The Centre for Work, Organisation and Society
Welcome to the web site of the The Centre for Work, Organisation and Society at the University of
Essex. Here you will find information about us; who we are, what we are about;
the sorts of activities we engage in; details of the people associated with the
Centre; and our research interests and publications. We also have a space for
any new or recent events, especially conferences with which the Centre is
associated. Our aim is to offer world-class scholarship within those areas in
which we specialise, although we don't see ourselves as bounded by traditional
disciplines. We are small, approachable and adaptable, yet work only to the
highest standards.
If you are a prospective student, practitioner or fellow academic who is
interested in the sort of things we do here, in our research interests and
activities, our approach to teaching, or just in whether we are friendly or not,
please contact us. We also offer consultancy and training for organizations of
all types and in all sectors, and have considerable experience in this area. If
you need further information about courses, programmes or other activities, have
an idea you'd like to share with us or a problem to challenge us please don't
hesitate to mail or call.
What are we about?
- Driven by curiosity
- Fuelled by imagination
- Led by critique
- Informed by
practice
The Centre was formed in 1998 to bring together more effectively and more
accessibly the range of expertise in management that exists within the
University of Essex. The group has a national and international reputation for
applying leading edge critical scholarship to the understanding of
organizational processes, and the development of practical but theoretically
informed perspectives on organizational problems. In these pages you will see
some of the activities we are engaged in to promote dialogue between academics
and practitioners.
As a member of the leading social science faculty in the UK
as ranked by the recent Research Assessment Exercise, we approach management
studies as an important form of critical social inquiry rather than simply a
vocational field. As our logo states, we are enthusiastically driven by
curiosity; inspired and fuelled by imagination; led by critique and our
reluctance to accept fads or myths at face value; and informed by a concern with
practice and a vision of achieving greater effectiveness - in the widest
possible sense - in and for all the individuals, institutions and organizations
we are involved with.
Useful links