Dr Diane Preston
Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Head of Department for People and Organisations
You can email Dr Diane Preston directly; but for media enquiries please contact a member of The Open University's Media Relations team.
Biography
Diane is a Senior Lecturer in HRM. She joined The Open University Business School in 1997 from Loughborough University. She completed her Doctorate in Management Learning at Lancaster University in 1991.
Since joining OUBS, she has been involved in the production and presentation of many modules at both post-graduate and undergraduate levels. She was the Module Chair and main author on the Level 1 course, An introduction to business studies (B120) launched in 2006 which to date has about 20K students around the world. She is currently writing a new MBA elective module in Strategic HRM that launches in May 2012.
Diane is the Head of the HRCM (Human Resource & Change Management) Centre and also a member of the IMPEL (International Management Practice, Education & Learning) Research Unit at OUBS. A main research interest is how individuals make sense of work and organisations. Most recently, Diane has been involved in research looking at Professionals becoming managers in the Higher Education, Health and Child Care sectors.
Diane was also Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning in OUBS between August 2008 and September 2010.
Teaching interests
Diane is interested in all aspects of teaching and learning design and the student pathway.
Research interests
Management learning, education and development, HRM, organisational culture, organisational socialisation, professionals becoming managers, management in HE, the NHS and childcare sectors, teaching and learning, educational policy and practice.
Publications
(2013) 'Being a manager in an English nursery', European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, vol. 21, pp. (in press). Abstract
(2012) '‘I see it as a phase: I don’t see it as the future’: academics as managers in a UK university', Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, vol. 34, issue 4, pp. 409-419. Abstract
(2007) 'Improving the recruitment and return of nurses and allied health professionals: a quantitative study', Health Services Management Research, vol. 20, issue 1, pp. 22-36. Abstract
(2006) 'How well can the theory of planned behavior account for occupational intentions?', Journal of Vocational Behavior, vol. 69, issue 3, pp. 374-390. Abstract
(2003) 'Attractiveness of physiotherapy in the National Health Service as a career choice: qualitative study', Physiotherapy, vol. 89, issue 10, pp. 575-583. Abstract
(2003) 'Corporate images of the United Kingdom National Health Service: implications for the recruitment and retention of nursing and allied health professional staff', Corporate Reputation Review, vol. 6, issue 3, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 223-238. Abstract
(2003) 'Perceptions of radiography and the National Health Service: a qualitative study', Radiography, vol. 9, issue 2, pp. 109-122. Abstract
(2002) 'Tensions and benefits in collaborative research involving a university and another organization', Studies in Higher Education, vol. 27, issue 2, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Routledge, pp. 169-185. Abstract
(2001) 'Who would be a radiographer in the NHS?', Synergy News, pp. 12. Abstract
(2001) 'The attractiveness of working for the NHS as a radiographer: a review of the literature', RAD Magazine, vol. 27, issue 312, pp. 67-68. Abstract
(2000) 'Bringing Canadian health care closer to home: the initial stages of change for senior managers within the province of British Columbia', Health Services Management Journal, vol. 13, pp. 111-119.
(2000) 'The NHS manager: a view from the bridge', Journal of Management in Medicine, vol. 14, issue 2, Emerald, pp. 100-108.
(1998) 'Responsible autonomy or direct control: business process re-engineering and the health professional', Work, Technology and Employment, vol. 13, issue 2, pp. 129-139.
(1997) 'Born Again? The ethics and efficacy of the conversion experience in contemporary management development', Journal of Management Studies, vol. 34, issue 5, pp. 677-701.
(1997) 'Doctor in the process: the engagement of clinical directors in hospital management', Journal of Management in Medicine, vol. 11, issue 3, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 132-156.
(1997) 'The importance of being earnest: reflections on the attempt to create an information-led organizational culture in the NHS', Health Manpower Management Journal, vol. 23, issue 4, pp. 120-123.
(1997) 'When two worlds collide: conducting management research in a medical environment', Evaluation, vol. 3, issue 1, Sage Publications, pp. 01/01/21.
(1996) 'Communications between professional groups in a NHS Trust hospital', Journal of Management in Medicine, vol. 10, issue 2, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 31-39.
(1996) 'Symbols of the NHS: understanding the culture and communication processes of a general hospital', Management Learning, vol. 27, issue 3, pp. 343-358.
(1993) 'Accrediting managers' learning - the way forward for executive development?', Executive Development Journal, vol. 6, issue 5, pp. 01/12/14.
(1993) 'APL: The Relationship Between Reality and Rhetoric', Management Education and Development, vol. 24, issue 4, pp. 395-405.
