【Topic】On the Cross-cultural Portability of a Theory of Occupational

Mental Health and the Systematics of Empirical Verification in China

【Speaker】Vishwanath Baba

【Time】2007-4-19 14:30-16:30

【Venue】Weilun Building, 508

【Language】English

【Organizer】Department of Business Strategy and Policy/China Business

Research Center

【Target Audience】Faculty, Doctoral candidates, Graduates and MBA

【Backgound Information】

This seminar presents a theory of occupational mental health and

presents four sequential studies among hospital nurses dealing with

aspects of occupational mental health among hospital nurses in the

People's Republic of China. A mediational framework dealing with

antecedents, occupational mental health and consequences will guide the

program of research with specific models steering sequential refinements

to the research. Data were gathered from 550 nurses through a field

survey. Descriptive statistics, uni- and multi-variate analyses of

variance, correlation and hierarchical regression were employed to

analyze the data. The empirical findings confirm the impact of a broad

portfolio of antecedents on stress, burnout and depression and their

subsequent impact on attitudinal and behavioral consequences. Results

from the four studies also provide support for the proposed working

theory of occupational mental health and the portability of OMH models

to China. Implications for future research and health care management in

China are discussed.

Dr. Baba joined the Michael G DeGroote School of Business in January

2000 as the Dean and Professor of Management. Prior to coming to

McMaster, Dr. Baba was Professor of Management at Concordia University

in Montreal where he held the positions of Chairman of Management and

Associate Dean of Graduate Studies.

Dr. Baba obtained his PhD in organizational behavior from the University

of British Columbia in Canada. He has a keen professional interest in

management training in the developing world and has been an active

consultant to Canadian International Development Agency, Swedish

International Development Agency, and International Development Research

Centre of Canada. In this context, he has offered management-training

workshops in China, Egypt, Kenya, India, and Vietnam. His most recent

consulting work involved management training for a large multinational

in their China office.

He is widely published in Canada and abroad. They include Journal of

Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Relations,

Personnel psychology, to mention a few. Dr. Baba has published

extensively in the area of work and mental health. He is currently the

Principal Investigator on a project on Work and Mental Health funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. His

current research interests focus on cross-cultural issues in management.

He has also served as the President of the International Society for the

Study of Work and Organizational Values (ISSWOV). He is currently on the

executive board of the Research Committee on Mental Health and Illness

of the International Sociological Association as well as on one of the

Grant Adjudication Committees for the Social Sciences and Humanities

Research Council of Canada.