Facebook pixel Clifford Darden, DBA | Faculty | Pepperdine Graziadio Business School Skip to main content
Pepperdine | Graziadio Business School
Faculty

Clifford Darden, DBA

Emeritus Professor of Organizational Theory and Management
Graziadio Business School

Biography

Dr. Clifford E. ("Clif") Darden is an emeritus professor at Graziadio, where he has taught executive and graduate-level courses in Organization Theory and Strategic Management since 1984. In 1993, his teaching abilities earned him the honor of being named a Harriet and Charles Luckman Distinguished Teaching Fellow.

Dr. Darden is the author of 34 case studies, monographs, and book chapters in organization and management. He is a past president of the Western Casewriters Association and has served in consulting and executive development capacities for various domestic and international organizations.

Active in the international management education arena, he has served as a visiting professor in the Doctor of Management in Organization Development program at Assumption University of Thailand in 2006 and 2007; a visiting professor in the Executive MBA Program at Wuhan University, the People’s Republic of China in 2004 and 2005; a visiting Lecturer in case research and development at the National Institute of Public Administration in Malaysia between 2001 and 2003; and a visiting professor in Organizational and Management Case Research at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (the National University of Malaysia) during the summer of 2001.

Dr. Darden earned his BS, magna cum laude, at the University of Southern California, where he was a University Scholar, the recipient of the Hamilton Award as "Outstanding Graduate in Business” and an inductee into Life Membership in the national business honor society; Beta Gamma Sigma. He obtained his MBA and DBA degrees from the Harvard Business School, where he was a Dwight D. Eisenhower Fellow during his MBA studies, and a Whitney M. Young and W. E. B. DuBois Fellow as a doctoral student. From 1995 through 2000, Dr. Darden served a six-year term as a member of the Harvard University Board of Overseers Visiting Committee for the Graduate Business School. This appointed body advises the senior governing board, the President, and Fellows of Harvard College on matters concerning the Harvard Business School’s strategic initiatives and operational status.

Education

  • Harvard University, The Doctor of Business Administration
    Special Field: Organization Behavior/Organization Theory, Graduate School of Business Administration , 1982

  • Harvard University, Master of Business Administration
    Concentration: General Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 1969

  • The University of Southern California
    Bachelor of Science, Major: Business Administration

1992 - 1993: Case Review Panel, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice Journal

1969 - present: Beta Gamma Sigma National Business Honor Society (life membership) 1968 - 1969: The Century Club (honor society), Harvard Business School.

"Maxim Systems, Inc.," The Journal of Applied Case Research (in print). [Also in The 1992 Proceedings of the Western Casewriters Association.]

"The ZX Software Development Group," in P. F. Buller and R. S. Schuler (authors), Managing Organizations and People, (Cincinnati: South-Western), 2000.

"American Health Concepts, Inc.," The Journal of Applied Case Research, Vol.1, No. 1, 1997, pp. 73-86.

"Qwik Paint Centers, Inc. (B)," in Thomas Cummings and Christopher Worley (authors), Organization Development and Change, (San Francisco: West Publishing), 1997.

"Qwik Paint Centers, Inc. (A)," in Wright, Pringle, and Kroll (authors), Strategic Management: Text and Cases, (New York: Allyn and Bacon), 2nd edition, 1993

"Amalgamated Financial Group, Inc.," in The 1993 Proceedings of the Western Case- writers Association.

"An On-Site Assessment of the Nigerian Management Development Market," 1982. [Presented to the Dean, Atlanta University Graduate School of Business.]

Harriet and Charles Luckman Distinguished Teaching Fellow Award, Pepperdine University, September 1993

Honorable Mention Award in "Best Case Study" Competition, Southwest Case Research Association, March 1992

W. E. B. DuBois Predoctoral Fellowship, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, September 1980 - June 1981

Whitney M. Young, Jr. Predoctoral Fellowship, Harvard Business School, September 1979 - June 1980

Outstanding Teaching Award, Tuskegee University, May 1977

Dwight D. Eisenhower Fellowship, Harvard Business School, September 1967 – June 1969

The Hamilton Award (Outstanding Graduate in Business), The University of Southern California, June 1967

"Leading Effective Case Discussions: A Practicum." Presented at International Case Development Program (2002), Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara (National Institute of Public Administration), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"Case Publishing: Standards, Outlets, and Processes." Presented at Annual Meeting of the Case Writers Association of Malaysia (2001), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"Is Case Research Really Research?" Presented at Faculty Case Development Workshop (2001), National University of Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.

"A Word about Case Research." Presented at Faculty Symposium (2000) of Fakulti Pengurusan Perniagaan, National University of Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.

"Strategies in Case Research and Writing." Presented at Faculty Symposium (2000) of the Graduate School of Business, Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand.

"Corporate Universities: Strategic Allies or Strategic Threats?" Presented at the Sixth (1999) International Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference, Milan, Italy.

"Incubating Change Agents in the Utility Industry." Presented at the Fifth (1997) International Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference, Cape Town, South Africa.

"Approaches to Diversity in Management Education." Presented at the Fourth (1997) International Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference, Hong Kong.

"Strategic Partnering: Corporations and Universities." Presented at International Conference of the Western Academy of Management (1996), Guadalajara, Mexico.

"The Future of Work and Organizations in the 21st Century." Presented at 1995 manage- ment seminar for Pioneer Electronic Services Corporation, Carson, California.

"Developing Cases From Consulting: Possibilities and Pitfalls." Presented at the 1994 Annual Meeting of the Western Casewriters Association, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

"The ZX Software Development Group: Santa Cruz Site," Presented at the 1993 Annual Meeting of the North American Case Research Association, Atlanta, Georgia.

"Amalgamated Financial Group, Inc.," Presented at 1993 Annual Meeting of the West- ern Casewriters Association, San Jose, California.

"Teaching by the Case Method," Presented at the Practicum on Pedagogical Techniques at the 1993 Annual Faculty Conference of Pepperdine University, Los Angeles.

"American Health Concepts, Inc.," Presented at the 1992 Annual Meeting of the North American Case Research Association, New Orleans, Louisiana.

"Maxim Systems, Inc.," Presented at the 1992 Annual Meeting of the Western Casewriters Association, Spokane, Washington.

"Qwik Paint, Inc. (B)," Presented at the 1991 Annual Meeting of the North American Case Research Association, Atlanta, Georgia.

"Qwik Paint, Inc. (A)," Presented at the 1991 Annual Meeting of the Western Case- writers Association, Santa Barbara, California.