Dr. Daniel 'Dan' Smith is an organization design consultant focusing on issues of management and leadership development, analysis of work processes, and design of work roles and organization structure. He consults with business and non-profit organizations as a principal of Leadership Solutions Four. Dan's consulting work is informed by extensive experience as a manager and internal organization design consultant in business, government and non-profit settings. Throughout his career he also has been actively involved in university teaching in the areas of organization behavior and management.
From 1978 to 1989, Dan held positions of Corporate Director of Human Resource Development and General Manager of Organization Development at Southern California Edison Company in Los Angeles. At SCE, he introduced 'stratified systems theory' as a conceptual guide for organization restructuring and management development projects. This work involved close collaboration with a range of leading contributors in the RO arena including Catherine Burke [principal advisor], Elliot Jaques, Kathryn Cason, Gillian Stamp, Ian McDonald and Karl Stewart. Dan co-chaired, with Dr. Burke, the 1989 Santa Barbara SST practitioner conference.
From 1995 to 1997 Dan implemented an SST-based organization restructuring as Vice President, Information Technology at Commonwealth Aluminum Company. And between 1998 and 2001, he lead the business integration practice at DecisionOne Corporation, the largest vendor-independent provider of technical support services in the US. His experience at DecisionOne included large-scale project management supporting Y2K readiness for national clients.
In June 2007, Dan will complete an assignment as Director of the MBA program at Eastern University in Philadelphia, PA. Prior to joining the Eastern faculty, he was Associate Professor of Management, Director of the Center for Business Development and Entrepreneurship and Executive Director of the Utility Executive Course at the University of Idaho. From 1990 to 1994, Dan was Associate Professor of Management and founding director of the M.A. program in Human Resource Management at Azusa Pacific University in Los Angeles. Dan's principal interests are strategic human resource management, effective managerial leadership, requisite organization design, and change management.
Degrees and certifications
- B.A. - Dual major: Psychology & Sociology - University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States 1968
- M.A. - Clinical Psychology - Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, California, United States 1969
- Ph.D. - Educational Psychology (Emphasis: Measurement & Evaluation, Supplemental field: Counseling Psychology) - University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States 1977
- Licensed Industrial/Organizational Psychologist - State of California [PSY6839]
- Certifications in a range of assessment methodologies
