Staff profile

Qualifications

B. A. Hum. & Soc. Sc., (Psychology/Politics) Monash, GradDipMan La Trobe, GradDipEd(Sec) La Trobe

Membership of professional associations

Rotary Club Mildura Deakin, Academia of Scholastic Distinction, Ioannis Consulting Enterprises, Kip McGrath Education Centres Sunraysia, Nutrient Film Technique Enterprises (Hydroponic Vegetables) Pty

Area of study

Management

Brief profile

 Overview of Professional profile

  Mr. John I Kotroulas, M.V.I.T., M.A.T.A., M.A.C.E.N., M.V.E.C.C.I., has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Humanities and Social Sciences with majors in Psychology and Political Studies and minors in Statistics and Philosophy from Monash University; a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from La Trobe University; a Post Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education from La Trobe University and various diplomas and certificates including, but not limited to, Certificate in Looking After Children from the Department of Human Services, Certificate III in Horticulture Production, Certificate on Supported Residential Services, Certificate in Tournament of Minds, and so on. John is a lecturer for Business Management studies at La Trobe University in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law with the Regional School of Business, the Numeracy Support Lecturer at La Trobe University Mildura under the Higher Education Equity Support Program, a qualified and registered teacher, a Certified Professional and Clinical Behavioural Counsellor, and more. John is one of the educators involved in the Leadership Programme designed to provide participants (managers and leaders of the professional and corporate community) with further leadership skills, enhance their knowledge and expertise in also coaching and mentoring subordinates as well as increase the chances for promotion within their field of endeavour. John is also the owner and Territories Director of Sunraysia's Kip McGrath Education Centre (Mildura) since 2007 and also the owner and Higher Education Consultant of Academia of Scholastic Distinction. John is Sunraysia’s Industrial and Organisational Behaviour Consultant, Researcher and Analyst with Ioannis Consulting Enterprises, has extensive experience, applied knowledge and expertise in business projects, corporate and strategic management practices, behavioural counselling, industrial/organisational research and analyses, executive management and innovative international organisational and operational practices, to mention some. John has taught, and is currently lecturing at La Trobe University, teaching at High Schools and Primary Schools, in various disciplines including maths, statistics for business and for the behavioural and social sciences, research methods, psychology, legal studies, accounting, business management studies, political science and humanities. In Bendigo, John was the Clinical Behavioural Counsellor for the local community of Eaglehawk and periphery. John was teaching Psychology and holding behavioural counselling seminars and classes funded by a Melbourne-based philanthropic association. He has analysed and interpreted data, wrote corresponding reports and prepared published materials. He was the Statistician in the Australian published research study in the Medical Journal of Heart Lungs and Circulation titled Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) Risk Factor Knowledge in a Rural Population andthe lead Researcher, Statistician and Analyst in Exploring the Nature of Focal Attention in the Workplace as Measured by Reaction Times. John also conducted applied research and wrote papers on, yet not limited to, ways by which managers decision-making processes are bounded by rationality and a marketing management research paper on Consumer Buying Decision Behaviour.  Further, he developed and prepared Strategic Marketing and Business Plans for businesses in Mildura andconducted SWOT Analyses on corporate level strategies of Employment Opportunities and Vicroads. At the Community/Social level, John prepared and submitted a Community Development Plan - Government Policy Plan on Aboriginal Affairs - A policy to reduce the incidence of HIV and Tuberculosis among Australian Aborigines. John alsoformulated and administered Consumer Usage and Attitude Survey R98 on Bridal-Wear & Accessories. The obtained data was analysed and findings were included in the report to management that led to the organisation adopting the recommendations and achieving a finalist status in the Gown of the Year – Melbourne. John has also prepared successful applications for government cash-grants. John has also conducted Social, Behavioural and Industrial/Organisational Research in the Gippsland, Loddon and Sunraysia regions. He is currently undertaking a research study on Work Motivation with businesses and employees in the Sunraysia region. It is anticipated that his comprehensive study will predict or explain employee task-related effort. Specifically, identify and quantify the factors that motivate employees in Sunraysia to be productive on the job by taking into consideration the relationship between effort and performance (if any) and the desirability of various work outcomes that may be associated with different performance levels. On Project, Corporate and Strategic Management operations as the Managing Director of Nutrient Film Technique Enterprises Pty Ltd, John prepared Project Management Proposals. For example, prepared and implemented appropriate strategies for an Australian Company to successfully invest abroad. The Project addressed officially recognised and eclectic processes required to register a company with foreign investment in countries where John conducted extensive dialogues, established practicable cooperation and accomplished professional links between Australian Government Authorities and foreign Governments’ Embassy officials, local governments, Company’s professionals in Australia, the USA and Countries where investment was sought, and so on. Overseen operations and strategic direction of businesses in Australia and abroad and other duties and responsibilities indicative of the position held and holds at present.  John is an innovative leader. He established himself in Mildura as the Managing Director of a Company specialising in the commercial production and distribution of Hydroponically grown vegetables with the method known as NFT. John established commercial operations in fruit and vegetable production by recirculating water with nutrient solution in a controlled environment (protected cropping commercial hydroponic greenhouse structure) thereby ensuring productions throughout the year. A method where water is recirculated and not wasted. Water is used responsibly thereby saving hundreds of mega-litres per season. Alongside with Ioannis Consulting Enterprises, a hydroponics commercial operations consultancy and training facility, which is an innovative business specialising in diverse and lateral methods of protected cropping production provides clients and businesspeople in horticulture in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales diverse operations and explores feasible prospects to maximise opportunities and ensure anticipated returns. John anticipates to prepare, promote and deliver a training programme that focuses on the needs and operations regarding protective cropping industry. John is a prominent member of the business and community organisations of Mildura. He is the Deputy Chair and a Committee Member of the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) Regional Council; VECCI’s Subcommittee member (Training); SIFE’s Co-Faculty Advisor & Business Advisory Board Member; a Board Member, the Primary Education Officer and Deputy-Secretary of the Rotary Club Mildura Deakin; La Trobe University’s Chair and President of Alumni, representing the interests and future aspirations of hundreds of university students and graduates in the area; Professional Member of the Australian Collaborative Education Network for practitioners and researchers from the higher education sector and industry involved in Work Integrated Learning (WIL) in Australia, and other perusals. Further, John has been an Executive Council Member of a Primary School. As the School Council Employment Sub-committee member, his duties and responsibilities entailed, but not limited to, conducting performance evaluations for the principal and teachers’ performance. Some performance evaluations included:

