- David Callen, MSOD
Congratulations to David Callen, MSOD, the $1,000 winner of the First Annual Graziadio School Student Paper Competition presented by the GBR and the Graziadio School of Business and Management of Pepperdine University.
The competition challenged Graziadio School students from all programs to submit a well-researched original article on any business thesis. The publication accepted manuscripts starting mid-term fall 2007 through the summer 2008 term.
Callen’s winning paper “How Intercultural Competence Drives Success in Global Virtual Teams,” will be published in the GBR’s fall 2008 issue, this October.
UPDATE: Read it here.
The paper takes an innovative look at virtual teams that organizations may employ for collaboration across international settings. Callen argues that team members must be versed in “the body of knowledge and skills to successfully interact with people from other ethnic, religious, cultural, national, and geographic groups” in order to achieve desired business objectives. This cultural perspective brings a unique dimension to the existing literature on virtual team best practices.
I chose the topic because it combined my passions for interacting with people from other countries, digital media and technologies, and business effectiveness,” said Callen, who has traveled and lived in over 23 countries and speaks Spanish and basic Hebrew.
Callen completed the Master’s of Science in Organizational Development program in August 2008. He most recently worked as a media supervisor for Universal McCann, where he oversaw a team of five that specialized in all forms of digital media. Specifically, he worked with client Microsoft focusing on software products such as Office 2003/2007, and Vista, Office Live. Callen studied the Middle Eastern peace process at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and earned a BA in Organizational Studies from the University of Michigan.
Following the success of the first ever student paper competition, the Graziadio School of Business and Management and the GBR have announced the Second Annual Graziadio School Student Paper Competition.
The winning prize will be $1,000 plus publication in the GBR fall 2009 issue. Current Graziadio School students from all programs are encouraged to submit papers on topics across the field of business management by July 1, 2009.
