Managing organisational change and behaviour

Our team explores the dynamic field of organisational change and behaviour. The research is underpinned by the latest academic thinking and translates this into actionable outcomes, which are specific to organisations and support research-informed, evidence-based management practice.

We develop partnerships with organisations and offer incisive, pioneering consulting and training services, putting research into practice and meeting client needs with tailored solutions.

This research group also values the active role that early career researchers and PhD students play in developing understanding and contributing to our supportive learning environment.

We have specific interests in empirically understanding:

Management consultancy
Managing organisational change
The art of management and the relationships between art, creativity and business

Stephanos Avakian

Dr Stephanos Avakian, Senior Lecturer

Management consultancy

Research focuses on the study of the management consulting industry, its trends, the interpersonal dynamics of the consultant-client relationship, and the study of the factors which are responsible for the legitimation of consulting advice and the creation of value. Little is known about how clients and consultants work together and how impact is measured; our researchers strive to improve understanding of this key area.

Our current research projects explore the public sector’s consumption of consulting services in the UK. Over the last five years, government spending on consultancy reached £2.8 billion. Following the economic credit crunch, the initial allocation of funding has been reduced, resulting in the creation of an operational gap for how organisational development practices are used within the public sector. The overall aim of the research is to firstly establish, how and why there is a growing demand for consultants. Secondly, we aim to understand how the different stakeholders involved interpret notions of value.

Corporate identity remains a central theme for understanding the evolution and legitimisation of the management consulting industry and we explore a process-oriented perspective to its social construction.

We consider the development of management fads and look at how business ideas gain popularity, how these are commercialised by consultants and then, how they can decline.

In addition, we examine the growing trend of internationalisation of Western consulting firms into different markets and cultures like Saudi Arabia. This is an important research area as little is currently known about how business models are contextualised within different social-cultural settings.

Please enable targeting cookies in order to view this video content on our website, or you can watch the video on YouTube.

Dr Stephanos Avakian, explaining about management consultancy

Managing organisational change

Understanding how best to manage organisational change is vital. New technology, the increased pace of communication and shifts in roles throughout society mean that change is an integral part of the economy.

Our research team explore how and why change occurs and debunk the myths which complicate the study and practice of managing change.

By challenging popular assumptions about failure rates and barriers to change, our research identifies effective change management strategies, including participative approaches where employers and employees collaborate on a shared vision.

Current research interests include the evaluation of change initiatives, historiographies of change, the leadership of change, change agency and the convergence of innovations, projects and change.

Please enable targeting cookies in order to view this video content on our website, or you can watch the video on YouTube.

Dr Mark Hughes, explaining about managing organisational change

Find out more in the new book by Mark Hughes – The Leadership of Organizational Change.

Art of management

We widen our analysis of change management to include the relationships between art and creativity and business. We investigate how each discipline can impact positively on the other.

As part of this focus, we examine the complex values-based aspects of organisational life by scrutinising the beliefs, group norms and psychodynamics affecting decisions and, ultimately, standards of performance.

Using qualitative research, we unearth barriers to optimum performance and address challenging issues such as voluntary absenteeism, low morale and expose the underbelly of company culture.

We make parallels between theatre models and systems and organisational behaviours, analysing how colleagues communicate, present themselves, send unconscious messages and perform.

Dr Jenny Knight presented a paper at the 7th Art of management conference that explored, in poetry form, the role of poetry in making sense of the ‘darker’ side of organisational life. The poem provided an argument, supported by reference to literature, for the use of poetry to make sense of organisational complexity, to give people a voice and to develop a deeper understanding of what really drives organisational behaviours and subsequently affects organisational outcomes.

Please enable targeting cookies in order to view this video content on our website, or you can watch the video on YouTube.

