faculty feature
Q: Where did you go to university?
A: University of Guelph, B Comm., major in Hospitality management
Wilfrid Laurier University, MBA,
University of Guelph, MA & PhD in Economics
Q: What area of study in economics do you specialize in?
A: Decision theory & Consumer Behaviour & Experimental & Applied Micro
Q: What classes do you teach here at the university?
A: Econ 344/Agbus 302 : Principles of Marketing –across many programs
MDEI 614 –Principles of Marketing leveraging digital technology (Specifically, social media)-Masters students on the Stratford campus
MDEI 624- Consumer Behaviour
MDEI 631- Milestone Project for Masters Students. Students are placed in teams and become a consultancy group that partners with major industry players to solve a pre-identified problem or challenge faced by the organization (i.e., Thomson Reuters, Sunlife, Canadian Tire).
Q: What research are you currently working on?
A: Currently on ice due to my heavy teaching commitments however,
I am deeply concerned with the many ethical dilemmas faced by individuals in the business environment; in particular, the conflict involved in making ethical trade-offs in lieu of profits. While profits are easily assessed, altruistic decisions often are measured based on various individual interpretations of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. As the language of business is deeply rooted in financial/economic indicators, the use of economic models and strong business acumen is a logical means to gain more intuition and understanding surrounding ethical dilemmas. In particular, the identification of the key motivational factors that influence business decisions could provide evidence and provide compelling metrics to be used to influence business decisions that result in outcomes that are both ethical and profitable.
Q: And how long have you been teaching at uWaterloo?
A: 1 and half years
Q: Why economics? What is your favourite thing about it?
A: Economics is a logical way to explain cause and effect relationships.
As the language of business is deeply rooted in financial/economic indicators, the use of economic models and strong business acumen is a logical means to gain more intuition and understanding surrounding ethical dilemmas (or what society may define as an ethical dilemma; it may the case that individuals did not set out to make decisions that cause a negative consequence to society, it may be the case that individuals are just bad at making decisions). By determining the optimal choices for individuals using economic models we can study decision choices that deviate from this optimal choice and potentially determine the causes for these deviations…it may not be that individuals in business lack ethics, …the deviation could be a result of a myriad of explanations.