UTA College of Business Professor wins Ralph Alexander Best Dissertation Award
Recently, Dr. Hanbo Shim Ph.D., University of Texas at Arlington Assistant Professor of Management, won the Academy of Management Human Resources Division Ralph Alexander Best Dissertation Award. The award will be presented at the 84th Annual Meeting of Academy of Management this August.
The AOM Human Resources Division is a division of the greater AOM organization which is dedicated to understanding and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of HR practices. The division is one of the AOM’s largest with over 3300 members. The division acts as a gathering place for academics and HR professionals to create networks and develop state-of-the-art HR knowledge.
This prestigious award is presented to research dissertations that have contributed to solving significant obstacles in the field of Human Resources.
“There’s an annual competition for all the best dissertations that isn’t bound to the state of Texas,” said Shim. “The competition encompasses dissertations that had been submitted within the last two years and you’re competing against everyone who submitted. They recognize the high quality of research and it gives you a goal to work toward.”
Dr. Hanbo Shim Ph.D., University of Texas at Arlington Assistant Professor of Management, poses for a photo at the UTA College of Business on June 25, 2024. (Photo by Jalen Larry)
Shim’s winning dissertation “Understanding the construct and measure of job performance over time”, delves into the ways employee job performance is captured at the short term and long-term levels.
“This study highlights the importance of more frequent or short-term performance feedback so that employees can make more effective behaviors decision on the short-term basis,” Shim explained. “It also informs individual employees about what would be the detail and ideal profile of short-term performance behaviors to win more favorable rating in the long-term.”
Through his research, Shim found that there was a deep correlation between short-term tasks and long-term employee ratings.
“Individual’s short-term performance behaviors such as performing his or her own tasks or helping others’ tasks can lead to different levels of long-term performance with different patterns,” said Shim. “This implies that the momentary decision that you make every day or every week in terms of how you work can create differences in your annual performance ratings.”
Through his dissertation, Shim hopes his findings and research will have a lasting effect on not only the Human Resources career field, but also the decision-making capabilities of leadership as a whole.
“This dissertation could have major implications for anyone in an HR field. Once you have more accurate and frequent data about employee performance, you’re able to make more timely and effective decisions.” Shim explained.
Although Shim was happy to receive this prestigious award, he views it as a successful team effort that allows the field of Human Resources to advance.
“I celebrated when I found out, not just with the people here at UTA, but with my fellow researchers like my dissertation director Dr. Michael Sturman at Rutgers.”, said Shim. “I felt joy, but I was also grateful to have the opportunity to give back. It feels great to find out that we can contribute something big to the organization and people we serve.”