Report 2001: Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy (MPP)
Blaagaardsgade 23B
DK-2200 Copenhagen N
Head of Department: Søren Barlebo Wenneberg (in 2001 Mette Mønsted)
Telefon: +45 3815 3630
Fax: +45 3815 3635
E-mail: heh.lpf@cbs.dk
DK-2200 Copenhagen N
Head of Department: Søren Barlebo Wenneberg (in 2001 Mette Mønsted)
Telefon: +45 3815 3630
Fax: +45 3815 3635
E-mail: heh.lpf@cbs.dk
Vision
The vision of the Department is to do research, to teach and to create societal value in relation to questions as to how knowledge and value are created, debated and used in a network and knowledge society. It is the ambition of the Department to create an original and lasting international research contribution with in its professional areas. A professional contribution that is created through interaction with relevant partners - especially other CBS departments - and a contribution that is put into play through the creation of an exiting educational and learning environment. Principally, the contribution of the Department to the societal value creation will be effected through development, communication and support of implementation of new perspectives and concepts that will be able to act as changing agents in Society.
Furthermore, it is the ambition of the Department to become a role model for the way that a future university department should be organised, administrated and managed, so that the organisation continuously supports and stimulates the professional production in the most challenging and effective way.
The Department aims at being a leading and creative centre for this kind of research in Northern Europe. This will be ensured through a high international level of activity, national visibility and a wide, committed co-operation with a wide range of organisations (private as well as public; Danish as well as foreign).
2001:
In 2001, the Department has come closer to the vision. Many good research contributions have obtained a fine national attention. The international visibility and publication are still a challenge, as it still is not at a level that the large number of employees suggests. A number of international visiting professors visited the Department during considerable periods during 2001 and contributed to stimulating the international research environment. The educational portfolio of the Department increased during the year and a number of educational courses were improved. Especially, the MSc programme in business administration and philosophy was better anchored, and 2001 also presented the first candidates from this study. The educational portfolio is still characterised by a large dissemination that is supporting the fragmentation of the effort of the Department in this area. The co-operation of the Department with the other CBS departments is still not optimal, but during the year a number of initiatives were taken to ensure better possibilities of co-operation. For example, the participation of the Department in the development of the new BSc communication study programme starting in 2002 and the participation in the development of CCC (Centre for Corporate Communication) can be mentioned. The LOK-research centre (Management, Organisation, Competence) managed by Flemming Poulfelt is still creating co-operation with a number of researchers within and outside CBS.
In 2001, the Department has come closer to the vision. Many good research contributions have obtained a fine national attention. The international visibility and publication are still a challenge, as it still is not at a level that the large number of employees suggests. A number of international visiting professors visited the Department during considerable periods during 2001 and contributed to stimulating the international research environment. The educational portfolio of the Department increased during the year and a number of educational courses were improved. Especially, the MSc programme in business administration and philosophy was better anchored, and 2001 also presented the first candidates from this study. The educational portfolio is still characterised by a large dissemination that is supporting the fragmentation of the effort of the Department in this area. The co-operation of the Department with the other CBS departments is still not optimal, but during the year a number of initiatives were taken to ensure better possibilities of co-operation. For example, the participation of the Department in the development of the new BSc communication study programme starting in 2002 and the participation in the development of CCC (Centre for Corporate Communication) can be mentioned. The LOK-research centre (Management, Organisation, Competence) managed by Flemming Poulfelt is still creating co-operation with a number of researchers within and outside CBS.
5 Research Areas
The reach the vision, the Department has a number of different research aims that all draw on the same viscose background of knowledge, but that seek the professional vision in various ways and with a background of various professional reference disciplines. The individual research aims are meant to inspire each other, to create the necessary development of knowledge on the border of the various disciplines and to ensure the continued anchoring in and inspiration of the various disciplines. At present, the Department has the following five research groups:
- 1. Management Philosophy
In a knowledge and network society in which constant and rapid changes in the current conceptions, concepts and structures take place, there is a need of deep reflection over and new interpretation of traditional conceptions as society, science, politics, culture, value, management, identity, communication and organisation. The management philosophy group is working with these basic questions both seen from a number of wide philosophical and society theoretical ways of thinking and seen from concrete empirical studies. This way, the group establishes ties to research traditions in both humanities and social science, but at the same time it links these to concrete questions relevant to the Danish society and the business world. The group is characterised by a constructive heterogeneity.