Dr Jenny Knight, explaining about organisational (mis)behaviour

Research projects

Management consultancy and corporate identity

Management consultancy and the public sector

Investigating narratives of organisational change failure

The leadership of organisational change

Research Team

Dr Stephanos Avakian, Senior Lecturer
Dr Mark Hughes, Reader
Dr Jenny Knight, Senior Lecturer
Asher Rospigliosi, Senior Lecturer
Darren Connolly, Senior Lecturer

Output

Selected publications

Avakian, S. and Clark, T. (forthcoming) (Eds.) The International Library of Critical Writings on Business and Management: Management Consultancy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing

Avakian, S. and Roberts, J. (2012) Whistleblowers in organisations: prophets at work? Journal of Business Ethics. ISSN 0167-4544

Avakian, S., Clark, T. and Roberts, J. (2010) Examining the relationship between trust and culture in the consultant-client relationship In: Saunders, Mark, Skinner, Denise, Dietz, Graham, Gillespie, Nicole and Lewicki, Roy, eds. Organizational trust: a cultural perspective. Cambridge Companions to Management. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 129-155. ISBN 0521492912

Avakian, S. and Clark, T. Eds. (2012) Management consulting. The International Library of Critical Writings on Business and Management series. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK. ISBN 9781847209108

Avakian, S., Clark, T., Roberts, J. (2010) 'Cultural Spheres of Trust between Consultants and Clients: Exploring Knowledge Legitimisation', in Saunders, M., Skinner, D., Gillespie, N. and Dietz, G. (eds.), Trust Across Cultures: Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Avakian, S. (2004) 'Assessing the Role of Management Consultants in Creating a Valuable Service to Clients Through Knowledge', in Petratos, P (ed.) Global Information Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Athens: Atiner Publications, pp. 23–40.

Hughes, M. (2015) The Leadership Of Organisational Change. London, Routledge.

Hughes, M. (forthcoming) Who killed change management? Culture and Organisation.

Hughes, M. (forthcoming) Leading changes: Why transformation explanations fail. Leadership.

Hughes, M. (2013) Book review essay: The territorial nature of organisational studies, Culture and Organisation, 19 (3) pp261–274.

Hughes, M. (2013) The Victorian London sanitation projects and the sanitation of projects, International Journal of Project Management, 31 (5) pp682–691.

Hughes, M. (2011) Do 70 per cent of all organizational change initiatives really fail? Journal of Change Management, 11 (4). pp. 451-464. ISSN 1469-7017

Hughes, M. (2011) The challenges of informed citizen participation in change Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 5 (1) pp. 68-80. ISSN 1750-6166

Hughes, M. (2010) Managing Change: A Critical Perspective CIPD Publishing, Wimbledon, UK. ISBN 978 1 84398 241 8

Hughes, M. (2009) Reengineering works: don't report exhort Management and Organizational History, 4 (1). pp. 105-122. ISSN 1744-9359

Hughes, M. (2007) When faculties merge: Communicating change. Journal of Organisational Transformation & Social Change, 4 (1). pp. 25-38. ISSN 1477-9633

Hughes, M. (2007) The Tools and Techniques of Change Management Journal of Change Management, 7 (1). pp. 37-49. ISSN 1479-1811

Hughes, M. (2006) Change management Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, London, UK. ISBN 1843980703

Greener, T. and Hughes, M. (2006) Managing change before change management Strategic change, 15 (4). pp. 205-212. ISSN 1086-1718

Hughes, M. (2005) The mythology of research and teaching relationships in universities In: Barnett, Ronald, ed. Reshaping the University: New Relationships Between Research, Scholarship and Teaching. Open University Press, Buckingham, UK. ISBN 033521701X

Hughes, M. (2002) Interviewing In: Greenfield, Tony, ed. Research methods for postgraduates. Arnold, London, UK. ISBN 0340806567

Bourner, J., Hughes, M. and Bourner, T. (2001) First-year undergraduate experiences of group project work Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 26 (1). pp. 19-39. ISSN 1469-297X

Conference presentations

Hughes, M. (2015) How did Bernard Bass and John Kotter frame transformational leadership and leading change? 7th Developing Leadership Capacity Conference, Henley Business School, 15-16 July.

Hughes, M. (2015) Reimagining leadership development: A Rostian perspective. 7th Developing Leadership Capacity Conference, Henley Business School, 15-16 July.

Hughes, M. (2015) The decline of change management and the rise of change leadership. 29th Annual British Academy of Management Conference, University of Portsmouth, 8-10 September 2015.

