The Constellation Newsletter of Capella University's School of Bus, Tech and Healthcare Admin

Extra! Read all about it: Capella University Loses Interim Dean!

Okay, we’ll confess to the clickbait title right away; As you likely know by now, late last year Jennifer Straub, previously Interim Dean for Capella’s School of Business, Technology, and Healthcare (SoBTH), accepted the position of Dean Not acting Not interim As Program Director Robert Bigelow put it, we are “absolutely delighted to have Jennifer Straub as the permanent Dean ”

One Wall Street Journal columnist talks about the challenges facing a person taking on an interim role, that it can be difficult to have responsibility without true power, and potential can be mired in ambiguity (Shellenger, 2016) The author goes on to discuss the challenges one can face as an interim leader, and how difficult it can be to parlay those challenges into a more permanent role But Jennifer Straub took up that gauntlet and thrived as our leader during a challenging time

Those who have been working with Dr Straub know that in her time as Interim Dean she has proven to be a stabilizing influence as well as an advocate, coach, and cheerleader for faculty and learners alike. Says Dr. Bigelow, Dean Straub has been, “a creative, innovative leader ” Associate Dean Cheryl Boncoure asserts that, “Dr Straub has proven to be a smart visionary for our school”. Dr. Bigelow effused, “Her inclusiveness and transparency with her team increase both a sense of community and efficiency within the organization ”

Provost Dr St Germain wrote in the organizational announcement on this topic, “Jennifer's love of strategy and visionary leadership will serve Capella well ” Now, we will all see that leadership even more fully in action as Dr Straub truly makes the role her own Indeed, as Dr Boncoure asserts, “the future of SoBTH is indeed very bright with Jennifer Straub as the leader!”

Be sure to check out the Dean’s Corner for more on Dr Straub’s plans for SOBTH

by Dr Rebecca Snarski

Dean's Corner

by Dr Jennifer Straub

Greetings to all Capella Administration, Faculty, and Leaders

It is an honor to welcome you to the 3rd edition of “The Constellation”the School of Business, Technology, and Health Care Administration (SoBTH) newsletter, and the first issue where we have broadened our distribution to include all faculty at Capella

I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude for all of you – it is a great honor to continue to work with all of SoBTH as the dean! In this edition, I am pleased to share with you the progress and initiatives that SoBTH has embarked on over the past year, as well as some new and exciting directions that I see for the school in moving from interim dean to dean.

The mission of SoBTH is to “educate adult learners using highly relevant curriculum and exceptional instruction to deliver competency-based learning Our learners’ educational experiences provide immediate impact to their jobs in management and technology, as well as lay the foundation for addressing challenges throughout their professional careers.” Over the past year, mission-driven initiatives have included expanding workintegrated learning opportunities in courses, focusing on the continual quality of professional doctorate programs, optimizing the portfolio, delivering impactful faculty experiences in the courseroom through innovative videos, and committing to accreditation and designation reaffirmations We remain committed to this excellent work, and I look forward to continuing to discuss these initiatives with you!

I am also excited that we will move forward to deliver on our mission in new ways For example, to support faculty development and expand faculty-created content, we are launching the new SoBTH Innovation Fellows Program in Q4 2022 to acknowledge faculty innovators Furthermore, to support workforce education, We launched the new SoBTH Innovation Fellows Program in Q4 of 2022 Furthermore, to support workforce education, we launched a new webinar series featuring industry leaders across business, technology and healthcare administration in 2023

There is much more to come in 2023 – thank you all for your innovative and creative thinking as we provide a high-quality experience for our learners

I hope you will enjoy this issue of the Constellation which overviews some initiatives and successes in SOBTH, and also discusses the value of academic honesty, critical thinking, human capital, and the Master’s in Analytics Program.