2001:
The group consists of 19 employees - 9 PhD students (as at 1st May 2002 - see the allocation in the table below). Through the year, a number of exiting research projects have been started. For example, a project about the conception "loyalty" can be mentioned. The loyalty of employees plays a still larger role when a lot of work is taking place in networks outside the organisation. The project has its focus on this and other problems where loyalty is important. The involved employees gas spent some time on - together with relevant societal stakeholder - making applications, among others to the Danish National Research Foundation. No success so far. 2 research-council financed post.doc projects have been established. A number of researchers have been part of the establishment of the business research centre CCVR (Centre for Corporate Values and Responsibility), which is a co-operation with Department of Intercultural Communication and Management among others. The themes that will be worked with are among others value management, social responsibility and corporate citizenship. An example of an important publication is Ole Fogh Kirkeby's book "Organisationsfilosofi - et studie i liminalitet" (Samfundslitteratur). The group has reached a fine placement in the Danish philosophical environment and is increasingly looked at with respect for its professional activities. The group has the main responsibility for the business adm. and philosophy study programme. - 2. Political management
When knowledge and value have to be negotiated and mediated, politic processes are crucial within all areas of society. Politics are no longer reserved for the traditional political system (government, state, counties and municipalities). Companies, NGO's, media, science, etc. are also political in their work. At the same time, public management and governance are crucial phenomena in a society where the public sector is readjusting to the demands of the knowledge and network society - both at the national and the European level. The group in public and political management works with these professional problems. Especially, the group is working with the readjustment of the public sector and the changed management conditions - not the least how management and self-management will become important change agents. The group is characterised by a clear common research strategy.
2001:
The group consists of 13 employees - 6 PhD students (as at 1st May 2002 - see the allocation in the table below). In a Nordic context, the group has reached a fine position based especially on Niels Åkerstrøm Andersen's research. His book "Kærlighed og omstilling - Italesættelsen af den offentligt ansatte" (written together with Asmund Born and published at Nyt fra Samfundsvidenskaberne) has received fine reviews and attention in the Danish media and the public sector. The group has also been active in many national co-operation in 2001, as for example COS (Center of Public Administration and Management) and CCC (Centre for Corporate Communication). The group has the responsibility for the MPA-programme and is contributing centrally to the development of the new BSc study programme in Communication. - 3. Business History
In a society, which is rapidly changing, the adherence to the history is important. Historical constellations between the organisations of society and persons are crucial to understand the links and networks that today set the limits for the activities of organisations and persons. The Centre for Business History is studying these questions - typically through a number of concrete company case studies. The group emphasises the understanding of the development of companies as an interaction between a number of factors: technological development, changes in markets, the political climate and contacts etc. The group is characterised by being under construction.
2001:
The group consists of 10 employees - 4 PhD students (as at 1st May 2002 - see the allocation in the table below). The year has been spent on a continued development of the business research centre of the group: "Centre for Business History". As a co-ordinator, the centre succeeded in getting a large research council funding for a project about the companies' role during the Second World War. A significant publication is Ole Lange's book about B&W "Juvelen der blev til skrot - kampen om B&W 1945-1996" (Gyldendal). The group still works with improving their educations anchoring. - 4. Knowledge, research and innovation management
In the knowledge and network society, research and innovation play a still larger role and at the same time the research system as a whole is under change due to new ways of thinking. Essential questions are: how is knowledge created and catalysed? How is knowledge turned into value? Which part does management play in this connection? Knowledge is becoming a still more important resource that is contributing to putting knowledge management on the agenda in all parts of the society. The knowledge, research and innovation management group is doing research and teaches within these questions. Not the least, the wish is to generate concrete, normative instructions of actions for organisations, which work with these questions. The group is characterised by representing various perspectives, but with an increasing degree of shared focus.
