Carla Patalano
Title: MBA Program Chair, New England College of Business and Finance
Age: 43
Experience: 25 years
Carla Patalano’s official title is MBA program chair at the New England College of Business and Finance (NECB), but her unofficial title should be “multi-tasker extraordinaire.” She launched her career at Boston Financial Data Services while she was still in high school, before she moved on to State Street, and later worked full-time while pursuing her undergraduate degree, also full-time, at Northeastern University. Now, Patalano has a doctoral degree, a wealth of teaching experience and human resources savvy she’s honed across the financial sector, the nonprofit world, the hotel business and more.
Q: I understand you recently developed a human resources class for NECB. Was this the first semester?
A: Yes, this session was the first time we offered it. The MBA program is like a buffet: you get a little bit of everything. One of the courses was an [organizational] behavior class, and really that’s the foundation of HR. The assumption is that most folks coming from an undergrad in business will have had that at a 100 or 200 level undergrad course, so we’re moving it up into HR because that’s really where the managers are interacting in their day-to-day work.
They’re less concerned about concepts and theories and more concerned with, I have to work with people in HR to get my job done, what do I need to do to make that happen? Let me understand what they do and how. So we’ve replaced that other course with this course. We’ll eventually offer this course as part of the master’s in HR as the sort of kickoff class. But it’s just a little taste that the MBA students will get.
Q:Tell me about the master’s in HR program you’re developing.
A: It seemed a perfect opportunity for us. We knew HR was a space we wanted to be in, and it fits with our partnership model at NECB where we are going to the HR folks and saying, “Hey, wouldn’t you want to share this benefit with your employees.” Offering them something in addition seemed to be appropriate.
We already have approved a [Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study] in HR, which you typically only see in library science or education. It was a throwback to the days when you would get a doctorate, and you do your coursework for the doctorate, then you do your dissertation and research. They built in this interim step, a consolation prize if you will. Today most people call that ABD – all but dissertation.
The requirement to get into the CAGS is to have a master’s already. So what I think is happening is the folks who have masters’ degrees who are considering going on, are looking for a doctorate. This degree currently doesn’t have the ability to translate into doctoral credits, so it’s an interim step for a person who doesn’t want to get the doctorate.
We’ve come to the conclusion that it would be better for it to be a master’s. You have to go through a fairly complicated process to get a master’s with licensing and accrediture, but the process is underway. [NECB President Howard Horton] is working with our accreditors to change that, and I think that will get a bigger response.
Q:You must have incredible time management skills. How do you stay sane?
A: Probably the biggest thing is, I’m a perfectionist. You have to learn to let go. You have to be willing to delegate, which I have no problem with, but you also have to learn to let go of things. On top of that, I’ve had to learn not to be so critical of myself. Inevitably the work is always more than you’re ever going to accomplish, and you have to be OK with that. If something happens, you just pick up and figure out what you need to do to fix it. There are very few things in life, ultimately, that are life or death situations.
Some of it is a philosophy about life. If it doesn’t get done today, it’ll get done tomorrow. If it doesn’t get done tomorrow, the world won’t end. And if you have people around you who can help, you can’t be afraid to ask for help.
Top 5 Things HR And Finance Have In Common
- In both, you sometimes have to be the “bad guy” and deliver organizational messages that are unpopular but critical.
- Both face stereotypes associated with their roles, such as the “cold-hearted number cruncher” or the ”warm-and-fuzzy people person.”
- Both are tasked with providing support for better business decision-making.
- Both have responsibility for improving risk management throughout the organization.
- Both can either make – or break – an organization.
