Judging by the weather outside, spring has indeed sprung, and with the Easter weekend now behind us, what better way to keep that chocolate high than by catching up with all the news of SBS. Enjoy.

The inaugural meeting of the Scottish Consortium on Manufacturing Performance took place on the 1st March 2007, at the Radisson Hotel, and Dr Jill MacBryde (Strathclyde Business School), Dave MacKay (Competitive Scotland), Steve Graham (Director of Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS)) and Professor Ian Hunt (Napier University) were among the speakers.
SMAS’ Director, Steve Graham, and Professor Umit Bititci from the Strathclyde Institute for Operations Management Dr Jill MacBryde collaborated to draw relevant academic experts on manufacturing performance from across Scotland to form the consortium.
This new initiative aims to create a multi–institutional, multi–disciplinary research and technology transfer team to support the recently created Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) with technology transfer and practical research and undertake leading edge, multidisciplinary mode–two research into short, medium and long term industry problems and issues.
With the new SMAS team now in place, work is already underway with the Scottish manufacturing community. SMAS’ operating philosophy is to act as an umbrella organisation pooling and Prof Umit Bititci coordinating the resources of all support agencies and delivery partners to make a significant impact on the performance of the Scottish manufacturing industry. In particular, they recognise the value of the experience and expertise present within Scottish Universities.

The Department of Management hosted "Questions of Balance: a Workshop on Participatory Research" on 14–15 March 2007 at Ross Priory. Delegates attended from among others the Universities of Glasgow, Manchester, Bath, Amsterdam, St Andrews and City.

Professor Charles Harvey and Dr George Burt are jointly supervising the second cohort of DBA candidates from SBS’ centre in Switzerland. Following the success of the pilot cohort, led by Professors Colin Eden and Fran Ackermann, Harvey and Burt will supervise a second tranche of DBA candidates as SBS further develops and invests in this higher degree for ‘researching Harvey and Burt professionals’. The degree is designed to support DBA research in practice, focusing on a strategic business concern, taking three years to complete. The design of the degree combines two focused and integrated literature reviews with a pilot study in the first twelve months; a more detailed literature review and field study follows, which is spread over the next eighteen months; and the final stage of the degree is the writing of the thesis. The DBA candidates in both cohorts are interested in strategy and strategic change and, in the main, are using their host organisation as the site for their research. The outcome of the research should be a major benefit for both the organisation and the DBA candidate.

SBS’ Greek partner, International Business Studies (IMS), is delighted to announce the formation of the Strathclyde Alumni Association in Greece.
The University and IMS have been co–operating for over 10 years now to offer Strathclyde Masters on a part–time basis to professionals living and working in Greece.
The aim of the Association is to develop a network for those with shared educational and professional experience and, through various events and gatherings of social, alternate or educational character to provide networking opportunities aimed at strengthening connections and forging professional and social bonds.
Membership is open not only to those who completed their Masters in Greece through IMS, but to all holders of Strathclyde degrees living in Greece.
Even at this early stage, reaction to the Association’s formation has been enthusiastic, not to say overwhelming. The first meeting of the Association took place on Monday 2nd April at IMS’ premises in Athens. For further information, please contact erika.kenyon@imstudies.gr

Alistair Byrne, Lecturer in Finance, has been appointed to the advisory panel for the UK Pensions Regulator’s annual survey of pension scheme governance. This survey covers over 1200 pension schemes and provides the Regulator with key data on which to base its policies. Alistair has also been invited to make presentations at two high profile pensions industry conferences (Innovative Strategies for Pension Fund Alistair Byrne and Andy Marshall Investment in April and the UK Pensions and Investing Summit in September).
Andy Marshall has been appointed to the ESRC Panel for Business and Management for the ESRC Research Training Recognition Exercise.

A key–note presentation made by the Department of HTM’s Kevin O’Gorman at Iran’s premier tourism conference was exceptionally well–received by local tourism professionals, and attracted media attention.
Presenting "The Prentice–O’Gorman Destination Appraisal Matrix for Tourism" during the International Conference on Tourism in Islamic Countries held in Tehran, O’Gorman went over the factors considered by tourists when making a decision as to where to O'Gorman and Prentice travel.
O’Gorman, who has made 16 trips to Iran during the past three years for education and research, and his co–author Dr. Richard Prentice believe that Iran enjoys an enormous potential for attracting tourists. However, due to a lack of advertising and promotion the richness and diversity of Iran remains an enigma. Speaking to CHN, a local TV channel, after the presentation O’Gorman said: "Iran has incredible tourism resources and they should tell the world about them!"

In February, Professor Alan Wilson delivered a three day research methodology programme to Doctoral students in Pablo de Olavide University of Seville in Spain.
In addition, he delivered a half–day seminar entitled "Marketing Libraries – Is it Good for Your Health" to members of the Scottish Health Information Network.