2001:
The group consists of 17 employees - 6 PhD students (as at 1st May 2002 - see the allocation in the table below). In 2001, a lot of work was put into the establishment of the research network VIDEN NET, which gathers 45 Danish researchers within this professional area. During the year, the same network handed in a very large application (25 mill). It received fine international reviews (among others by Karin Knorr Cetina and Peter Scott) and remarks from the research councils, but did not receive financing. However, the group got a number of small projects through. The group manage CIE (Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship) with Henrik Herlau as the centre manager. The group is also in charge of the research project REMAP with Kenneth Husted as the manager. An important publication from the year is "Managing university research in the triple helix" (published in Science and Public Policy, vol. 28, no. 1, February 2001), which sets a totally new agenda for the understanding of research management as an activity. This activity also ended up in the PhD thesis: "Managing collaborative research - unveiling the micro dynamics of the European Triple Helix" (CBS Press). The group will also in the future work on making their teaching relevant for practise. This can be seen in the light of the new Master in Knowledge Management, which the group is responsible for with Mette Mønsted as the main actor. - 5. Strategic management
In networks in which knowledge is to be co-ordinated with action and creation of value, creation of strategies is an important activity. Strategic thinking is a way of creating the proper future possibilities and links, which can convert knowledge and expectations into action and value. The strategic management group works with such strategic problems seen from various points of view, but still with connected angles. How can new technologies and concepts (new knowledge) like E-business create value in the future? How can regions be created as an attempt to gather knowledge and create better possibilities for shared value creation in a large network of organisations? The group has in connection with the regional aspect especially focused on the Øresund region and tourism. The group is characterised by being linked to a number of external activities.
2001:
The group consists of 17 employees - 8 PhD students (as at 1st May 2002 - see the allocation in the table below). The group is managing a number of centres: LOK research centre with Flemming Poulfelt as the director (he was appointed professor in management and strategy in the Autumn 2001), SAMS (Scandinavian Academy of Management Studies) with Christian Tangkjær and CAMS (Thomas B. Thrige Centre for Applied Management Studies) with Laurids Hedaa as the manager. During the year, the last-mentioned centre has established a research and educational unit at the Herning Institute of Business Administration and Technology (HiH). During the year, the LOK research centre hosted a number of professional arrangements - especially aimed at the business world. For example, a number of the researchers involved wrote in the special issue of the Danish journal "Ledelse & Erhvervsøkonomi", about knowledge management and with Flemming Poulfelt as the editor. The group has the responsibility for the line co-ordination of MSc in International Marketing and Management (IMM).
Interdisciplinary and comprehensive professional activities
To create inspiration across the research groups and to ensure the shared interdisciplinary sharing of knowledge, a number of comprehensive research, teaching and communication activities have been established.
2001:
From 2001, special attention should be put on the elaboration of the anthology "Det handler om Tillid" (Samfundslitteratur 2001) with contributions from18 of the Department's researchers. This was a publication and activity, which created some attention from large companies and which received fine reviews. In 2002, the anthology will be adjusted and translated for international publication. Furthermore, approximately 30 Department seminars have taken place during the year.
From 2001, special attention should be put on the elaboration of the anthology "Det handler om Tillid" (Samfundslitteratur 2001) with contributions from18 of the Department's researchers. This was a publication and activity, which created some attention from large companies and which received fine reviews. In 2002, the anthology will be adjusted and translated for international publication. Furthermore, approximately 30 Department seminars have taken place during the year.
Doctoral School on Knowledge and Management
The idea of the Doctoral School of the Department is to establish a professional and institutional PhD environment, which will give the individual PhD student the opportunity of accomplishing an individual project and at the same time being integrated in the research carried out at MPP within "knowledge" and "management" as well as the research carried out at CBS as a whole. This integration is not left to individuals (PhD student, supervisors or others), it is ensured through a number of institutional measures and structures.