• Learning technologies and professional development;

·         Implementation of a model of performance management applicable to self-managing schools;

• Financial management; and
• Literacy development and mathematics.

John specialises in professional teaching, training and coaching along the lines of Organisational Behaviour for Middle and Senior Managers from three different perspectives - the Individual, the Group and the Organisation System. His relevant empirical study, to be undertaken promptly, in the Sunraysia region involves organisations' management and employee cooperation and input. In particular motivation and management.   The contention is that behaviour is a result from conscious choices among available alternatives. John’s assertion is based on the premise that the relationship between peoples' behaviour at work and their goals is not simple; instead, it is based on cognitive processes. Employee performance is based on cognitive factors. Since an employee's performance is based on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities, then John (as the experimenter and investigator) has to identify and quantify individuals’ different sets of goals by which employees can be further motivated, provided they have certain expectations.     The expectations under investigation are three.

1. The importance that the individual places upon the expected outcome of a situation. 
2. Output from the individual and the success of the situation are linked, e.g. if I work harder then this will be better.
3. The success of the situation is linked to the expected outcome of the situation, e.g. it's gone really well, so I'd expect praise or recognition.

 

Carried out research and analysis on organisations' manufacturing, services and retail network, internal and external environments. Namely, ABS, ASIC's Information Processing Centre, Family Research Action Centre (La Trobe/Gippsland), Gipsland Regional Association of Social Services, etc.

Conducted research on Consumer Behaviour (Bendigo). I.e., Industrial/Organisational Marketing managemenr Study (unpublished) on Consumer Buying Decision Making.

Conducted industrial/organisational study (Mildura) on "Exploring the Nature of Focal Attention in the Workplace as Measured by Reaction Times: Can employees detect faults in garments?"

Applied research paper (manager in Mildura) on ways by which the manager's decision-making processes are bounded by rationality.

Presented workshops (Eaglehawk/Bendigo): "Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) in the Workplace." Local media was present and professional interview took place. Article on my presentation was published in The Eaglehawk Times newspaper.

Market Research (Mildura): Prepared and administered "Consumer Usage & Attitude Survey" (c) 1995 and "Consumer Usage & Attitude Survey R" (c) 1996, colated, analysed data and wrote corresponding reports to management. As a result of my studies, the organisation's designer and couturiere entered the year's Australian Masters of Fashion and was a finalist. The product was on display throughout major cities and centres in Australia.

Reviewed three applied theories of depression and evaluated each upon their ecological validity. Namely, Beck's (1991) Cognitive Schema Theory of Depression, Psychodynamic approached to Depression and, lastly, Interpersonal Theories that lacked consistency. Results of the Apperceptive Personality Test (APT) failed to relate APT scores to indices of depression. Because of this inconsistency, a different view on hupothesis testing was proposed.

• Traditionally, for example, the question asked is how unlikely a particular batch of data is assuming the null hypothesis is true. In this case, the outcome of a testable hypothesis either supports or refutes the tenability of the hypotheis tested. The proposition suggested in this case, as a result of this inconsistency was, whether in hypothesis testing the goals of significance testing ought to be the same as those goals associated with scientific inference. If the goals of significance testing differ from the goals and objectives of scientific inference, then the question that adequately addresses the goals of scientific inference necessarily becomes given the data, what is the probability of the research hypothesis?

 Reviewed the psychological processes of self-managed work group effectiveness in the workplace. Areas of interest were task and goal achievement, interdependence and coping.

I quantified the relationship between selected parameters of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and California Psychological Inventory (CPI).

Mr. Howard's Future Directions: It is time for plain thinking, 1988; hypothesis tested was whether Conservative ideals and ideology or philosophy were expressed through the Document's content (unpublished introductory thesis).

Cash-Grant Submissions:

• February 2004 - Strategic Management Project plan. Developed and presented project management plan on new concept that formed part of disability services.
• October 2004 - Dissability Support Services. Report on funded Pilot-project.
• October 2004 - Dissability Support Services. Cash-grant application for three-year recuring funding agreement.
• October 2003 - Suporting Placements at Risk: Reunification and Restoration of Families Project. cash-grant application for three-year recurring funding agreement.
• August 2003 - Dissability Support Services - Report on Social Skills Group pilot project, incorporated into Dissability Support Services.

 

 

 

Teaching units

Consulting

YES - Business & Strategic Management Plans; Business proposals and project reviews; Prepare questionnaires, conduct research, analyse data and prepare corporate reports; Prepare and submit cash-grant

Recent publications

Research projects