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Kevin Daniels is Professor of Organizational
Behaviour and head of the Employment Systems
and Institutions Group at the University of East
Anglia. He is a Fellow of the British
Psychological Society, a Chartered Psychologist
and a full member of the Division of
Occupational Psychology. From 1998-2007, he
was an associate editor of the Journal of
Occupational and Organizational Psychology
and from 2007-2012, he was an associate editor
of Human Relations. He currently serves on the
editorial board of both these journals and the
Journal of Management. Kevin has been
principal or co-investigator on several Health and
Safety Executive funded projects concerned with
stress and well-being in the workplace, as well
as Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council grants concerned with job design and
safety in high hazard engineering.
DEPARTMENT OF
ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Event: Department of Organizational Psychology Summer Seminar Series
When: 23 July 2014, 1.30pm to 8.30pm
Venue: Birkbeck College (Room location TBA)
Speakers include: Professor Patrick Tissington, Dr Chris Dewberry, Dr Katrina Pritchard, Dr Kate
Mackenzie Davey, Dr Andreas Liefooghe, and a keynote address by Professor Kevin Daniels
Come along and join us on Wednesday, 23 July 2014 to hear about the latest research taking place
in the Department of Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck. This is a wonderful opportunity for
alumni and current students to hear about the latest developments in the fields of Occupational
Psychology, Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management. There will also be time to
network with alumni, current students, academics and staff from the department during the day and at
the wine reception following the seminar.
How can I extend this exciting event? This event is free to extend and is open to all alumni, current
students and professional colleagues engage or interested in the field of organisational behaviour,
HRM and beyond. To join us at this event please complete a registration form by following this link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/summer-seminar-series-tickets-11777134727
Summer Seminar Series: Proceedings at a Glance
Welcome and Opening Address
Professor Pat Tissington, Head of Department, Birkbeck University of London.
Pat was appointed Head of Department in June 2013 at a point
where the department had been through some significant
changes. He will outline new developments and what the
department looks like as we move towards another new
academic year. There are new courses and new staff, but still
the same core values that our alumni will recognise.
Keynote Presentation: “Beyond Job Crafting”
Professor Kevin Daniels, University of East Anglia
Job crafting refers to informal attempts made by workers to
improve their working conditions. Job crafting has become a
‘hot’ topic in job design research and is seen as a ‘bottom-up’
alternative to ‘top-down’ management-led job design (e.g.,
formal introduction of semi-autonomous team working). Job

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crafting may, therefore, help explain some of the mixed results concerning the introduction of planned
job re-design interventions to improve work related well-being. Such interventions are based on
research that indicates associations between the presence or absence of job features and health and
well-being, without taking into account the genesis of such job features (crafted or imposed). In this
presentation, I will explore the: (i) individual, social and organisational processes of how jobs come to
be; (ii) the cognitive and emotional processes that translate job characteristics into outcomes such as
well-being and motivation; and (iii) how a better understanding of the complexities of job design and
job crafting can inform the better management of job redesign interventions.
“Deciding not to decide: Rationale thought or strong emotions? “
Dr Chris Dewberry, Birkbeck University of London
There is a great deal of theory research on how we make decisions, but little on how we avoid
them. In this talk an investigation into the psychological mechanism by which people avoid decisions
will be presented, as will the influence of this mechanism on decision-making competence. Individual
differences in the tendency to put off decisions off will be considered, and the relevance of this
research for decision-making at work will be discussed.
“A performative examination of accounts of clinical practice in medical director identity”
Dr Kate Mackenzie Davey
1
& Dr Megan Joffe
2
, Birkbeck University of London
1
, Edgecumbe Group,
Bristol, UK
2
Medical directors struggle to maintain their identity as doctors. This study identifies the performative
aspects in their accounts of the role of clinical practice in their credibility as managers. In doing so it
highlights the instability as well as the power of identity as doctor and the cultural context in which this
identity is nurtured and valued. This exposes the identity medical directors are sacrificing or putting at
risk and raises our own ambivalence about those who “give up” the practice of medicine
“The Eye of the Beholder: On observation in organizations”
Dr Andreas Liefooghe, Birkbeck University of London
Does not all science start with an observation, regardless of the (lack of) theoretical neutrality? Can
we question why so few observational studies are conducted in organizations these days, and how
this might contribute to an arguably diminished field? Drawing on three longitudinal observational
studies, we will discuss the problematics of seeing and being seen. Touching on Popperian
falsification, Russell’s induction, the Foucauldian gaze and the Lacanian scopic drive, this paper
charts a messy course in the quest for beauty if not truth.
“Can Barbie* be an entrepreneur?”
Dr Katrina Pritchard
1
, Helen Cooper
2
and Dr Kate Mackenzie-Davey
1
, Birkbeck University of London
1
,
Helen Cooper Associates
2
In February 2014 Mattel announced the launch of “Entrepreneur Barbie*” as the latest in their “I can
be” range of the classic (even iconic,) doll. This latest career move for Barbie was widely reported in
the press and was the subject of much discussion on various Web 2.0 media. Considering such
discussions as a discursive resource, our research poses the question: Can Barbie be an
entrepreneur? Our data are Web 2.0 discussions and company information distributed by Mattel
(including via/from Barbie’s very own twitter account @Barbie) via the internet. Firstly, we will
unpack Barbie’s* career to date, and review the implications for understandings of gendered
careers. Secondly, we will reflect on the latest move to ‘entrepreneur’ considering the implications for
(gendered) understandings of entrepreneurship. We further reflect on the construction of Barbie’s
career as a significant cultural artefact that extends the reach of the material artefact, the Barbie doll.
(*© Mattel)
Concluding Remarks and Closing Session
Professor Pat Tissington, Head of Department, Birkbeck University of London.
Networking Event: Reception