School of Organisations, Systems and People

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The School of Organisations, Systems and People collates research, teaching and expertise to combat the global increase of risk, complex decision making, supply chain challenges and the need for human resource capacity to meet these challenges.

We explore human resource management and development, organisational behaviour, leadership, operations management, systems management and quality management.

Through high quality teaching, impactful research and delivery of innovation projects in the UK and internationally, the School offers its expert knowledge to students, employers, and the community. Our practical approach to teaching and learning means our students develop core employability skills to complement their subject knowledge. They graduate as civic minded individuals, ready to have a positive impact on their chosen sector.

We support local businesses through our Help to Grow Management programme, which helps SMEs and entrepreneurs to develop the skills they need to grow their business. Our students support this programme during their studies, which in turn helps them to improve their entrepreneurial skills and meet other professionals as they directly support local businesses.

The School is home to the Centre for Operational Research and Logistics, and plays an active role in the Centre for Blue Governance, the Centre for Innovative and Sustainable Finance and the Centre for Applied Geoscience. Within the School there are research groups focused on multiple criteria and decision making, responsible management and digital business management. To support the work of these research groups, we are actively seeking PhD applications in the areas of operational research, responsible management, multiple criteria decision making, green supply chain management and logistics and digital transformation in business.

Teaching

We offer a range of undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. At postgraduate level, we offer a variety of delivery and study options to meet the range of needs of our students, including on-campus, distance learning, condensed timetable and block teaching opportunities.

Our teaching staff have extensive industry experience and are actively researching in a range of fields. Our strong connections with industry and accrediting bodies gives students access to industry professionals in guest lectures and networking events, where students can gain up to date industry perspectives and insight for their discipline.

Accreditation

Our courses are accredited by industry professional bodies including:

Our teaching areas

Visit our subject area page to find out more about the undergraduate and postgraduate degrees we offer.

Business, management and marketing courses

Study disciplines like marketing, project management or international business and graduate ready to make an impact on organisations across the world.

Whether you want to build your business career or develop your own company, we have courses to help you reach your goals.

Explore courses

Research

Our innovative and entrepreneurial research provides a significant impact. We explore the areas of human resource management and development, organisational behaviour, operations management, systems management and quality management.

Our research and innovation work has been funded by organisations in the UK and internationally.

We've worked with many companies on successful Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPS), collaborating with business and industry partners to apply our expertise to address the real issues they face.

The School has hosted a number of international conferences including the International Conference on Multiple Criteria Decision Making and the International Conference on Information and Knowledge Systems.

REF 2021

Researchers in the School of Organisations, Systems and People contributed to our REF 2021 Business and Management Unit of Assessment (UoA17), making up roughly one third of the number of researchers contributing to this unit.

Business and management studies results in REF 2021

65.8% of our research outputs were judged to be internationally excellent or world-leading.
100% of our impact was rated as having very considerable or outstanding reach and significance.
100% of our research environment was judged as having the vitality and sustainability to produce internationally excellent or world-leading research.
We are ranked second among modern universities by research power for Business and Management, according to .

This unit of assessment comprises our accounting, economics, finance, organisational studies and HRM, business and management, marketing, and operational research and logistics research.

Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021

More about our business and management research

Impact case study: Standards and Standardization in HR - National and International Standards Development for the field of Human Resources

Professor Valerie Anderson, along with colleagues within the School, developed a national standards framework with the field of Human Resource Management (HRM). These standards are important because they are a critical feature of contemporary business operations yet, historically, there has been a lack of standards governing professional practice as an emerging field of HRM.

Professor Anderson's research has been instrumental in the development of new professional HR standards at both the National (British Standards Institute [BSI] national standards for HRM, the Greater London Authority [GLA] Good Work Standard) and international (International Organization for Standardization [ISO] HR standards development) level.

Professor Valerie Anderson

Our areas of expertise

Explore the work we're doing across our areas of expertise in operational research and logistics, and organisation studies and human resource management.

Business ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

We're conducting research into corporate responsibility, business ethics, and how we can promote a more responsible business culture. Explore our business ethics and corporate social responsibility CSR research.

Decision and data analytics

Research in the design of decision support systems, and use of data analysis, to help people make better decisions through a better understanding of their data.

Information analyst looking at data on a monitor

Employment relations

We're exploring how governments, employers and other agencies influence employment relations. Explore our employment relations research.

Man working with a colleague at a laptop

Exact and metaheuristic solution methods

Heuristic and metaheuristic techniques are powerful and flexible research methodologies that offer a faster way of solving complex logistical challenges.

Healthcare analytics

From nurse scheduling to infection and disease modelling, our research provides decision-makers in the healthcare sector with optimal strategies for treatment.

Nurse pointing at scan on computer screen

Human resource (HR) management and leadership

We're researching the nature of leadership and management, and the cultures and practices which influence how people are led and work. Explore our human resource management global hr and leadership research.

Multiple criteria decision aid

Approaching complex problems with conflicting criteria, or uncertain data, our research helps people make more informed decisions.

Meeting between large group in room with pink wall

Optimisation Modelling

As well as improving business efficiency, we're enabling people to make optimal decisions that can lead to practices with enhanced economic, environmental or social benefits.

Female warehouse working checking tablet

Renewable Energy and Sustainability Analytics

Modelling to answer a host of questions, from how to produce renewable energy more cheaply, to how the associated logistics can be sustainable.

Risk and security analytics

We help organisations learn from failures, so they can improve the quality and resilience of their operations, and we develop new analytic approaches to detect security threats.

Man cleaning up oil spill on a beach in Thailand

Transportation and Maritime Systems

Our research focuses on developing innovative optimisation models and decision support systems, to help improve the mobility of people, goods and services.

�� Harbour with historic dockyard ships and ferries

Workplace learning and development

We're developing productive ways of learning-in-action & researching how adults learn best in workplace settings. Explore our workplace learning and development research.

Female and male employee attending an at-work seminar

EU Cobra - Professor Ashraf Labib

Our project aims to improve the quality of diagnosis and treatment of localised cancers by developing a new medical robot prototype for brachytherapy and biopsy guided by CTs or MRIs scanners. Our main goal is to improve the quality of the patient’s life and reduce the chances of fatality. Funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Arctic and North Atlantic Security and Emergency Preparedness Network (ARSCAR)

The ARCSAR network addresses the Arctic and North-Atlantic (ANA) region in preparing to cope with security and safety threats that will result from increased commercial activity in the region. Funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union.