John Lawler
Professor, Institute of Labor & Industrial Relations
In Brief
- Ph.D. in business administration, University of California, Berkeley, 1980
- Master of Arts in labor and industrial relations, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1976
- Bachelor of Arts in economics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1972
On teaching international human resources
"I try to build a lot of cases and exercises into my classes, and also believe that I have a role to play in providing students with information directly. I also try to redesign my courses every few years in order to avoid them becoming stale. One of my favorite classes is international human resource management. I have quite a bit of international experience and try to use this to expand student understanding of issues and problems employees face in global assignments. Many of the students in that class have international backgrounds and I try to use their experiences to enhance the class. Also, we have outside speakers whenever possible, usually corporate international HRM people, many of whom are ILIR graduates."
On Institute culture
"I think the Institute is the right size and this promotes good interaction among and between students and faculty. Larger programs, such as many business schools, don’t have that sort of intimacy. ILIR has a broad-based approach to employment questions and issues, with faculty and students with many different backgrounds. I think that we do look at issues in this field not only from a management point of view as would be the case in a business school, but also from a broader social perspective. My research, like that of many other professors here, concerns the impact of employment practices on the welfare of workers, regardless of how it might affect the companies for which they work. I appreciate that sort of ideological freedom.
Research Interests
Lawler's areas of research and teaching include international human resource management, human resource information systems, and labor-management relations. Lawler has traveled extensively in Southeast Asia, where he has done research, teaching, and executive development in human resource management practices in multinational and indigenous firms. In 1991, he served as John F. Kennedy Visiting Professor of Business at Thammasat University, which was supported under the Fulbright Scholars program. Lawler is the author of Unionization and Deunionization: Strategy, Tactics, and Outcomes. He has published articles in several academic journals, including Industrial Relations, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Journal of Asian Business, and Journal of Management. He has also contributed to numerous edited volumes in human resource management and industrial relations fields.
Courses Taught
- LIR 563: Human Resources Information Systems
- LIR 566: International Human Resource Management
Visit Professor Lawler's curriculum vitae online.
See Professor Lawler's areas of expertise.
To reach Professor Lawler:
117 LIR Building, MC-504
504 E. Armory Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820-6297
(217)333-6429; (217)244-9290 fax
email: jjlawler@uiuc.edu