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Irena Stropnik on the T.A. Experience – Commitment to Online Excellence

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Irena Stropnik, B. Nursing (’97) MBA (FS) 2012

The Winter 2021 semester was my first as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the MBA (FSL) program, and what an interesting semester it was.  As a graduate of the program (Class of 2012), it was a great experience to be on the other side of the classroom as I supported both the students and Dr. McLarney as we navigated the International Business course.

It was so wonderful to see the students’ commitment to the program as they prioritized, not only their studies, but also their careers and work life, and families.  Add the pandemic to the mix and you can see how much they were facing – and they did so with a fierce determination to succeed.

The highlight of the semester was the pilot of the IB intensive that was spearheaded by Dr. McLarney.  The focus on engaging the students and creating an environment as close to the classroom experience as we could, clearly demonstrated both hers and Dalhousie’s commitment to the students.  While not easy to be online for such extended periods of time, the students actively engaged in discussions, activities and the lectures and their feedback proved that the experiment was a success.  It was a pleasure being part of the intensives and helping to evolve and amplify the online learning experience.

Irena Stropnik,
B. Nursing (’97) MBA (FS) 2012

“Without the cohort of talented and dedicated TAs, the experience would have been so much harder for students and faculty members.  We know that we put you through the paces this year and we are grateful for your energy and commitment.” Dean Kim Brooks

 

Irena Stropnik: Committed to an Academic Teaching Journey

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“Facilitating learning is allowing me to learn new skills and further develop my leadership abilities in a new forum.  It is providing me with an opportunity to give back to society as I help develop the next generation of leaders by sharing my knowledge and experience.”

Irena Stropnik, B. Nursing (’97) MBA (FS) 2012

Irena Stropnik, B. Nursing (’97) MBA (FS) 2012

Irena Stropnik, B. Nursing (’97) MBA (FS) 2012

Irena Stropnik, B. Nursing (’97), MBA (FS) 2012, is currently on leave/sabbatical from her leadership role at Scotiabank.  She is using this time to reflect, rejuvenate and continue her learning journey as an Adjunct Instructor at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and the University of Lethbridge. 

In a recent virtual interview, Irena shared insights that have been gained during this pivotal time of revitalization.

Irena Stropnik:

The learning journey continues…

I have discovered that the learning journey never ends, and it is how we choose to pursue this journey that opens new avenues to learning and sharing our knowledge.  I have had teaching niggling at me for several years now and found that over the past few years I was steering my ‘banking’ job more towards mentoring, facilitating and teaching.  I made the decision to take off the better part of a year from the bank and as I shared my thoughts on possibly teaching with friends and colleagues, doors started to open, and people wanted to help me achieve these goals.  I am now at a place where I have my first contracts to teach undergraduate Leadership to business students and to develop and teach graduate level Finance to aspiring health care leaders.

While I’ll be teaching, I will also be learning, and this is exciting for me as I go through this evolution both personally and professionally.  Facilitating learning is allowing me to learn new skills and further develop my leadership abilities in a new forum.  It is providing me with an opportunity to give back to society as I help develop the next generation of leaders by sharing my knowledge and experience.  I fully expect to learn from the students by being open to their questions, thoughts and perspectives on both the subject at hand and the world in which we live.  I look forward to the dialogue and being challenged to be creative and effective in the classroom while encouraging the same from the students.

As others have done for me, my motivation lies in the desire to help others think critically about the world they are in and the role they play in that world – help them to be curious, to question, to set high standards not only in scholastic and business results but also in the citizens they are becoming and those that they are influencing by their actions.

I don’t know yet where this journey will take me, but I am grateful for the opportunity and for the people who have been willing to support and encourage me along the way.

 

Editor’s Note: Irena is a repeat contributor on CEGE Connection and contributed to Dr. Carolan McLarney’s series on Mary Parker Follett.  We wish Irena the very best as she pursues an academic teaching career at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and the University of Lethbridge.  We look forward to updates on her journey in future CEGE Connection posts.

Irena Stropnik: Happy Birthday Mary Parker Follett

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Mary Parker Follett 1868 - 1933

Mary Parker Follett 1868 – 1933

“We find the true man only through organization. The potentialities of the individual remain potentialities until they are released by group life. Man discovers his true nature, gains his true freedom only through the group.”

Mary Parker Follett, The New State: Group Organization the Solution of Popular Government.

Mary Parker Follett, known as the “Mother of Modern Management,” was born today, September 3, 1868, into a wealthy Massachusetts Quaker family. Joan C. Tonn, in the introduction of her book Mary P. Follett, Creating Democracy, Transforming Management, describes Mary Parker Follett as having a warm voice and a stylish wit.  Her strength was centered on her ability to listen attentively and enjoy conversations that welcomed a diversity of opinion. She fervently believed that working together, embracing differences, had the potential to generate new thought, new ideas.  It was all about collaboration.

Mary Parker Follett was the first woman to receive an invitation to address the London School of Economics and was sought after by President Theodore Roosevelt to be his personal consultant for managing not-for-profits and volunteer organizations. As we celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Mary Parker Follett’s book, The New State, there has been a resurgence in revisiting her theories, which cover a broad spectrum from management and public administration to social work, mediation and dispute resolution.