(1992) 'Does accommodation play a part in students' choice of university?', Higher Education Review, vol. 25, issue 1, pp. 57-67.
(1992) 'Elements of not-for-profits services: a case of university accommodation', European Journal of Marketing, vol. 26, issue 12, pp. 57-72.
(1992) 'Life in the cell: supervision and teamwork in a manufacturing systems engineering environment', Human Resource Management Journal, vol. 2, issue 4, pp. 01/01/25.
(1991) 'Internationalizing European management schools through faculty development', European Management Journal, vol. 9, issue 3, pp. 301-305.
(1991) 'Internationalizing faculty: the need for a European forum?', European Management Development Journal, vol. 3, pp. 22-23.
(1997) 'Cases in Retailing: Operational Perspectives', Oxford, Blackwell.
(1999) 'Organizational climate and culture issues amongst nurses within a community healthcare trust in England', Le Blanc, PM, Peters, MCW, Bussing, A and Schaufeli, WB (eds) Organizational Psychology and Healthcare - European Contributions, Rainer Hampp Verlag, pp. 205-220.
(1997) 'Management competencies for graduate recruits to the retail industry', Smith, A (ed.) Cases in Retailing: operational perspectives, Oxford, Blackwell, pp. 201-215.
(1997) 'The recruitment and selection process as a public relations exercise', Smith, A (ed.) Cases in Retailing: operational perspectives, Oxford, Blackwell, pp. 226-233.
(1995) 'Developing the international manager', MWoods (ed.) International Management, London, Chapman and Hall, pp. 133-148.
(2005) 'Dr. Kildare or Casualty What is the identity of the caring professional and where does it come from?', British Management Studies conference, Cambridge, July.
(2004) 'Sense and sensibility in Playland: an exploration of management in the child care sector', 22nd Standing Conference on Organizational Symbolism, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, July.
(2003) 'Corporate images of the United Kingdom National Health Service: implications for staff recruitment and retention', Identity and Diversity in Organizations: building bridges in Europe, 11th European Congress on Work and Organizational Psychology, Lisbon, May.
(2002) 'A qualitative study of the attractiveness of the United Kingdom National Health Service as an employer to potential nursing and professions allied to medicine staff', 3rd International Conference on Organizational Behaviour in Health Care, Said Business School, Oxford, 21-22 March.
(2002) 'Looking good? The corporate reputation of the United Kingdom National Health Service', British Academy of Management, Middlesex University Business School, London, September.
(2001) 'Bridging the divide between needed and potential employees - the National Health Service in Great Britain', Proceedings of the Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, Auckland New Zealand, 5 - 8 December.
(2001) 'Conducting research within an organization-academic collaboration - a case study', Proceedings of the Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 5-8 December.
(2001) 'The motives of healthcare professionals for moving into management roles', Proceedings of the Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 5-8 December.
(2000) 'Healthcare professionals into management - role choice and role conflict', Dilemmas Facing the Public Sector: Issues for Professionals, Managers and Users in the Millennium, University of East London, September.
(2000) 'People don't hear your ideas if you just stand there shouting words: internal communications within a NHS community trust', 2nd International Research Symposium, Organizational Behaviour in Healthcare: reflections on the future, Keele University, January.
(1999) 'Organizational culture and change in community healthcare', British Psychological Society, Occupational Psychology Conference, Blackpool, January, pp. 61-66.
(1998) 'Organizing community: health care reform as the transformation of boundaries', 9th Annual Conference on Critical Perspectives in Nursing, Flinders University of South Australia, June.
(1997) 'Responsible Autonomy or Direct Control: Business Process Re-engineering and the Health Professional', Labour Process Conference, University of Edinburgh, March.
(1997) 'Organizational culture issues within a community health care trust', 5th European Conference on Organizational Psychology and Health Care, Utrecht University, Holland, October.
(1997) 'Professionals in the new NHS: a case study of business process re-engineering', British Academy of Management Annual Conference, London, September.
(1996) 'Great expectations in retailing: bridging the gap in graduate perceptions', 3rd International Conference on Recent Advances in Retailing and Services Science, Buchen/Telfsen, Austria, June.
(1993) 'Culture driven strategic marketing planning', 22nd European Marketing Academy Conference, 25-28 May.
(1993) 'Must strategic marketing planning fail?', Marketing Education Group Conference, Emerging Issues in Marketing, July.
(1991) 'The floggings will stop when morale improves: benefits and pitfalls of manufacturing systems engineering', Management and Work Organization in the 1990s Conference, University of Bradford, September.
(1992) 'Whither APL? The Search for the Use of the Accreditation of Prior Learning within Management Development in the East Midlands', Loughborough University Management Research Series Paper, issue 24.
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