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The purpose of this paper is to describe the author’s serendipitous career and provide some lessons that might be of value to those pursuing the academic mission: teaching, research and service.

The method involves primary sources; mainly the author’s CV to jog recall of events and dates, some of his articles and the teachings and writings of many others that influenced or inspired various aspects of the author’s career.

The author’s experiences affirm that to achieve any degree of success in the professoriate, in addition to having some talent it is also helpful to be lucky. There is a lot to navigate at a university. Opportunities exist at every turn, some noticed some missed. When recognized, be prepared. Being a professor is not what you do, it is who you are. Preparation for an academic career involves becoming a self-improvement project (essentially, a life-long student learning lessons). It requires developing expertise (preferably excellence) in some field of study, as well as resourcefulness, resilience and perseverance.

Each individual’s story is unique. The author’s path seems to have included more twists and turns than most. Consequently, he tried to highlight the experiences with lessons learned in most sections, some obvious some less so, which he expects (at least hopes) will prove valuable to future educators.

This paper aims to show the genesis of motivation research in work done from the 1920s through 1954, especially with the growth in reception of European “depth psychology”. This has been followed up by Fullerton (2013).

Standard historical methodology – heavy reliance on sources written at the time (primary resources), avoidance of anachronism, heavy use of contemporary quotations, efforts to explain and interpret.

Motivation research dates to the 1920s with the work of Paul F. Lazarsfeld and others. It grew rapidly in the USA, part of the great expansion of the behavioral sciences, and amidst a zeitgeist of growing discontent with older psychologies and of Economic Man.

This paper takes motivation research back to its origins for the first time, placing it clearly in line with contemporary intellectual developments.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical analysis of an important early contribution to the history of marketing thought literature – the six-book series titled The Knack of Selling – which was published in 1913 and intended as an early training course for salesmanship.

This research utilized a close, systematic reading of The Knack of Selling series and places it in the professional and intellectual context of the early twentieth century. Books published about marketing are primary source materials for any study of the history of marketing thought. In this case, The Knack series constitutes significant primary source material for a study of early thinking about personal selling.

Echoing A.W. Shaw, Watson offers a more sophisticated interpretation of the “one best way” approach associated with Frederick Taylor. Watson’s advice did not entail the repetition of canned sales talks to each customer. His vision of practice was more complicated. Sales presentations were temporally and locationally relative. They were subject to ongoing evolution. As the marketplace changed, as customer needs and interests shifted, so did organizational and salesperson performances. To keep sales talks relevant to the consumer, personnel were encouraged to undertake rudimentary ethnographic research and interviews. Unusually, there is oscillation in the way power relations between marketer and customer were described. While relational themes are present, so are military metaphors.

This is the first systematic reading of The Knack of Selling that has been produced. It is an important contribution to the literature inasmuch as this book set is not in wide circulation. The material itself was significant as an input into scholarship subsequently hailed as seminal within sales management.

Looks at the issue of homosexual harassment in the workplace. Defines sexual harassment according to the (US) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines. Provides some background history of traditional sexual harassment in the workplace, extending this, in the 1990s, to also encompass homosexual harassment. Describes what is meant by “quid pro quo” and “hostile working environment” harassment, providing examples of what would constitute unacceptable behaviour. Reports on the findings of some surveys of homosexual harassment in the workplace. Offers some helpful tips for employers to follow to prevent and/or protect against homosexual harassment occurring within their organization.

Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence down into manageable chunks, covering: age discrimination in the workplace; discrimination against African‐Americans; sex discrimination in the workplace; same sex sexual harassment; how to investigate and prove disability discrimination; sexual harassment in the military; when the main US job‐discrimination law applies to small companies; how to investigate and prove racial discrimination; developments concerning race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; developments concerning discrimination against workers with HIV or AIDS; developments concerning discrimination based on refusal of family care leave; developments concerning discrimination against gay or lesbian employees; developments concerning discrimination based on colour; how to investigate and prove discrimination concerning based on colour; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; using statistics in employment discrimination cases; race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning gender discrimination in the workplace; discrimination in Japanese organizations in America; discrimination in the entertainment industry; discrimination in the utility industry; understanding and effectively managing national origin discrimination; how to investigate and prove hiring discrimination based on colour; and, finally, how to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace.

Korean‐American firms are becoming powerful business units, yet some questions arise as to how to manage them in the most effective manner. In order to avoid confusion, a definition of Korean‐American firms is required. Korean‐American firms are Korean firms that have set up operations in the United States in the form of factories, storage facilities, and sales offices. In others words, the companies are owned by Korean business people who are used to the Korean way of doing business, and yet employ many Americans. Korean executives must deal with American workers and managers and understand the corporate structure that is commonly used in the United States. While Korean executives would like to implement their management practices, they need to remember that America employees may respond differently than Korean workers. Consequently, this article will be useful to Koreans investing in the United States, as they will learn about American organisation models. At the same time, this article will be useful to American workers who want to learn about their Korean employers and the business practices and values used in Korea. The main objective of this article is to determine how to maximise the performance of Korean‐American firms.

Investigates the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) use of ‘plain’ English in its numerous published standards. Gives both the humorous — ‘Alice’ Adventures in Wonderland’ — and the staid — Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission — as examples of what is and is not plain English. Concludes that customers will reward a business that communicates well.

Considers how employees were traditionally introduced into the workplace, outlining the opposing methods of little introduction at all and the lengthy training room inductions by some large corporations. Outlines a cost effective middle option seeing each new individual as a valuable new asset. Suggests a checklist for all parties to ensure all information is covered which includes the relevant personal information, introduction to supervisor and allocating a sponsor help them through out the initial stages. Highlights the importance of follow ups, respect for the individual and support from senior management.