Colleen Elizabeth Mills (née Pedley; 2 December 1955 – 11 August 2022) was a New Zealand management academic, specialising in communication and sensemaking in times of disruption. She was a professor of management at the University of Canterbury.[1]

Colleen Mills
Born
Colleen Elizabeth Pedley

(1955-12-02)2 December 1955
Died11 August 2022(2022-08-11) (aged 66)
Alma materUniversity of Canterbury
Scientific career
FieldsOrganisational change and development, communication and sensemaking
InstitutionsUniversity of Canterbury
Thesis

Biography

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Mills' first career was in teaching and teacher education. She did a Master of Education with a thesis entitled The nature and variability of tertiary students' learning approaches and test outcomes when learning from text in 1991[2] before changing her career focus to organisational behaviour and completing a PhD entitled Taikyoku: a theory of sensemaking about workplace communication in 2000. Both qualifications are from the University of Canterbury where she subsequently joined the staff and rose to full professor. She was also an international faculty affiliate (FIA) at Audencia Business School in France.

Mills' research examined organisational processes and stakeholders' sensemaking about these processes, particularly during periods of heightened ambiguity and uncertainty such as during CEO succession, organisational change, business start-up, and natural disasters. For example, she examined how middle managers can implement a company strategy – "materialize a strategic discourse" – by creating physical structures, texts, and tools for workers.[3][4]

Mills died on 11 August 2022, at the age of 66.[5]

Selected works

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References

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  1. ^ "UC Research Profile – University of Canterbury – New Zealand". The University of Canterbury. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  2. ^ Mills, Colleen (1991). The nature and variability of tertiary students' learning approaches and test outcomes when learning from text (MEd). University of Canterbury.
  3. ^ Arnaud, Nicolas; Mills, Colleen E.; Legrand, Céline; Maton, Eric (2016). "Materializing Strategy in Mundane Tools: The Key to Coupling Global Strategy and Local Strategy Practice?". British Journal of Management. 27: 38–57. doi:10.1111/1467-8551.12144. S2CID 114087228. SSRN 2717773.
  4. ^ Arnaud, Nicolas; Mills, Colleen E. (2016). "Middle managers play an essential role in executing change". LSE Business Review. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Colleen Mills obituary". The New Zealand Herald. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
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