Management School News

The advancement in cloud services now offers Universities and research groups access to an unparalleled level of technological power. The University of Sheffield will play host to this event to demonstrate the Supply Chain Environmental Analysis Tool (SCEnAT), an innovative application powered by Windows Azure. The event will also celebrate the launch of the Microsoft and Janet document pack.

Professor Lenny Koh Director of The University of Sheffield Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LSCM) Research Centre will speak about SCEnAT and its benefits to users. Carlos Oliveira, Managing Director of Shaping Cloud will discuss the development of the tool and benefits of utilising the technology. Mark McManus, Cloud Services Business Manager at Microsoft will talk about the Windows Azure platform and discuss the benefits to Universities and research groups. Tony Lewis of Janet will conclude the event by discussing the exclusive contractual amendments and due diligence available to research and education institutions in the form of the Janet Cloud Services for Education Agreement.

The advanced cloud technology used to build the tool has been recognised by Microsoft who have featured a case study about the tool on their own website.

This event is being supported by the University of Sheffield, Microsoft, Janet and Shaping Cloud.

To register:

To register your place and for more information visit:  http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/lscm/scenat

This winter millions of people across the UK have been struggling to pay their gas and electricity bills, yet energy prices continue to rise. How can we tackle the challenges of fuel poverty, fossil fuels and climate change to create energy we can all afford, warmer homes, lower bills and a cooler planet?

Come and join the debate

Date:  Friday 8 March
Time:  7.30pm start and refreshments from 7pm
Venue:  The Church View Centre, Church View, Doncaster, DN1 1AF (Parking available at rear of entrance, on street and market car park free after 6pm)

Speakers include:

Caroline Flint, State of Energy and Climate Change & MP for Don Valley
Martyn Williams, Energy Bill Revolution
Prof. Lenny Koh, Centre for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at University of Sheffield
Simon Bowens, Friends of the Earth Yorkshire & the Humber

For further information:
Contact Rachel at rachel.hubbard@foe.co.uk  or Tel: 07917 358796.

Organised by Doncaster Friends of the Earth with thanks to Doncaster CDT www.foe.co.uk/doncaster  and www.doncastercdt.org

Implications and challenges surrounding the Governments energy-efficiency flagship programme the Green Deal have been raised by University of Sheffield researchers following an investigation into what low income communities in the Yorkshire and Humberside region think of the scheme.

Insulation in a home ©iStockphoto.com/LianeM

Experts from the University of Sheffield, as part of wider research into the BIG Energy Upgrade Programme, held focus groups in six towns and cities across the region to assess initial awareness of the Green Deal by residents in deprived communities.

The Green Deal is one of the flagship policies of the current Coalition Government stimulating economic growth and aiming for carbon emissions reduction, fuel poverty reduction and improved homes.

Initial costs of any improvements are paid for by residents who take out a loan from the Green Deal Finance Company then pay it off through savings to their fuel bills.

The researchers interviewed residents in Leeds, Barnsley, Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Dewsbury and Grimsby in community centres, church halls and cafes.

Although more findings are expected following a thorough analysis of their data, the researchers were able to draw out some feedback including:

• Many residents who do not own their own homes perceive a financial investment in someone else’s property as unfair and illogical.
• The Green Deal is good for the local supply chains and the economy.
• Residents are dubious of the role that banks might play in financing the Green Deal.
• It will boost the energy efficiency market and creates a low carbon future for our building stocks.
• Confusion between the Green Deal and other Government initiatives, such as solar panels and the feed-in tariff
• Residents concluded that it is only a matter of time before their Local Authority or Housing Association will fund interventions across all homes under one scheme or another
• While the financial savings may be significant in time, increased warmth and comfort are immediate and tangible.

Professor Lenny Koh, who led the project, said: “Green Deal is a strategic and important financial scheme to help people to keep their home warm and afford access to energy. Hence, Green Deal will improve quality of life of individuals.

“It is important that the housing stock is made more energy-efficient and the Green Deal is the right scheme to do that. It has a customised element for the assessment and installation process which makes it tailored to the needs of the user.

“People are dealing with Green Deal approved companies so should get an expected high standard of work. It is also sustainable and should only be implemented when it will definitely benefit residents.”

