www.swansea.ac.uk Postgraduate Prospectus 2012

BUSINESS MANAGEMENTManagement is about making decisions and getting themost from people at all levels in all types of organisations.It is interdisciplinary: social, environmental,psychological, economic, and technical factors playimportant roles. The School of Business and Economicswelcomes proposals for postgraduate research projectsthat complement staff research interests.Research degrees in Business Management will:• provide you with new and specialised research skills• prepare you for a career in academic research and teaching• equip you with skills relevant for a rewarding managementcareer in sectors such as retail, manufacturing, finance,accounting, and the public sector.Research StrengthsStaff research interests cover the core disciplines ofBusiness Management:• E-business• Entrepreneurship• Finance• Human Resources• Information Systems• Marketing• Organisations and Work• Risk Management• Technology and Innovation Management.The School has extensive PC and multi-user computer facilities,with networked PCs linked to a variety of server platforms. Allnetworked PCs have access to a broad selection of resourcessuch as The Financial Times, The Economist and ABI/INFORM,and students have terminal access to the Datastream financialinformation system. Postgraduate students have access tocomputer labs and study areas at any time of the day.The School has a number of established research groupings,which provide focus and support its ongoing researchprogrammes and culture. Further details on research groups canbe found at: www.swansea.ac.uk/sbe/research/resgroup.phpHuman Resources, Organisations and EntrepreneurshipThe research activity of this group includes cross-cultural researchon change management practices in multinational companies;industrial relations and models of partnership management;organisational design and behaviour; and research on the driversof entrepreneurship activity. The group also carries outinterdisciplinary work in environmental management.Finance and Risk ManagementResearch in the finance area has a strong empirical basis. Areasof current interest include the modelling of futures and optionsdata, asset pricing models, insurance industry structure, the creditrating of insurers, and financial markets in developing economies.This research has been supported by national organisations suchas the Association of British Insurers, and internationalorganisations such as the Handelsbanken-Wallander Foundationand the Swedish Central Bank.Information Systems and e-businessThe marketing group undertakes theoreticaland applied research in marketingresearch methodology (particularly in crossculturalresearch, personal selling and salesmanagement), consumer behaviour, buyersellerrelationships, Internet marketing andmarketing communications. Research isalso conducted within the School ontourism demand modelling. In addition tothese research groupings, faculty membersof the School are actively engaged inresearch in the areas of Entrepreneurship,Environment management, Tourism,Operations research and Statistics.MarketingThe marketing group undertakes theoreticaland applied research in marketing researchmethodology (particularly in cross-culturalresearch, personal selling and salesmanagement), consumer behaviour, buyersellerrelationships, Internet marketing andmarketing communications. Research is alsoconducted within the School on tourismdemand modelling. In addition to theseresearch groupings, faculty members of theSchool are actively engaged in research inthe areas of Entrepreneurship, Environmentmanagement, Tourism, Operations researchand Statistics.People, Organisations and WorkThe People, Organisations and Work group isan internationally acclaimed team ofresearchers collectively interested in the humandynamics and relationships at play in organisedwork contexts. Multidisciplinary in nature, thegroup draws inspiration from across the socialsciences and humanities (sociology, politics,psychology, gender studies and philosophy) inorder to contribute to the disciplinarymanagement areas of organisation studies,critical management studies, human resourcemanagement, international business,organisational psychology and industrialrelations. The group engages in qualitative,quantitative and post-structuralist researchtraditions, with particular areas of interest beingEthics and Politics in Organisations, Genderand Diversity at Work, Human Resources andInternational Management, Individuals and theCollective, and The Management andOrganisation of Health.Technology and Innovation ManagementThe work of the Technology and InnovationManagement Group is focused upon the keyrole played in modern society by ICT as a toolfor economic, business, and societaldevelopment. It also incorporates the Centre fore-Business Research (CeBR) which acts as afocal point for inter-group collaboration ontechnology-related business research such as e-marketing and e-banking. Research of nationaland international significance is conducted inthe areas of electronic government andelectronic democracy, technology adoptionand diffusion, information systems evaluation,electronic commerce/electronic business in theSME sector, and simulation for supply chainmanagement and resource planning/allocation within the healthcare context.As well as providing focus and direction forresearch, the research groups hold regularcolloquia and workshops designed topromote interdisciplinary research projects,and to provide impetus for research grantapplications and consultancy activity.The School has current externally-fundedresearch projects on the information society(National Assembly for Wales), on businesssuccession planning (European Social Fund), onenvironmental management and on the labourmarket in Wales (European Social Fund).26RESEARCH DEGREES – BUSINESS MANAGEMENTResearch opportunitiesMPhil, PhDRAE2008 40% of research rated worldleading(4*) or internationally excellent (3*)ProfessorsE BischoffY DebrahD KnightsA PalmerA PullenC RhodesA SimintirasD ThomasM WilliamsAcademic and research staff 50Entry requirementsNormally a first or upper second-class Honours degree in a relevant subject.Scholarships and BursariesThe School and the University awards a limited number of researchstudentships (MPhil/PhD). For details, please visitwww.swansea.ac.uk/scholarships/PostgraduateEnglish Language requirement:IELTS 6.5 (minimum of 6.0 in each component) or Swansea Universityrecognised equivalent.“My research focused on parameter estimation offinite mixture distributions and hidden Markovprocesses. I had two supervisors and I met with themonce a week to discuss the progress of my work. I amreally grateful that I had the opportunity to learn fromsuch brilliant minds.”Jen Ning Tan, PhD Business StudiesFurther informationWebsite: www.swansea.ac.uk/businessContact the Marketing Officer: Dr A WatkinsEmail: a.watkins@swansea.ac.ukTel: +44 (0)1792 295601Visit the University: see page 182 for detailsApplications can be made online at:www.swansea.ac.uk/applyonline– see pages 184 – 185 for further informationFor details of the Master’s degrees available inBusiness Management, please see page 82.27RESEARCH DEGREES – BUSINESS MANAGEMENTPostgraduates 453