The pandemic has cast a strong light on deep social and economic divisions in the UK and we touch on many of these themes in the latest issue of the AMBS Magazine, which has just been published.
We take a special look at social enterprise and at how AMBS and the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre have been at the forefront of this movement for many years, helping students create innovative social enterprises. In particular, Dr Rob Phillips from the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre, talks about how social enterprise can give students untold benefits.
Our Director for Social Responsibility Hongwei He also takes the opportunity to talk about how AMBS is in a unique position to contribute to the fight against COVID-19 due to our diverse expertise. For instance how new research in the fields of accounting, finance and economics can provide policy advice during the ongoing pandemic and post-pandemic recovery; while our healthcare and operation management teams can help organisations prepare for a reframed future. We also report on how AMBS has secured funding to support research into the long-term recovery of local communities from the pandemic.
Productivity
We also take an in-depth look at the recently launched £32m Productivity Institute at Alliance MBS which will play a key role in helping policy and business leaders across the UK understand how to improve productivity and living standards as the economy recovers from the impact of the virus. There is also a commentary from Institute Managing Director Professor Bart van Ark who talks about his hopes and aspirations for the Institute.
Precarious work in labour markets has been a particular focus within the Work and Equalities Institute (WEI) at AMBS in recent years, and in this issue we also look at a project headed by PhD researcher Eva Herman. Thanks to a CASE studentship, Eva has been studying the care and hospitality sectors in the UK to better understand the causes and consequences of precarious work, and how it affects men and women in different ways. During her study she has been co-supervised by Oxfam GB which has been conducting its own research into precarious work and low pay.
Wellbeing
We also have an exclusive interview with AMBS alumnus and Advisory Board member David Gregson who talks about the campaign he is heading up to measure the wellbeing of schoolchildren across the UK.
Professor Karen Niven also writes about how emotions are central to achieving most work-related goals, and at how they shape our wellbeing and performance at work.