Page 61 – University of Klagenfurt

Claudia Kitz and Heiko Breitsohl, together with Laurie Barclay, publish paper on “the delivery of bad news” in prestigious journal

Delivering bad news is one of the most challenging tasks for leaders. Recently, the popular press has been awash with examples reflecting poor bad news delivery, such as mass layoffs in the IT sector.

While many disciplines have been interested in understanding the delivery of bad news, different emphases across disciplines have resulted in independent silos of research that impeded scholarly and practical advancements. For example, there is lacking evidence on how to deliver bad news in the workplace.

In their interdisciplinary review, Claudia Kitz, Laurie Barclay, and Heiko Breitsohl review 685 articles and identified key challenges in the extant literature while also providing a path forward by showcasing key opportunities.

For example, Kitz et al. propose conceptualizing bad news delivery as a dialectic process that unfolds over time while they summarize evidence-based practical recommendations on how to deliver bad news effectively. In sum, their research enhances theoretical insights and practical guidance for effectively managing bad news delivery in the workplace.

The review was published on May 24, 2023, in the prestigious journal Human Resource Management Review and is available as an open-access publication at https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S1053-4822(23)00022-0.

Irene Tubikanec wins Kepler Award for Excellent Teaching

Congratulations to Irene Tubikanec, who was awarded for the “Kepler Student Award for Excellent Teaching” at JKU Linz.

Library NEWS: Klagenfurt university library in “relaxed mode” (locker policy)

The pandemic is over and we are taking a further step towards normality!

Our library isn‘t just a classical study area but also a space to network and openly get-together.

We are constantly working at adapting the library to the various needs of our users. Where the design of our premises is concerned, we pay particular attention to creating a comfortable atmosphere.

In autumn 2022, the periodicals reading room was turned into a “non-rest area” and has served as an open space to meet and communicate ever since, where conversation, eating and drinking are permitted.

In the wake of this development, we have given some thought to classical library rules, and as a result we are now relaxing our locker policy:

Please feel free to continue using the lockers in the basement, the bibliobags as well as the express coat rack in the library’s entrance area (particularly when you have valuables to stow).
But independent of this, it is permitted to take coats, jackets, rucksacks and bags into the library again.

We are looking forward to a lively library: use our extensive services: 24 hours / seven days a week / in a relaxed atmosphere.

Please send us feedback!

If you have further ideas for a “lively library”, please contact the loan desk personally or go to feedback [dot] bibliothek [at] aau [dot] at.

Using mathematics and statistics to make self-driving cars more reliable

Lukas Sommeregger’s research focuses on developing methods to determine the lifespan of computer chips. The doctoral student, who also works at Infineon, recently received the Infineon Innovation Award.