Managerial Responses to the Childhood Obesity Crisis

Childhood obesity has become a critical problem across the United States. Researchers at the University of Memphis are tackling the problem by focusing on the development and enactment of school-based obesity policies in Mississippi and Tennessee, two of the worst performers in the U.S. with respect to childhood obesity problems. The research team includes Dr. John Amis (Department of Management), Dr. Paul Wright (Department of Health & Sport Sciences, University of Memphis), Dr. James Vardaman (Mississippi State University) and Dr. Ben Dyson (University of Auckland).

Managing Innovation and Organizational Transformation

Researchers in the Fogelman College of Business & Economics are investigating the ways in which new innovation management models are adopted by organizations. In moving away from a traditional, vertical functional design, senior management at a technology-intensive firm anticipated that introduction of a new team-based innovation process would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of product development. These expectations are assessed in a project that involves collecting data on seven teams over a three year period. Specifically, the project is exploring the ways in which changes are enacted within the firm, the different ways in which teams function, and how variations across teams influence the propensity for team success.

The research team comprises Dr. John Amis (Department of Management), Dr. Maria Gondo (University of New Mexico), and Dr. Brian Janz (Department of Management Information Systems).