People

Dr Manuela Nocker

Senior Lecturer
EBS - Strategy, Operations and Entrepreneurship (SOE)
Dr Manuela Nocker

Profile

Biography

Manuela is a Senior Lecturer in Organisation and Sustainability, and teaches Organisation Studies; Business Ethics as well as Research Methodology. She has held two mandates as Undergraduate Programme Director overseeing all courses in the Management Science and Entrepreneurship Group (2012 - July 2019) and is the module leader of capstone projects across all programmes. Manuela is the representative for the PRME programme on Principles of Responsible Management Education at Essex Business School. She also is the institutional representative and liaison across departments for the UNAI Academic Impact scheme and engages in the UN Global Compact initiative, endorsed at university-level to promote sustainability and ethical principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption (www.unglobalcompact.org). She has been an editor of the Journal of Organizational Ethnography in its first decade (2012 to 2022): http://www.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/journals.htm?id=JOE She has been a Senate member at this University and a member of public boards in South Tyrol/Italy at institutions in the areas of education, research and innovation. She has been Vice-President of the Free University of Bolzano-Bozen (2014-18) and its university council member (2010-14). Manuela has worked as careers adviser, trainer and management consultant prior to becoming an academic at EBS in 2006 (Southend Campus). PhD supervisions Seven completed PhD supervisions (as first supervisor): Dr Muhammad Junaid (on entrepreneurial identity of Afghan migrants in Pakistan); Dr Humera Manzoor (on boards and public governance in UK-NHS Foundation Trusts); Dr Sammar Abbas (on organisational commitment as a gendered practice in banks in Pakistan); Dr Linda Grimmett (on organisational innovation in the NHS); Dr Kay Maddox-Danes (on female managers' professional identity in higher education); Dr Jane Ladner (on organisational identity in a local authority institution). Dr Hiva Raifei (on the study of emotions in project teams). Invited presentations Invited key note speaker at the 8th International Dialogue on Labour Law (IAD). Speech on Intergenerational Collaboration and Lifelong Learning. Free University of Bozen-Bolzano/ Italy. 10 November 2016. Panel speaker for the local initiative within Britains Climate Week to curb carbon footprint, jointly organised by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and the University of Essex Business School for supporting small businesses regarding sustainability and knowledge sharing for innovation. Southend-on-Sea, 4th March 2014. Invited panel speaker for the event Organisations shape people; people shape organisations of the regional Association of Supervision and Coaching Professionals South Tyrol/ Italy: New challenges for coaching and supervision professionals in the current economic environment, Bozen-Bolzano, Sparkasse Academy (January, 2012). Invited presentation in the Research Workshop Constructing the Organisation: Identity, Narrative, Imagination and Structure. Paper presented: Being professional: on belonging as a situated imagination in the management of projects. Essex Business School, Management Group, Colchester Campus (11 June 2010). Invited research seminar presentation Project Strategy Revisited: On facing risks as enacted narrative of team improvisation Bristol Business School, University of the West of England. Bristol (December, 2009) Invited speaker, Future-proofing Your Business: Retaining Knowledge and Promoting Innovation during the Economic Downturn, University College Suffolk, Ipswich. Topic presented: Changing times, changing cultures: creating cultural practices for organisational innovation and knowledge creation (7th May, 2009). Projects 2014-17 Co-investigator for the British Council Knowledge Economy Partnership Programme UK- Pakistan Introducing Entrepreneurship education in Pakistan: an interdisciplinary perspective on value creation, together with M. Junaid (University of Peshawar). UK Coordinator of the British Council Researcher Links Workshop on entrepreneurship research, with Dr Muhammad Junaid. Islamabad/ Pakistan, March 2014. For further details: http://epentrepreneurship.com/ Chair of Quadrangle for module design and curriculum development of Strategies and Organisation for the ESF-Project SMEs in a Multi-cultural Milieu E&I Group, EBS, in partnership with Budapest Business School (2007-2009). Academic coordinator of the ESF-funded postgraduate certificate programme Women in the Creative Industries. E&I Group, EBS (Summer 2008). Editorial roles Editor of the Journal of Organizational Ethnography (JOE) by Emerald Publishing. Honours 2014-17 British Council award winner for the Knowledge Economy Partnership Programme UK- Pakistan Introducing Entrepreneurship education in Pakistan: an interdisciplinary perspective on value creation, with M. Junaid. Elected member of Senate (Oct. 2011-15), University of Essex. Member of the university council at the trilingual Free University of Bozen-Bolzano/ Italy (2010-18); Vice-President (2014- February 2018), appointed by the Government of South Tyrol. British Council award winner with Dr Muhammad Junaid - Researcher Links Workshop (2013 - March 2014). The LSE annual research scholarship awards (1999-2003).

