PhD Strategy, Operations and Leadership

The course

Delivery
Full-time, Part-time
Course type
Research
Location
Edinburgh
Entry date
September

Contact

  • Contact

    SoSS Research and Knowledge Exchange Office

  • Telephone

    +44(0) 131 451 4454

  • Email

    soss.pgr@hw.ac.uk

Overview

This group comprises seven academics including experts in Quality Management, Business Performance, Project Management, Strategic Management, Management, Management and Business History, and International Management. Collectively, they are some of the most highly cited global leaders in their fields. The group represents a diverse range of research interests that include Policy and strategy development and organizational change with a particular interest in what people do in the development of strategy:

  • Measuring and managing business performance with a view to understanding what makes high performing organisations different and how organisational controls could be optimised to underpin sustainable long term business performance
  • Business process management and the use of Lean Six Sigma, quality management and wider business improvement approaches in a wide range of sectors and industries
  • Management of strategic projects and strategic management and organisational controls in temporary organisations  
  • The international political economy of infrastructure systems
  • Internet portals, website quality, social networks and the market reach of rural small firms
  • Strategic and performance management of SMEs
  • Origins, history and cultural practices of hospitality; and philosophical, ethical and cultural underpinnings of contemporary management practices.

Research of the group is informed by significant industry engagement across public and private sector organisations. The Strategy, Operation and Leadership group includes the following academics:

Research

Strategy, Operations and Leadership Group research project 1

There is a distinct relationship between how managers conceptualise their organisations and how they manage performance. The purpose of this line of research would be to investigate: How to capture the managers’ mental models? How to compare these conceptualisations? How differences in mental models management reflect organisational performance?

Strategy, Operations and Leadership Group research project 2

Collaboration between organisations through joint-venture projects (eg. multi-organisation product development or social case-teams) is increasing. Person-centred leadership is effective in professional and projects contexts, but it is unclear how this works in multi-agency project contexts.  The research would explore this, and include investigation of related factors such as accountability.

Potential supervisors:

Entry requirements

Academic degree

To apply to study a PhD in Strategy, Operations and Leadership, please select 'PhD Management' in the application form's drop-down menu.

All applications will be reviewed within the relevant department with a shortlisting decision made based on qualifications, the research proposal and the availability of a supervisory team.  Shortlisted applicants must have the equivalent of a 1st class honours undergraduate degree, or a Masters degree with an average mark of 65% or higher and a dissertation mark of 65% or higher.  Applicants who are unsure if their qualifications meet the minimum criteria should contact c.a.murray@hw.ac.uk.  Please note that possession of the minimum qualifications does not guarantee shortlisting for interview.

English Language requirements

If you have not already studied a degree programme that was taught and examined in the medium of English we require evidence of language proficiency. For IELTS: the minimum overall IELTS score is 6.5 with no score lower than 6.0 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.  

Further information can be found on the UK Government's Knowledge of English page.

Research proposal

The research proposal should contain as much as possible of the following: an introduction or outline of the proposed topic; a statement of objectives and/or specific research questions; a summary of some of the relevant literature which supports the research objective(s); an indication of the intended research methodology; an indication of the theoretical structure and/or conceptual outline; a provisional timetable of the major phases of the research process; results expected from the research e.g. practical value of the research or possible contributions to knowledge or policy or methodology. At this stage we are not looking for a definitive document but merely an indication that you have thought through most of the above issues. Please note that work submitted may be subject to screening via plagiarism software.

References

If you have references available these should be submitted with your application.  If they are not currently available please ensure that you provide the names and contact details, including email addresses, of two academic referees on the application form.

Candidates may also submit a Curriculum Vitae.

Queries may be directed to c.a.murray@hw.ac.uk

Fees

Tuition fees for entry
Status Full-time Part-time
UK £ TBC £ TBC
Overseas £ 19056 £ 9528

Footnotes

  1. Your residency 'status' is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course. Find out more about tuition fees.
  2. Overseas includes applications from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in the UK. Read more about the application process for EU nationals.

Additional fees information

Self-funded

We welcome self-funded PhD research candidates from around the world. The majority of academic supervisors are open to applications from self-funding students and potential candidates should match their application to the research expertise and interests of the Business Management department. If you are interested in research areas that are not advertised here then please look at our research web pages and contact staff working in your area of interest. We also welcome good quality self-funded research projects from industry. For self-funded research from industry, we may be able to cover a percentage of the fee via a scholarship. Queries may be directed to Dr. Babak Taheri b.taheri@hw.ac.uk

Scholarships and bursaries

We aim to encourage well-qualified, ambitious students to study with us and we offer a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries to achieve this. Over £6 million worth of opportunities are available in fee and stipend scholarships, and more than 400 students benefit from this support.

View our full range of research scholarships.

Additional scholarship information

The Business Management Department offers a number of scholarships every year. These opportunities are advertised on our Postgraduate Research Scholarships page during the period from January to April.

Shortlisted candidates are then interviewed, and those awarded the scholarships would normally start in September or early October.