Nisha Nair
Clinical Associate Professor of Business Administration
Nisha Nair

Contact

254 Mervis Hall
nnair@katz.pitt.edu
412-624-7923

Profile

Nisha Nair joined the faculty of the Katz School in 2015. Previously, she taught at the William Paterson University, New Jersey, as a visiting faculty member in the Cotsakos College of Business, and at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore as a tenured faculty member of the Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management area. She has taught courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level, and has also engaged in various training programs for working executives and consulted for organizations in both the public and private sector.

Professor Nair has been awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award at Katz for the year 2021-2022 and is the recipient of the Doris and Douglas Bernstein Award for Faculty Teaching Excellence in 2018-19. She has also been the recipient of the best doctoral proposal award at the CLADEA International Doctoral Colloquium in Mexico in 2008, and her thesis work was chosen as one of the select ten papers to be presented at the Drucker Forum in Vienna in 2009. Her research primarily focuses on the negative side of employee attitudes and behavior, specifically in the areas of work alienation and workplace deviance. She is also interested in research on organizational development, human resource management, and emotions and conflict. Her research has appeared in Management Decision, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Journal of Workplace Rights, Sport in Society, International Journal of Conflict Management, and Organizational Development Journal. Additionally, her research has been presented at various conferences, such as the Academy of Management and Business and Information conference. She has also co-authored a limited edition book on HR Best Practices in the manufacturing sector in India.

Courses Recently Taught

  • Organizational Behavior
  • Ethics and Stakeholder Management
  • Project Course in Organizational Leadership
  • Principles of Management
  • Labor and Management
  • Human Resource Management
  • Building Creative Potential

Awards and Honors

  • Recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award, Katz Graduate School of Business, 2021-2022.
  • Recipient of the Doris and Douglas Bernstein Award for Faculty Teaching Excellence for the year 2018-2019
  • Awarded the University Research Council’s small grants award for funding research in diversity for the year 2017-2018. 
  • Best Doctoral Proposal Award, CLADEA International Doctoral Consortium, Mexico, 2008

Professional Service and Activities

Editorial board member of Organization: The Critical Journal of Organization, Theory and Society

Editorial board member of Journal of Human Resource Management

Consulting Activities

Recruitment and Selection of Deputy General Managers for MPMKVV Co. Ltd. (Electricity generation and distribution company of the state of Madhya Pradesh, India): Led a three-member consulting team at IIM Indore for the development and administration of a psychometric test and conduct of interviews, as part of the selection process for the DGM positions, 2011-2012.

HR Policy and Organizational Design for Jharcraft (Jharkand Silk and Crafts – A fully owned state government business enterprise set up to promote indigenous silk, textiles, handloom and craft based work in the state of Jharkand, India): Consulted for the organization design and HR policy of Jharcraft as part of a two-member team at IIM Indore, 2010-2011.

360 degree performance feedback for Ambuja Cements: Designed and administered the 360 degree performance feedback for middle and senior management of Ambuja Cements as part of a three-member team at IIM Ahmedabad for the consulting project, 2009.

Taught in various in-company MDPs (customized management development programs for specific companies) at IIM Indore, for both public and private sector organizations such as ICICI Bank, ICICI Life Insurance Co. Ltd., IAS (Indian Administrative Services) officers, NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation Co. Ltd.), ONGC Ltd., Thomas Cook India, officers of the BSF (Border Security Force), officers of the Indian Army, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), senior management of Carlson Hotels, scientists of National Informatics Center (NIC), officers of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian Parliament) and senior executives of Alstom.

Degrees

  • PhD (Fellow Programme in Management), IIM Ahmedabad
  • MS, Industrial Engineering, Kansas State University
  • B. Tech Mechanical Engineering, Calicut University

Recent Publications

Nair, N.; Selvaraj, P.; Nambudiri, R. (2022). Culture and COVID-19: Impact of Cross-Cultural Dimensions on Behavioral Responses. Encyclopedia, 2, 1210–1224. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia2030081

Nair N, Selvaraj P (2021). Using a cultural and social identity lens to understand pandemic responses in the US and India. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, Vol. 21, No. 3:545-568. doi:10.1177/14705958211057363

Nair, N., & Good, D.C. (2021). Microaggressions and coping with linkages for mentoring. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, No. 11: 5676. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115676.

Nair, N., & Good, D. (2020). Diversity in the classroom: Microaggressions and their impact. Book chapter in Audrey J. Murrell, Jennifer L. Petrie-Wyman, & Abdesalam Soudi (Eds.), Diversity Across the Disciplines: Research on People, Policy, Process, and Paradigm, pp. 145-158. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Vohra, N., Sharma, S., & Nair, N. (2020). Diversity and inclusion practices: Insights from organizations in India. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 55, No. 4, pp. 572-589.

Nair, N., Good, D.C., & Murrell, A. J. (2019). Microaggression experiences of different marginalized identities. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Vol. 38, No. 8, pp. 870-883.

Vohra, N., Nair, N., & Sheel, R. (2019). Burnout, organizational cynicism, alienation: Review of negative workplace attitudes, behaviors, and cognitions. Chapter in ICSSR Research Surveys and Explorations in Psychology, Misra, G (Ed.), Psychology of Organizations: Volume 3, pp. 94-159. Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Kulkarni, V., Vohra, N., Sharma, S., & Nair, N. (2018). Walking the tightrope: Gender inclusion as organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 31, doi: 10.1108/JOCM-05-2017-0197.

Nair, N., & Vohra, N. (2017). Mentoring as a means to achieve inclusion: A focus on practice and research on women in India.  Book chapter in Audrey J. Murrell & Stacy Blake-Beard (Eds.), Mentoring Diverse Leaders: Creating Change for People, Processes and Paradigms, New York: Routledge.

Nair, N., & Vohra, N. (2012). The concept of alienation: Towards conceptual clarity. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 25-50.

Nair, N., & Bhatnagar, D. (2011). Understanding workplace deviant behavior in nonprofit organizations: Towards an integrative conceptual framework. Nonprofit Management & Leadership, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 289-309.

Nair, N. (2011). Cricket obsession in India: Through the lens of identity theory. Sport in Society, Vol. 14, No. 5, pp. 569-580.

Nair, N., & Vohra, N. (2011). The case of OD in an NGO in India. Journal of Management Development, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 148-159.

Nair, N., Vohra, N., Rao, T.V., & Srivastava, A. (2010). Assessment for development and potential: Other company experiences. In Rao, T.V., Ramnarayan, S., & Chawla, N. (Eds.) Life After 360 Degree Feedback and Assessment Development Centers, New Delhi: Excel Books. 

Nair, N., & Vohra, N. (2010). An exploration of factors predicting work alienation of knowledge workers, Management Decision, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 600-615.

Nair, N. (2010). Identity regulation: Towards employee control? International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 6-22.

Nair, N. (2010). Women’s education in India: A situational analysis. Indore Management Journal, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 100-114.

Center Affiliation

Berg Center

Academic Area

Organizations and Entrepreneurship

Personal Interests

Nisha loves to spend time with her young daughter, Anya. When she has the time, she loves to read, particularly on literature, philosophy and short stories, and occasionally bake and experiment with new cuisines.