Janet L. Szumal, PhD

Janet Szumal is a senior research associate for Human Synergistics/Center for Applied Research (HS/CAR). She received her PhD in Human Resource Management from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her Hatha Yoga Teacher’s Certification from the Temple of Kriya Yoga.

Janet’s work with HS/CAR has primarily focused on the development of simulations (such as the Organisational Change Challenge, Project Management Challenge, Performance Management Challenge, and Cultural Change Situation), leader’s guides (including those for Leadership/Impact, The AMA DISC Survey, and the Challenge Series) and other support materials (such as the OCI Interpretation and Development Guide and the MEPS Self-Development Guide,). She co-developed the feedback reports for the Organisational Culture Inventory and Organisational Effectiveness Inventory as well as wrote the text for several of Human Synergistics’ online products.

Janet’s research on the reliability and validity of Human Synergistics’ diagnostic tools has appeared in The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Psychological Reports, and The Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 2000). Her recommendations for using group problem solving simulations and team building are published in Mel Silberman and Patricia Philips’ The 2000 Team and Organization Development Sourcebook and The 2001 Team and Organization Development Sourcebook (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill), as well as in Training Magazine (July 1999). In addition, she has published training exercises on organisational climate versus culture and the effects of thinking and behavioural styles in The 2003 Team and Organization Development Sourcebook and The 2004 Training and Performance Sourcebook.

Janet is currently developing Management/Impact, a new diagnostic tool for lower- to mid-level managers, as well as is revising and updating Human Synergistics’ leader’s guides, and participating in the development of Human Synergistics’ online products.