Business School Research Scholarships at Middlesex University

Applications are invited from highly motivated and academically excellent UK/EU or OS candidates for a number of research studentships in any area of Business, Economics, Finance, Management or Law, available for a September/October 2010 start.
They are offered on a full-time basis and cover a maintenance award, fee payments and research support costs. The Scholarships are for four years, subject to satisfactory progress.
The level of the maintenance element of the Scholarships is linked to the level of corresponding awards made by UK research councils and is subject to regular review. Maintenance payments from 1 Oct 2010 will be £13,590 per annum. The Scholarships are free of both tax and national insurance contributions.
In addition to work on the doctoral research project, successful applicants will be expected to contribute to associated activities within the School.
The research environment and the doctoral process
Middlesex University Business School provides a high-quality environment for research students. Our impressive campus is in Hendon, north-west London. It has benefited from more than £66 million in investment in recent years including new library and major new lecture theatres and seminar rooms. Research students have dedicated space within the school and are regarded as members of our vibrant research community.
The school entered over fifty academics in the recent Research Assessment Exercise. A high proportion of the publications entered were rated as internationally excellent. It was rated 38 out of 90 (slightly above Queen Mary, University of London) in the Research Power league compiled by Research Fortnight from the RAE results for Business and Management Unit of Assessment.
The school has ESRC recognition for its 1+3 programme, under which students undertake a one-year Master’s in Research Methods prior to a three-year doctorate. Doctoral students are typically supervised by a team of academics headed by an experienced supervisor. The school has invested heavily in ensuring that research students have a first-class experience.
The school’s research is headed by the Associate Dean Research, Professor Richard Croucher and doctoral programmes are headed by the Director of Doctoral Programmes, Professor John Grahl. Dr. Marian Rizov oversees the entire doctoral process in the School.
Areas of research strength
Below, we list important areas of strength which we wish to build further by recruiting doctoral students. For those wishing enhanced detail, and to access the publications of specific academics working in these areas, more information is provided in the next section.
Global Labour Issues
The development of a global system of industrial relations and the global level of trade unionism are strengths. Issues of migrant and contract labour are significant areas of interest.
Cross-cultural management
Management in cross-cultural environments in general and in particular the management of health projects in cross-cultural situations are important research areas.
Health Management
This is an area which the school wishes to develop further, in collaboration with the school of Health and Social Sciences. The school has excellent access to health research sites.
HRM and workplace diversity
There is a strong tradition of research on gender, work and personal life (work-life balance), age and other forms of diversity and quality of working life in HRM. Recent and current research includes EU comparative studies on work-life balance, women in science and technology, and life course transitions. An ESRC research project on institutional factors and their impact on company age policies in Britain and Germany has recently been completed and the researchers wish to take their interest in international comparative work in the area further. The school, together with Boston College (USA) is also leading the Global Initiatives project, a genuinely global network looking at quality of working life issues more widely, including a global study of Generations of Talent.
Economics
The school has invested in new economics academic staff with expertise in industrial organisation (IO) and regional development, including performance, innovation and competitiveness research. The economics of health and labour economics (including issues of ageing) are also important fields of interest. The first is one that we wish to develop further, while the second is already well-developed and is conducted in conjunction with colleagues working in the school’s HR department. There also are research interests in the fields of economic policy, economic growth and development in emerging and transition countries.
Local and regional economic development
The Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR) is a major research centre within the school. CEEDR has long been interested in regional economic development and the role of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) as an integral part of that. It has conducted research on the economic aspects of neighbourhood renewal. It has also carried out major work on regional governance and the economies of deprived areas. There is an emphasis on European comparative research and on small businesses. Distinctive small business themes are health and safety, enterprise and social inclusion, ethnic minority businesses and investment decision-making in small firms and trust and cooperation in an African context.
Finance
Research in finance has concentrated on international corporate risk evaluation and management, with a current emphasis on corporate hedging, including the determinants of hedging, the value effects of hedging, and the effects of management compensation on corporate hedging practices. The major methodological contribution has been to show that the bias present in past studies can be eliminated by judiciously defining non-hedgers. Researchers have developed original techniques for assessing political and country risk using option pricing methods and Markov Chain Monte Carlo modelling and have applied these techniques to the valuation of football players and optimal access pricing paradigms for natural monopolies.
Accounting
Accounting research centres on a number of themes. These include the application of information technology to accounting and accounting education, and issues of corporate accounting practice. There is also an interest and capacity to supervise doctoral research in corporate accounting practice in China.
Corporate Social Responsibility
All aspects of CSR are of interest, but especially CSR and development. The role of political and social factors in companies’ investment decisions is a further aspect of research strength.
