Jeffrey Decker Ph.D.
Professor and chair of the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership at Biola University
- Ph.D. in Executive Management from the Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California.
- Masters in Business Administration from the Kent State University
- Bachelors in Business Administration, magna cum laude graduate from the Kent State University
Jeffrey Decker, Ph.D. specializes in working with executives to develop and implement strategic concepts that can transform their organizations and their markets.
Expertise
- Business
Coaching: Executives
Consulting: Management
Training: Strategy Implement, Strategy Formulation, Running and Growing the Small Company, Leading Transformational Change
Working Experience
Dr. Decker serves as a professor and chair of the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership at Biola University. In addition to 15+ years as an academic, Dr. Decker has 20 years of business, consulting and executive management experience. He has served with the Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and also as Director of the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management's Executive Management and MBA programs at Claremont Graduate University. Dr. Decker received the Harry S. Nerhood award for teaching excellence at Whittier College in 1997. In addition, he has taught at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management.
Family
Jeff Decker is a devoted family man. He and wife Susan met during freshman orientation at Kent State University in Ohio. They have been married 35 years this August. In 1981 they moved to CA with the first of their 3 lovely daughters. The other two daughters were born in Palm Springs. Jeff and Susan always wanted to move to warm weather and they are very happy in CA. Their oldest daughter is married to the 'best son-in-law in the world' and they have a son, James IV who is 17 months old. Being grandparents is the best, Jeff loves his new title - PaPa. All of their daughters live in So Cal which is a huge blessing. Jeff enjoys professing, sitting on the patio reading, leading a Community Group from Friends Church in Yorba Linda, and really enjoys taking get-aways with Susan as well as one or two weeks away with the whole family. Jeff's natural gift is teaching and the Godly success of his students is very important to him.
Others
Present Academic Activities
- 2003- Professor, Biola University, Masters of Organizational Leadership teaching Organizational Development and Strategy, and overseeing student research projects.
- 1997- Adjunct professor for the Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California teaching in the Masters programs in Human Resource Design for their School of Behavioral Studies and Masters of Business Administration at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management.
- 1997- Numerous consulting engagements: Ducommun Corporation, Tokio Marine Insurance Company, IEEE Computer Society, Access Mediquip, Georgia Perimeter College, Los Angeles Mission, Navajo Nation, Los Angeles Police Department, Edison International, Aids Health Care Foundation, Yorba Linda Friends Church, San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center, Professional Claims Services, USDA Department of Agriculture, LG’s Prime Steakhouse Palm Springs/Palm Desert, Los Angeles Mission, Western Association Chamber of Commerce
- 1991- Associate Professor at Whittier College, Whittier, California.
- Received the College’s 1997 Harry S. Nerhood Teaching Excellence Award.
- Faculty representative to the College’s Board of Trustees Advancement Committee 2000-2001.
- Chaired the College’s Assessment Committee 1998-1999 and Campus Writing Program 2001-2002.
- Granted tenure in 1998.
- Received the College’s 2003 Richard B. Harvey Award for service and leadership.
Prior Academic Experiences
- 2000- Adjunct Strategy Professor at the Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management.
- 2002 Fully Employed MBA Program.
Executive and Management Positions Held
- 1997-98 Director of the Executive Management and MBA programs at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at the Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California. Responsible for managing school operations, supervising adjunct faculty, admitting new students, class scheduling, and student advising.
- 1988-91 President of the Personal Finance Company, Covina, California. Chief Operating Officer in charge of consumer finance operations with 120 employees and $40 million in assets. Served as Chairman of the California Financial Services Association Independent Section.
- 1984-88 Vice President and Senior Regional Manager for Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, Cleveland, Ohio. I managed a region with $24 million in sales per year with sixty-five employees. Functional responsibilities included operations, accounting, account service, sales, and product management. My organization serviced over sixty consumer finance lenders with more than three hundred branch offices. Progressive acquired the Leon Greenberg Company./td>
- 1981-84 President of Leon Greenberg Company General Insurance Agency, Palm Desert, California. I led twenty-four employees and we collectively generated $6 million per year in sales. During my tenure, the business grew from a $2 million base in 1981. My responsibilities included sales, service, claims, and underwriting. In 1984 this company was sold to Progressive Casualty Insurance Company.
