SC&I, Rutgers University - Consulting and Workshops

Professor Doerfel conducts research in organizational communication with expertise in how social networks reveal issues of cooperation and competition inside and among organizations. She has extensive field experience in conducting network analysis assessments in organizational systems in Croatia, Belarus, and most recently, in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was awarded funding by the National Science Foundation for her work in New Orleans, where she is tracking the rebuilding of social networks among organizations that were displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina. She has conducted seminars on building strategic networks and has trained organizational and business leaders in assessing their own networks and developing strategies for improvement.

Professional Workshops:
Communication and Social Networks Workshop. This workshop includes an overview of social networks as both paradigm for understanding communication relationships and as a method for analyzing communication and social structure in and among organizations. The workshop includes critical aspects of social networks: (1) designing and framing research for reliable, valid, and ethical inquiry, (2) building trust with study participants as a fundamental element in data collection, and (3) data management/analysis. Original datasets gathered from the field are used as illustration and for hands-on experience throughout the workshop.
Networking Smart: Relationship Building and Management for Professionals. This workshop overviews the nuances of social networks and the role of communication in building (or ruining) relationships. Participants learn how to observe and assess their own personal and professional networks. The workshop then guides participants on strategies for improving their own communication styles and social network integration.
Creating Weak Ties ↔ Building Strong Ties: How to Make the Most of Professional Conferences. This workshop overviews the nuances of social networking and the role of communication in building new relationships. The workshop emphasizes how to use cues in the environment, general conference activities as fodder, and background knowledge about others to improve first impressions and make introductions that transform into long lasting professional relationships.
Consulting Skills:
Communication and network skills training
Communication network analysis
Content analysis
Field research and observation
Focus group facilitation
In depth interviewing
Organizational assessment
Organizational training and development
Organizational reputation management
Professional networking training
Research design, planning, and implementation
Semantic and social networks and analysis
Training field workers

External Grants awarded:
Doerfel, M. L., Marsic, I., & Aiello, J. (2005). Dynamic use of social network and leadership theories in disaster recovery. National Science Foundation # 0554959, $132,290 funded.
Frank, M. G., & Doerfel, M. L. (2005-06). Detecting deception in a counter-terrorism paradigm, $500,000 funded by Department of Homeland Security (via ITT Industries). Joined project as Co-PI in July 2005; responsibilities as PI assumed September 2005.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Published over 20 articles in top journals in the communication field.
Presented over 40 conference papers and research programs since 2000.
Directed and/or sat on over 20 graduate student thesis committees since 2000.
Doctoral and Master Level Courses Taught: Organizational Communication Research, Organizational Assessment and Auditing, Organizational Communication Theory, Social and Semantic Network Theory and Analysis, Organizational Decision Making
Undergraduate Level Courses Taught: Organizational Communication Theory, Group Communication, Research Methods and Organizational Assessments, Advanced Organizational Communication, Persuasion, Communication Theory