Rachel Schiff:
Organizational Citizenship
Rachel Schiff perches on the edge of the Grand Canyon during
a recent visit with some CGU colleagues.
Rachel Schiff (second year organizational behavior student) is interested in improving co-workers relationships using the method of Appreciative Inquiry. Through this organizational change intervention, she is focusing on improving organizational citizenship behavior. Rachel says that her main goal is to improve work life, since it forms the core of our daily lives. "I'm interested in making work a better experience for employees and people who access organizations from the outside," she says.
Rachel started her career in clinical psychology, working in a shelter for battered women. While there, she saw how the organization was missing opportunities to serve participants because they did not have the structure needed to effectively serve their clients. This sparked her interest in organizational psychology as a way to improve lives. "Many organizations are going through huge changes at the moment," she says, "So it is an exciting time to be in this field." Rachel is currently working with Professor Hallie Preskill, collecting data at a non-profit organization using Appreciative Inquiry, an organizational change intervention that focuses on the generative aspects of an organization. Rachel is very interested in how co-workers' relationships determine organizational culture is and what it is capable of. She is also interested in cross-cultural differences, namely how organizations in other countries function differently, and how national cultural affects companies.
As if this were not enough to keep her busy, Rachel is also working with Dr. Michelle Bligh on research looking at gender differences and charismatic leadership. There had been plenty of material for this project, as Dr. Bligh and her research team have been using this year's presidential candidates' speeches and debates as data for the study.
Finally, Rachel is working as a Teaching Assistant for courses on Organizational Behavior (with Dr. Bligh) and Research Methods (with Dr. Crano). She hopes that someday her degree will take her back into organizations, "where there is an even bigger chance to make a difference." She enjoys being at CGU because "it is a wonderful opportunity to take part and volunteer in many different projects."
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