Blake Frank, PhD

Why did you become a professor?
After a long career in business, I felt that an academic career would allow me to share some of what I learned in the “real world” with students in positions to have a positive impact in their organizations.  That’s why I selected a management-oriented business program as my desired place to teach.

What do you enjoy most about teaching?
The times when a student tells me that he/she used knowledge gained in class in their jobs.

What do you hope students gain from your courses?
An understanding not only of the course content, but an understanding that they live in a world of cause and effect.  Actions have consequences, and if a specific consequence is hoped for, one must take care that they undertake actions that will lead to the consequence.  That requires a knowledge of reward structures in organizations.  To paraphrase one management thought leader, “it is folly to hope for B, while rewarding A.”

What did you do prior to entering academia?
I was manager or personnel research in an international convenience store company.  My focus was on employee selection and assessment, organization development, and organization effectiveness.

What are you passionate about outside of the University?
From a business perspective, maintaining my network of professional contacts, which date back to my time in business.  These contacts, which occupy human resource leadership positions in major corporations, e.g., Johnson & Johnson, General Foods, Sodexo, and NASA, keep me current in my discipline and that helps me be a better teacher.  From a personal perspective, living a wholesome life that contributes to family and community.

What are your research interests?
From a global perspective, using rigorous research procedures applied to real world problems that can result in evidence-based organizational change.  My specific interests dovetail with many of the issues that I faced while working in the private sector, e.g., employee selection, employee retention, organizational effectiveness, and even more specifically, using Attachment Theory in the development of employee assessment practices, and assessing organization branding using qualitative analysis techniques on the words they use to describe themselves on websites, annual reports, and other documents they produce.