Original Thinking Podcast

How do we connect with others around us and build strong working relationships? How do we boost morale and motivation or stimulate people to fight for social justice?

In this podcast, Karen Niven, Professor of Organisational Psychology at Alliance MBS, will argue that the key to achieving these goals is shaping other people’s feelings. She will provide an overview of her research programme on this topic of ‘interpersonal emotion regulation’, considering how and why we strategically influence the feelings of those around us and the effects of doing so on people’s working lives.

Hosted by Jim Pendrill, AMBS’ Research Communications Lead.

How would you feel about losing your job to a machine?

How about a tsunami alert system that fails?

Would you react differently to acts of discrimination performed by a machine or a human? 

Honorary Professor at Alliance MBS César A. Hidalgo discusses the findings from his latest book How Humans Judge Machines in a discussion facilitated by Dr Kieron Flanagan, Senior Lecturer in Science and Technology Policy at Alliance MBS.

How Humans Judge Machines compares people’s reactions to actions performed by humans and machines. Using data collected in dozens of experiments, Professor Hidalgo reveals the biases that permeate human-machine interactions.

On this joint podcast from MICRA and Alliance Manchester Business School a panel of experts will discuss the impact of COVID-19 on older workers.

Speakers:

Dr Sheena Johnson, Professor of Work Psychology and Wellbeing.

Sheena will give some brief background to how older workers are potentially disproportionately affected given their increased risk to Covid19, and consider what support employers can put in place to mitigate this. She will then outline what academic research can tell us about this and also outline what research is in progress / being planned.

Dr Emily Andrews, Senior Evidence Manager at Centre for Ageing Better:

Emily will discuss how the emerging picture of the impact of this recession on workers is u-shaped across the life course: the youngest workers being hit hardest, but the oldest (working-age) workers also seeing a substantial hit to their earnings and hours. Emily Andrews from the Centre for Ageing Better will present findings from new research produced in partnership with the Learning and Work Institute – on the impact of this recession on workers in their 50s and 60s, what we can learn from previous responses to unemployment among this age-group, and what needs to be done next to ensure that progress on 50+ employment does not go into reverse.

Dr Mat Ainsworth, Assistant Director – Employment (Policy, Strategy & Delivery) Greater Manchester Combined Authority:

Mat will talk about the work of the GM Ageing Hub on tackling labour market inequalities faced by older people; the risks and potential opportunities presented by Covid-19 and the launch of an innovative local pilot in partnership with Ageing Better and DWP.

Hear from Capita, BT and experts from Alliance Manchester Business School as they discuss how 5G has the power to change the way we communicate, support economic growth and kick-start the next industrial revolution.

Industries across the UK are looking at 5G as the backbone of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Industrial-grade wireless offers an opportunity to transform industry and healthcare; support millions of people with ultrafast internet speeds, and provide capacity for communications service providers to create and capture new market spaces by driving innovation, efficiency, and growth across various industries.

An online conversation facilitated by Professor Naomi Chambers, Professor of Health Management, Alliance MBS.

Speakers

• Sarah Walker, Director, Corporate & Public Sector (North & Midlands), BT

• Del Alibocus, Head of Internet of Things, Capita Consulting

• Panos Constantinides, Professor of Digital Innovation, Alliance MBS

With thanks to our sponsors DWF and Capita Consulting.

During this Original Thinking Podcast a panel of industry experts will discuss both the positive and negative aspects of home and remote working that COVID-19 has highlighted.

The COVID-19 crisis has thrown light on both the positive and negative aspects of home and remote working. On the one hand workers have shown great resilience and resourcefulness in adapting to the challenges, demonstrating their commitment in the industries and sectors where it has been possible to do so. Indeed, as technology increasingly enables remote working, some employers are now considering a longer or even permanent shift to homeworking.

But is homeworking, and new forms of remote employment, the great panacea that some now think it is? And, if so, how can it be sustainable? Ongoing research at the Work & Equalities Institute at Alliance Manchester Business School suggests that remote working can be stressful, lead to greater work precarity and casualisation, and be fraught with ethical and equity challenges for HR professionals.

