Social entrepreneur Dr Zoe Lawson is an MBA alumna and member of the OU Business School’s Alumni Council. Resilience; noun The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. The ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity. Like nylon. Ladies, think of that springy shapewear designed to disguise lumps and bumps. MenContinue reading “Building Resilience in Pandemic Times”
Category Archives: covid-19
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine: openness and collaboration to tackle the world’s problems
Dr Despoina Filiou is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy who joined the OU Business School in April 2020. She is a member of the Strategic Management and Leadership Research Cluster. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine received regulatory approval for emergency use from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on 3 December. This came only months after aContinue reading “The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine: openness and collaboration to tackle the world’s problems”
How Covid-19 and technology could transform the dispute resolution system
Dr Clare Jones is a Senior Law Lecturer at The Open University, and a member of the LIFT (Law, Information, Future, Technology) research cluster @OU_LIFT The current pandemic has forced a lot of people to change patterns of behaviour and how normal activities are approached and carried out. In normal circumstances, change in the legal system is oftenContinue reading “How Covid-19 and technology could transform the dispute resolution system”
The UK’s COVID-19 PPE saga and lessons for future emergency procurements
Dr Miriam Mbah, who joined the OU as a Lecturer in Law in September 2020, has both a LLM and a PhD in Public Procurement Law. Public procurement is a highly regulated government activity, governed by laws or circulars within a state. In the UK, the procurement of goods, works and services is regulated by TheContinue reading “The UK’s COVID-19 PPE saga and lessons for future emergency procurements”
OUBS leads ground-breaking £300k project on online learning and strategic planning through, and post, lockdown in English secondary schools
A team led by Dr Jacqueline Baxter of The Open University Business School has been awarded nearly £300,000 to investigate online learning and strategic planning through, and post, lockdown in English secondary schools. ‘Leading school learning through Covid-19 and beyond’, in collaboration with Professor Alan Floyd from the University of Reading, is believed to be the first project ofContinue reading “OUBS leads ground-breaking £300k project on online learning and strategic planning through, and post, lockdown in English secondary schools”
Strategic Agility in Uncertain Times
Jedrzej George Frynas is Professor of Strategic Management in the OU Business School. This text is based on the Strategic agility and leadership in uncertain times webinar, held on Wednesday 25 November 2020. In a fast-changing, turbulent environment that we are currently experiencing, the challenge is how an organisation can remain flexible and can quickly adapt to newContinue reading “Strategic Agility in Uncertain Times”
Coronavirus is no longer seen as high risk by many – and that’s undermining control measures
During the era of US prohibition, illegal speakeasies thrived. And while the UK socially distances, there are similar reports of secret parties and raves today. Beyond such gatherings, there have been anecdotes of people from all walks of life ignoring advice to self-isolate, illicitly mixing with other households and refusing to wear masks. Research suggests that although most people in the UK intend to follow socialContinue reading “Coronavirus is no longer seen as high risk by many – and that’s undermining control measures”
Policing project is financed by OU’s Covid-19 fund
Mark Fenton-O’Creevy, Professor of Organisational Behaviour in the OU Business School, is leading on a project to research senior policing decision-making in the context of the radical uncertainties of the pandemic. Also involved in the project, which has been awarded an OU Covid-19 grant for £15,700, are Dr Nicky Miller and Dr Helen Selby-Fell in the Centre for Policing ResearchContinue reading “Policing project is financed by OU’s Covid-19 fund”
5 paradoxical tensions facing HR leaders
Dr Layla Branicki is Senior Lecturer in HRM and Organisation Studies, based in the OU Business School’s Department for People and Organisations (DPO). This article is based on a project conducted with Dr Senia Kalfa (Macquarie University, Australia) and Professor Stephen Brammer (University of Bath, UK) about how Australian organisations have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Research highlightsContinue reading “5 paradoxical tensions facing HR leaders”
Reading in lockdown: The future of charity?
Carol Jacklin-Jarvis, Director of the Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership, has taken inspiration from lockdown reading to consider the notion and role of charity in the 21st century. When I worked in the voluntary sector in the 1990s, the word charity was rarely used – it was seen to be old-fashioned and somewhat patronising. I’ve noticed that the termContinue reading “Reading in lockdown: The future of charity?”
The Open University 