Qualifications

  • PhD in Organisational Psychology (The London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • BSc in Work and Organisational Psychology (University of Padua/ Italy);

Research and professional activities

Research interests

Critical approaches to project work, particularly project teams

Organisational ethnography

The narrative and poetic approaches in organisational analysis

Identity construction and the management of identity

Ethics, social responsibility and sustainability

Collaboration and learning

Strategy-as-practice

Organisational innovation

Conferences and presentations

2018 Copenhagen, Denmark, 13th Annual Ethnography Symposium: Key theme: “(Il)legitimacy.” Presentation: “‘The end of an era’: music & transitions of The 1975”, 29-31 August; hosted by Copenhagen Business School.

Copenhagen, Denmark, 30/8/2018

2018 Chicago, USA, Academy of Management Annual Conference, PDW: “Not Another Survey”: Unconventional Methodology in Organization and Management Research.” Presentation and facilitation on: “Netnography”, 11 August, Sheraton Grand Chicago.

Chicago, United States, 11/8/2018

2018 Co-Chair, The 13th Annual University of Liverpool Ethnography Symposium. Key theme: “(Il)legitimacy”. Hosted by Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, 29-31 August.

Copenhagen, Denmark, 2018

2017 Member of the Organising Committee of the 12th Annual International Ethnography Symposium. Key theme: Politics and Ethnography in an Age of Uncertainty. Hosted at the University of Manchester Business School, 29 August 1 September.

Manchester, United Kingdom, 2017

2016 Bristol (24-26 August) The 11th Annual University of Liverpool Management School Ethnography Symposium. Key theme: Engaging with the challenge: Impacts on Ethnography and of Ethnography. Paper presented: A view from the top: an autoethnographic account of board dynamics, University of the West of England, Bristol Business School.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2016

2016 Mykonos (19-21 May) 11th Organization Studies Summer Workshop & Special Issue on Spirituality, Symbolism, and Storytelling. Paper Presented: All too human: on hope and utopia in projects. Mykonos, Greece.

Mykonos, Greece, 2016

2016 Albuquerque, USA, (22-24 March) Qualitative Research in Management and Organization Conference (QRM). Key theme: Dialogue, Disruption and Inclusion. Paper presented: Identities and the ethno-narrative approach: Exploring the voices of Afghan migrants in Pakistan, with M. Junaid. University of New Mexico.

Ranchos de Taos, United States, 2016

2016 Co-Chair, The 11th Annual University of Liverpool Management School Ethnography Symposium. Key theme: Engaging with the challenge: Impacts on Ethnography and of Ethnography. Hosted at the University of the West of England, Bristol Business School, 24-26 August.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2016

Co-Chair, The 10th Anniversary University of Liverpool Management School Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences. Key theme: Reflection in Action. Liverpool, 25-28 August 2015. University of Liverpool Management School.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2015

2014 Keele (24-26 June) 8th Biennial International Interdisciplinary Conference on Gender, Work and Organization. General Stream. Paper presented: All Males Are The Same: Exploring Female Employees' Lived Experience of Workplace Harassment in The Pakistani Banking Sector, with S. Abbas. Keele University, UK.

Newcastle-under-Lyme, United Kingdom, 2014

Co-Chair, The 9th Annual University of Liverpool Management School Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences. Key theme: Ethnography and Liminality. Ipswich, 27-29 August 2014. University Campus Suffolk.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2014

2013 Amsterdam (28-30 August) The 8th Annual Joint University of Liverpool Management School Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences. Key theme: The Politics of Meaning-making/Meaning-breaking. Paper presented Letting go is hard to do: ethnographic selves in the face of endings with M. Rowe and G. Pearson. VU Amsterdam.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2013

2013 Mykonos (23-25 May) 8th Organization Studies Summer Workshop on Organization Studies and the Day-to-Day Life of Cultures and Communities.? Paper presented: Responsibilities and sensibilities: Project teams and the ethical imagination of being professional.

Mykonos, Greece, 2013

2012 Barcelona (11-14 July) 30th SCOS Standing Conference on Organisational Symbolism. Organizing Through Displacement, Travel and Movement:Transience, Transitions and Transformations.Paper presented: Travelling, trading, and storytelling: Entrepreneurial life history narratives of Afghan migrants in Pakistan with M. Junaid.