- 1978-81 Senior Product Manager with Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, Cleveland, Ohio. Responsible for national marketing of credit insurance products. Activities included development of insurance coverage plans, pricing, sales strategy, and underwriting rules.
- 1975-78 Supervisor of purchasing development with the Babcock & Wilcox Company, Barberton, Ohio (now part of Asea Brown Bavari). Participated in corporate audits, development of purchasing procedures, and supported important cost reduction opportunities.
Publications and Papers
- 1996 Membership Change within the United Methodist Church: A Strategic Management Perspective, Dissertation, UMI
- 1997 Mainline Churches in Decline: Turnaround Strategies of United Methodists, Quarterly Review
- 1999 Strategic Management and the Liberally Educated Executive, Western Decision Sciences Conference Proceedings
- 1999 Teaching Management as Liberal Art and Social Function, Academy of Management Annual Meeting
- 2000 Managing for Competitive Advantage, American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences and Session Chair, Aberdeen, Scotland
- 2000 Session Co-Chair, The Annual Meeting of The Executive MBA Council, Teaching Management as Liberal Art, October
- 2001 Managing for Competitive Advantage: Re-conceptualizing the Practice of Management, Working Paper
- 2001 Teaching Management as Liberal Art and Social Function, Comportamento Organizacional E Gestao, Invited Publication
- 2002 An Assessment of Management’s Best Ideas 1990-2001 (Working Paper)
- 2002 Hawaii International Business Conference Paper Presentation Assessing the Management Gurus
- 2004 Sony e—Nervous System and Supply Chain Management, California Operations Management Review
- 2004 A Grounded Design Approach for Outsourcing, Jeffrey N. Decker, Lana Nino, and Dan Duran, Paper to be presented at The International Business and Technology Research Conference, Las Vegas, Oct. 6-9, 2004
- 2008 Thinking Matters: Radical Ideas that Will Alter Your Perception and Practice of Management
Service Highlights
- 1990-92 Chairman, California Financial Services, Independent Section
- 1992-96 Delegate to Annual Conference, United Methodist Church, Yorba Linda United Methodist Church
- 1992-96 Lay Leader, Yorba Linda United Methodist Church
- 1992-96 Manager of several girl’s softball teams and league registrar with over 800 participants—“Genesis” 12 year-old league champions in 1996
- 1994 Lay Man of the Year at Yorba Linda United Methodist Church
- 1998-00 Organizational Development Consultant, San Gabriel-Pomona Regional Center
- 1999 Speaker at the Conference on Forming Christian Leaders, Newport Beach, CA
- 1999 Whittier College Baccalaureate Speaker
- 1999 Director of fund-raising project that produced approximately $18,000,000 in pledges to build new sanctuary for Yorba Linda Friends Church
- 2000 Speaker at the Men’s Retreat, Thousand Oaks United Methodist Church, Santa Barbara, California
- 2000 Actively supported David Christian’s bid for election to Yorba Linda City Council
- 2000 Faculty Representative to Whittier College’s Board of Trustee’s Advancement Committee
- 2001 Whittier College Baccalaureate Speaker
- 2002 Speaker at Claremont McKenna International Place Luncheon, The Ethical Side of Enron
- 2002 Speaker in Biola University’s Fall Distinguished Speakers Series.
- 2003 Doctorial Defense Azusa Pacific University Outside Reader
- 2003 Facilitator Navajo Indians Real Estate Development/Management Leaders
- 2003 Lutheran Social Services Management Retreat Facilitator
- 2003 AIDS Healthcare Foundation Senior Management Retreat Facilitator
- 2004 Advisor to president of the Los Angeles Mission
- 2006 Consultant and speaker at CITAM Kenya
- 2006 Advisor to Lead Pastor of the Saddleback Church, San Clemente
- 2008 Retreat facilitator for the Elders and Senior staff of the Friends Church of Yorba Linda
- 2008 Board of Director for the Small Business Financial Development of Orange County