This work was undertaken as part of the BIG Energy Upgrade Programme, a project part financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the Yorkshire and Humber Programme 2007 – 2013 and utilised additional funding from the University of Sheffield.

For more information on the Big Energy Upgrade please visit: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/bigenergyupgrade

Tina McGuinness commences a 2 year NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship with the Environment Agency, ‘Planning for floods and droughts in the face of climate change – a continuum approach’. This fellowship will adopt an integrated approach to managing floods and droughts in the context of a changing climate, including physical measures to manage extremes as well human responses. She’ll be working with the Environment Agency 2 days per week during the period of the fellowship.

The advancement in cloud services now offers Universities and research groups access to an unparalleled level of technological power. On Wednesday 23rd January 2013, The University of Sheffield will play host an event to demonstrate the Supply Chain Environmental Analysis Tool (SCEnAT), an innovative application powered by Microsoft Windows Azure technology. The event will also celebrate the launch of the Microsoft and JANET document pack.

Your place at the event must be booked at http://scenat.eventbrite.com. For more information, please see the flyer available here.

Staff and students from the Institute of Work Psychology (IWP) are once again a powerful presence at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology Conference in Chester, taking place on 9-11 January.

The conference is the flagship conference for the Occupational Psychology profession in the UK. We are proud to announce that  IWP has posters and symposia delivered by four of our recently-graduated MSc students, a current PhD student, and four of our academic staff. Numerous alumni of the IWP are also presenting their work. IWP contributions are as follows:

Dr Kamal Birdi is presenting his research looking into the effectiveness of knowledge sharing in European police organisations.

Dr Angela Carter has organised a symposium of papers relating to how Occupational Psychologists can support young people in their pursuit of employment.  As well as facilitating a group discussion, Dr Carter is presenting her model that explores issues of youth employment.

Dr Karoline Strauss has been invited to showcase her work by the Division, as an illustration of exemplary research suitable for the upcoming Research Excellence Framework review.  Dr Strauss’ presentation focuses on proactive behaviour at work, and its relation to individuals’ careers.

Natalie Clark is presenting her MSc dissertation on employee development, which examines how an organisation can maximise its return on investment in austere times.  Natalie worked alongside Stuart Duff from Pearn Kandola Business Psychologists, and was supervised by Prof John Arnold.

Leanne Ingram and Marc Van Huizen are co-presenting their study into the implementation and evaluation of mindfulness training.  Marc and Leanne carried out their MSc projects with Dr Nadine Mellor of the Health and Safety Laboratory at Buxton, and were supervised by Prof John Arnold.

Stephen McGlynn, a PhD student at IWP, is hosting a series of communication workshops at the Conference, and is also graduating from the Division’s Leadership Development Programme, a new initiative designed to develop future leaders of the profession.

Emma Rowett is presenting a poster on her MSc project, which investigated the factors that lead to proactive behaviour.  Emma was supervised by Dr Karoline Strauss.

For more information on IWP go to http://www.shef.ac.uk/management/iwp/about

The Festival of Social Science is run by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and took place between the 3rd and 10th of November this year. With events from some of the country’s leading social scientists across the UK the festival celebrated the very best of British social science research and how it influences our social, economic and political lives – both now and in the future. The Management School was pleased to  contribute the following events to the festival this year:

Punched from the screen: Workplace cyberbullying

Dr Christine Sprigg, Dr Carolyn Axtell and Sam Farley of  IWP and Dr Iain Coyne of Nottingham University

This event took place on the 7th of November and was concerned with the findings of the school’s recent study of workplace cyberbullying and its employee impact  in a number of university settings.  The study has consequently received international interest from Canada, India, France, and the US. The event was also the launch of the forthcoming research over the next three years with PhD student Sam Farley, who will be partly working on a work-based measure of cyberbullying. Dr Christine Sprigg said:  “Securing the ESRC funding enabled us to make an international media impact but also find high quality and relevant organizational local collaborators for our research going forwards. We are delighted to have been supported by ESRC in this way.”

Who wants to be an entrepreneur?

Dr Peter Rodgers, Dr Rob Wapshott of the Management School

This interactive workshop took place on the 9th of November at Longley Park Sixth Form College, Sheffield. The event was designed to raise awareness of issues relating to entrepreneurship and enterprise, giving students the opportunity to engage with and develop the skills required to set up and sustain business ventures.

