I am currently associate professor at Radboud University and program coordinator of the OD&D Master. Prior to this position I have been associate professor at VU Amsterdam, and visited Durham University, the Stockholm School of Economics and Cardiff Business School. In terms of teaching, I have always sought to covey enthusiasm and ignite curiosity for studying organisations and processes of organising, particularly through courses on Organisation Theory, and Organisational Change.
Why did you choose to work in this field?
Doing teaching and research in the field of Organisational Design and Development is genuinely fascinating – better understanding on how people design and change organisations is of particular significance not the least given the ubiquity of organisations in the contemporary society, the variety of organisational forms, and the impact these may have on our daily lives. As such it is of crucial importance that we encourage thinking about how we organise to provide good healthcare and education, to ensure energy and safety, to offer high-quality jobs for its employees, but also how we seek to adapt organisations to become more sustainable and responsible in a viable way.
Moreover, my interest is also strongly encouraged by the field’s multidisciplinary tradition – building on and drawing from sciences, humanities and design – making it a genuinely rich and inspiring area of work. The insights from this rich field also directly encourages students of organisations in thinking about how they themselves can make a difference in advancing contemporary organisations and mobilise for change.
What are you currently doing your own research on?
During the last decade I developed a line of research projects which concentrates on how particular ideas on organising and change (such as Agile, CSR, Hybrid Working, Lean, and Sustainability) are developed and become adopted by managers and organisations, and the variety of different ways these ideas may impact management and organisational practice such as through processes of implementation – or in short, how management ideas become translated into practice.
What is the best part of being a lecturer?
I experience listening to students when they present and defend their Masters’ thesis and seeing how they have grown throughout the OD&D program in terms of expertise, skills and personality as really the best part of being a lecturer!
What advice do you have for students making their study choice?
I think it would also be good to consider a Master where you can really grow as a person and develop character. For instance, what I appreciate in Organisational Design and Development is how it encourages students – between their very first lecture and their Master’s thesis defence – to develop themselves into a genuinely academically trained professional, yet each with a unique character. Throughout this OD&D Master specialisation they have not only acquired valuable expertise and skills, but also have advanced significantly in better articulating their own specific interests within a wide range of possibilities, and are able to convincingly explain their own vision on organising and change.