The Department of Business Information Management and Operations (BIMO) covers the following major subject areas: Project Management, Web Resource Management, Web Design and Development, Operations Management, Information Systems, Information Management, Knowledge Management, and Data Management and Process Modelling.
Teaching
The 26 permanent staff in the Department have qualifications and expertise covering a wide range of practical and theoretical knowledge pertinent to the constantly changing area of information systems and application of information and communication technologies to business operation, strategy and innovation.
The Department is fortunate to be able to supplement its teaching team from a group of nine visiting lecturers who are experienced practitioners, trainers and consultants.
The Department makes a significant contribution to the WBS undergraduate programme and to various Masters programmes offered within the School:
- BSc Enterprise Management (subject to validation)
- MSc Digital Enterprise Management
- MSc Information Management & Finance
- MSc Purchasing & Supply Chain Management
- MA Management
- MBA (Master of Business Administration)
A number of members of staff are PRINCE2® accredited instructors.
Professional memberships include British Computer Society (BCS), Chartered Management Institute (CMI), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
Research
The Department aims to build its profile in international research communities through undertaking high quality research and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in relevant fields.
Staff have research interests in the followings areas: operations and strategic management; the impact of ICT on operations; e-learning and e-assessment; supply chain management; decision support systems and expert systems; knowledge management; complexity and information systems; ethics & ICT issues; management of forensic computing; the applications of social media and information systems for sustainability; web information modelling/classification methodologies; socio-technical issues; social approaches to the use and development of web applications; e-government; and pedagogic aspects.
The Department hosts the Knowledge and Organisational Systems Group, with the formation of further research groups anticipated for the near future.
Business Services
Short Courses
- PRINCE2® Project Management Foundation course (5 days). This course prepares students who wish to take the PRINCE2® Foundation exam.
- PRINCE2® Project Management Practitioners course (5 days). This course prepares students who wish to take the PRINCE2® Practitioner exam.
- Henreyetta Simpson provides quarterly taught lab sessions for the CPD Foundation.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Fefie Dotsika and Keith Patrick are actively involved with Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) with local businesses:
- working with DSPG Telecom, this Partnership sought to understand EU/EEA markets for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community and the role for DSPG technologies, including the investigation of potential business models and the creation of the infrastructure plan (delivery mechanism network) for application across Europe. This involved the creation of a generic web portal for accessing DSPG technologies/services, including transactions, and was rolled-out to emerging European businesses.
- The Mapa International partnership involved the Strategic Business Development of Mapa. The Partnership facilitated the expansion of the company, in its physical size and in taking its products and services into Europe, increasing turnover and profit. This was achieved through the examination of their current e-product and service base and their remodelling, with the development of a Knowledge Management System that changed and streamlined how Mapa operated.
Consultancy
Rachel Lander and Nick Barnett have completed a Knowledge Connect Project for an SME in the value added retail sector. They worked with the company to identify process improvements, to model data requirements and plan business systems improvements, identifying technical solutions with particular reference to the possible upgrade paths for a growing company.
Dr Magda Hercheui is currently developing the knowledge hub New Media Knowledge (NMK) with the objective of strengthening a large community of professionals in the digital media and creative industries.
Dr William Hollins provides consultancy in Service Design Management.
Henryetta Simpson provides consultancy in IT for CPD requirements of Surveyors.
Head of Department: Dr David Barnes
A large percentage of staff within the Department are active researchers. Staff with high ranking journal publications include:
Phil Sainter is co-author for the book Managing
Engineering Knowledge, published by ASME PRESS NY, 2001, ISBN 0-7918-0165-9.