UMass Amherst

Mzamo P. Mangaliso

Management

Ph.D., University of Massachusetts


Professor Mzamo Mangaliso of the Isenberg School of Management co-teaches a multi-media, multi-campus honors class on World/Massachusetts Business and Economic Issues. Using video teleconferencing and web-based resources, Mangaliso and his students interact with professors and students at three other campuses to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the Commonwealth and the world. Together, they have addressed issues such as globalization, outsourcing, the energy crisis, Internet commerce, and the role of government in business. He is often impressed with his honors students. "What strikes me is that they're doing graduate-level work. Their curiosity and appetite for learning is amazing," he notes. "They push us as professors."

In his teaching, Professor Mangaliso emphasizes the importance of the triple bottom line of profits, people, and the environment, often sharing his own experiences in the banking and manufacturing sectors in his native South Africa. His research focuses on corporate strategy, information and uncertainty management, and corporate social responsibility, and he has involved a number of his honors students in his current studies on how email affects the workplace. "Some are incorporating the research into their own honors theses, so it's a mutually rewarding experience."

Mangaliso's former students frequently stop by or email the recipient of the UMass Distinguished Teaching Award to reflect on his influence. "A tree is known for its fruit," says Professor Mangaliso, "and the many shining examples of our outstanding alumni who will continue to make a difference in corporate America–-that is the fruit of the University of Massachusetts."