Given that Gurupdesh Pandher knows a thing or two about sharing good ideas, it might be reasonable to expect that there should be some choice new ones coming out of the Odette School of Business in the not-so-distant future.
The faculty's new senior associate dean, academic, Dr. Pandher has spent a fair portion of his research time focusing on why employees of various organizations share performance improving ideas and innovation – or, as is more often the case – keep them to themselves.
“People sometimes have a tendency to keep good ideas to themselves,” said Pandher. “I saw this happen quite frequently. People reveal their ideas if there is some benefit for them, but sometimes it can turn into a negative for them. That kind of firm is not going to benefit and be able to mobilize its internal resources. We wanted to know how organizations can provide incentives to people with innovative ideas to bring them forward.”
Pandher, who comes to UWindsor from the faculty of management at the Okanagan campus of the University of British Columbia, said evidence of good ideas not being shared internally can often be found in the creation of smaller new companies.
“Ninety per cent of start-ups are created by people who were previously employed elsewhere,” he said. “That tells me that many people are leaving because they had valuable ideas but didn’t feel they would be rewarded adequately for sharing. I think that happens all the time in all kinds of organizations.”
In his new role at Odette, Pandher will help Dean Allan Conway in managing the internal operations of the school, focusing specifically on working with faculty to develop and implement research strategies and initiatives; pursuing accreditation for the business school; faculty recruitment, with emphasis on attracting high profile quality researchers; and overseeing the school’s various centres. He also plans to continue with his own research.
“I have a very strong interest and passion for carrying on with my own research program,” he said. “I believe in leading by example.” Pandher’s other research interests includes contracting models for CEOs and managers in multidivisional firms, asset pricing models that can explain boom-bust cycles, and banking risk management.
Pandher was born in India, but his family moved to Vancouver when he was twelve.
After earning a master’s degree in mathematics at Waterloo in 1988, followed by a PhD, he worked for Sun Life Insurance, and then moved to Ottawa for a job with Statistics Canada.
He went to DePaul University in Chicago between 1999 and 2007, and then on to his latest position at UBC. During the past three summers, he has held visiting positions at the University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Pandher is married and has two daughters, and said his wife is looking forward to moving to Windsor.
“My only image of Windsor was as an automotive town, but when you drive around, you see the heritage neighbourhoods, it’s really a nice city,” he said. “My wife has been impressed with some of the architecture. There are some amazing landmark buildings and neighbourhoods, so I’m sure she’s going to enjoy the city.”