Dr. Carolan McLarney has explored the remarkable life of Mary Parker Follett since her doctoral days. In her May 15, 2018 post, Dr. McLarney discussed Mary Parker’s thoughts on Group Membership.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Mary Parker Follett’s birth, Irena Stropnik MBA (FS) Class of 2012, shared her thoughts on Group Membership in response to Dr. McLarney’s article.

Irena Stropnik:

Irena Stropnik MBA(FS) 2012

Irena Stropnik MBA(FS) 2012

Dr. McLarney’s discussion of Mary Parker Follett’s theories on Group Membership has provided me with much food for thought, given our current realities. Many of Mary Parker Follett’s ideas ring true in today’s world. We are in desperate need of ‘quality men/group members’ and effective leaders to navigate the complexities and challenges of today’s world.

In reading through Dr. McLarney’s post, what struck me most was the importance of quality group members – not only willing to give their best but recognizing the importance that combined efforts build and add to the entire group. We must be committed to our own ideas but humble enough to listen to others and see how together, we can come up with an even better idea(s). This seems to contradict today’s individualistic society and norms. We are so busy looking out for ourselves and our own interests, that we fail to contribute to the larger society because we believe that, if the whole is better, we may somehow have less. Rather than judging others, seeing the potential in each other; to show empathy and endeavour to understand a situation from another person’s perspective.

Threaded throughout Dr. McLarney’s post was the notion of diversity (of thought, skill, effort, role) and inclusion (that we all must contribute to a better whole). The current business environment seems to understand this importance, but I believe, continues to struggle with how to really make his happen.  How do we take into consideration everyone’s voice, their perspective, their thoughts?  To me, the role of the leader is to orchestrate and facilitate this for teams. Whether it is a common vision or goal, or sometimes even stepping back to let others lead…we must consider how we want to function as a society and as business organizations.

“No member of a group which is to create can be passive. All must be active and constructively active. It is not, however, to be constructively active merely to add a share: it must be a share which is related to and bound up with every other share. And it must be given in such a way that it fits in with what others are giving. Someone said to me the other day, “Don’t you think Mr. X talks better than anyone else in Boston?” Well the fact is that Mr. X talks so well that I can never talk with him. Everything he says has such a ring of finality, is such a rounding up of the whole question, that it leaves nothing more to be said on the subject. This is particularly the kind of thing to be avoided in a committee meeting or conference.”

Mary Parker Follett, The New State: Group Organization the Solution of Popular Government. (1918, p.7)

Marks vs. Scholarship – A Graduate’s Response

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Irena Stropnik MBA (FS)

Irena Stropnik MBA (FS) Class of 2012

Irena Stropnik MBA (FS) is Director & Team Lead, Optimization at Scotiabank with over 21 years of progressive experience in banking operations in branches, regional support, large processing units and most recently optimization projects.   Her commitment to excellence energizes and inspires those who work under her leadership.  Irena continues to practice and apply the strategic mindset that she developed during her tenure as an MBA student.  Her response to Dr. McLarney’s recent post gives profound insight on scholarship within the context of business endeavours.

Irena Stropnik:

In reading through Dr. McLarney’s open letter to our alumni community, I couldn’t help but reflect and think back to my first days in the MBA (FS) program.  Excited about pursuing something new and challenging myself, and then there was nervousness – was I smart enough, could I learn, how about the other students – would I be able to keep up with them?

As I made my way through my first course, I gained confidence in the fact that I could do the work and I could learn at this level.  That was freeing in many respects as the ‘mark’ would take care of itself and I could then open my mind to actually learning – more than the theory, more than just answering assignment or exam questions, but actually learning and creating a better understanding of the world around me because of that learning.

For me, and for most people I have observed, applying a new theory is highly tactical when you first try to use it.  But then as you gain more experience through working with it and applying it to the real world you gain a much deeper understanding of the theory and what it means…I love those moments when I can understand or explain something in everyday terms but knowing there are years of research and knowledge invested in the scholarly theory and in my ability to learn and apply that theory.

I was often surprised by some of my fellow students who only seemed to care about their marks and what course content would be on the exam – many didn’t seem to want to think about anything else.  I suspect that there were many reasons behind this thinking and I don’t know if they realized that they were selling themselves short by not embracing the experience and the tremendous opportunity to learn both from our Professors and from their fellow students.

I currently lead a team that engages our business partners using Lean Six Sigma methodology – my Lean journey started three years ago and the learning continues every day.  On the surface, the theory can seem quite simple and highly tactical so many try to run through our program, fill in all of the templates and drive out a recommendation as fast as they can.  Once they’ve done that once or twice, they think they know it all and want to move on to another assignment.  The challenge is that it’s not that straightforward and you can’t apply the exact same approach to every business.  You need to understand both the intricacies of the methodology, but also of the business to really be successful.  You need to think about the objectives of the engagement, how best to achieve those objectives and how to work with the business and communicate with them to be most effective – one of our goals is to help the business think differently about what they do and how they do it.

That’s a different level of understanding and application that takes years of practice, ongoing learning and a sense of humility and purpose where you always need to strive towards perfection (doing it exactly right) but knowing that you will never get there – to me, this is the difference between marks and scholarship.