Barcelona, Spain, 2012

Co-Chair, The 7th Annual Joint University of Liverpool Management School and Keele University Institute for Public Policy and Management Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences. Key theme: Ethnographic Horizons in Times of Turbulence. Liverpool, 29-31 August 2012. University of Liverpool Management School.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2012

2011 Cardiff (5-7 Sep) The 6th Annual Joint University of Liverpool Management School and Keele University Institute for Public Policy and Management Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences. Key theme: Theory, Form, and Practice. Paper to be presented: Organizational Innovation as a Process of Professional Knowledge Creation and Sharing in the NHS: A Case Study in an Audiology Department, with L. Grimmett.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2011

2011 Cardiff (5-7 Sep) The 6th Annual Joint University of Liverpool Management School and Keele University Institute for Public Policy and Management Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences. Key theme: Theory, Form, and Practice. Paper to be presented: The emergence of a new organisational identity within integrated public service delivery: a case study of the identity construction of The Childrens Workforce within a Local Authority, with J. Ladner.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2011

2011 Gothenburg (6-9 July) 27th EGOS Colloquium Reassembling Organizations Sub-theme 21: Constellations of Past, Present, and Future. Paper presented: Recovering Utopia: on hope and human longings in projects.

Gothenburg, Sweden, 2011

Member of the Organising Committee for the The 6th Annual Joint University of Liverpool Management School and Keele University Institute for Public Policy and Management Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences. Key theme: Theory, Form, and Practice. Cardiff, 5-7 September 2011. Cardiff Business School.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2011

Ideator and organiser of the Essex Futures conference supported by the Vice-Chancellor Convivium Global Citizenship and Collaboration, 5 May 2011, Southend Campus.

Colchester, United Kingdom, 2011

London (2010) The 5th Annual Joint University of Liverpool Management School and Keele University Institute for Public Policy and Management Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences. Paper presented: Emotions in the Boardroom: The Case of a NHS Foundation Trust, with H. Manzoor. Queen Mary College, University of London, 1-3 September.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2010

Montreal (2010) Critical Management Studies Organization Workshop on Redemption. Paper presented: All too human: on hope and utopia in visions of the future. Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), 4-5 August.

Montreal, Canada, 2010

Lille (2010) 28th SCOS Standing Conference on Organisational Symbolism. Key Theme: Vision. Paper presented: Worlds to come: On projects and utopia. IAE Business School/ Institut d'Aministration des Enterprises de Lille, 7-10 July.

Lille, France, 2010

London (2010) 14th Annual European Business Ethics Network (UK) Conference. Ethics in Crisis: A Call for Alternatives. Paper to be presented: Responsibility as sensibility: The ethical imagination of being professional. Queen Mary, University of London, April 7-9.

London, United Kingdom, 2010

Bristol (2010) 5th Making Projects Critical Workshop. Paper presented: The Projects of Utopia: Engaging with imagination and the un-workable.

Bristol, United Kingdom, 2010

Conference stream convenor: Identity and Ethnography: dimensions, transitions, expressions. The 5th Annual Joint University of Liverpool Management School and Keele University Institute for Public Policy and Management Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences. Key theme: Work, Organisations and Ethnography. Queen Mary College, University of London (1-3 September, 2010).

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2010

Copenhagen (2009). Aesthetics & Organization Workshop Series: Looking. Paper presented: On worlds to come: re-viewing the role of utopia in project work.

Copenhagen, Denmark, 2009

Bristol (2009) Poetics and Poetry in Organisations, Emotions, Management and Enterprise (POEME). Paper presented: Poetics of Identity, with M. Junaid, 25-26 September, Bristol Centre of Leadership and Organisational Ethics (BCLOE), Bristol Business School, University of the West of England.

Bristol, United Kingdom, 2009

Liverpool (2009) 4th Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences. Practice, Politics, and Ethics in Ethnographic Research. Paper presented Travelling, trading, and storytelling: narratives of entrepreneurial selves of Afghan migrants in Pakistan, with M. Junaid, 24- 25 August, Liverpool Management School.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2009

Copenhagen/Malmo (2009) 27th SCOS Standing Conference on Organisational Symbolism. Paper presented Being professional: On responsibility and the struggles to belong, July, 8-11.

Copenhagen, Denmark, 2009

Liverpool (2009) EURAM. Renaissance and Renewal in Management Studies. Track 11: Gender, equality and diversity in management. Paper presented: Running to standstill: On social space and difference as a practice of belonging, May 11-14.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2009

Banff, Alberta, Canada 2008 (September, 9-12) Art of Management Conference. Paper presented: Senses of place: On belonging as situated imagination. September, 9-12.

