Paul W. Thurston

Paul W. Thurston, Jr., Ph.D., is the Department Chair and Professor of Management at Siena College where he teaches courses in Decision Making, Leadership, Leading Change, Management, Organizational Behavior, Project Management, Research Methods, and Strategic Planning. Paul has also served as the Director of Academic Integration for the Center of Academic Community Engagement and the Coordinator for the Siena College Core Curriculum. He received his doctorate in Organizational Studies from The University at Albany, State University of New York in 2001. His research interests include organizational engagement and effectiveness, mentoring, leadership, business strategy, organizational justice and organizational policies. He is a retired Air Force officer and formerly worked as a Director for The Group for Organizational Effectiveness, Inc.

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

My job is to bring out the best in every one of my students. I try to set an example of service to my students so that they may use their gifts in service to each other now, and prepare themselves for service to their communities in the future. I structure my classes so that students get frequent opportunities to apply the concepts we study and then reflect on the consequences. Students remember concepts when they can apply them in memorable contexts. Sometimes the context is provided by a shared experience like working for the benefit of a community partner. Other times it comes through reflecting on a personal experience. Each application provides an opportunity to integrate previously studied concepts. With this approach the concepts from all courses become familiar tools that students can pull out and apply in a variety of situations.

What I Love About Siena

It takes creativity to turn business initiatives that are good for the bottom line into actions that are also good for the employees, partners, customers, neighbors and the environment. I continuously remind our students how they are well qualified to provide that creativity because of their Siena education. Our students develop a sense of personal responsibility which helps them to consider others before they act, and take responsibility for failures even when they were unintended. Siena graduates also develop a sense of empowerment by the time they leave -- they know that their individual efforts can make a difference.

My Favorite Courses to Teach

My favorite courses are those that result in the students telling vivid stories of what they learned and how they applied that knowledge in meaningful ways. I teach regular and honor sections of the capstone business strategy course, and applied service learning versions of our management principles, research methods and senior management courses. My students work with real organizations and help those organizations solve challenging problems.

My Professional Experience

Articles & Book Reviews

• Mother Myrick's Confectionery
  Open Access Teaching Case Journal, vol. 1
  2023
• Teaching International Business Skills across U.S. and Kenya: A Model for International Collaboration
  Journal Of Teaching In International Business, vol. 33
  October, 2022
• Factors Influencing Retention of Students for Independent School Re-Enrollment
  Journal of Research on Christian Education
  February, 2022
• Tavern on the Green: An Entrepreneur's Struggle to keep her Family's Business
  Journal of Business Cases and Applications, vol. 18
  September, 2017
• Using Sequential Research Methods and Leading Change Courses to Increase Connections between Students and Community Partners
  Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference
  June, 2017
• Understanding Consumer Adoption of Mobile Payment Options: Model Development
  Journal of Applied Business and Economics, vol. 17
  March, 2017
• Factors Influencing Alumni Engagement
  Eastern Academy of Management
  May, 2016
• Mother Myrick's Confectionery
  North American Case Research Association -- Annual Meeting
  October, 2013
• The Impact of Mentoring on Employee Attitudes, Competencies and Performance
  International Academy of Management and Business (IAMB)
  2011
• Explaining Engagement in Personal Activities on Company Time
  Personnel Review, vol. 39
  September, 2010
• Justice Perceptions of Performance Appraisal Practices
  Journal Of Managerial Psychology, vol. 25
  2010
• Participation Preferences and Brand Community Integration: An Empirical Investigation
  Review of Business Research, vol. 9
  October, 2009
• Going the Distance with E-Learning: Motivational Factors that Influence Course Completion
  Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference
  December, 2007
• Going Further with E-Learning: Factors Influencing Persistence, Transfer and Intentions to Continue
  Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference
  December, 2003
• A Monte Carlo Study of Missing Item Methods
  Organizational Research Methods, vol. 3
  January, 2000
• Coal, Nuclear, Natural Gas, Oil, or Renewable - Which Type of Power Plant Should We Build?
  Case Research Journal, vol. 30
  Summer, 2010
• Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless
  Case Research Journal, vol. 33
  Winter, 2013
• Mentoring as an HRD Approach: Effects on employee attitudes and contributions independente of core self-evaluation
  Human Resource Development Quarterly, vol. 23
  Summer, 2012

