consulting services for medium-sized businesses in a variety of industries. Products and services offered by Red Hill include Custom Software Development, Sales Insight, Strategic Governance Design, Organizational Assessment, Process Improvement Initiative, and Strategic Planning. Additionally, I co-founded Red Hill Technology Solutions, a joint venture software company that utilizes dashboarding technology and mobile devices to provide real-time Business Intelligence solutions for the construction materials industry.
In addition to consulting experience, I have worked in the areas of finance, operations, sales, customer service, and maintenance. I have held positions including being the Controller for Southdown, Inc.'s concrete and aggregates group and the Production Manager for Cemex, Inc.'s Southern California ready-mixed concrete operations. Previously, I worked as a business analyst for ARCO Products Company's Los Angeles Refinery.
I am a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (BA, Economics), Duke University's Fuqua School of Business (MBA), and the University of Southern California (PhD).
Research
I study the question, How do organizations strategically change practices and culture? Most of my research involves understanding how organizations use algorithms, arguments, and analogies to change routines and to create new capabilities.
Theoretical topics of interest include:
- Strategic Management
- Organization Theory
- Culture and Social Cognition
- Institutional Logics
- Strategy-as-Practice
- Family Business
- Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Algorithms and Analytics
- Routines and Capabilities
- Framing, Arguments, and Analogies
- Performativity and Rationality
- Strategic Change
I primarily use qualitative research methods, and have conducted studies in the predictive analytics and online display advertising industries. I have also conducted ethnographic work with an entrepreneurial start-up in the analytics industry.
Teaching
I have been teaching several classes at the University of Alberta. Classes in the MBA and BCom programs include:
DATA ANALYSIS AND DECISION-MAKING
This class will help students understand how to use data and algorithms to generate organizational value. Students will not turn into a quantitative analyst or data scientist but rather learn how to be an informed consumer of analytics – more specifically to use data to frame decisions, ask effective questions about the data presented to you, understand and critique the methods by which data has been collected and organized, use data to improve organizational outcomes, and advocate for others in your organization to do the same.
AN EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE ON ANALYTICS
This course will help students understand how to use data and algorithms to generate organizational value. Students will learn about the two major perspectives on analytics: (1) a positive perspective that highlights the potential for organizations to use analytics, data, and artificial intelligence to generate extreme value, and (2) a negative perspective that highlights the ways that analytics, data, and artificial intelligence can lead to abuses of power and undermine ethics. After learning about these two perspectives, students will discover how organizations can leverage analytical tools and techniques to enhance organizational decision-making through the application of a novel conceptual framework, The Biography of an Algorithm, in a variety of empirical contexts including the security industry, the ready mix concrete industry, and the display advertising industry.
ORGANIZATION STRATEGY
This course introduces the concepts, tools, and first principles of strategy formation and competitive analysis. It is concerned with managerial decisions and actions that materially affect the success and survival of business enterprises. The course focuses on the information, analyses, organizational processes, skills, and business judgment managers must use to design strategies, position their business and assets, and define firm boundaries. The goal: to learn how to maximize long-term profits or other strategic objectives in the face of uncertainty and competition.
STRATEGIC CONSULTING FOR FAMILY BUSINESS
This course introduces the concepts, tools, and first principles of advising family businesses. It is concerned with how professional service advisors help family businesses make managerial decisions and actions that materially affect the success and survival of their business enterprises. The course focuses on the information, analyses, organizational processes, skills, and business judgments advisors to family businesses are expected to understand and apply.
EUROPEAN STUDY TOUR: Competitive Dynamics and Cultural Differences - Family Business and Entrepreneurship in European Governance Systems
This course stresses the important role of entrepreneurship and family business in different corporate governance systems throughout the world. The field trip focuses on Europe and examines Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. There are four objectives: (1) to become familiar with the diversity and relevance of family business and entrepreneurship in different governance systems, with focus on Europe; (2) to understand governance differences within Europe that impact family businesses and entrepreneurship; (3) to provide face-to-face interactions with key business executives and scholars regarding issues affecting entrepreneurship and family businesses in Europe; and (4) to understand European culture, the political and economic dynamics of that continent, and its role in the global economy.
Classes I teach or have taught in the PhD program include:
- Seminar in Strategic Management,
- Technology and Sociomateriality in Organizations,
- Quantitative Methods II: Networks, Topic Modeling, and QCA, and
- Foundations of Sociological Theory.
Courses
BUS 701 - Qualitative Methodology for Business Research
Examines qualitative research methods as they apply to business research. Includes: the terrain and history of qualitative research, exploring different approaches to qualitative research, designing qualitative research, strategies of inquiry, qualitative data analysis, writing up research, and professional and ethical issues. Prerequisite: Registration in Business PhD Program or written permission of instructor. Approval of the Business PhD Program Director is also required for non-PhD students.
MGTSC 820 - Data Analysis and Modeling
Developing the ability to collect information and to use information technology to analyze statistically and draw conclusions; developing computer skills and understanding research methods. Restricted to Executive MBA students only.
SEM 620 - Strategic Decision-Making with Data Analytics
This course examines how leaders can leverage data analytics to inform strategic decision-making in organizations. Students will develop skills in using data to frame decisions, asking critical questions about data, understanding and critiquing the methods by which data has been collected and organized, and leveraging data to improve organizational outcomes. The course is organized around two parallel modules: a decision-making module and a data analysis module. Through interactive lectures, case studies, and real-world projects, students will learn to use data to formulate strategies, facilitate change, and create value. The focus is on using data analytics for strategic management rather than intensively analyzing quantitative data.
SEM 810 - The Manager as Strategist
A week-long intensive course. Identifying and developing the human resources, leadership, and strategy skills essential for today's successful executive. Restricted to Executive MBA students only.