Law
Law has been an area of teaching and research at Middlesex University for over 36 years. In recent years the Law Department has strengthened its research capacity through the development of staff and the recruitment of new research active staff. The department has a vibrant doctoral research community of 25 individuals, focussing on a range of issues in their research, from international criminal law to corruption. These students form part of a postgraduate community that also includes those studying on the various LLM specialisations, including the newly established LLM in
Research Methods
The Law Department has particular strengths in a number of socio-legal studies pathways and would particularly welcome applicants that wish to pursue research in these subjects. Some of these are: (1) human rights law in general, with a special focus related to minority rights and indigenous people; (2) discrimination law on the grounds of disability, gender, race, age, religion or belief and sexual orientation and including immigration and migration studies and (3) international comparative legal studies, including comparative corporate and business law at national, international and EU levels.
In addition to above subject areas, Professor Malcolm Sargeant is a leading academic in the study of age discrimination and we are looking for someone to undertake research with him under the broad heading of ‘The regulation of age discrimination outside the field of employment’. This is an area which will grow in importance during the next few years and we are looking for a student/researcher who will contribute to the study of this subject in the writing of their PhD thesis.
Strategy
The strategy research cluster is concerned with all aspects of strategy and strategic management. The strategy cluster lies within the Department of Business & Management of the Business School, and academics associated with the strategy cluster have expertise in a number of areas, including Cognition, Innovation, capability, the resource-based view, competitive strategy, international strategy, inter-firm relationships, organisational performance and excellence. For a list of active researchers in the strategy cluster see the Strategy research area.
Key researchers’ publications
To view the publications of all researchers in the school, see the Business School research clusters.
Alternatively, please, go to our Research Repository.
The following academics may prove helpful in accessing specific areas, but the list is indicative rather than exhaustive:
Global Labour Issues: Prof. Martin Upchurch, Prof. Richard Croucher (also visit the Global Work and Employment Project website).
Cross-cultural management: Prof. Terence Jackson.
Health management: Prof. Annabelle Mark (also visit research in the School of Health and Social Sciences).
Age-related HRM issues: Prof Michael Muller-Camen, Dr. Matt Flynn.
Workplace diversity: Prof. Suzan Lewis, Dr. Ian Roper.
Economics: Prof. John Grahl, Dr. Marian Rizov, Dr. Michael Brookes, Dr. Amrit Judge, Dr. David Kernohan, Dr. Ozlem Onaran, Dr. Ali Tasiran, Dr. Michela Vecchi.
Local and regional economic development: Prof. David North, Prof. Stephen Syrett, Prof. Fergus Lyon.
Finance: Prof. Ephraim Clark, Dr. Yacine Belghitar.
Accounting: Prof. Alan Sangster, Dr. Sepideh Parsa, Dr. Pingli Li.
Corporate Social Responsibility: Prof. George Frynas.
Law: Prof. Joshua Castellino, Prof. David Lewis, Prof. Malcolm Sargeant.
Eligibility
We are looking for mature, highly motivated applicants who may come from a variety of academic backgrounds ranging from Management, Economics, Finance and Accounting to Engineering and Mathematics and command excellent analytical, problem solving and verbal skills.
Applicants must have a minimum of a first or an upper second class honours degree or equivalent, and preferably a good master degree, in a relevant area. If your first language is not English, you should have a minimum IELTS score of 7 or TOEFL 585 (paper-based); 240 (computer-based).
Research proposal
This is an important part of your application in which you outline the direction you would like to pursue in your doctoral research. The research proposal should include an abstract, the research objectives, the proposed research methodology, a summary review of the relevant literature and current understanding or knowledge and an indication of how the proposed research will contribute to the discipline. You should also provide an outline work plan for the period of research. You are also asked to comment on why you wish to pursue this research and what you feel you will bring to it. The research proposal should be a maximum of 5 sides of A4.
Application Process
Applicants should submit:
a completed application form [Microsoft Word document 110kB];
a full CV;
a covering letter with details of 2 academic referees;
an outline of their proposal (2-3 pages) including a short bibliography.
N.B.: if you have already submitted an application for the Business School Studentships advertised in March 2010, you do not need to submit a further application. Your previous application will be duly considered.
Send applications to:
Patricia Babatunde
Middlesex University Research & Business Office
The Burroughs
London NW4 4BT
United Kingdom
You can also email your application to research-mbs@mdx.ac.uk. Late applicants will not be considered.
For informal enquiries on the application process or to request a paper copy of the application form, please contact Patricia Babatunde. Please do not approach academic staff directly; all applications must come through the Research and Business Office.
The closing date for applications is 18th June 2010.
Source:
http://ping.fm/ggCbX