About the Group
The Employment Relations and Organisational Behaviour Group| examines how organisations manage people, as well as the wider social and economic context in which they operate. It has a triple emphasis:
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Human resource management focuses on how organisations develop and motivate their employees to achieve the high standards of performance required in today's competitive markets.
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Employment relations explores the wider relations between employer and employee organisations, and the structure of labour markets.
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Organisational behaviour examines individual perceptions, attitudes, behaviour and performance and the effects of group and organisational context on the individual.
The School has a long and proud tradition in the study of employment and organisations. More than a century ago, two of the School's founders, Beatrice and Sidney Webb, pioneered the first great social science studies of the labour and management problems of their day. They did so in the belief that efficient management and social justice went hand in hand. These two principles lie at the heart of our subject. Modern high performance work systems function best when employees believe they are being treated fairly. For highly qualified workers with skills that are in strong demand, it is often possible to achieve a fair deal by individual negotiation. However, for a great many others, achieving a fair deal depends on a framework of employment law and on collective representation, for example, through works councils or trade unions. These frameworks play a key role in the success or otherwise of different human resources (HR) policies.
Our graduate degrees embrace not only strategy and policy within the firm but also the national and international regulation that shapes the relationship between managers and workers around the world. We encourage our students to develop a critical approach and to value rigorous empirical research. Good empirical research requires clear concepts and a mastery of the relevant theory and knowledge. We want our students to develop an intellectual confidence and independence of judgement to enable them to deal with difficult employment issues.
Our subject lies at the intersection of many social science disciplines: economics, sociology, psychology, organisational studies, law and political science. We have a particular strength in comparative analysis that is nourished by the international training of our academic colleagues and by the large number of different nationalities among our students.
The Group has strong links with the human resource management profession and with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Many of our former students now occupy leading positions in human resource management and consultancy and are enthusiastic supporters of the Group and our current students.
Staff and their academic interests
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Professor Sarah Ashwin: Comparative employment relations especially Russia and Eastern Europe; gender and employment in Russia.
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Dr Yally Avrahampour: Accounting standards; theory of fair value; economics of information and organisations; management accounting in the new manufacturing environment; strategic management accounting; accounting for utilities.
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Professor Harry Barkema: Innovation; strategy; teams.
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Dr Alexandra Beauregard: Work-life conflict and facilitation; diversity; family-friendly work practices; personality in the workplace.
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Dr Daniel Beunza: Financial exchanges; socially responsible investment; network theory; identity in organisations.
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Dr Jonathan Booth: Workplace violence and aggression (cognitive and emotional appraisal and coping processes; team, leadership, and organisational climate influences); employer-supported volunteering, volunteer labour, and corporate social responsibility (relationships among employers, employees, non-profits, and the community); union membership, participation and dispute resolution.
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Dr Marta Coelho: Behavioural economics; decision making; experimental economics; negotiation; strategy and entrepreneurship; public policy; industrial economics; applied microeconomics.
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Professor Jacqueline Coyle-Shapiro: Employment relationship: social exchange theory, psychological contracts and perceived organisational support; organisational justice, organisational change; organisational citizenship behaviour; retaliatory behaviour in organisations.
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Dr Virginia Doellgast: Comparative employment relations; comparative human resource management; work organisation and teams; special interest in service work restructuring in the US and Germany.
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Dr Eddy Donnelly: Comparative employment relations; employment relations; employment regulation; collective bargaining systems; trade unions. A Seear Fellow who coordinates the Business Links Scheme.
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Stephen Dunn: The role of the state; the impact of employment law; metaphor and employment relations; employment relations systems in transforming economies; comparative models of employment relations; industrial relations in the 1950s; and worker representation.
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Sue Fernie: Call centres; human resource management in China; performance-related pay; private security industry.
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Dr David Henderson: Leadership; cross-cultural management; group and team process; organisational communication; interpersonal relationships.
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Dr Caneel Joyce: Creativity; problem solving, and innovation; idea selection; new product development teams; decision making; cognitive style; cognitive aspects of culture; group norm formation; group conflict; interpersonal perception; leadership.
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Dr Hyun-Jung Lee: Workplace diversity; cross-cultural management; acculturation and identification process; happiness and well-being.
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Dr Connson Locke: Leadership; followership; communication; power; voice and silence; upward influence; gender stereotypes; participative decision making.
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Dr Daniela Lup: Inter-personal and inter-organisational networks; uncertainty and signals in markets; social status; financial markets.
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Professor David Marsden: Comparative employment systems; pay inequality and economic performance; incentives, performance related pay, industrial relations and training in Western Europe; integration of European labour markets.
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Dr Sandy Pepper: Impact of incentives and reward on the motivation of senior executives; strategic planning, structures, governance and operations of networked organisations; the relationship between management theory and practice.
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Dr Fei Qin: Transnational labour markets; international migration and entrepreneurship; careers and mobility; social networks and job search; employment relations in global supply chains.
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Dr Emma Soane: Leadership; personality; employee engagement; decision making; risk; personal development.
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Linda Walker: Flexible working, especially part-time working; volunteering for charities and employability skills in education; a Seear Fellow who coordinates the professional skills workshops.
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Professor Paul Willman: Employment regimes; regulation of employment; collective action; risk seeking behaviour.
Opportunities for research
We welcome applications for the PhD Management: Employment Relations and Organisational Behaviour track from those with a strong academic background.
Students register initially for the MPhil. In your first year you attend a general doctoral seminar and classes in methodology and in relevant employment relations and organisational behaviour topics (the precise programme is defined in light of your previous training) and work on a detailed research proposal. When this has been successfully defended in a major review (normally within 18 months of entry), your registration will be upgraded to PhD.
As part of your application you should submit a research proposal outline on a topic which a member of staff is able to supervise. You may wish to discuss your plans informally first, either with the relevant member of staff, or with the doctoral programme director.
Doctoral researchers are encouraged to participate in the intellectual life of the group. In many cases they are able to collaborate with staff on joint research. After upgrading there are opportunities to undertake part-time teaching on our undergraduate courses. In addition to general sources of finance for research students in the School, we have modest funds available within the group to support conference travel.
Students registered for a PhD at an overseas university may register for a period as a visiting research student, if the area of their research matches the interests of a member of staff who is willing to act as supervisor. Before formally applying you should discuss your plans informally with a potential supervisor.
Taught programmes