Walking the tightrope: Elite performance in humans

Dr Ute Stephan of  IWP , Dr. Paul Thomas of DNAdefinitive and BBC Business Doctor, Andy McCann of Mental Skills Coach to Elite Athletes, Dr Mark Stacey NHS Anaesthetist, Andy Halliday Team GB Manager Men’s Hockey and Sam Brearey current World Sailing Champion and Steve Eaton, MBE, of the Special Forces

The aim of this event organised by the Management School in association with DNA definitive Wales, was to answer and discuss the following questions:

• How can we get the best of out of ourselves and show peak performance when it really matters?
• What is the role of leaders in encouraging high performance – are we perhaps best off getting rid of management altogether?
• Which lessons can we learn from expert entrepreneurs on how to lead for high performance while creating truly innovative organisations?

The event brought together insights from business leaders, sports professionals, fire arms and medical specialists as well as academics and made for lively discussions with participants hailing from business, professional sports, public health, police and fire services and third sector.

Fuel Poverty related illnesses: a preventable plague

Prof. S.C. Lenny Koh – Director of Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES), University of Sheffield  Management School; Councillor Jack Scott – Cabinet Member, Sheffield City Council; Robert Marchand – Doctoral Researcher at CEES, University of Sheffield Management School; Kath McDaid – Project Development Co-ordinator, National Energy Action (NEA); Prof. Angela Tod – Professor of Health Services Research, Sheffield Hallam University; Kath Horner – Health Improvement Principle, NHS Sheffield; Jo Butcher – Health and Fuel Poverty Advisor, Friends of the Earth.

Attended by 50 delegates ranging from Cabinet Members,  Local Authority figures, Department of Health and  NHS representatives, third sector organisation and university associates, this event took place on the 6th of November in Firth Hall at the University of Sheffield. The event stimulated debate and discussion around the challenges of fuel poverty and how this impacts on health.  The event builds upon the BIG Energy Upgrade project (BEU), which The University of Sheffield is one of 14 partners including 6 Local Authorities, 4 ALMOs, 2 Social Housing Providers and Yorkshire Energy Services, which has received £14.9m funding of which £7m has been provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The BEU project targets deprived communities in Yorkshire & Humber and it aims to tackle fuel poverty and at the same time aims to stimulate business development and create job opportunities for those living in the targeted communities.

Coping with Austerity

Professor Jason Heyes University of Sheffield Management School, Dr Kevin Farnsworth from the University of Sheffield Department of Sociological Studies, Alan  Fraser Chief Executive of Birmingham YMCA

Taking place on the 9th of November at the Holy Trinity School in Barnsley, the primary aim of this event was to raise awareness of the consequences and potential consequences of the current government’s austerity measures, particularly in relation to their impact on the life chances and labour market experiences of young people. The event was also intended to demonstrate to the audience the value of social science research.  More than 40 young people between the ages of 16 and 18, including students from Holy Trinity, Sir Thomas Wharton Community College in Doncaster and Thomas Rotherham College in Rotherham attended the event. There were three presentations discussing potential alternative means of dealing with government debt,  the impact of spending and benefits cuts on homelessness,  and whether weaker employment protections are likely to lead to improvements in the employment opportunities available to young people and their ability to access good quality jobs.

Further information:

• The ESRC Festival of Social Science offers a fascinating insight into some of the country’s leading social science research and how it influences our social, economic and political lives – both now and in the future. This celebration of the social sciences takes place across the UK – via public debates, conferences, workshops, interactive seminars, film screenings, virtual exhibitions and much more. This is the tenth year that ESRC has held the Festival of Social Science and each year the Festival grows from strength to strength.
  Visit: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/
• The Big Energy Upgrade is a regional flagship project addressing the priority needs of both reduction in carbon emissions and the creation of jobs. To address the issues in an integrated approach the University of Sheffield has brought together a multidisciplinary team of academics working alongside Local Authorities, ALMOs, social housing providers and an energy services company. The Big Energy Upgrade, is delivered by a consortium of local authorities and social housing providers, led by Kirklees Council, is a very ambitious project as, for the first time in the UK, the Partners will work together in adopting a fully integrated, whole-house approach while installing energy efficiency measures and micro generation technologies in households. Through individual household assessments the project will identify a highly individual package of measures for each of the households and which will provide optimal insulation and energy control to the house.
  Visit: www.sheffield.ac.uk/bigenergyupgrade