Hughes, M. (2015) Evaluating the inclusion of leadership and organisational change as a sub-field within leadership studies. 29th Annual British Academy of Management Conference, University of Portsmouth, 8-10 September 2015.

Hughes, M. (2015) The perpetual motion of the change machines. 29th Annual British Academy of Management Conference, University of Portsmouth, 8-10 September 2015.

Sources/links

Managing Change: A Critical Perspective published by CIPD Publishing

University of Brighton Managing Change and Innovation MSc

Collaborations

Northern Ireland Local Government Staff Commission

Since 2011, Mark Hughes (CROME) and Stephen Reeve (CIMER) have been collaborating with the Northern Ireland Local Government Staff Commission as ‘critical friends’ with regards to the implementation of the commission’s people and organisation development strategic framework.

Funding

We develop partnerships with a range of institutions helping with challenges, including developing leadership skills, improving lines of communication and suggesting training initiatives to help employers capitalise on the current talent pool of existing employees. We are adept in linking research to practice and tailoring solutions to clients’ needs.

Work in action

Sussex Downs College

Tove Sorensen-Bentham and Vicky Richards are collaborating with Sussex Downs further education College and developing a leadership and management programme aimed at educating curriculum leaders with the right skills for enhancing student learning.

Southern Water

Jenny Knight has been part of a leadership development tender for Southern Water. The training helped the company firstly appreciate the sector's emerging challenges, and secondly, the current strengths and weaknesses among its leadership team members for responding to these emerging challenges.

Chailey Heritage School

Bob Smale has provided consultancy for the Chailey Heritage School, helping them to run workshops covering the areas of personal communication, time management, stress management and personal development.

Spectrum

Bob delivered a 'train the trainer' programme for Spectrum, a local community forum, covering information resources on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender matters.

For institutions, learning how to respond to current and future challenges requires a robust understanding of the organisational dynamics in which they operate. Our current research portfolio offers a rich source of information, which strengthens the quality of advice distributed to organisations.

Consultancy services

We engage with external clients in the private, public and voluntary sectors. If you are interested in CROME consultancy and training, then please get in touch. We will be happy to discuss your individual requirements as well as your wider organisational development needs.

For further information, please contact Dr Stephanos Avakian.

Awards, recognition, impact

June 2013 – University Forum for Human Resource Development Annual Conference

Mark Hughes (CROME) and Steve Reeve (CIMER) were awarded the Alan Moon Best Paper Award for their paper – Employee Engagement, Programmatic Change and Organizational Development: Bermuda Triangle or Golden Triangle?

Stephanos Avakian was awarded the prestigious Geoff Locket scholarship from the Society for the Advancement of Management Studies (SAMS) in 2004 when studying for his PhD at Durham University. His topic was titled A Study on the Consultant-Client Relationship: Examining Aspects of Legitimation. The scholarship was for two years and for a total of £40,000.

Conference presentations

Avakian, S. (2011) ‘ The role of perceived efficacy in the consumption of consulting service’, Paper presented at the European Group of Organizational Studies, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Avakian, S. (2010) 'Examining aspects of legitimation in the consultant-client relationship', Paper presented at the European Group of Organizational Studies, Lisbon, Portugal.

Avakian, S. (2007) 'Examining Management Consultancy Practices That Go Beyond Customised Packages', Paper presented at the European Group of Organization Studies, Vienna, Austria.

Avakian, S. & Clark, T. (2006) 'Knowledge, Trust, Consultants & Clients', Paper presented at the European Group of Organization Studies, Bergen, Norway.

Avakian, S. (2005) 'Management Consultants and the Distribution of Knowledge as an Intangible Resource', European Academy of Management, Munich, Germany,

Avakian, S. (2005) 'The Critical Relevance of Defining Knowledge to the Industry of Management Consultancy', Paper presented at the European Group of Organizational Studies, Berlin, Germany.

Avakian, S. (2005), 'Examining the Value of the Intangible Nature of Knowledge in the Consultant-Client Relationship', Paper presented at the British Academy of Management, Oxford, UK.