Christopher A. Pizzi
March 24, 2023
As I pass In My Capstone Research Paper
It has been an honor to be part of the ‘Sweet 16’ or ‘affectionately otherwise known as the ‘Nacho Cohort’. The collection of knowledge and collaboration from these peers and professors was incredible and unmatched. The journey from acceptance into the MJ-LEL program until now was an experience that will forever be held precious to me. I have learned a tremendous amount by taking a chance on myself and stepping outside my comfort zone. Specifically, I have now become a thought leader and a ‘unicorn’ in my field at work - becoming the single point of contact and action regarding our workforce, policies, and procedures regarding labor and employment laws.
Furthermore, I am extremely honored to have become selected for, and accept the opportunity to become an inaugural MJ-LEL Law Fellow for the Tulane School of Law. Although, the Fellow program was new to the school, developing and implementing new programs is one of my strong suits, and was something I was instantly comfortable helping with. My partner in the fellowship journey was Patty, and we helped build the framework for a new fellowship program that will hopefully be a staple of the MJ-LEL program for years to come. We also built the framework for the NOLA student support program, which will be a critical piece for the MJ-LEL leadership to assure students do not feel alone and have an infrastructure to always be supported.
I was not an HR professional, but I was determined to make my capstone an HR related topic. I received approval to make my capstone related to my Fellowship initiative, and partner with Patty. We decided to do our research on Engagement. Patty focused on the students, and I would focus on the workforce.
My research paper was titled ‘Getting the Workforce to ‘Buy-In’. The paper focused on how ‘sustainable employee engagement’ and ‘employee-centric corporate cultures’ are keys to successfully supporting organizational changes and new programs.
Overall, the study explores the importance of maintaining a sustainably engaged workforce in efforts to implement new organizational changes, programs or processes. The study further explores how the concept of sustainable engagement positively impacts an organization’s success within the context of organizational culture, humane leadership and the current state of labor and employment laws. It further details the importance of achieving employee ‘buy-in’ during the engagement process and over the course of the employee lifecycle with a formulaic approach to assure the workforce successfully supports new programs and organizational changes. I developed the following formulas:
· POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE + SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT = EMPLOYEE ‘BUY-IN’
· EMPLOYEE ‘BUY-IN’ = SUCCESSFUL CHANGE MANAGEMENT
· EMPLOYEE ‘BUY-IN’ = SUCCESSFUL NEW PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
I am extremely proud to be finishing up my MJ-LEL degree from Tulane University. The program itself was by far - more gratifying and eye-opening than I expected. The technologies and on-line approach were top-notch, and every one of the professors and school leadership was amenable, approachable and invested into the success of every student. I would recommend the program to anyone interested in furthering their careers in this area of study or to support you career growth in other areas and professions.
With bittersweet memories I wish the studies goodbye, but with invested interest I stay with the program, and its mission onward.
"If it weren't for the people" © 2022 by Christopher A. Pizzi is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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