This Works in My Place!

This Works in my Place – WOP Sustainable Leader Program: Latin America

The first workshop of the IAAP (Division 1) project entitled “This Works in my Place – Latin America” took place on May 30, 2019, in Turin (Italy). Seven scholars and practitioners from Latin America participated in the Workshop: Jaime Bayona (Colombia); Laura Galarza (Puerto Rico); Agustín Molina (Chile); Lucas Monzani (Argentina-Canada); Alejandra Ortiz (Mexico); Amalia Raquel (Brazil); and Wenceslao Unanue (Colombia). Three officers of IAAP (Division 1) coordinated this activity: Barbara Kozusznik, Vicente Martínez-Tur, and Katarzyna Wiecek-Jakubek. 

The main goal of the workshop (“This Works in my Place – Latin America”) was the identification of relevant contextual factors that give inputs (challenges, opportunities, barriers) to Work and Organizational Psychology (WOP) strategies and practices in achieving five relevant Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations: “no poverty”, “good health and well-being”, “gender equality”, “decent work” and “innovation”. 

Through participation and dialogue with WOP leaders within the region of Latin America, the first workshop analyzed contextual factors of the region (political, social, economic, and cultural) related to the aforementioned United Nations goals. They also described the situation of WOP in Latin America. The Progress Report (2019) can be accessed here. 

To access the Final Report, click here.
To access the Executive Summary, click here.

Below you will find a listing of the current "This Works In My Place" Workshop participants.

Jaime Bayona
Associate professor of human resource management at the school of economics and business of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. Psychologist form Universidad Nacional de Colombia; M.Sc. in work, organizational and personnel psychology from Université Paris Descartes and Universitat de Barcelona; PhD in Psychology of Human Resources from Universitat de Valencia. Leader of the organizational behavior research group at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, his research interests are focus on work design, work motivation, quality of the working life and the internal dimensions of corporate social responsibility. He teaches courses on HRM, organizational behavior, and corporate social responsibility at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Laura Galarza
Professor Galarza is Associate Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras Campus. She obtained her PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Rice University in Houston, Texas, USA in 2000. She teaches, conducts research, and has 26 years of experience (17 of them post-doctoral) in Work and Organizational Psychology projects. Her experience includes 5 years (1996-2001) of work as an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist at the Behavioral Health and Performance Group (BHPG) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center developing the BHPG System for Astronaut Selection System and was part of the interdisciplinary team of behavioral experts and astronauts who developed the Psychological and Expeditionary (including Team Building and Development) Training for long-duration mission astronauts. She has consulted in the US and Puerto Rico for private, public and non-profit organizations on a variety of work and organizational psychology projects. Since 2002 she teaches at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Rio Piedras campus where she has also occupied leadership positions including Academic Senator, Interim Department Chair, Chancellor’s Special Assistant for Strategic Plan Development and Institutional Effectiveness, Industrial-Organizational MA & PhD. Program Coordinator, and Special Assistant to the Vice president of Academic Affairs for accreditation topics.  She has presented her research work at numerous conferences in Puerto Rico, USA, Europe, and Latin America and her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and in NASA peer-reviewed technical reports.

Wenceslao Unanue Manríquez
Assistant Professor at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez Business School (Chile). PhD in Economic Psychology and MSc Applied Social Psychology (University of Sussex, U.K.). BA Business and Economics (PUC, Chile); Commercial Engineering (PUC, Chile); MSc Economics (PUC, Chile); BA Psychology (PUC, Chile); Psychologist (PUC, Chile); Country representative,International Association for Research in Economic Psychology (IAREP).Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Action for Happiness and the International Positive Psychology Association. Board member, Instituto del Bienestar. His main research interests are addressed to public policies on happiness, well-being, development, sustainability, and work (among others). Professor Unanue had advised national and international organizations and given talks in countries such as Hungary, Brasil, US, Israel, UK, Russia, Scotland, Poland, Bhutan, Romania, The Netherlands, France, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Chile. He was member of the International Expert Working Group (IEWG), organization that collaborated with the Royal Government of Bhutan and the United Nations in building a New Development Paradigm (NDP) based on happiness and well-being. Currently, he is part of the World Well-being Panel, founded by LSE (http://cep.lse.ac.uk/wwp/panel.asp). The World Well-being Panel is about the promotion of wellbeing as the ultimate purpose of all major decision makers, particularly governments. 

Agustin Molina 
Agustin Molina is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Department of Psychology of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He completed his Ph.D. at the Institute for Organizational Development and Quality of Work Life of the University of Valencia and his PostDoc at Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick. He also holds an Erasmus Mundus Master degree on Work, Organizational, and Personnel Psychology. His research interests focus on organizational and team climate measurement and analysis, workplace fairness and employees’ well-being. In addition to collaborating with research institutions located in Europe, US and South America, Dr. Molina has published numerous papers and chapters in peer-reviewed outlets and presented at several international conferences. He is also the Academic Director of a university initiative that, in collaboration with multiple Chilean stakeholders (a foundation, governmental agencies, associations, and private organizations), aims to research and promote high-quality employment relations.

Lucas Monzani
Dr. Monzani is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at Ivey Business School (Western University). Currently, he is an associate researcher at both the Institute for Organizational Development and Quality of Work Life of the University of Valencia (Spain) and the and the Center for Leadership and Behavior in Organizations at Goethe University (Frankfurt, Germany). He holds a Ph.D. in Psychology of Human Resources by the University of Valencia and is an Erasmus Mundus Master in Work, Organizational, and Personnel Psychology. His research interest lies within advanced concepts in organizational behavior. Whenever possible, Lucas Monzani combines his research activities with his professional practice as an executive consultant. He specialized in leadership potential assessment & development. As a consultant, Dr. Monzani contributed to several leadership development projects within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) of the United Nations.

Alejandra Ortiz
Dr. Alejandra Ortiz is a qualified consultant, facilitator and executive coach with a strong academic background. She is passionate about helping people releasing their full potential. She believes leaders can grow and develop to achieve extraordinary personal and business outcomes. With a profound understanding of organizational behaviour and business strategies, she focuses on adding value through customized solutions that consider both elements. She has over 15 years of career working as a consultant for Deloitte and YSC Consulting, where she currently works. Academically, Alejandra has wide experience lecturing OB and Leadership theory at postgraduate and MBA courses at ITAM and ITESM schools in Mexico, and The University of Sheffield in the UK. She has published academic and practitioner papers. She designs her interventions including tools, frameworks and practices that are supported by research. She obtained her MSc and PhD in Organizational Psychology at The University of Sheffield in England where she lived for five years. Before moving to the UK, she completed her Bachelor in Psychology at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). 

Amalia Raquel Pérez-Nebra
Full professor of Psychology at the Centro Universitário de Brasília, Brazil. She is member and was director of Brazilian Society of Work and Organizational Psychology (SBPOT) and I/O Work Group at National Association of Research and Graduation (ANPEPP). She coordinates an applied project in the Federal District Tribunal Court to give support and research the over-indebted citizens. She coordinates research projects about the impact of organizational, personal and work process on workers well-being and the impact of media to prevent social problems. She studies Sustainable Well-being, culture, health behavior at work and economic health, prejudice and discrimination. Sabbatical leaves in Universitat de Valencia, 2017-2019.