Tina McGuinness started work on  ’Organisational operational response and strategic decision making and long-term flood preparedness in urban areas’, which started in December and is funded by the EPSRC (£1,049,917, 2012-2015). This is an inter-disciplinary project combining expertise from computing and hydrological engineering, economics, management and the behavioural sciences with collaborators from the universities of Durham, Leeds, Kingston and the West of England. (McGuinness Co-Investigator; £327,887 apportioned to the University of Sheffield).

Richard Mellish, Head of the Green Deal Programme at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) addressed the BIG Energy Upgrade Green Deal Value Chain event at The University of Sheffield on Tuesday 18 September 2012. The event celebrated the contribution of the BIG Energy Upgrade to the national Green Deal and looked at future implications for homes and businesses across the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Mellish joined policy makers, representatives from local authorities, green deal providers, academics from the University of Sheffield and a panel of the UK’s biggest energy providers to discuss how to maximise the benefits that the Green Deal could provide to the region.

The BIG Energy Upgrade: Procurement and supply chain report – Green Deal and Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Supply Chains Delivery – was launched at the Green Deal Value Chain event and a copy of that report can now be downloaded.

For more information about this post, please see:

http://www.shef.ac.uk/cees/news

http://shef.ac.uk/news/nr/partnership-celebrates-ground-breaking-green

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/bigenergyupgrade

The International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, CITY College in Thessaloniki, Greece organised a successful workshop regarding “Green development in businesses’ supply chains” on the initiative of Professor Lenny Koh, Director of Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES) at the Management School.

The event took place on Wednesday, 17 October 2012 at the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industries Conference Hall. Within the thematic framework, Professor Koh presented the ‘SCEnAT- Supply Chain Environmental Analysis Tool’ to representatives of Greek companies and organizations. The methodology and functionality of the tool were explained in greater detail by Dr. Andrea Genovese, Lecturer in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, who also gave some illustrative work example for the practical implementation of SCEnAT.

The event was organized in cooperation with the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industries (TCCI) and the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece (F.I.N.G). Both Mr. Emmanuel Vlahogiannis, the Vice-President of TCCI, and Mr. Athanasios Savvakis, the Secretary General of FING, pointed in their speeches to the critical economic environment for Greek businesses and emphasized the necessity for political support of the private sector to overcome the current crisis. All speakers of the event, including also Prof. Panayiotis Ketikidis, Vice-Principal of the International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, CITY College, and Mr. Andreas Baresel-Bofinger, Lecturer at CITY College, welcomed the availability of such tools as SCEnAT resulting from applied science in order to make enterprises more sustainable and stressed the importance of bridging the gap between academia and business with such initiatives. Green development, as it was emphasized, should not be considered any longer just an option but a necessity for enterprises for future competitiveness. Times of crisis may serve as an opportunity to rethink strategic objectives.

In two lively question & answer sessions the tool and its implementation were further discussed.

This innovative, cloud-based decision support tool for reducing the carbon footprint of a company’s supply chain has been developed in close collaboration with industry partners comprising large multinational organsiations, including prestigious names, such as Rolls Royce, as well as local SMEs. SCEnAT (www.scenat.com ) is the result of a research project undertaken by the University of Sheffield in partnership with the University of Hull and the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, funded by the Centre for Low Carbon Futures (CLCF). An inter-disciplinary team of academics from several disciplines (including Supply Chain Management, Environmental Science, Social Sciences) is ensuring the continuous enhancement of SCEnAT. The team is led by Professor Lenny Koh.

In Greece green innovation in supply chain management is increasingly being recognised as a major factor in today’s business environment, although development and implementation are progressing at a relatively slow pace. The workshop provided the audience with knowledge on an excellent practical tool to measure, evaluate and finally reduce the environmental impacts of their supply chains. The workshop also aimed at contributing to executives’ understanding the importance of green innovation in their efforts to become more modern and innovative companies able to better compete in international markets.

For related articles, please see:

http://www.city.academic.gr/news/story.asp?id=487

http://shef.ac.uk/news/nr/carbon-emission-supply-chains-1.174415