Welcome to our seminar series which focuses on three key areas: people management, innovation and performance. We bring together the combined expertise of scholars from Aston, Warwick and Lancaster universities - but, more than that, we reach out to the international community to ensure that our thinking is genuinely cutting edge. Precise dates and themes for the series are
provided over the next pages. Book your place by emailing the Centre Administrators on
esrcseminarseries@aston.ac.uk.
Please note that booking is essential since places are strictly limited.
Some Background
The question of how best to achieve sustained organizational performance is of national and international economic significance. Indeed, it has been predicted that the UK's export market is likely to fall during the next two decades as developing nations increasingly catch up and potentially overtake the UK (The Times, 12th October 2011). Organizations that embrace innovation rather than remaining entrenched in long-standing ways of working are likely to diminish or even reverse trends in this direction; however, although there is a lot of research focused on the technical aspects of innovation, rather less attention has been devoted to understanding the people management implications that this way of working presents (OECD, 2010; Sparrow, 2010). In this respect, it has been argued that medium-sized businesses (MSBs) are more neglected than either their smaller counterparts or multi-nationals which tend to command the attention of policy bodies. This is despite the potential that this sector presents for revitalizing the UK economy. The suggestion is that renewal in the MSB sector-driven by in part by innovation, in part by recognizing and championing MSB needs- might yield a GDP of between £20 and £50 billion by 2020 (CBI, 2011). Reflecting the significance of this challenge, our seminar series proposes a multi-level framework to explore the role of people management in shaping organizational innovation.
The pages relating to the ESRC seminar series will be kept up to date with details and resources from the seminars as they occur. We will also be using a variety of social networking tools in order to facilitate participation and idea generation.
Please find below links to the pages representing each seminar. On the seminar pages you will find more information regarding the theme of the seminar, the key note speakers, the presenters and other resources to be uploaded following the seminar.
SEMINAR 1:
SEMINAR 2:
SEMINAR 3:
SEMINAR 4:
SEMINAR 5:
Please click on the link below for further details:
SEMINAR SERIES 1
SEMINAR SERIES 2
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