Interpersonal Skills in Organizations

About the Author

Suzanne de Janasz

Suzanne C. de Janasz, PhD, is Professor of Management and Conflict Analysis and Resolution (a joint appointment) at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Previously, Suzanne served as the Thomas Gleed Distinguished Chair of Business Administration at Seattle University in Seattle, Washington, where she taught undergrad and MBA students, mentored junior faculty, and directed the Seattle branch of HERA (Her Equality Rights and Autonomy), a UK-based charity that empowers formerly trafficked

or exploited women with career and entrepreneurship development and mentoring. Prior to coming to Seattle, Suzanne was Professor of Leadership and Organization Development at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she designed and delivered programs for mid-level and senior executives in global companies, specializing in leadership, negotiations, mentoring and careers, organizational development and change, creativity/innovation, work/life balance, entrepreneurship, and interpersonal/

managerial skills. The recipient of multiple teaching awards, including the 2017 Mid-Career Distinguished Educator Award from the MOBTS Teaching Society for Management Educators and a Fulbright Fellowship (Warsaw University in Poland), Suzanne continues to director teach in executive programs for Mason (women's negotiation program),Harvard, ESMT (Germany) and other schools (e.g., IEDC in Slovenia, QUT in Australia).

Suzanne’s research on mentoring, careers, work/family conflict, negotiation, and leadership appears in such journals as Harvard Business Review, Academy of Management Executive, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, British Journal of Management, Career Development International, and Journal of Management Education and features frequently in domestic and international newspapers, online publications (including HBR online and CNN), and radio programs. The second edition of her text Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (co-authored with Beverly DeMarr) was published in 2019. She regularly consults with a variety of global organizations, serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, and has held leadership roles in the Academy of Management (e.g., Careers Division Chair), the Southern Management Association, and the MOBTS.

After earning an undergraduate music degree from the University of Miami, Suzanne earned her MBA and PhD degrees from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (USC). Between the two degrees, she worked for five years as an organizational consultant in the aerospace industry.

Karen Dowd

Karen O. Dowd, PhD, was most recently Assistant Dean, Career Management and Corporate Engagement, Simon Business School, University of Rochester, New York. She is a Lifetime Member of the MBA Career Services &Employers Alliance, cochairing the Certification Task Force, which created professional “boot camps” for new employer and university members. Karen

is an experienced teacher, writer, administrator, speaker, and consultant. Prior to the University of Rochester, she was at the University of Denver, the University of Notre Dame, the Empower Group in New York City, and the University of Virginia.

Karen also taught at James Madison University, where she teamed with her co-authors and the Management Department to develop a required course in Interpersonal Skills that is offered to all undergraduate business students. Karen is the co-author, with Sherrie Gong Taguchi, of The Ultimate Guide to Getting the Career You Want (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003). Karen earned her doctorate

from the University of Virginia, her master’s degree from Indiana University South Bend, and her bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana. Karen has taught numerous for-credit and non-credit courses and developed and conducted numerous management training programs on many of the topics addressed in this book and on career management for managers. Her research interests include skills sought by employers, competency modeling, recruitment and interviewing, international careers, faculty careers, career development, candidate selection, and career branding.

Beth Schneider

Beth Zuech Schneider, DBA, is an Associate Professor of Strategy and the McColl School of Business Director of Undergraduate Programs at Queens University of Charlotte, delivering courses in graduate and undergraduate strategy, entrepreneurship, and international business while managing the MBA program’s client consulting projects. Beth is an experienced professor and course administrator, having taught for several years at James Madison University, George Mason University, and Winston- Salem State University prior to coming to the McColl School of Business at Queens. She earned her doctorate from Durham University in England with a concentration in international strategy, her MBA from the University of Central Florida, and her BA from St. Bonaventure University. Beth is an experienced small business owner, having owned and managed businesses in the retail, restaurant, and mail-order catalog industries. She serves as a small business consultant and motivational speaker through her own business, CORE Consulting in Charlotte, North Carolina, and as a strategic management instructor to local corporations through the Executive Leadership Institute.


Beth’s consulting work focuses on assessing and integrating dynamic capabilities (quantitative and qualitative) for implementing sustainable change. She has delivered numerous presentations and workshops on skills and tactics for strategic implementation for organizational and personal success. Beth’s publications and research interests are focused on strategic implementation and leadership, international business strategy, cross-cultural management, entrepreneurship, and women’s workplace issues.