With Deep Appreciation, Dr. Jennifer Straub

Dean, SoBTH

Communication Etiquette with Using Technologies in Personal, Academic, and Professional Environments

By: Breanna Gorski, M S (Capella learner-contributor)

Have you ever wondered when the negatives of technology outweigh the benefits? It’s when we misuse technology, damaging relationships and productivity. While technology has the potential to connect us in ways past generations couldn’t even dream of, it also allows us to give in to the human propensity for lack of impulse control (Martin, 2013) That is, technology makes it easier for us to act out of emotion before we have a chance to think something through rationally.

Email and text are great examples of how impulse control issues can lead to problems

When someone sends emails or text filled with raw emotions such as anger and frustration, it can ultimately lead to disastrous results Firing off angry messages without taking the time to cool down and write a thought-out response can create anger on both sides, and also obscures the valid points that they might be making, hiding them in a veil of explanation points and angry bolded letters (Martin, 2013) As one psychologist puts it, “Once you send a hostile email, the exchange stops being about your concern and starts being about your nasty email” (Martin, 2013).

Most of us know these things, yet our human emotions sometimes get the better of us How do we stop it? Be more mindful Read on for some helpful reminders that you probably know, but don’t always practice

While many interactions with our fellow humans are joyful, there are also interactions that can leave us feeling sad, depressed, angry, or rejected When perceived rejection occurs, whether through a job, school, or personal relationship, a person might feel upset and disappointed, which can lead to venting to a colleague or on social media There is nothing wrong with raw feelings; it is how those feelings are expressed that can have painful consequences Venting frustration too quickly denies you the chance to calm down or gain perspective and can often make matters worse Remember, whatever is said in reality and in the cyber world can never be taken back

Trust can often be a casualty of hurried words

Once hurtful words are exchanged, whether it is through the web or in person, it can be hard to regain the trust and respect in the relationship In a professional environment, it can result in alienating colleagues, damage to teamwork, or even someone’s termination

Even if you have a strong sense of sadness and anger in response to a written message, practice separation to process the raw emotions Afterwards, you can better look at the communication and better see if the true message warranted your strong emotions

Remember that while a quick and angry response will express your feelings at the moment, it is probably not doing so in the most effective way (Martin, 2013) Furthermore, venting that anger may prevent you from getting your point across and actually damage your relationship or reputation (2013) Here are a few quick reminders when you receive a message that upsets you:

If possible, don’t even send a response; instead, talk to the sender in person If you must send a reply, take time to cool down first

Continued on page 11

Analytics: How Not to Get Lost in Space

Two of my college experiences may be similar to yours First, inevitably the article I was looking for in the library was checked out or missing (torn from the publication) Occasionally, I found the journal edition I needed on a cart waiting to be shelved Frustration! The second experience was statistics class While “Lost in Space” was a television series in the 1960s, it adequately described my state of mind during and after the class While online research has solved a lot of my library issues, software and YouTube have helped my statistical and analytical efforts

The good news for all of us is that statistics and analytics have become user friendly.

Excel celebrated its 30th birthday a few years back Today, Excel does the heavy lifting With three clicks, I can scan a column or two of data and create a line, bar, or pie chart as well as calculate central tendency, standard deviation, and several additional data reference points Amazing! I can do a regression analysis (comparing two variables to see if they are related) with a couple of clicks as well

Pie charts have always been easy to interpret for all of us A pie chart is based on 100% of something, i e total number of female students enrolled in CU in October 2021, like the pie charts below (Capella University, 2022) Remember, you can create pie charts from one column of data in an Excel file with two clicks!

