School of Management launches podcast series

The Knowledge Transfer Network podcast is particularly aimed at supporting small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

Host David Spicer, Professor of Small Business Development and Organisation Studies at the University of Bradford, said: "We hope people will find it interesting and informative. Each episode is a conversation between one of our academic experts and someone from industry broadly talking on the theme of responsible management and sharing their insights. 

"It’s great fun for me because I get to hear these experts talking about issues they are passionate about.

"In the first few episodes, we particularly focus on what we mean by responsible management and is that different to good management. Responsible management covers everything from a business’s responsibility towards their employees, their stakeholders, their customers, the environment. It’s about how you engage and respond to people in meaningful ways."

Pictured above: Professor David Spicer

The first episode features James Mason, CEO of the West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and Professor Sankar Sivarajah, Dean of the School of Management, named as Business School of the Year by the Times Higher Education awards in 2021. 

In it, Mr Mason advises organisations, no matter what their size, to "stop and reflect on your purpose. Is it for the greater good of society. Do you have the right people with you because they are at the heart of everything you do."

In each episode, guests also name their management heroes. In the first episode, Professor Sivarajah states that there is no one management hero he has learnt from but rather he has learned from many. He lists responsible leaders he looks up to such as Nelson Mandela, former US President Barack Obama and his father for inspiring him. 

Professor Spicer, who is also Director of Business and Community Engagement at the School of Management, said: "A lot of the time, the guests name someone very personal to them, the people who have influenced them and shaped their careers. There’s a big lesson there for all of us about the impact we have on people early on in their careers and making sure that’s positive."

Other episodes discuss issues such as supply chain management, social media and entrepreneurship. Industry guests include Alison Rance, Be the Business board member and former Vice President of Arla foods, Jelena Savonina, Operations Director at Ebor Financial Planning and Rachel Hatfield, co-founder of social media company, Shoo.

Pictured above: Professor Sankar Sivarajah

The podcasts build on the School of Management’s Knowledge Transfer Network, a networking community of more than 1,500 SMEs. Professor Spicer hopes the podcasts will enable that community to grow.

He said: “We run regular networking events with the Knowledge Transfer Network, but post-pandemic, like many organisations, we realised there was a need for a hybrid model. The podcasts mean we can reach a wider audience and people can listen whenever they choose, as they are not tied to a particular time or location. 

“We believe the topics we are discussing will have a wide interest and will be insightful to those in business, as well as our student and global alumni."

Professor Sivarajah said: "The podcast is a brilliant new initiative that came out of the feedback we had from KTN members about the best ways we could provide impactful thought leadership and support from the School and our network. It will be exciting to see the series develop and hear from the great contributors both from the world of practice and academia that we have lined up. This initiative is very much aligned to our School’s mission and business and community engagement strategy."

The KTN Podcasts are available on Spotify, Apple, Amazon and Google. You can also subscribe here.