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Why organisational perspectives on the future matter

Management and organisational research are becoming increasingly future-focussed (Wickert, 2025). This is not because scholars are trying to predict what comes next, but because futures are organised. They are imagined, debated, foreclosed and realised through the everyday work of organisations, institutions and the communities that constitute them. Futures do not simply arrive; they are in a continual state of becoming and are shaped through the ways actors of various kinds coalesce around ideas and respond to matters of concern.

Dr Kate Han

Meet the expert: Dr Kate Han 

Meet Dr Kate Han, Lecturer in Information System and Digital Business here at Salford Business School. From completing her PhD followed by a research fellowship, she acquired a keen interest in researching data science, automation, scheduling, and transportation simulation and optimisation.

Dr Jonathan Lord

Meet the expert – Dr Jonathan Lord 

Meet Dr Jonathan Lord, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management here at Salford Business School. Here at Salford, he brings curiosity by encouraging students to debate real-world employment tribunals and discuss how we can employ better working conditions for working people.

Meet the expert: Igho Ekiugbo

Meet Igho Ekiugbo, Lecturer in Supply Chains and Project Management here at Salford Business School. Igho’s passion for academia started after his undergraduate degree, where he discovered a passion for supply chains and how we can meet sustainability goals. 

Jonathan Owens

Meet the expert: Dr Jonathan Owens

Dr Jonathan Owens has always been a Salford ambassador through and through, having started as an undergraduate student, then joining his supervisor on a research project, and later becoming a permanent academic. His passion for Salford has led him on extraordinary journeys - from meeting royalty to redesigning two award-winning modules – and has enabled him to create opportunities for Salford students throughout his career.

Applying general selection theory to business decisions for sustainability 

Dr David Beech, an organisational psychologist and Lecturer in Salford Business School, recently presented his practical research on applying general selection theory to business decision-making for sustainability. His work proposes a socio-ecological framework to help managers understand how different types of decisions and processes can support long-term sustainability. 

2026 predictions: the next phase of AI in the workplace 

As 2026 approaches, artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve at remarkable speed, embedding itself deeper into working life. Organisations now face new challenges and opportunities in how they apply, govern and benefit from AI.