Fran Ackermann (Management Science) and Colin Eden, along with David Andersen and George Richardson (from the Rockefeller Institute, University at Albany) recently ran a two day strategy workshop for the Transportation Security Agency in Washington DC. The aim of the workshop was the development of a strategy for airline and airport security. At the workshop they employed innovative Eden and Ackermann processes for combining system dynamics (modelling for policy development) with strategy making (using interactive group decision support software) to help develop a strategy model that will support TSA managers in their future planning.
The new approaches follow from a programme of research aimed at combining at both the theoretical and practical level the work of David and George on using simulation modeling for policy analysis, with that of John Bryson and Charles Finn on leadership in stratgy implementation, and Colin and Fran on strategy making. The guiding framework has been published through two recent papers: Andersen, D.F., Bryson, J.M., Richardson, G.P., Ackermann, F., Eden, C. and Finn, C.B. 2006. Integrating Modes of Systems Thinking into Strategic Planning Education and Practice: The Thinking Person’s Institute Approach. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 12: 265–293 and Eden, C., Ackermann, F., Bryson, J., Richardson, G., Andersen, D., and Finn, C. (under review). Integrating Modes of Policy Analysis and Strategic Management Practice: Requisite Elements and Dilemmas. International Public Management Journal.

Dr Jill MacBryde, Department of Management Science, is part of a team to be awarded a £300,000 research grant from the AHRC and EPSRC under the ‘Design for the 21st Century’ initiative. The collaborative research project aims to achieve a better understanding of the status of design at a national level: the role that design plays in the national economy, and the factors which contribute to ensuring better uptake of design in organisations. This will enable the development of a national design performance measurement system (and associated measures) through a "Design Scoreboard" which will support a proactive, integrated approach to design performance measurement and policy development. It will hopefully lead to a better understanding of the relative position of a region or nation in its design capabilities, design utilisation and design orientation.
The project will be run in partnership with the Universities of Cambridge, Nottingham, Cranfield, Dundee and Loughborough. Dr Alex Duffy from the Department of Design, Manufacture & Engineering Management at Strathclyde is the other Strathclyde collaborator.

Dr Jill MacBryde, Department of Management Science, has been awarded a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) grant to work with Campbell & Kennedy, based in Clydebank. The company is a leading independent provider of installation services for domestic and commercial satellite and digital TV solutions. The KTP programme will lead the Company through a business improvement programme to achieve service excellence, improve operating efficiencies and support new market opportunities.

Dr Jill MacBryde, Dr Steve Paton and Dr Kepa Mendibil from the Strathclyde Institute for Operations Management are organising a workshop aimed at addressing the question "How can UK manufacturers move into higher value markets?" The workshop will take place at Strathclyde Business School on Wed 25th April (10am–4pm). The event is funded by the Manufacturing Futures Network and hopes to welcome industrialists and academics to join the discussion. Key speakers at the event include Steve Graham, Director of the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service, Dr Finbarr Livesey, Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge and Dr Tim Baines, Professor of Strategic Manufacturing at Cranfield University. Anyone wishing to attend should contact jillian.macbryde@strath.ac.uk for more information.

Edith Cowan University, Western Australia and SBS have been working collaboratively since 2004 in developing a curriculum for employability.
The Management Development Programme (MDP) at Strathclyde, which has been running since 1999, equips all SBS students with graduate skills for employability. It has evolved by action, evaluation, reflection and research. The Business Edge programme modelled on MDP has been introduced at Edith Cowan this semester 2007 with the support of Strathclyde University Management Development Programme staff Aileen WatsonAileen Watson, MDP Manager (a.c.watson@strath.ac.uk) and Bill Johnston, Centre for Academic Practice and Learning Enhancement. The aim in the next three years is to share insights and best practice on an international scale, to better prepare our students for 21st century business careers.

All 500 MDP3 students participated in a case study assessment centre exercise in their group sessions, facilitated by SBS academic tutors and Accenture consultants. The students’ experience was a positive one and feedback from Accenture highlighted their strengths.
"We were very impressed with the quality of the presentations and the volume of creative answers put forward throughout the week. At Accenture we receive thousands of applications from graduates every year and the skills covered in the MDP will help you to set yourself above those other applicants." commented an Accenture spokesperson.

EPRC have been awarded a research contract to undertake the ex ante evaluation of European pre–accession funding in Croatia. Under the Instrument for Pre–Accession (IPA), Croatia has been allocated €139 million for the period 2007–09 to support economic, political and social reforms and assist implementation of the requirements for EU membership. On behalf of the Croatian Government Committee for European Funding, EPRC is evaluating four IPA Operational Programmes, drawn up to support transport, environment, regional competitiveness and human resources development, with a view to establishing the strategic justification and coherence of the proposed spending and compliance with EU regulatory requirements.

