Kristen Snyder

Professor|Professor

Tjänstetitel: Professor
Telefon arbete: +46 (0)10-1428396
E-postadress: kristen.snyder@miun.se
Rumsnummer: Ej Angivet
Ort: Östersund
- Anställd inom ämnet:
- Kvalitetsteknik
- Avdelning:
- Institutionen för kommunikation, kvalitetsteknik och informationssystem (KKI)

Program Coordinator for the Masters in Quality Management and leadership
Ämnesföreträdare for Quality Leadership

Bakgrund

Originally from the U.S. I completed my Ph.D. in 1997 at the University of South Florida in organizational development with an emphasis on total quality management, leadership and organizational culture. Since the 1990’s I have been engaged in research that responds to national and international trends to enhance quality of services for citizens and public sector organizations, in particular public health, health care, education and more recently, private sector businesses and public sector agencies.

In my research, I have focused on four main areas as central for meeting the needs of customers: Leadership and Culture (LC), total quality management systems (QM), innovation (I), and quality services (QS). Through my research I have explored questions related to total quality management, systematic transformation, benchmarking, social networks and distributed organizations, communication, work culture and leadership.

Forskningsområden

My research reflects a commitment and interest in understanding how organizations, both public and private, can develop internal practices that foster human potential and cultures of creativity to support sustainable organizational development that is adaptive to customer needs and society. I am driven by a curiosity about how to bridge the gap between theory and practice to help leaders create healthy working environments that are creative and innovative.

This research journey has taken shape over 23 years focusing on the complexity and dynamic nature of leadership and change. As a methodologist I am also driven to develop approaches for studying organizational transformation that reflects this complexity.

In my research I have studied school organizations from Total Quality Management, developed benchmarking systems to introduce systematic quality development processes to educators, and developed a new theory of leadership and organizational change based on concepts from chaos and complexity theory to help leaders address the dynamic nature of transformation for sustainable quality development.

Since 2011 my work with quality management has expanded to other public service agencies and manufacturing businesses in such projects as e-process team development, SIMPLY Lean, and BioInnvation. I have also conducted numerous studies in Quality Services Research, examining the impact of public sector programming on the quality of care and services for persons with mental health and substance abuse.

Forskning

SIMPLY LEAN is a three-year business-university collaboration funded by KK Stiftelsen in which we explore more deeply how leaders can develop a value-based practice to support the development of quality improvement work cultures that are economically and socially sustainable. In this project we are using a variety of tools and methods to explore leadership and co-create a coaching model that supports sustainable business development. Among the methods are storytelling, appreciative inquiry in addition to traditional research methods.

SQMA Measurement Index: This SQMA-SIQ funded project is conducted in collaboration with research from Chalmers University to examine the use and effectiveness of a management index that was designed to support sustainable long term quality development in businesses.

Studying Systemic Lean Transformation through Cultural Analysis:
We are currently testing the design and application of a cultural analysis method to enhance measurement practices in quality management. By combining cultural analysis methods with standard performance measures we aim to provide business leaders with a more comprehensive approach to studying organizational needs to achieve quality and sustainable development.

Undervisning

I am the program coordinator for the masters program in quality management and leadership, in which I teach in the first and third terms, and supervise students during their masters thesis.

At the doctoral level I teach two doctoral courses for the university, including Scientific Philosophy, Ethics and Research and the course in Scientific Writing