Using the net, I can search “how to do a control chart” and get a 2-minute YouTube video to walk me through the steps I can also google “how to interpret a control chart” and get a short video that makes the complex very simple

We as faculty and students are asked to interpret data daily Most of us review our 401K performance on a quarterly basis; one common graph of our 401K tells us about performance over time The local paper provides us an overview of the analytic results of our elementary schools in terms of performance against the norm or average We have gotten used to seeing and interpreting data over time And we are good at doing so

by Dr Jama Bradley Continues on page 11

Once upon a time there was a family of beavers who lived in a creek outside a small town in Minnesota. The beavers were industrious, with even the young beavers always planning, organizing, scheduling, harvesting wood, and gnawing down trees for dam construction Each of these tasks required a specific skill set, and everyone performed the task he or she did best

Our unlikely hero, Rusty, a somewhat slight and young beaver, had learned to do all the different tasks, but since he was especially small only his sister, Honey, paid much attention to him Papa Beaver and Mama Beaver were not interested in this smallish member of their family beyond worrying about him and telling all his brothers and sisters to watch out for him Rusty’s siblings, including Tooth and Tail, were kind yet dismissive of him

Mama and Papa spent their time overseeing and controlling the colony activities Each of the two elder beavers knew a great deal about making dams and sustaining their colonies but they didn’t know everything There were so many aspects to the beaver body of crafts, that, so far, no single beaver was ever able to learn all the skills

One day in early spring the creek was moving fast due to unexpected ice melt Papa and Momma told most of the young beavers to shelter on a small bank near one of their several dams while Papa and Tail worked feverishly to reinforce the dam, they called home

The bank was a high place along the creek where the water passed slowly on most days As all the beavers sat safely watching the water rush past them, a sudden deluge like they’d never seen before pushed through, and several beavers, including Papa and Tail, were pushed far down the creek very quickly. The colony knew the creek ran downhill to a neighboring colony, and that while the missing beavers would eventually be safe, it would be many days before Tail and Papa, two of their most knowledgeable workers, would return This left the beaver colony short of expertise in several beaver crafts and a broken dam

Momma was concerned about how to proceed; their washed-out dams weren’t going to rebuild themselves, after all While she knew all the things that Papa did, she did not know how to do the deep cutting that Tail did nor how to make the engineering diagrams he created in the mud. In fact, as far as she was aware, no one else in the colony had these skills

But Honey was very aware of her families’ capabilities, and she had observed Rusty carefully acquiring all the colonies’ skills while the colony paid little attention to him. Rusty told Honey that he was not quite as good at any one skill as his brothers or father, but he knew how every craft should be done No matter what Papa, Tooth, and Tail said, just because Rusty was little didn’t mean he couldn’t make major contributions if given the opportunity

Continued on page 12

GPS for Careers: Retaining Millennials and

Gen Z

Organizations across the nation are struggling to recruit and retain valuable, highly competent Millennials and members of Generation Z National retention rates for both cohorts are often challenged by a less than positive connection between the employee and organization (Gallop, 2022) Organizations seeking to retain employees must ensure that the pathways of advancement are clear, expectations are understood by everyone, and nothing important is cloaked in secrecy

Career maps help ensure that career pathways are transparent, allowing employees to plan for their future

One approach to depicting pathways of advancement is the use of detailed career maps These maps provide the users with accurate information on what advancement opportunities exist within the organization and how they can reach them An effective career map shows the user what education, experience, certifications, and other credentials are required for advancement to specific organizational roles

Good career maps describe roles in detail Such descriptions can help people in specific fields grow by knowing when to accept rotational opportunities in related fields to fill out their skill set Career maps also provide information on any existing leadership development programs within the organizations They explain the relationships between the leadership development program and advancement in the organization, a linkage that is not always present in organizational policies

With new generations come varying sets of expectations and goals in the workplace (Gallop, 2022) Millennials and members of Gen Z want to clearly understand how to move forward and grow In many organizations, advancement milestones are not visible, and it is expected that leaders manage promotions, with the support of human resources However, career maps are more effective, especially when subject matter experts in different professional fields contribute to transparency by developing technically accurate career maps, helping leaders, human resources, and the employee understand what the employee can do to be eligible for advancement

Effective career maps provide employees the ability to plan for the long term, helping them achieve professional and personal goals, ensuring they can manage their career and balance their other responsibilities in a thoughtful manner