Dr Sara Davies and Professor John Bachtler appeared before the Scottish Parliament’s Enterprise & Culture Committee on 13th March 2007 to present the report of an EPRC study on the impact of the Structural Funds in Scotland over the period 1994–2005. The study, led by Sara Davies, was commissioned by the Enterprise & Culture Committee to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the Structural Funds programmes and to examine the effects of five major ‘good practice’ projects. On the basis of monitoring and evaluation data, the study found that over 150,000 businesses has been assisted over the 1994–2005 period, and the EU funding had contributed to the creation ⁄ safeguarding of more than 170,000 jobs in the same period. There was also qualitative evidence of Structural Funds programmes encouraging a higher level of spend on economic development, a more strategic and targeted approach, and new project ideas. The perceived ‘downside’ of EU funding was primarily associated with the complexity of the funding and the bureaucracy of application, monitoring and financial control procedures. A copy of the EPRC report is available in the Enterprise & Culture Committee papers.

Mik Wisniewski, Management Science, was one of the keynote presenters at the 3rd National Community Learning and Development Conference held by Communities Scotland and the Scottish Executive at the SECC in March. The focus of the conference was on the progress made by community learning and development partnerships across Scotland and attracted over 250 delegates. Mik’s presentation was on the theme of "Why is measuring performance in the public sector so tough?" based on his work across the Scottish public sector. Mik Wisniewski

Dr Ian Cunningham, Department of Human Resource Management, has just completed a research project for UNISON entitled "False Economy? The Costs of Contracting and Workforce Insecurity in the Voluntary Sector". The research explored the implications of the well publicised insecure funding regime of the voluntary sector on employment insecurity and quality of care to the vulnerable.
Dr Cunningham and his co–author Professor Philip James of Oxford Brookes University have been involved in two recent events which have been designed to publicise the report. The first was an internal launch Ian Cunningham at UNISON’s headquarters in Mabledon Place, London to UNISON’s National Community and Voluntary Sector Forum 9th March 2007. The report’s launch was enthusiastically welcomed and is to be utilized in helping UNISON organize and recruit in the sector. The second was for UNISON’s National and Community and Voluntary Sector Seminar, 16–17th March 2007. Here, Anne Blackmore, Head of Policy for the National Council for Voluntary Organizations was invited to respond to the report. In doing so, the findings of the research were again welcomed. Further, external launches are to be scheduled as UNISON is seeking to use the report to lobby government at UK level to pay greater attention to workforce and quality of care issues in the sector.

In March the TUC had a public launch in London of its new research paper series. One of the papers launched was Organising to Learn ⁄ Learning to Organise by Chris Warhurst, Patricia Findlay and Paul Thompson of the Department of Human Resource Management. The paper is based on research examining union–led workplace learning commissioned by the TUC and undertaken by the Scottish Centre for Employment Research.

Professor Chris Warhurst and Dr Dennis Nickson of the Scottish Centre for Employment Research in the Department of Human Resource Management have been awarded £4,600 by the Nuffield Foundation to enable UK participation in international comparative research focusing on the soft skills demands of retail employers.
This research builds on earlier work conducted Warhurst and Nickson by Professor Warhurst and Dr Nickson on aesthetic labour, specifically their 2002 survey of employer soft skill demands in the retail and hospitality industries of Glasgow.
This research attracted wide international academic attention (e.g. Ireland, Canada, US, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the Caribbean) and a number of international conferences have included streams on aesthetic labour (e.g. Work, Employment and Society; Gender, Work and Organisation; Art of Management). Two teams of academics from the Universities of Karlstad in Sweden and Sydney in Australia also developed the survey to examine aesthetic labour into different cultural and institutional contexts. Professor Warhurst and Dr Nickson acted as advisors to these projects.
The funding from Nuffield enables Professor Warhurst and Dr Nickson to run the redesigned survey so that a comparative analysis with the UK can be made. The new, redesigned survey focuses on retailers in Manchester. In addition to comparative analysis, the Nuffield funding enables the UK team to contribute to initiatives seeking to enhance employability amongst the unemployed and improve regional economic development in NW England.

April 2–4th sees the 25th International Labour Process Conference. The venue is Amsterdam, but the Department of Human Resource Management has hosted the conference twice this decade in Glasgow. The Labour Process Conference has been one of the most long running and successful events for those researching work and employment. At Amsterdam, Professor Paul Thompson will be one of the panel of plenary speakers celebrating its 25th anniversary. For 2008, Professor Sharon Bolton of the Department of Management will be one of the co–organisers of the event to be held in Dublin.