The aims of the Doctoral School are:
- To ensure that the research carried out at MPP within the areas "knowledge" and "management" is at an international level
- To ensure that the members of the Doctoral School are integrated in this research in a way that will ensure the professional quality and a reasonable resource utilisation.
- To ensure that the members of the Doctoral School are integrated in the professional fora which are necessary for their individual projects. I.e. that the Doctoral School is providing conference participations, tutoring and the like.
- To ensure that the members of the Doctoral School also are integrated in the social environment at MPP.
- To ensure that the various institutional initiatives and other facilities are of a quality that will enable the PhD students to work out a thesis of the best quality possible within the official duration of the study.
2001:
After a period of growth, the Doctoral School is working with a continued professionalisation of the operations. 34 PhD students are enrolled as at 1st May 2002). Doctoral School is part of a European consortium of leading business schools/universities within knowledge and management (EUDOKMA) with the secretariat at MPP. One of the main purposes is the exchange of PhD students and the researcher courses. In 2001, 2 PhD student visited MPP for 4 months as part of the EUDOKMA co-operation. A number of well-attended courses were convened during the year, among them the EUDOKMA-course in Knowledge Management, which attracted students from many countries. The economy of the Doctoral School is stable. During 2001, 4 theses were defended.
After a period of growth, the Doctoral School is working with a continued professionalisation of the operations. 34 PhD students are enrolled as at 1st May 2002). Doctoral School is part of a European consortium of leading business schools/universities within knowledge and management (EUDOKMA) with the secretariat at MPP. One of the main purposes is the exchange of PhD students and the researcher courses. In 2001, 2 PhD student visited MPP for 4 months as part of the EUDOKMA co-operation. A number of well-attended courses were convened during the year, among them the EUDOKMA-course in Knowledge Management, which attracted students from many countries. The economy of the Doctoral School is stable. During 2001, 4 theses were defended.
Organisation and management
A research organisation with such high ambitions and so many professional activities has to have a highly professional administration. The Department is continuously working on creating an organisational basis, which can handle the many opposite demands that a modern research organisation has to be able to handle. At the same time, we have to create environments and shared aims and to give the individual researcher and teacher the space he/she needs. We have to be closely linked to the societal network with rapid changes and short-term priorities and to the long-term development of knowledge and reflection, which prioritise the management of tradition. We have to prioritise the many internal tasks and to ensure the integration with the surroundings - not the least the rest of CBS. It is the task of the management continuously to maintain, change and develop this organisational basis in a way so that it will match the various and rapidly changing demands - both internally and externally.
2001: We have 22 employees (as at 1st May 2002) to contribute to the necessary infrastructure, so that the organisation can meet the vision, 15 administrators (tap) and 7 part-time project assistants. During the year, we have been working on a large competence and management project - which among other things has to study how to ensure more self management and how to break down the borders between VIP (the scientific staff) and TAP (the technical/administrative staff). Furthermore, resources have been spent on establishing a new Team-office, which will be experimenting with the new dynamic forms of co-operation, which should facilitate the research process. 12 employees will be moving into the shared project room before the summer holidays. This initiative as well as a project as to a management-training programme has received financial support from Statens Center for Kvalitet og Kompetenceudvikling (SCKK).
Total number of employees as at 1st May 2002 is 98 allocated as follows:
|
Position
|
Research, Innovation and Knowledge Management
|
Management Philosophy
|
Public Management
|
Strategy
|
Business History
|
Total
|
|
Associate professor
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
-
|
9
|
|
Assistent professor
|
6
|
3
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
22
|
|
PhD-student
|
6
|
9
|
6
|
8
|
4
|
33
|
|
Professor
|
4
|
3
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
12
|
|
Total
|
17
|
19
|
13
|
17
|
10
|
76
|
|
Project assistants: 7
|
|
Administrators: 15
|
Note: "Professor" covers professors, research professors, professors with special tasks and visiting professors. PhD student also covers research fellow.
Last updated by Anders Krag 27/01/2005
