Management-Infosystems,Managementscience,Operationsresearch

PROFESSORIAL BANDING

DISCIPLINARY NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS

Department/School: School of Management

Discipline (only if different to the above): Information Systems, Management Science and Operational Research, Operations Management

Faculty: Management and Economics

I confirm that the discipline norms detailed below were completed following consultation with Professors in the department, and have been verified by an external advisor.

Completed by: Jeffrey Unerman Date: 12/08/2014

RESEARCH

1. What are the top-rated forms of research work in your discipline? E.g. journal articles, monographs, editions

Journal papers are regarded as the most significant means of research output across all Business and Management fields. This is particularly true for Information Systems and Management Science / Operational Research. There are also some very good conferences where outputs are well regarded. Academics in Operations Management might have more varied outputs.

Research monographs are highly regarded where they develop broader insights beyond the scope of single journal articles. Handbooks from leading European and US university presses are also highly valued.

2. What lesser publications such as encyclopaedia entries, programme notes, reviews etc. command respect in your discipline?

Some highly refereed conference publications are well regarded, for example, the International Conference on Information Systems.

3. What are the top-rated outlets for dissemination of research in your discipline? E.g. major publishers, top journals?

Within Information Systems, senior scholars have nominated nine journals of particular importance: MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Journal of MIS, Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology (JASIST) (all American), European Journal of Information Systems, Information Systems Journal, Journal of Strategic Information Systems and Journal of Information Technology (all European). Journal of the AIS is the flagship research journal of the global Information Systems community and is welcoming to unique research styles and interests of every region of the world.

1 Within Management Science / Operational Research, the top international journals are Management Science, Operations Research, Decision Sciences, Administrative Science Quarterly (all American) and the European Journal of OR. The UK’s Journal of Operational Research is a well-regarded mainstream high quality journal.

Operations Management is more varied in publication outlets, with a variety of journals whose contents are highly variable. However, the dominant journals are Production & Operations Management (American) and the Journal of Operations Management (European). Many Operations Management academics publish in the mainstream Management Science / Operational Research journals.

4. What are the guiding assumptions about sole authorship, PI status, percentage contribution, joint editorship, etc.?

There is no agreed guiding assumption as such – a mix of sole and jointly authored papers has been quite common, though there is a growing trend of working in larger collaborative teams and therefore publishing with multiple authors.

5. What is the volume of productivity over what sort of timeline that might signify a.) a reasonable performance; b) a positive step-change for a professor in your discipline?

Quality is what counts most in Business and Management. The lead-time for publishing in the leading international journals is significantly longer than that for the other high quality journals and hence crude counts of number of outputs may be misleading.

One article per year in a high quality journal or one article in a leading international journal every two to three years supplemented by other publications would be considered as good performance. Overall, in any five year period a top researcher could be expected to have published one article in a leading international journal plus two in high quality journals. However, the very top journals are demanding – a publication in, say, MIS Quarterly or Management Science once every five years is exceptional. A step-change would be move in the very top journals.

6. What are the top-rated funding sources for Research in your discipline? E.g. ESRC, AHRC, Leverhulme Trust, Wellcome etc.

The ESRC and EU are the main sources for large grants. Smaller grants from the Leverhulme Trust, Nuffield and the British Academy are also well regarded. There are considerable opportunities for EPSRC funding, and industrial support is not unusual.

There are a growing number of senior academics in Information Systems, Management Science / Operational Research and Operations Management whose research is very much based around funding, and whose publications are limited. This is more the engineering model, where relevance and immediate use is more important than theory. An individual generating, say, £1 million per year might not be expected to engage in the journals mentioned in 3 above.

7. What levels of funding would you regard as indicating a) a reasonable performance; or b) high performance in your discipline?

Academics in Information Systems, Management Science / Operational Research and (particularly) Operations Management are more likely to generate research funding then other areas of Business and Management. It would be expected that Chairs, and Chair candidates, have some success with funding applications. Further, there are often very good government and self-funded Doctoral students in these areas, and capturing some of these (and their fees) would be regarded and generating research funds.

8. Are invited lectures/ conference plenaries/ conference organization/ visiting professorships/ particularly significant in your discipline, and in what sort of ranked order?

2 Invited lectures and plenary talks at major conferences and/or scholarly workshops are all marks of eminence. Visiting professorships vary across the Business and Management field and where taken would be seen as positive indicators of esteem.

9. What awards, prizes and honours if any, are significant in your discipline?

Leading professional bodies within different subject fields of business and management give awards which are considered signs of esteem. Some leading journals in the different fields award best paper awards and having your papers rated as the top 50 most-cited or most-read in top journals is regarded as highly prestigious.