Banff, Canada, 2008

Liverpool (2008) 3rd Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences: The Value of Ethnography in Social and Management Science Teaching and Research. Paper presented: Responsibilities and Sensibilities: On the ethical imagination of being professional. September, 3-5.

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2008

Amsterdam (2008) 24th EGOS Colloquium. Upsetting Organizations. Standing Working Group 6: Practice-based studies of knowledge and innovation in workplaces. Paper presented: On being professional: Responsibility, identity, and the work of imagination.

Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2008

Stockholm (2008) EIASM Workshop Making Projects Critical. Paper presented: Project strategy revisited: On facing risks as enacted team improvisation. 31st March-1st April.

Stockholm, Sweden, 2008

Co-convener of the stream The Power of Place for the Art of Management Conference. Banff, Canada (September, 2008).

Banff, Canada, 2008

Keele (2007) 2nd Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the Social and Management Sciences. Ethnographic Futures: Voice, Politics and Representation. Paper presented: Senses of place: Belonging as a situated imagination in project teams. 6-7th September, Keele University.

Newcastle-under-Lyme, United Kingdom, 2007

Manchester (2006, December) EIASM Workshop Making Project Critical: Beyond Project Rationality. Paper presented: A situated imagination: The performance of belonging and ethics in project work. Manchester Business School.

Manchester, United Kingdom, 2006

Bergen (2006, July) 22nd EGOS Colloquium (The European Group for Organisational Studies). Overall theme: The Organizing society. Sub-theme: Organised Selves, Organising Others: Philosophy and Identity in a Just Society. Paper presented: Struggling to fit in: Situated imagination and the construction of belonging.

Bergen, Norway, 2006

Essex University (2006, April) Essex Management Centre. Conference: Polyphony and dialogism as ways of organizing. Paper presented: Senses of place: The performance of belonging as situated imagination.

Colchester, United Kingdom, 2006

Berlin (2005, June) 21th EGOS Colloquium. Overall theme: Unlocking Organizations. Sub-theme: Unlocking Strategizing: A practice perspective. Paper presented: Impromptu: Project strategy as enacted team narrative of improvisation.

Berlin, Germany, 2005

Varese (2005, July) XVIIth CONVEGNO NAZIONALE AIF (National Conference of AIF, the Italian Association of Trainers). Overall theme: The generation of value. How to develop values for the knowledge society. Sub-theme: Individual and Group. Workshop presentation on an organisational climate survey research the city council of Bolzano/Bozen.

2005

Istanbul (2005, May) XII EAWOP- European Congress of Work & Organisational Psychology. General theme: Convenience in Organizations and Society. Paper presented: Participating in knowledge practices: The enacted narrative of an inter-organisational ICT project team. In the symposia (proposal submitted) on Knowledge-as-participation, jointly with L. Garcia.

Istanbul, Turkey, 2005

Bristol (2004, December) 2ndWorkshop on Making Projects Critical: Projectification and its Discontents. St. Matthias Campus, University of West England. Paper presented: Projects as emergent space: shifting boundaries of a multiple horizon:

Bristol, United Kingdom, 2004

Ljubljana, Slovenia (2004, July) 20 EGOS Colloquium (European Group for Organisational Studies). Overall theme: The Organisation as a Set of Relationships. Sub-theme: The importance of the object in the workplace. Paper presented: The contested object: projects as emergent space.

Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2004

Greenwich University, London (2004, August) Fourth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture and Change. Overall theme: Knowledge and the value of intangibles . Paper presented: Good Relationships, No Sense of Belonging: Organisational Climate and Cultural Change in the City Council, jointly with L. Bergamo.

London, United Kingdom, 2004

Copenhagen (2003, July) 19th EGOS Colloquium. Overall theme: Organisational Analysis Informing Social and Global Development. Session on practice-based theorising, knowing and change in organisations. Paper presented: Teaming-in-action: knowledge creation and sharing in project teams, jointly with L. Garcia-Lorenzo. Penang (2003, August) The Management Conference, 2003. Third International Conference on Knowledge, Culture and Change in Organisations. Overall theme: Knowledge Management. Paper presented: Teaming-In-Action: Stories of Knowledge Creation and Sharing in Project Teams, jointly with L. Garcia-Lorenzo.

