DrJeff Chamberlain

The journey to my current role as Deputy Director of the MBA program at the Deakin Business School was far from the typical academic pathway. Rather, it was characterised by an initial twenty years of industry experience which still dominates my focus, and very pragmatic approach, to teaching and research. For me this translates into a convergence of specialisations encompassing business optimisation and transformation through strategy, process, technology, systems, projects and change.

Why the transition to academe? Life in industry was great and predominantly spent at the ATO. Starting as an auditor, I met a thousand people in a thousand businesses, learning the commonalities and the 'not so' commonalities of business! I couldn't have asked for a richer education about the world of enterprise and the people in it. Moving through management, to senior management, then executive level leadership (and involved in some amazing Internet AI projects too!), my understanding of organisational work and all its intricacies pertaining to skill sets, mind sets, relationships and systems became comprehensively entrenched in my psyche. Completing related Bachelor's and Master's degrees only served to reinforce this practical understanding. But overwhelmed with that nagging sensation that something was still missing, coupled with a serendipitous opportunity to join academe (and quench that feeling), I took the plunge!

On a new mission, I determined that my purpose, and underpinning philosophy, as an academic was to ensure pragmatism, through a modus operandi of practical application, across all academic dimensions. After more than twenty years in academe, my philosophy remains true to the present day. If there is such a thing as a 'pracademic' then I am probably its personification! So, in all of my teaching and research pursuits, I ensure that, wherever possible, inputs, actions, and outputs are designed to enable immediate (or at least short term) outcomes, leading to positive longer term impacts. One of my key intentions is to assist students to see those things that others can't (a key imperative, especially at senior levels in enterprises) and this requires a careful coupling of pragmatism to theory. Theory can show the way, pre-empting the necessary pragmatism - a concept that is often overlooked by those in industry (another reason for my transition!). Where a theory isn't there, then it is research that can develop it.

My teaching pivots around a model that I call the 'triple helix' which highlights that 'strategy informs business processes which in turn, inform technologies, and in the inverse, it is technologies that support business processes, which in turn, support strategy.' This notion is critical in modern enterprises. Processes 'are the business' and require careful and detailed pragmatism to get right. I have taught over a dozen units, mainly post graduate level, that have all inculcated this theme in a variety of ways, and I presently teach into the core of the MBA program in a comprehensive unit called Enterprise Optimisation and Transformation (MBA705) (previously called 'Business Processes and Technology') which is a culmination of all of the best parts of everything else I've taught, as well as a seriously large dose of my industry experience (and that of several industry adjuncts that I bring into the teaching space too!). 

My research directly informs my teaching and also centres upon my triple helix. My earlier research (which included a minor thesis) centred upon government electronic service delivery - exploring the effectiveness of governmental Internet based strategic initiatives and the translation of these into new online processes that interfaced directly with citizens. This led me to broaden my view to the larger, economically critical, small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, to research how it strategises for process optimisation, and transformation, through technological change, particularly involving complex enterprise systems (my PhD research). This triggered a realisation pertaining to the importance of the effectiveness of the impacts of 'awareness', including learning approaches, in enterprises, particularly SMEs. And so my more recent research has been exploring this dimension of business.

My teaching and research activities have converged, placing awareness and learning at its centre, fully operationalising my purpose and its underpinning philosophy! You can check out the details of my teaching and research adventures in the above tabs.

So, what have I learned following long experiences in both industry and academe? Well, it is true to say that the more one learns, the more one realises how much one doesn't know! It's also true to say that everybody sees the world through their own eyes and all have something to teach you, no matter how significant. My 'professional' life's chapters, to date, have been a powerful combination, delivering insights that could only be attained by experiencing them. There is great value in formal learning, this is indisputable, but there is even greater value in the pragmatic stuff - when you throw yourself into the industry fray and learn to adapt to every circumstance. Nothing is as it would seem, but everything is as it is! There are no substitutes for hard earned experience, a growth mind set, lifelong learning, humility, courage, wisdom and authenticity. If you have read this far, I do hope our paths cross one day; I can't wait to hear about, and learn from, your story. The relevance is not so much in what we have done, but rather, it is in what we are going to do. JeffC.