marcusdickson.com

Welcome

Thanks for stopping by marcusdickson.com. I've put this site together to organize several different aspects of my life into one place, so here you can find information on my academic life at Wayne State University, my consulting practice, my family and other personal interests, and how to track me down at any given time.

I am currently Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology (and as of May, 2010, Associate Department Chair) in the Department of Psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit,Michigan. My research focuses primarily on issues of leadership, especially as it relates to organizational culture and societal culture. I served for several years as a member of the Coordinating Team of Project GLOBE, the largest cross-cultural study of leadership and culture conducted to date (Principal Investigator: Robert J. House).

I am a member of the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and until recently served as Chair of SIOP's Education and Training Committee. I am also a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), APA's Society for the Teaching of Psychology, the Michigan Association of I/O Psychologists, and the Academy of Management.

I received my Master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, in 1997. My dissertation adviser was Paul Hanges.

I also teach with the International Executive Programs of the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College (CUNY). I regularly teach with Baruch's Executive Master's in Management of Human Resources and Global Leadership in Taipei, Taiwan, and in Singapore.  

I have also taught (while on sabbatical) with the Jones School of Business at Rice University, in Houston, Texas.

A relatively current version of my c.v. is available here .  

Consulting 

I am actively involved in organizational consulting, along with my business partner, Paul Hanges, of the University of Maryland's Industrial/Organizational Psychology program. Together, we have formed the PHI Group, LLC, through which we provide organizational consulting primarily in the areas of personnel selection, job analysis, performance appraisal interview systems, and organizational surveys. Our clients (either through direct or sub-contracts) have included both public and private entities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Personnel Board of Jefferson County, Alabama, the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organisation, the City of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and several others. If you'd like more information about our work, please feel free to contact me.

I also often do consulting work through APORG -- the Applied Psychology and Organizational Research Group, which is housed in the Department of Psychology at Wayne State University. APORG is designed to provide high-quality, lower-cost organizational expertise, while at the same time helping to develop the skills and proficiency of graduate students in the I/O Psychology doctoral program at Wayne State. If you'd like information on APORG, feel free to contact me, or John Arnold, Director of APORG.

Personal

FAMILY -- I'm a proud dad of a 12-year-old son, Michael. Michael currently holds the rank of Brown Senior Belt (one rank below Black Belt) at Farmington Martial Arts, and he has broken every board they've presented to him. Michael's mother and my wife, Heather Enaya, is the owner and creative designer for The Magpie's Studio (www.themagpie.us), a creative artistry firm focusing on scrap-booking and other forms of special memory creations. The Magpie also does scrap-booking classes and training, as well as things like calligraphy for wedding invitations.

My mother, Bette Carole Reglin, lives in Plano, Texas, with her husband John, where they run John's engineering consulting business. My father, Bob, lives in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, with his wife Mary Ellen. Dad is the information systems manager for a youth-oriented social service agency. My brother, Scott, lives in Roswell, Georgia, with his wife Kathleen. Scott is a systems engineer for Oracle (formerly with Sun Microsystems  -- here's his blog), and is also the keeper of the family tree. I have several step-siblings, scattered across Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the Virgin Islands.

FAITH -- I am a life-long United Methodist, and am currently a member of Central United Methodist Church in Detroit. Central UMC has a long history (and in fact is the descendant congregation of the first Protestant congregation in Michigan -- we are currently celebrating our bicentennial), and that history has always included activism and a concern for social justice, which is why it appeals to me. At Central, I sing in the Chancel Choir and serve as the Coordinator of Small Group Ministries, as well as serving on several committees.

VINTAGE BASE BALL -- Baseball has always been a passion of mine, and the history of the game is also fascinating to me. I play "vintage base ball" at Greenfield Village, a historic village that is part of The Henry Ford, in Dearborn, Michigan. We play using the rules, customs, equipment, and style of play of 1867, including underhand pitching, no gloves, and all the rules of that era when the game was still becoming America's National Game. At Greenfield Village, I go by the nickname of "Razorback," in honor of my family's historical home and farm in Arkansas. I am also a member of the Vintage Base Ball Association, and am currently serving as a member of VBBA's Board of Directors (as a Trustee) and of the Rules Interpretation Committee, trying to investigate the rules of the early game of base ball, to be sure that we who play by those rules fully understand their meaning. I have posted a list of some of the books I have used to try to understand early base ball, especially the game of the 1860s, here.

BASEBALL -- I'm also co-owner (with my master's thesis adviser, Rick Guzzo, of William M. Mercer) of a franchise in a Strat-o-matic Baseball league. Our team is called "The Team", and we play our games in "The Stadium". Our league is The Strat-o-matic League. Last year we barely made the playoffs, but I am sure that this year we'll put in a strong showing. I also share a Diamond Mind franchise with my partner, Heather -- the Cleveland Cosmopolitans finished at 89-91 this year, so we are fighting to reach .500 in this league, too!

TRAVEL -- I often travel, as part of work or for personal pleasure. I very much enjoy going to new places, seeing new sights, and trying new foods. On a couple of occasions, I (or we) have maintained travel blogs. You can follow my travels during my 2005-2006 sabbatical here, and the 2008 trip to Taipei, Taiwan with Heather along with more recent trips to Taiwan and Singapore and other travels, here. My mother and I are hoping to do a trip to Taiwan in the early summer of 2011.