On the Line

Anshuman Khare is Professor in Operations Management at Athabasca University, Canada. He joined Athabasca University in January 2000. He is an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and has completed two post-doctoral terms at Johannes Gutenberg Universität in Mainz, Germany. He is also a former Monbusho Scholar, having completed a postdoctoral assignment at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. He has published a number of books and research papers on a wide range of topics. His research focuses on environmental regulation impacts on industry, just-in-time manufacturing, supply chain management, sustainability, cities and climate change, online business education, etc. He is passionate about online business education. In 2003, Anshuman was awarded the Craig Cunningham Memorial Award for teaching excellence by Athabasca University as a testament to his commitment to exceptional online education and in 2015, he was awarded Athabasca University Graduate Students' Association (AUGSA) Outstanding Distinction Award (2015) which acknowledges and honors faculty members who display exemplary leadership, support, and engagement with graduate students. Anshuman serves as the Editor of IAFOR Journal of Business and Management, Associate Editor of International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education published by Emerald and is on the Editorial Board of International Journal of Applied Management and Technology. Deborah Hurst is Dean, Faculty of Business and Associate Professor Organization Studies, Athabasca University, Canada.  She joined Athabasca University in 1995 as an academic coach in the world's first online MBA. She later joined AU full time as an Associate Professor in January 2001 and since that time she has held various roles including Associate Dean, New Business Development and MBA Program Director. Deborah obtained her BA from the University of Toronto, and her MA and PhD from the University of Alberta. Prior to obtaining her graduate education, Deborah worked for General Motors of Canada Limited. Her time over a ten-year period included experience within the departments of material control, parts distribution, export operations, and traffic. During her MA studies, she worked for a summer at the non-profit, Edmonton Social Planning Council as a research assistant and later during her PhD for the Alberta Public Service as a human resources consultant and manager over a four-year period. All of these private, non-profit and public sector work experiences continue to inform Deborah's research, teaching and administrative duties. Deborah's guiding career vision and goals have always been focused on improving the human experience of workplaces through a better understanding of the cultural aspects of organization life. She is interested in how to best design online learning to develop excellence in graduate knowledge and professional skill as leaders and in business disciplines to directly support and mirror current workplace requirements. In her role as Dean, Deborah draws from her background in organization behavior/theory, work & organizational sociology, leadership development, and management education to lead the creation and provision of highly relevant, transformative and accessible online management education.