Career maps help employees see what kinds of roles they may want to grow into and what education or training they might need When there is a ladder for advancement and each rung is clearly labeled, employees have the information to decide whether to leave for an opportunity at a different organization or to stay where they are and grow There hasn’t been any significant research done on how career maps affect turnover, organizational commitment, or retention rates, but employees frequently ask their organizations for career maps

by Dr Al Gorriaran

Things to consider:

"Organizational senior leaders can work with HR and career field subject matter experts to create career maps "

Supervisors can use career maps to engage and guide employees toward their professional goals

Millennials and members of Generation Z may be retained with increased levels of engagement when they have a career map to guide them The career map is a valuable tool which is unlikely to cost the organization much in the way of resources

Reference

Gallop, (2022) Retrieved From https://www gallup com/workplace/231587/millenni als-job-hopping-generation aspx

Meet the School of Business Faculty Advisory Board

The School of Business, Technology, and Health Care Administration (SoBTH) Business Faculty Advisory Board (FAB) is a diverse and exemplary group of faculty who represents their community and provide advice on pressing part time and adjunct (PT/ADJ) faculty issues to the Associate Dean and Dean of the SoBTH

The FAB was developed in response to a survey where PT/ADJ Faculty expressed the desire to have an entity that would respond to their issues and also help keep them informed The FAB is tasked to disseminate information from the top of SOBTH and the university directly to PT/ADJ Even more important, it also works to give the PT/ADJ a path to voice ideas to SOBTH leadership

FAB members represent the voice of their peers, working to improve the experience for all SOBTH faculty Meetings throughout the academic year encourage discussion on new initiatives and emergent issues, ensuring that the faculty voice is heard

The FAB meets quarterly each year The SoBTH FAB recommendations help to influence SoBTH goals, services, and overall effectiveness Accomplishments so far include that the three-discussion requirement in FlexPath was modified, a faculty mentoring program was established, and faculty are now informed of changes to classes Let’s keep the moment going! We want to hear from you

All PT/ADJ SOBTH Faculty are encouraged to access the anonymous suggestion box for questions or suggestions on how to improve teaching and processes in SOBTH:

https://strategicedinc sharepoint com/sites/MBAFAB/SitePages/Home aspx

You can also reach out directly to the faculty board members, as listed below The FAB’s success will be dependent on your feedback and involvement Together, we can continue to ensure that all voices are heard and work to continually improve our processes for ourselves and, by extension, our learners, and the university

FAB Board Administrators

Chris Fichera

Kristine Ziola-Pardell

Michael McGivern

Henry Weber (MBA Core Faculty)

Kevin Krier (Undergrad Core Faculty

Darlene Barnard (Faculty Director)

I am Dr Chris Fichera I am a Part-time Faculty member of the School of Business, Technology, and Health Care Administration I teach both Guided and FlexPath courses for the MBA Capstone, Project Management, and Analytics Full-time, I have been a Senior Program Manager supporting both manned and unmanned spaceflight for more than 40 years.

What I love about what we do at Capella University is our commitment to Competency-based learning, allowing our learners to use today what they learn and not wait years to apply their newly acquired skills in the workplace

I am Dr Kristine Ziola-Pardell What I love about what we do at Capella University is our commitment to Competency-based learning, allowing our learners to use today what they learn and not wait years to apply their newly acquired skills in the workplace.

I am Dr Michael McGivern I have been working for Capella since 2002, and my favorite part has been conversing with the students about the class work and even more important, about their future goals and aspirations It is very exciting to me to be a small part of their lifelong journey to assist them to take their learnings “out of the classroom and into reality”

The Intersection of Critical Thinking and Academic Honesty

Where once “critical thinking” seemed an academic phrase or a corporate buzzword, today the fact is that everyone needs to think critically perhaps a dozen times each day From recognizing hyperbole to fake news, analyzing data to making decisions, critical thinking is a must for every human in all fields

The headline article in this Constellation issue played with the idea of clickbait, the internet tendency to make headlines sound as salacious as possible to attract attention Unfortunately, many people may not read past the headline; sometimes they read an interesting headline and pass it along as fact, and before you know it a legend is born

At Capella, we see critical thinking as a way of life Our leaders use critical thinking to evaluate learner and faculty needs and shape policy Our faculty use it to stay abreast of issues in their field and to instruct their learners We teach our learners to think critically, evaluating resources, considering biases, and even exploring differing data or opinions.

