Course summary

Our Business and Management PhD programme aims to develop rigorous scholars who can advance both academic knowledge and business practice. The programme is designed to equip you with the skills necessary to succeed in a knowledge-intensive environment and to open greater depth to your professional and personal life. Our research is organised into 15 research centres and groups. Each of these involves externally funded research, international collaboration and the active involvement of doctoral students. A brief outline of some of the disciplines is outlined below. Human resource management, work and employment: Members of the group have a wide range of research interests in the field of human resource management (HRM), organisational studies and management history. Currently, there are particular interests in the field of international political economy as well as in new patterns of work and organisation, public sector management, gender and industrial relations. Staff members engage in individual research and collaborate with others at universities across the UK and abroad. Specific areas of research expertise include: •business elites and corporate governance in France and the UK •entrepreneurial philanthropy •the International Labor Organisation (ILO) and the ‘decent work’ agenda •the harmonisation of international aid •critical perspectives on international business, post socialist transition, migration and trans-nationalism •public service mergers and multi-agency working in the public sector •new working patterns in mental health services •gender and work •the application of Foucauldian and governmentality perspectives to HRM and management – especially to developments in public services in the UK •graduate careers •industrial relations and trade union renewal •human resource management and performance •employee voice and representation •the micro political economy of work, particularly inter-organisational structures and social networks •aging societies, older workers and the world of work •embodied and aesthetic labour. Marketing, operations and systems: Our research group activities broadly cover the areas of innovation, enterprise and entrepreneurship, and policy. We have particular interests in the development and pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities within and outside existing organisations and on the way in which emerging technology trends are interacting with new businesses, management and policy models. Specific areas of research expertise include: •corporate entrepreneurship •E-Business, E-Government and E-Learning •entrepreneurial opportunities and new venture emergence •information systems and social informatics •innovation management and policy •knowledge management and organisational learning •technology and organisation. Operations: Specific areas of research expertise in this group include: •lean operations (both manufacturing and service sectors, particularly health) •manufacturing planning, scheduling including optimisation in stochastic environments •layout optimisation •group technology (applied to design and manufacturing processes) •computer aided production management systems •modelling, analysis and optimisation of manufacturing systems •manufacturing and business strategy. Strategy, organisations and society: This group uses social theory to explore strategic and organisational issues. Grounded in the critical/interpretative tradition, the group has a specific expertise in issues of power, discourse and change. Specific areas of research expertise include: •strategy and politics •business elites •corporate philanthropy •discourse analysis and the global financial crisis •changes in the media •organisational change •mega-projects •strategy and discourse analysis. Facilities: Newcastle University Business School is one of the largest Schools in the University, with over 3,100 students representing over 80 nationalities.