Professor Jeffrey D. Ford is an expert on Organizational Change and Management. An Associate Professor of Management & Human Resources at Fisher College of Business, Columbus , Ohio , Prof Ford is an alumnus of Ohio State University where he completed his PhD.

His research focuses on breakdowns in communications links and the role of communications in organizational behavior and change. His areas of expertise are organizational change, re-engineering project management, management communication, role of communication in organization, leadership, organization infrastructure, network theory and integrity in communications.

His work has been published in the Academy of Management Journal , Academy of Management Review , Journal of Management Education and Journal of Marketing Research. He was elected as a charter member in the Academy of Management Journal 's Hall of Fame. He also received the Academy's Bronze Award for research and a Best Paper Award.

Ford is a frequent consultant to organizations such as Intel and Mead Paper. He teaches undergraduate, graduate and executive-level courses including organizational design and managing change.

Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University

Fisher College Of Business of Ohio State University is a leading college in the US . It's MBA program is ranked as one of the top 25 MBA programs in the United States . The college is also world-renowned for its individual areas of expertise including corporate finance, brand management and supply chain management. Notably, Fisher College was ranked third in the United States for its leadership in supply chain management.

The deliberately small program with approximately 150 students admitted per intake allows the students to reap the advantages of being in an up-close and personal environment. Students have ample opportunity to learn from fellow classmates in team assignments and benefit from the diversity of their classmates-there is a wealth of variety, be it in terms of country of origin (roughly a third are international students) or prior educational and professional experience. Over 60,000 students here have equal access to all the resources of the major research university.

Talk - " Closing the Gap in "Your Reputation," by Prof . Jeffrey D Ford
Date - 14 th April, 2006
Venue - AIMA Auditorium, AIMA Management House, 14, Institutional Area, Lodhi Road , New Delhi  

Enthralling the audience Prof . Jeffrey D Ford talked extensively on high-performing people and the ways they have found to close the gap between what they say and what they do. He is an expert on organizational change and management and his research focuses on breakdowns in communications links and the role of communications in organizational behavior and change.

Prof. Ford made a lot of interesting points on high-performing people, who according to him are the fundamental think-tanks of any organization, be it private or public. There is always some gap between what people say and what they do and its is this gap that sets people apart in their rank and file. These people are called S tar Performers in an organization. According to Prof Ford, it is these Star-performers who hold the reputation of any organization and their words count, so anyone in such a position is liable to a lot of responsibilities, hence building his reputation in the organization.

Prof Ford dwelled extensively on various organizational changes. He expressed his opinion that star-performers make various ways to face the changes positively. He made a strong point that it was necessary to deal with changes and changes are inevitable and constant. It could be fatal for an organization if it's leadership is unable to cope up with changes, hence letting down the reputation of the organization, as well as their own in the organizational hierarchy. They should maintain that and should always be a source of inspiration for the entire company

Communication in an organization is also very important. Prof Ford expressed his views on the effects of communication in various organizational behaviors. A better communication strategy in an organization can play a great role during the periods of changes. Intra-as well as inter-organization communication is important as a lot of up righting is required internally before vibes go out to the market or to the customers. Here he mentioned how people in an organization get labeled if they are performers. Acronyms like Conscientious, Reliable and Lazy matter a lot with in the organization, as it is ones reputation name amongst the employees and this is the basis of ones public identity.

Prof Ford said the same for an organisation's reputation too. He says that for an organization, People listen to what you say and what you will do. They expect you to deliver what you promise. And if a company c omes through with the promised, desired, or expected results, its reputation is safe in the market a nd, there are consequences when you don't, and these have lead to the downfall of the very best of companies. In the end he warned that what actions you take today makes your reputation tomorrow and this is a universally accepted principle.