Fahri Karakas - introduction

I thought it would be a good idea to start the first introduction blog myself. I am Fahri Karakas, from Turkey. I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, specializing in Organizational Behavior. I have been teaching on Organizational Behavior and Leadership at McGill and Bogazici Universities. My research interests include values and spirituality in the workplace, global leadership, global peace, bridging world cultures and religions, interfaith dialog, peace and values education, social responsibility, inspirational management education, social innovation and complexity, positive change in human systems, positive organizational scholarship, and appreciative inquiry. I have just began publishing in journals like Leadership in Action, Global Business and Organizational Excellence, International Journal of Humanities and Peace, Equal Opportunities International, Journal of Globalization for Common Good, Leadership Excellence; and Vital Speeches of the Day. I am a member of Academy of Management, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, and Academy of International Business. I am serving as the president of Quebec Horizon Foundation and a board member of Dialog Foundation in Montreal.

As a researcher, my vision is the following:

"We need new innovative, creative, interdisciplinary and holistic paradigms of thinking, research and teaching based on positive values, spirituality, social responsibility and service for our common good as well as for global peace, prosperity and wellbeing in the 21st century."

My mission:
"I want to make a positive difference in human systems, organizations, communities and the world based on spirituality, values and social responsibility through my research, teaching and service."

I have a deep passion for teaching. Teaching has always been my biggest passion in life.
I love all my students. I believe the teacher-student relationship is not a contractual one limited to the class. It is a lifetime relationship. I will always try to be supportive, available, helpful, encouraging, nurturing, motivating, and positive. I give utmost importance to practicing my values in the teaching profession: compassion, generosity, innovativeness, devotion, friendship, modesty, conscientiousness, hope, creativity, sincerity, and enthusiasm.

Years before, I dreamed about teaching, about my future students, about you. I always said to myself:

"One day...

I will design such a course that all students will love the experience.
I will design such a course that I will discover the pearl in each student.
I will design such a course that it will have a positive impact in the lives of my students.
I will design such a course that we will all learn from one another."

And I hope that day finally arrived now! I have very high expectations from each of you.

Here is the opportunity for us bring out our best strenghts, talents, abilities, passions, team work, and creativity that we have inside.

I love you all!
- Fahri Karakas

PS: I am sorry this has been so long. Normally it was one paragraph but somehow kept flowing.