Pat R. Ferguson
Resume

Education

Ph.D. in Communication, University of Memphis
Masters in Communication, University of Memphis
B. M. Music Education, Union University

Publications and Presentations

Changing the landscape of the top management team. Thesis 1999
Changing the landscape of the top management team. Paper presented March 2000 at the annual meeting of the Southern States Communication Association.
Toward the development and validation of a management communication competence questionnaire. Research published as part of dissertation. 2001
Tracking the communicative impact of women in top management teams. Dissertation. 2001
Published with Dr. Joann Keyton and Steven C. Rhodes, Cultural indicators of sexual harassment in the Southern Communication Journal, vol 67, pp. 33-50.
Cultural indicators of sexual harassment. Paper presented at the 2000 annual meeting of the National Communication Association in Seattle, Washington.
Speaker for business associations in Miami, Memphis, Nashville, Louisville and St. Louis.

Awards, Honors, and Associations

Eagle Leadership Award, Promus Companies, Inc.
The John Bakke Best Communication Graduate Student Award, 2000
Bostrom Best Graduate Paper Award, Southern States Communication, 2000
Top 3 Papers in the Applied Communication Division of the National Communication Association, 2000 and 2001
Member of the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society
Member of the Southern States and National Communication Associations
Past member of ASTD and SHRM
Past board member of Opera Memphis and Hospitality Federal Credit Union

WORK EXPERIENCE
Consultant
1998 to present

Executive communication coach and HR Consultant. Coached management staff of Opera Memphis and
The National Civil Rights Museum. Consulted with two CPA firms to determine their compatibility for a merger of the companies. Consultant with two CPA firms to determine their compatibility for a merger of the companies. Consultant to multiple Shelby County government departments. Presently coaching three female executives in Memphis. Consulted with HR, Compensation, and IT departments of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. and provided meeting facilitation and communication coaching services to HR management. Provided consulting and facilitation services for Children's World Daycare, Memphis Area Relocation Association, Paragon Decision Resources of California, and Opera Memphis. Developed new HR policies and procedures guidelines for Opera Memphis and Memphis Housing Resource Center.

PROMUS HOTEL CORPORATION
1976 to 1997

(Formerly Promus Companies, Inc., Holiday Corporation, Holiday Inns, Inc.)

Vice President, Human Resources
1989 - June 30, 1997

Joined Hampton Inn as Director in Dec. 1989 to start up the HR department. In 1990, gained additional responsibility to manage the Guest Assistance department and the training function. Guest Assistance responsibility involved total re-design of processes and systems. Promoted to Vice President, June 1991. In December 1991, responsibility for the Homewood Suites HR, training, and systems implementation areas was added. Embassy Suites was merged with the Hampton and Homewood brands in October 1993, which added responsibility for Embassy HR, training, systems implementation, and Guest Assistance. Eventually managed human resources functions for all hotel brands. Responsibilities included: compensation, benefits, employee and labor relations, organization development, climate and culture surveys, employee communications, training and development, climate and culture surveys, employee communications, training and development, recruiting, relocation, college relations, hotel systems implementation for new and existing hotels, Guest Assistance department, and the Data Management department.

In July 1995 Promus became a publicly owned company and responsibilites included leadership of the Human Resources Committee of the Board of Directors. Other responsibilities included: Executive Compensation philosophy and programs, outsourcing the 401 (k) program, redesign of the Executive Deferred Compensation Program and facilitation of a re-engineering process within Human Resources to develop a people strategy in coordination with the new business strategy.

Promus included over 500 hotels with approximately 24,000 employees system-wide. There were 107 company owned or managed properties with approximately 8,000 employees.

Director, General Employment
1986-1989

Managed the employment funcion for all Memphis based divisions (2,000 employees) and employment systems support to the field (approximately 35,000 employees). Start up and leadership of a new employment department and total re-design of employment systems and processes which included job posting process company-wide, HR department structure, policy design, recruiting and selection, EEO tracking, orientation, outplacement, relocation, and corporate-wide resume tracking system. Also managed an outplacement process for 400+ displaced employees and redesigned the company-wide relocation process. These revisions saved the approximately $2,000,000 per year, every year after implementation.

Manager, Corporate Staffing
June 1986- December 1986

Start up and management of recruitment function. Responsibilities included: design and implementation of policies and systems, computerized resume / application tracking system, inhouse job posting process, and corporate-wide relocation.

Manager, Corporate Executive Education
1981-1986

Responsible for the design and implementation of executive education and development programs and HR systems corporate-wide, which included: succession planning and performance planning and appraisal. Develped and implemented 16 core development programs. Designed and implemented an in-house posting system and career management system. Administered annual management audits, quarterly updates for high potential femal/minority employees and computerized career profile system. Assisted in the design and implementation of major organization development interventions - the climate survey, team building, and supervisory training programs.

 

Executive / Personnel Recruiter (Hotel Division)
1976 - 1981

Recruited for management employees in engineering, construction, interior design, IT, marketing, and human resources from 1979 to 1981. Recruited clerical/non-exempt employees and professional/technical employees for data processing and finance, and start up/management of the temporary clerical pool from 1976 to 1979.

TRANSITIONAL CENTER FOR WOMEN
1975-1976

Worked with employees in Memphis to develop jobs for female ex-offenders.

STATE OF TENNESSEE
1969-1975

Held various professional and managerial positions in the Department of Welfare, Mental Health, Employment Security, and Unemployment Security.

 

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