Seminar

The principal aim of the Centre for Management Research (CMR) is to encourage and support a culture of research within the Management subject area of the University, thus:

· Raising the profile of Management research activity within and outside the University

The CMR’s principal objective in 2012 – 2014 is to ensure that there is a diverse range of research active staff within the subject area enabling the number of PhD students to be maintained and supervision to be available for students enrolling on the new DBA programme.

1. Encourage staff to attend and present at conferences and seminars, so gaining experience of writing for publication and presenting, and gaining additional opportunities for external engagement;

2. Implement an internal seminar programme for PGR students and staff, enabling them to gain experience of writing for publication and presenting;

3. Encourage staff and students to engage with external networks such as CREST and MURG, so gaining experience of writing for publication [e.g. Critical Commentary] and presenting [e.g. CREST symposia], and gaining additional opportunities for external engagement and collaborative project work;

4. Ensure that more experienced staff in the department offer mentoring to less experienced colleagues;

5. Encourage staff to engage activity with professional bodies and learned societies;

6. Ensure that opportunities to gain external funding for research are identified and acted on, with the aim of gaining income which can release staff resources for research activity.

The anticipated REF Unit of Assessment for this research centre is ONE, namely in the field of Business and Management Studies - C19 (Refer to REF Guideline 2014).

Research tools such as the SPSS software package, electronic journals and resources are available centrally from the university’s library by using a SCONUL card and Athens (the university’s online access system).

Specialized access to CMR resources such as software packages is also available. For example, the Sphinx and Inspiration software packages could be employed to undertake survey, interview and Grounded Theory (GT) research, while the SPSS software packages could be utilised for computing general equilibrium models and inferential statistics.

The Management subject team has for some years been scheduling seminar programmes, guest lectures and conferences to facilitate publication and learning progression for staff members and students to disseminate recent research in the Management area as well as stimulating staff and students to consider further research possibilities.

2012 programme of workshops, seminars and presentations by internal and external speakers:

In addition to the “internal” seminar programme (which contributes to PGR student progression), the CMR also engages with external bodies and events.

In 2009, the centre chaired a track in “Diversity Management”, EURAM, May 11–14, 2009 (Figure 1). Recently, on June 9-10 2011, the centre managed a second annual conference on “Qualitative Inquiry and GT Methodology” with Professor Barney Glaser collaborating with the Academy of Marketing (Figure 2).

The centre will be holding a Grounded Theory Trouble Shooting Seminar on 6-8 February 2012, Catrin Finch Centre (Keynote speakers: Professors Barney Glaser & Andy Lowe).

Much of the CMR’s external engagement is with professional bodies and learned societies, and a target is to achieve 85 per cent of Management subject area staff actively engaged with professional bodies/learned societies such as:

A small number of CMR staff have experience of journal reviewing, editorship and related activity. As less experienced staff gain more experience of publishing in journals, they will be encouraged and supported to become journal reviewers.

External funding for the Management subject area’s research activity has in recent years been focussed on Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and Knowledge Exploitation Fund project work:

Management staff also prepared a research proposal and secured Pro-Act Funding for KK Finefoods Ltd in 2010/11 (WAG “Pro-Act” funding for research underpinning training for industrial collaboration between Glyndwr University and KK Finefoods Ltd; (Value: £82,645).

The CMR objective in 2012-14 is to identify (and act on) a broader range of potential external funding sources. In the first instance, professional bodies are to be the focus for this work, together with consideration of opportunities arising through networks such as CREST and MURG.

Contributions to Welsh Government sector and R&D priorities, and learning and teaching in the University

Effective management practices are essential to companies’ performance and success across all sectors of the economy, and the CMR’s work will support the further development of a knowledge-driven economy and wealth creation in Wales. Staff and PhD students in the centre are engaged in theorizing and researching a wide range of issues, with a focus on action research and with particular attention to how strategic policies and practices shape organisational performance. Staff belong to one of four research groups within the Centre:

Group	Group Leader
Leadership and Strategy Group	Dr. Leslie Davies
Small Business and HRM Group	Dr. Leslie Davies
Marketing and Pedagogy Group	Dr. Ben Binsardi
Accounting and Finance Group	Dr. Bethan Lloyd-Jones

The formation of those groups is intended to enhance research collaboration and cohesiveness within the team and thereby support Glyndŵr University’s strategy towards the Research Excellent Framework (REF) and RDAP. Accordingly, the centre has a vibrant, innovative research culture built around an integrative theme that combines marketing and pedagogy, management and human resources, and accounting and finance.

1) Action research that underpins the school’s teaching and pedagogic curriculum,

2) Applied research that guides the school’s consultancy and commissioned projects,

3) Evidence-based research that supports the social and economic development of North Wales and educates regional decision makers, leaders and citizens in achieving sustainable developmental policies.

The groups are aligned with the focus for learning and teaching in the Management subject area. Research will support learning and teaching through ensuring that staff remain at the forefront of knowledge within their discipline and that action research is producing effective case studies for students.

Internal and external collaborations will be important to CMR, increasing its capacity to develop staff and respond to opportunities for externally funded research activity. Within the University, CMR will work with other university research centres and subject areas to identify opportunities for supporting staff development and for collaborative research activity. CMR will engage in networks such as the GuildHE Consortium for Research Excellence and Training (CREST) and the Modern Universities Research Group (MURG) to identify opportunities for collaborative bidding for external funding, and to benefit from the CPD support available through these networks.

CMR will also investigate the potential for international research collaborations, building on existing arrangements such as Erasmus student and staff mobility partnerships in Europe, and the University’s growing portfolio of partnerships in other parts of the world (for example, the recently established partnership with TEG International College in Singapore).