Faculty Profiles

May, Douglas R.

Professor and Co-Director, International Center for Ethics in Business


330 Summerfield Hall
University of Kansas, School of Business
1300 Sunnyside Avenue
Lawrence, KS 66045-7585

P: (785) 864-7520
F: (785) 864-5328
drmay@ku.edu

Education Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign M.A. University of Missouri-Columbia B.A. University of Kansas
Academic Areas Organizational Behavior
Interests Research Interests: Business Ethics - Ethical Decision Making Ethical Issues in Job, Environmental, and Information Systems Contexts Work Design and Work Environments Determinants and Outcomes of Experienced Meaningfulness in Work Teaching Interests: Business, Ethics, and Society Organizational Behavior Management Skill Development
Current Activities Research Activities and Honors: Professor May's research interests include issues in business ethics and the meaning individuals experience at work. Most recently, Professor May is currently studying the role of moral intensity, moral emotions, and cultural differences in ethical decision-making in job-related contexts. He is also examining the determinants and outcomes of experienced meaningfulness at work. Professor May was awarded funding for his research on job design from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and recently received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant with KU colleagues to conduct research in ethics education. His work with Brenda Flannery on environmental ethical decision-making won the 1999 Academy of Management ONE Division's Best Paper Award. Professor May's articles have appeared in such journals as the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Journal of Business Ethics, Business & Society, Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Human Resource Management, Organizational Dynamics, and others. He has presented his research at over sixty international, national, and regional academic conferences. Teaching Activities and Honors: Professor May has taught courses in organizational behavior, business ethics, human resource management, and organizational theory at the undergraduate, masters, doctoral, and executive levels. Currently, he is teaching a course at KU in management skill development, Mgmt 437 - Personal Skills for Managing People. He is also working to infuse the discussion of business ethics throughout the curriculum in the KU School of Business. He has been recognized many times for his instruction in the classroom. In 2003, Professor May received the university-level Nebraska Teacher Recognition Award. He was a finalist for both the 2001 and 1998 NU system-wide Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award. Professor May received UNL's 1997 College Distinguished Teaching Award, CBA's 1996-1997 Distinguished Teaching Award, and the 1993 Teaching Recognition Award for Contributions to Students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Teaching Council. He received a Faculty Fellowship from the UNL Teaching Council to participate in the AAHE Peer Review of Teaching Project. Finally, Professor May served as Co-Chair of UNL's Teaching Council for the 1999-2000 academic year. Service Activities and Honors: Professor May currently works on activities associated with the International Center for Ethics in Business. For example, he helped H. Joseph Reitz and Richard De George conduct three summer curriculum development workshops for faculty and graduate students on international business ethics in 2002, 2004, and 2005. Professor May has used his research expertise and business experience at IBM to consult on job and work environment changes with organizations in health care, manufacturing, telecommunications, and government. He regularly presents seminars on business ethics for executive education programs. Professor May is a member of the Academy of Management, Midwest Academy of Management, International Association for Business and Society, the International Society of Business, Economics, and Ethics, Society for Business Ethics, American Psychological Association, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists. He served previously on the Academy of Management's Advisory Council and the Social Issues in Management Division's Research Committee. He has been an invited speaker on publishing, theory development, and research funding at both the SIM and HR Doctoral Consortia of the Academy and served as co-chair for both the 2004 and 2005 SIM Doctoral Consortia. Professor May has also been active in the governance of the Midwest Academy of Management, serving as its President in 2000 and currently serves on the Board of Governors. Professor May serves on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Management and Business Ethics Quarterly. In addition, he serves as an ad hoc reviewer for such journals as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Business and Society, and the Journal of Business Ethics. He received a Best Reviewer Award for his reviewing work from the Social Issues in Management Division of the Academy of Management in 2000.