Virginia Gerde

Virginia Gerde

Professor, Business and Accounting

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Virginia W. Gerde earned a Ph.D. in management and ethics from Virginia Tech, an M.E. in environmental engineering from the University of Virginia, and a B.S.E. from Princeton University. She also completed a graduate certificate in health care ethics and graduated from the U.S. Army Command and Staff College. Prior to teaching, she worked as an engineering consultant.

She teaches strategic management and business ethics at Furman and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in ethics, strategy, and sustainability at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA, and the University of New Mexico. Her military work includes a tour in Iraq, over 8 years with the National Disaster Medical System, and command of a hospital. She currently works as a reserve research officer at the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA.

Her research articles have been published in the Journal of Business Ethics, Business & Society, Journal of Management History, Journal of High Technology Management Research, Business Strategy and Environment, and Journal of Entrepreneurship Education. She is currently the Production Editor for the journal Business & Society. She served in various leadership positions for the International Association of Business and Society and as Division Chair for the Social Issues in Management Division of the Academy of Management. She works with community organizations such as Rotary and the Better Business Bureau.​​​

Education

  • Ph.D., Virginia Tech
  • M.E., University of Virginia
  • B.S.E., Princeton University

Philosophy

As a teacher, I am a facilitator for students to learn business concepts and skills and to be able to apply that knowledge. I focus on the top four items of Bloom’s taxonomy (1956): apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate. Success in the classroom is when students are more aware of ethical issues, able to analyze and synthesize a response by thinking critically, and consider different perspectives. I see myself as an architect of the course (adapting as needed), a conductor for class (guiding and directing to reach common goal), and a resource for students (now and in the future).One purpose of my research is to inform my teaching and to bring new and relevant information into the course. In addition to research, I also bring current events and controversies into the classroom as appropriate. My service commitments also improve my effectiveness in the classroom because I am interacting with businesspeople in a variety of industries and sizes of organizations. For example, working with executives to develop ethics workshops highlights the real problems and obstacles they are facing in the global environment.

I focus on three main principles - respect others, commitment to excellence, and personal responsibility. Learning incorporates listening as well as sharing information. Listening for their learning styles, concerns, and interests, I can adapt the material and examples or cases. Throughout the course I am inclusive of different perspectives, and I do not share my personal opinion unless I clearly state it as such. I actively encourage analyzing issues from different viewpoints and distinguish between opinion and reasoned analysis. For me, personal responsibility includes self-awareness, continuous improvement in skills and abilities, and mentoring others. As such, I stress ways to continue to learn outside the classroom, ways to improve professionally (associations, certifications, networks), and encourage training of others.

Publications

  • Singal, M. & Gerde, V. (2015). Is diversity management related to financial performance in family firms? Family Business Review, forthcoming. 10.1177/0894486514566012.
  • Weber, J. & Gerde, V. (2011). Organizational Role and Environmental Uncertainty as Influences on Ethical Work Climate in Military Units. Journal of Business Ethics, 100 (4), 595-612.
  • Drake, M. J., Gerde, V. W., & Wasieleski, D. M. (2009). Socially responsible modeling: a stakeholder approach to the implementation of ethical modeling in operations research. OR Spectrum.
  • Gerde, V. W. & Foster, R. S. (2008). X-Men Ethics: Teaching Business Ethics Using Comic Books. Journal of Business Ethics, 77, 245-258.
  • Gerde, V. W., Goldsby, M. G., & Shepard, J. M. (2007). Moral Cover for Capitalism: The Harmony-of-Interests Doctrine. Journal of Management History, 13 (1), 7-20.
  • Neck, H. M. & Gerde, V. W. (2007). Teaching Entrepreneurial Mindset: Lessons from Dead Poets Society. International Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 5.
  • Silva, P. & Gerde, V. W. (2007). The Relationship of Personality to Job Attitudes on the Public Sector. Review of Business Research.
  • Gerde, V. W. & Mahto, R. (2004). Disruptive Technology and Interdependence: The Relationship of BioMEMS Technology and Pharmaceutical Firms. Journal of High Technology Management Research, 15 (1), 73-89.
  • Gerde, V. W. & White, C. G. (2003). Auditor Independence, Accounting Firms and the Securities and Exchange Commission: Application of the Issue Life Cycle Model. Business and Society, 42 (1), 83-114.
  • Gerde, V. W., Silva, P., & White, C. G. (2002). Corporate Governance Effectiveness: Balanced Relationships among External Audit, Internal Audit, Board of Directors, and Top Management. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 8, 23-34.
  • Gerde, V. W. (2001). Dissertation Abstract. The Design Dimensions of the Just Organization: An Empirical Test of the Relation between Organization Design and Corporate Social Performance. Business & Society, 40 (4), 472-477.
  • Gerde, V. W. & Logsdon, J. M. (2001). Measuring Environmental Performance: Use of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and Other Environmental Databases in Business and Society Research. Business Strategy and Environment, 10, 269-285.
  • Gerde, V. W. & White, C. G. (2001). The Taxation of Married Couples: An Issue Life Cycle Approach. Business and Society, 40 (1), 31-58.
  • Goldsby, M. G., Neck, C. P., & Gerde, V. W. (1999). Inner Leadership: A Social Cognitive Based Approach toward Enhanced Ethical Decision Making. Journal of Business Ethics, 2, 229-247.
  • Wokutch, R. E. & Gerde, V. W. (1998). 25 Years and Going Strong: A Content Analysis of the First 25 Years of the Social Issues in Management Division Proceedings. Business & Society, 37 (4), 414-446.
  • Shepard, J. M., Goldsby, M. G., & Gerde, V. W. (1997). Teaching Business Ethics Through Literature. Journal of Business Ethics, 1, 33-51. Reprinted in Teachers’ Café Ethics, http://www.duoc.cl/englishprogram/sites/default/files/Teaching.pdf.
  • Gerde, V. W., Shepard, J. M., & Goldsby, M. G. (1996). Using Film to Examine the Place of Ethics in Business. Journal of Legal Studies Education, 14 (2), 199-214.

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