Copenhagen, Denmark, 2003

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • Communication and Intercultural Skills (BE241)

  • Organisational Behaviour and Management (BE417)

  • Organisation and Leadership in a Globalised World (BE460)

  • Research Project : Business Administration (BE932)

  • Research Project - Marketing (BE933)

  • Research Project - International Business and Entrepreneurship (BE934)

  • Research Project - International Business and Finance (BE941)

  • Research Project � Business Administration and Supply Chain Management (BE943)

  • Research Project: Business and Analytics (BE945)

Previous supervision

Qianqian Chai
Qianqian Chai
Thesis title: From Indigenous to Colonised: The Recruitment Practice of the British Colonial Administration in Hong Kong, 1845-1925
Degree subject: Management Studies
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 4/5/2020
Hiva Rafiei
Hiva Rafiei
Thesis title: Introducing a Relational Approach to the Study of Emotions in Project Teams: The Case of a Public-Nonprofit Partnership Programme
Degree subject: Management Studies
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 29/11/2018
Jingjing Qu
Jingjing Qu
Thesis title: Self-Employment and Work-Place Well-Being
Degree subject: Entrepreneurship
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 18/4/2018
Jane Alison Ladner
Jane Alison Ladner
Thesis title: The Emergence of Organisational Identity Within Integrated Public Service Delivery: A Case Study of the 'Children's Workforce' Within a Local Authority
Degree subject: Business Administration
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 11/9/2015
Kay Maddox-Daines
Kay Maddox-Daines
Thesis title: A Relational Approach to Female Managers' Identity Construction: Narratives From a Case in a UK Higher Education Sector
Degree subject: Business Administration
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 15/12/2014
Sammar Abbas
Sammar Abbas
Thesis title: Organizational Commitment as a Gendered Practice: The Case of Female Bank Employees in Four Regions of Pakistan
Degree subject: Business Administration
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 12/12/2012
Humera Manzoor
Humera Manzoor
Thesis title: Emotions as Performance in Public Sector Board Governance: The Case of Nhs Foundaton Trusts
Degree subject: Business Administration
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 1/8/2012

Publications

Journal articles (11)

Manzoor, H., Nocker, M., Rashid, M. and Ghani, U., (2022). Board dynamics and relational tensions in the English NHS Foundation Trusts.. Journal of Health, Organization and Management. 36 (7), 841-856

Manzoor, H., Nocker, M. and Boncori, I., (2022). The performativity and politics of emotions in NHS boards. Culture and Organization. 28 (6), 509-527

Sena, V. and Nocker, M., (2021). AI and Business Models: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Foundations and Trends® in Technology, Information and Operations Management. 14 (4), 324-397

Brannan, M., Nocker, M. and Rowe, M., (2021). Editorial: Time for a fresh approach, for a (not so) new journal, a journal for new times. Journal of Organizational Ethnography. 10 (2), 113-113

Brannan, M., Nocker, M. and Rowe, M., (2021). Editorial. Journal of Organizational Ethnography. 10 (3), 225-228

Nocker, M. and Sena, V., (2019). Big Data and Human Resources Management: The Rise of Talent Analytics. Social Sciences. 8 (10), 273-273

Abbas, S., Khattak, ZZ. and Nocker, M., (2014). Trading loyalties: exploring the nature of organisational commitment among male and female employees. Gomal University Journal of Research. 30 (2), 33-41

Yanow, D., Brannan, M., Nocker, M. and Rowe, M., (2013). Extending the assessment of anthropology's history in organizational studies – an invitation. Journal of Organizational Ethnography. 2 (2)

Brannan, M., Nocker, M. and Rowe, M., (2012). Editorial. Journal of Organizational Ethnography. 1 (2), 25-31

Nocker, M. and Junaid, M., (2011). Poetics of Identity: On entrepreneurial selves of Afghan Migrants in Pakistan. Tamara Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry. 9 (1-2), 39-49

Nocker, M., (2009). Struggling to 'fit in': On belonging and the ethics of sharing in project teams. ephemera theory & politics in organization. 9 (2), 149-167

Book chapters (3)

Kozinets, R. and Nocker, M., (2018). Netnography: engaging with the challenges.. In: Unconventional Methodology in Organization and Management Research.. Editors: Bryman, A. and Buchanan, DA., . Oxford University Press. 127- 146

Nocker, M., (2017). On Belonging and Being Professional: In Pursuit of an Ethics of Sharing in Project Teams. In: ReThinking Management. Perspectives and impacts of cultural turns and beyond. Management. Editors: Kuepers, W., Sonnenburg, S. and Zierold, M., . Springer VS

Nocker, M., (2006). The contested object: on projects as emergent space.. In: Making Projects Critical.. Editors: Hodgson, D. and Cicmil, S., . Palgrave McMillan

Grants and funding

2014

Introducing Entrepreneurship education in Pakistan: an Interdisciplinary prespective on value creation

British Council

Contact

mnocker@essex.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1702 328397

Location:

GB.3.28, Southend Campus