Faculty Directory

Bio

Professor Williams joined Niagara University in August 2010 as an assistant professor. She completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University at Buffalo, where she designed an individualized major (organizational behavior) that reflected her interest in individuals’ experience in the workplace and minored in communication. Dr. Williams is an active member of the Niagara University community through her participation on various standing and project committees. She also devotes her time to advising the student chapter of The Society of Human Resource Management. Prior to her graduate studies, Professor Williams worked in the accounting field.

Focus of Teaching

• MGT 341 - Introduction to Human Resource Management

MBA

• MGT 670 - People in Organizations
• MGT 675 - Strategic Human Resource Management
• MGT 677 - Organizational Development

Current Research

Professor Williams’ research addresses the development of interpersonal trust in organizations from several perspectives: individual differences that affect interpersonal dyadic trust, situational factors that affect anonymous interpersonal trust decisions, and the conceptualization of and methods used to study trust itself. Furthermore, woven throughout her work are individual and environmental antecedents of trust, as well as individual- and dyad-level outcomes of trust. Specifically, an individual’s ability to understand his or her environment and situation, reason about the morality of one’s own and others’ behaviors, and the extent to which one’s behaviors are socially influenced are posited to influence trust-based relationships. Furthermore, personality traits such as narcissism and situational factors such as potentials gains or losses related to trusting others or being trustworthy are also under investigation to determine their effects on trust and its outcomes.

Current Involvement

Professor Williams is a member of the board of directors of the Joan Male Family Help Center and several professional associations including: The Academy of Management, American Psychological Association, Buffalo Niagara Human Resource Association, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Society for Human Resource Management, Southern Management Association, and Beta Gamma Sigma.