A critical thinker:

• Is not swayed by headlines.

• Does not present their opinion as fact

• Does research to understand a concept before forming a firm opinion.

• Is open to differing opinions and evidence

This use of research and analysis to aid our critical thinking leads us to the citing of sources Any reputable university will require its learners to seek out and analyze information, then use that information to support their work in classes In all schools within Capella this means citing sources using APA format

It’s not fun Sometimes it is not easy But it is important Why?

Citing sources serves a variety of purposes Among these are:

Giving credit where it is due

Demonstrating that you have done research and are knowledgeable on a topic

Giving the audience a place to go to if they want more information on a topic.

Capella expects faculty, staff, and learners to think critically, to look at data and research, to couple that with their own knowledge and experience, and to intentionally think through the situation to make evidence-based decisions We also expect our faculty, staff, and learners to maintain the highest degree of academic integrity by properly citing their work, paraphrasing and giving credit as appropriate, and properly quoting a source when the words themselves are so valuable that they need to be used

Thinking critically and writing with integrity are the foundation upon which we share our ideas Stay tuned to this space for more in-depth articles on how to write with integrity and credibility in the future

by Dr Rebecca Snarski

MENTORING

Have you ever thought about being a mentor? If so, no your chance!!!! The Capella Chapter of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) is looking for individuals who are interested in serving as mentors to chapter members

Being a mentor has its benefits It may provide you wit sense of fulfillment Offers self-reflection opportunitie and provide learning opportunities. In addition, it adds your qualifications, expands your network, and may ev strengthen your knowledge

Participating mentors will be affiliated with Capella (learners, alumni, staff), they will have minimum of 5 y of experience in a HR-related leadership position, and they will have experience in a variety of industries and backgrounds

Once approved, a SHRM Faculty Advisor will assign the mentor to the mentee The mentor will commit to meeting with the mentee 1-2 hours per month, at a minimum, for one-on-one mentoring sessions, and there is a threemonth commitment The mentors will lead discussion’s that focus on topics related to career growth, professional knowledge, and upward mobility Mentors will support and inspire mentees

SHRM membership is open to Capella learners only In addition to our mentoring program the chapter provides members with numerous benefits such as, networking opportunities, education & HR Certification resources, priority notice of job opportunities, professional / career resources, SHRM webpage resources and news & announcements

The goal of the program is to help our mentees to enhance their leadership and professional development that will help them to further their career This will be accomplished by exploring the world of work through interaction with professionals in the HR career of their choice, gain an experienced HR practitioner’s/educator’s perspective on applying textbook concepts to real-life situations, familiarize themselves with corporate protocol and identify long-term professional development needs

Participation is completely voluntary and does not include any compensation If you are interested in mentoring our mentees, Dr Samuel Palmeri Ph D , SPHR, SHRM-SCP samuel palmeri@capella edu

By Dr Samuel Palmeri, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Continued from Page 4

Communication Etiquette with Using Technologies on a Personal, Academic, and Professional Environment

Do not send the same message repeatedly People will often believe if they are receiving emails, text messages, and phone calls from a person multiple times, it is harassment, and they can feel they are threatened

Do show confidence, engagement and interest in your messages

Decades ago, Dale Carnegie taught us, in his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, that we create positive relationships by truly being interested in others This advice seems even more true in modern online communication

Be aware that the perception of anonymity, or at least the distance that technology gives us, can make it easier for us to write things that we would likely not say in person (Martin, 2013) To avoid this trap, before you send a message, take a moment to picture the person you are sending it to and how they will respond to it Also, imagine how you will feel when you see that a response from them has shown up in your inbox. Will you dread opening it? Then perhaps you need to rethink your message

