Leo McCann
Professor of Management

Profile

Biography

Leo McCann is Professor of Management at the School for Business and Society.

Joining York in September 2018, he previously worked at the University of Manchester and at Cardiff University. His academic background is in the disciplines of sociology and history. His teaching and research is interdisciplinary in nature, exploring the complexities and contradictions of management, work, and globalization through qualitative inquiry in contemporary and historical contexts.

Research

Overview

Professor McCann’s research and teaching interests range over the following areas: work and employment; globalization and social change; and management history. His research is usually based on qualitative, ethnographic investigation and writing, often exploring the everyday struggles and rewards of professional working life across many occupations. He is particularly interested in the organizational  conflicts that often arise between professional discretion versus centralized control and measurement. His recent work has focused in particular on white-collar and uniformed professionals, and he has recently completed a new book on the working lives of NHS paramedics in England.

Leo is the editor-in-chief of the journal Competition and Change, a journal of globalization, financialisation and political economy. http://journals.sagepub.com/home/cch

Leo is currently working on a research project funded by The Health Foundation about managerial capacity in England's National Health Service.

As part of his research into management history, he recently won a 2-year research grant from the British Academy to investigate the papers of Robert S. McNamara, former U.S. Secretary of Defense. This study will form part of Leo’s continuing interest in the history of metrics and performance management - part of an ongoing exploration of why managerial attempts to control and measure complex professional work so often fail.

Recent blogs, news articles and submissions to Parliamentary inquiries about his research into ambulance services are available here:

• http://blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk/posts/2017/06/the-hidden-emergency-in-englands-nhs-ambulance-service/
• https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/nhs-breaking-point-optimism_uk_5b59de47e4b0b15aba96369d?guccounter=1
• http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/public-accounts-committee/ambulance-services-study/written/48759.html

Twitter: @LeoMc76

ORCID: 0000-0002-0754-804X

Professor McCann is potentially interested in hearing from outstanding PhD candidates who are conducting research in the above areas.

Publications

Full publications list

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Teaching

Other teaching

Leo teaches two undergraduate modules at York: a first-year introductory course known as 'History of Management', and a final year course 'Rethinking Management Knowledge'.