At this webinar Professor Tony Dundon from Kemmy Business School and Alliance Manchester Business School will be joined by Jonny Gifford, Senior Advisor for Organisational Behaviour at the CIPD, and Natasha Owusu, Policy & Campaigns Support Officer for Equalities at the TUC, to debate this most pressing issue of our time.

Hosted by Jim Pendrill, AMBS’ Research Communications Lead.

In this Original Thinking Podcast Dr Judit Csiszar, Senior Lecturer (Healthcare Management), Alliance MBS, will be joined by Masters students to discuss how pandemic simulation workshops can help prepare managers.

Protecting staff and controlling the spread of COVID-19 will now be essential for any organisation. Dr Judit Csiszar has been running pandemic simulation workshops since before the crisis on our MSc in International Healthcare Leadership (IHL) programme in Singapore and Dubai. The workshop, which is linked with the International Health Policy module of the Masters programme, has proven to be an effective way of teaching and learning about the complexity of decision-making in the midst of a rapidly evolving pandemic.

During this podcast Judit will be joined by students in Singapore and Dubai who have taken part in previous workshops to discuss the benefits that such simulation-based training offers to MBA and management and leadership education students.

Hosted by Jim Pendrill, AMBS’ Research Communications Lead.

In this Original Thinking podcast Mark Healey, Professor of Strategic Management, Alliance MBS, will discuss how to build a long term strategy beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

Hosted by Jim Pendrill, AMBS’ Research Communications Lead.

It’s a worrying time for SMEs running short of money during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only will they be hit hard by a significant drop in customer revenue, traditional funders are also holding back, fearing an uncertain future. This lack of cash means reinvesting profits for organic growth is impossible, and simply paying the bills has become a challenge.

In this Original Thinking Podcast hear from our panellists as they explore the impact of COVID-19 on routes to funding for SMEs and discuss what lies ahead post-lockdown.

Panellists:

• Dr Robert A. Phillips, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, AMBS
• Tony Walker ,Deputy Director Masood Enteprise Centre, AMBS
• Dr Laura Etchells, Enterprise Business Development Manager, Masood Enterprise Centre, AMBS

Hosted by Jim Pendrill, AMBS’ Research Communications Lead.

In January Alliance MBS hosted a Vital Topics event with keynote speaker Sacha Sadan (Director of Investor Stewardship at LGIM) arguing that ESG was now in the mainstream.

3 weeks later the Coronavirus crisis happened.

So, in a world dealing with a major pandemic and heading towards a global recession, is ESG still relevant?

Our experts argue that COVID-19 has shown exactly why a focus on environmental, social and governance factors is vital for all stakeholders (shareholders, employees and customers) but that history also shows us why we should employ professional scepticism when business leaders talk about ‘business purpose’ and specific ESG elements.

Our podcast will look at what we can learn from history, where we need to employ ‘caveat emptor’ (buyer beware), what needs to change and where the opportunities lie for the future.

Public services in the UK have faced unprecedented challenges over the past decade which the COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying. Already under pressure budgets are being stretched further and the introduction of new technologies and services models is being accelerated to meet the demands of the new normal.

This presents an opportunity for a fresh look at productivity in public services – how we measure and value it, how it links to productivity in the private sector and broader concepts of well-being, and what innovative practices and policy interventions we can adopt in public services to support increased national prosperity.

In this podcast we discuss these issues and how we need to adapt as a country to drive productivity and improve well-being during the recovery.

Panelists:

- Professor Diane Coyle, co-director Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge

- Dr Elvira Uyarra, Reader in Innovation Policy and Strategy at Alliance Manchester Business School

- Professor Andy Westwood, Vice Dean for Social Responsibility in the Faculty of Humanities and Professor of Government Practice, University of Manchester

- Donna Hall, Chair of the New Local Government Network and Honorary Professor of Politics