In February 2007 the Department of Human Resource Management hosted a very successful Employment Law Update Seminar on Unfair Dismissal and Redundancy. This is one of a series of seminars organised by the Education Group of the West of Scotland Branch of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) for all students from CIPD accredited centres throughout the West of Scotland, including Strathclyders. As one of only ten CIPD–accredited Centres of Research Excellence the Department of Human Resource Management aims to play a full part in the activities of the West of Scotland Branch, encouraging staff and students to network and benefit with a wide range of practitioners.
The seminar was presented by Alison Bone, CIPD Examiner for Employment Law, and attended by over 70 students. The feedback from the students, many of whom are part–time and working in personnel ⁄ HR, suggested that they found the seminar useful for both their workplace and for their studies.

During February, the CIPD Branch Professional Adviser, Joanne Inglis, and Anne Preston from the Department of Human Resource Management organised a "Life after Study" event. This event was aimed at Honours students and full–time Master students in the Department, although a number of part–time students also attended. Past students passed on hints and tips on how they found jobs and the different entry points into an HR career were discussed. Advice was also given on the sources of help available, such as the Careers Office, HR Recruitment Agencies as well as the CIPD and the local branch network.

Helyn Gould ran an invited workshop on Simulated Professional Learning at the February meeting of the JISC e–learning Pedagogy Experts Group at SAID Business School, Oxford.

The EPSRC Maths Programme launched its brochure "Understanding Mathematics" on 28th February at the Houses of Parliament. Management Science’s Professor Tim Bedford was one of those featured in the brochure for his work on the mathematical modeling aspects of risk assessment, which is being supported by EPSRC.
The brochure was launched at a reception on the Parliament Terrace, with speeches given Dr Randal Richards (Acting Chief Executive of EPSRC), Sir David Brown (Motorola) and Lord William Waldegrave (UBS). The message of the event was that mathematical and statistical techniques are used in a wide range of application domains including health, environment, transport, security, industry, communications and finance. Such techniques play a crucial role in strengthening these important areas, for the Tim Bedfordbenefit of the UK. MPs, members of the House of Lords, senior Civil Servants and members of the business community were in attendance.

During March, Professor Sharon Bolton joined the Department of Management. Professor Bolton has acquired an international reputation that is reflected not only in a string of academic publications, but in a number of articles in national and international journals and newspapers. Her book "Emotion Management in the Workplace" provides insights into an aspect of organisational life whose importance is often underplayed. The emphasis upon engaging with managers to develop practice continues in her latest project "Dignity in and at Work" which seeks to explore how individuals derive value from their work and are valued by others. This new appointment is the first in a series of appointments, both within the Department of Management and across the faculty, that reinforce the research profile of Strathclyde and confirm it as a school that attracts the best academics.

Phyl Johnson, Department of Management, will be contributing a chapter to a new book coming out later this year, "Handbook of Strategy in Practice". The proposed publication has just been accepted by Cambridge University Press, and explains strategy as practice as a new school of thought, which reflects the turn towards practice–based theorizing in contemporary social theory.

A supper debate will be held in Edinburgh on 6th May, with a target audience of Scottish non–executive Directors. Phyl Johnson, Department of Management, and colleague, Annie Pye, will lead the session entitled "Re–framing the study of board of directors – putting people back in the picture". The event is being sponsored by FWB, a non–executive headhunter organisation.

The Department of Management has just been told that three of its staff members, Paul Hibbert, Ying Zhang and Phyl Johnson have had papers and a symposium accepted for the Academy of Management’s annual conference in August. Paul Hibbert’s paper was accepted into the top 10% proceedings, and Phyl Johnson will chair a symposium entitled "Strategist’s identity and the impact on the practice of strategy."

Professor Colin Eden has been elected to a Fellowship of the British Academy of Management (BAM). To be awarded a Fellowship, nominees have had to have made (among other criteria), ‘a substantial and original contribution over at least 10 years to the intellectual pursuit of the field of management by developing new insights, new methods or substantial imperical achievements that have been internationally recognised.’ Nominations have to be sponsored and supported by 4 referees. Eden joins a small, elite group – currently, there are only around 40 academics in the world who hold BAM Fellowships.

Celtic Music Radio (CMR), a pilot initiative set up in the Hunter Centre, initially for the duration of the Celtic Connections Music Festival, has now lodged a submission with OFCOM for a full broadcast licence, the outcome of which will be announced during May. If successful, it is hoped the station could be used as part of teaching programmes at both the Hunter Centre and the Department of Creative and Aesthetic Studies, which have a common interest in entrepreneurship in the creative industries.
In the meantime, plans are already afoot to further develop the internet business side of CMR, since around 17,000 visitors tuned into the online broadcast during the Festival.