Awards & Distinctions

• In recognition of the contribution that service activities provide toward the attainment of institutional excellence, Siena College established this award in honor of Father Matthew T. Conlin, O.F.M., who served as a faculty member in the English Department and as the sixth President of Siena College. The award is given annually to the faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in service beyond what is normally expected of faculty at Siena College.
  Category: Service-University
  Siena College, 2022
• Best Reviewer
  Category: Service-Professional
  Journal of Managerial Psychology (JMP), 2019
• Service Excellence Award
  Category: Service-University
  Siena College School of Business, 2018

• Mother Myrick's Confectionary selected as first round case for the annual Case Analysis Competition.

  
  Category: Research
  Global Family Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Case Competition, 2014
• Paper consistently received the top rankings among reviewers in a comprehensive two-tiered reviewing process and is the recipient of the 2012 Volume 23 award.
  Category: Research
  Human Resource Development Quarterly, 2012
• Teaching Excellence Award
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College School of Business, 2012
• Presentation titled "The Impact of Mentoring on Employee Attitudes, Competencies and Performance."
  
  Category: Research
  International Academy of Management and Business (IAMB), 2011
• Award for Excellence in Community Service,
  Category: Service-Community
  TrustCo Bank, 2011
• DEEP Service Outstanding Faculty of the Year,
  Category: Service-Community
  Siena College Office of Acedemic and Community Engagement, 2011
• Best Applied Paper, 9th Annual Conference, Orlando, Florida,
  Category: Research
  International Academy of Managment and Business, 2010
• Best Paper, Education Track
  Category: Research
  Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference, 2003
• Outstanding Faculty Member for Education, Research and Service,
  Category: Teaching
  Air Force Institute of Technology, 2002
• Field Grade Officer of the Quarter,
  Category: Service-Professional
  Air Force Institute of Technology, 2000
• Company Officer of the Year,
  Category: Service-Professional
  Hanscom Air Force Base, 1992

Presentations

• Common Roots Foundation
  October, 2022
  North American Case Research Association -- Annual Meeting, Niagara Falls, Canada-Ontario
• Ordinary Marathoner
  October, 2022
  North American Case Research Association -- Annual Meeting, Niagara Falls, Canada-Ontario
• Factors that Influence Equitable Global North and Global South Social Innovation Collaboration
  July, 2020
  Academy of International Business Annual Conference, Miami, Florida
• Factors that influence global north and global south international social innovation engagement: A university-nonprofit collaboration model
  January, 2020
  Geography of Innovation Conference, Stavanger, Norway
• Using Sequential Research Methods and Leading Change Courses to Increase Connections between Students and Community Partners
  June, 2017
  Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference, Providence, Rhode Island
• Factors Influencing Alumni Engagement
  2016
  Eastern Academy of Management, New Haven, Connecticut
• Factors Influencing Continued Stakeholder Engagement in Nonprofit Fundraising Events
  May, 2015
  Eastern Academy of Management, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Using Sequential Courses to Increase Connections Between Students and Community Partners
  May, 2015
  Capital Region Community Engagement Conference, Loudonville, New York
• Mother Myrick's Confectionery
  October, 2013
  North American Case Research Association -- Annual Meeting, Victoria, Canada-British Columbia
• Real Losses in Video Games: Rhode Island's Failed Investment in 38 Studios
  October, 2012
  North American Case Research Association -- Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts
• The Impact of Mentoring on Employee Attitudes, Competencies and Performance
  January, 2011
  International Academy of Management and Business (IAMB), Orlando, Florida
• Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless
  2011
  North American Case Research Association -- Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas
• Participation Preferences and Brand Community Integration: An Empirical Investigation
  2009
  International Academy of Business and Economics Annual Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada
• On Company Time: An Empirical Examination of Why People Engage in Personal Business on the Job
  2007
  Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia
• Clarifying the Structure of Justice Using Fairness Perceptions of Performance Appraisal Practices
  2000
  Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, New Orleans, Louisiana