The biggest takeaway about communication etiquette is to be a good listener and respect the views of others while also taking the time to cool off when your emotions have been activated, and not to respond until you have taken the time to gain some perspective and think your words through

Always remember that the pen, and the keyboard, are both mightier than the sword; wield those weapons with caution and think before you type

References

Martin, R (2013) Avoiding the Angry Email Psychology Today

Continued from Page 3

Analytics: How Not to Get Lost in Space

Some info that might be of interest to you and that may come up with your students – lots of software (similar to Excel in some ways) are now being used by most companies You may have heard of Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, R, and Python to name a few I am sure many of you have used several of these software packages in your work, consulting, or to evaluate your own portfolio If not, you might take a few minutes to check some of them out and see what you can discover

Our students are reviewing professional journal articles and professional publications with analysis results and graphs We can help them do so with a link to a short video we found by googling “how to interpret a control chart”

So, the days of “Lost in Space” are gone. And you are all analysts in your own way Check out some YouTube videos and have some fun with analytics.

Enjoy the ride

References: Capella University (2022) Capella University Fact Sheet

https://www capellaresults com/content/dam/cap ella/PDF/FactSheet pdf

by Dr Jama Bradley

That night, Rusty and Honey went to see Mama They explai Rusty knew how to do what his father and brother were good at had watched and practiced for a long time Rusty showed th the engineering chart he had produced in the mud and exa angles of wood processing effective beaver workers should ex achieve the deep cut effect Everyone was surprised to disco smallest relative knew so much! With Rusty’s guidance and leadership, the family was able to repair the dam before the and exhausted Papa and Tail returned home

Just like Rusty the beaver, there are thousands of employ possess a broad spectrum of skills and knowledge yet are ov by their organizations. Too often we place people in a prove based on their job title or resume We fall short in not recogni everyone has hidden skills and strengths, and that new s develop as we work and grow

The single greatest cost of operating nearly every organi payroll Thus, it becomes incumbent upon leaders at all leve organization to be constantly re-evaluating their team, to s growth, and to recognize unused potential As leaders and em we should be aware of what every member of our team has to advocate for them just as Honey did for Rusty when they wen Mama Rusty helped his colony, and dam construction never beat Similar human treasures may be hiding in your workplace

by Dr Al Gorriaran

School of Business, Technology, and Healthcare Administration hosts quarterly Business Webinar Series

In February, BTH hosted its first Webinar series as part of their Advisory Board workstream This series is unique in that each live session is presented in 25 minutes – or learning bursts – and each session is presented by a different leader and industry expert, with all sessions address a different aspect to a central theme for the quarter In Q1, the theme was Leading For Success And by all accounts, this series was a success, reaching an audience consisting of alumni, Capella faculty & staff, current learners, prospective learners, and others

Our industry expert presenters included Ed Ross, speaking on Inspiring Performance through Authentic Leadership; Adam Winterrowd sharing expertise on Empathetic Leadership; and Marc Muchnick examining The Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting

If you did not have the opportunity to join the webinars live, be sure to follow the links above to watch each individual session

Coming in Q2, the webinars will dive into the topic of Analytics and Your Data, and our presenters are Kelly Owen Grover speaking on Data Governance, An Unlikely Place to Find Fantastic Growth; Lizette Warner presenting Through the Lens of Star Wars: Exploring Data in the Machines; Kathleen Brunner, with her sessions TBD box soon!

Editor's Note

Thank you for taking the time to read the third edition of the Constellation On behalf of our newsletter team, Dr Rebecca Snarski and Dr Robert Bigelow, we look forward to continuing to produce a meaningful publication for our school and the university If you are interested in contributing an article, please send me a two-paragraph proposal

All the best!

Dr

Al Gorriaran editor's email: adolfo gorriaran@capella edu