Citations are becoming increased used on CVs as indicators of the success of papers, and hence the influence of individuals or teams who produced the paper. But there are no agreed norms on citation counts and hence there are no agreed norms in the Business and Management community on the value of these.

10. Membership of which learned societies or other discipline-specific groups or organizations carry weight in your discipline?

This is not something generally considered of importance.

TEACHING

1. How many PhD students (in FTEs) would you expect to be supervised by Professors in your discipline?

The range in research-intensive universities would usually be between one and three PhD students per professor at any one time.

2. What are the norms for contribution by Professors to Masters courses and their validation in your discipline?

This is where much of the teaching contribution by professors is found. There is a high demand for Business and Management PGT courses and professors in all disciplines contribute to MBA, MSc and/or specialist Masters programmes. Teaching large numbers of PGT students is considered normal in each discipline of management.

Leadership in teaching at the PGT level can be demonstrated through successful innovation in curriculum design (at the course and/or programme level); use of innovative and engaging teaching methods; and development and effective implementation of high quality assessment and feedback mechanisms/practices.

3. What are the norms for Professors devising and teaching undergraduate courses in your discipline?

This is also where much of the teaching contribution by professors is found. There is a high demand for Business and Management undergraduate courses and professors in all disciplines contribute to teaching and curriculum development at the undergraduate level. Teaching large numbers of undergraduate students is considered normal in each discipline of management.

Leadership in teaching at the undergraduate level can be demonstrated through successful innovation in curriculum design (at the course and/or programme level); use of innovative and engaging teaching methods; and development and effective implementation of high quality assessment and feedback mechanisms/practices.

EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT AND IMPACT

3 1. What are the norms for external involvement in your discipline within University of London, UK universities, international HE activity etc. that indicate a) a reasonable performance; b) a high performance?

Some judge this to be a personal matter rather than a standard, and hence it varies by discipline and institution. External involvement within HE would usually include external examining of degree programmes (PGT and UG) within UoL and beyond, and being a PhD external examiner.

It is not reasonable to attempt to quantify here.

2. What particular forms of external academic, and where relevant non-academic, impact would indicate an acceptable and high performance in your discipline?

Citations outside the field can be important, especially papers that continue to receive citations in other fields. Key textbooks can be important in some disciplines as having a major impact. In some fields professors are active in professional bodies, sitting on committees (even Councils), providing advice and undertaking commissioned work. Such activity is regarded in a positive light within some disciplinary communities.

Impact can also be in terms of research collaborations with individual, or networks of, business organizations, and/or professional bodies where academic research-informed input influences the direction of the group/organization’s policy and strategy and their input to formation of public policy. Information Systems, Management Science / Operational Research and Operations Management academics are likely to engage in consulting, especially around the implementation of systems and processes. This can lead to the types of impact that are frequent in engineering disciplines.

In general, indicators of non-academic impact would include participation in policy/practitioner engagement workshops, policy advisory panels and use of research publications/case materials in MBA/Management development programmes. In addition non-academic impact is often evidenced by public reference to research in press and other media, and by use of ideas in public policy.

3. What kind and volume of Third Stream activity (including patents, spin-outs, outreach, knowledge transfer, consultancies, cultural interventions etc.) of benefit to the College etc. would be important in your discipline?

Consultancy activities can be common, although some business and management professors chose an academic career to get away from the constraints of consultancy. Knowledge transfer activities through policy advisory work and practitioner engagement events are increasingly important in some sub-disciplines (see above). Information Systems, Management Science / Operational Research and Operations Management academics are likely to engage in consulting, especially around the implementation of systems and processes. This can lead to the types of impact that are frequent in engineering disciplines.

LEADERSHIP AND ENHANCEMENT

1. What forms of leadership, internal and external, command respect in your discipline?

There is some variation between sub-disciplines here. Business and Management professors tend to gain intellectual leadership through the quality and dissemination of their research. Journal editorship of high quality journals and membership of editorial boards of leading international journals is highly regarded. Leadership in terms of both internal and external research leadership through formal or informal successful leadership of a given subfield are also valuable. Active and effective involvement in major conferences through organisation of thematic sessions and specialist workshops is another valued form of leadership. Success in formal office (such as HOD) is also important in some sub-disciplines. Some sub-disciplines stress the impact of major textbooks or external private consultancy as a mark of prestige, of the individual and sometimes of their institutions.

4 2. What forms of enhancement, such as support of improved performance by colleagues, command respect in your discipline?

Research and teaching development, mentoring and development of younger colleagues and junior researchers are an essential part of the role of professors. This can be both within the employer institution and more broadly through activities such as faculty on emerging scholar or doctoral colloquia and conferences.