Leading and transforming health care organisations
Professor Michael D Fischer, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Leadership at Australian Catholic University, and Visiting Scholar at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. My research and teaching have a strong empirical focus on the practice-level microsociology of organisational change in research-intensive settings, especially healthcare. I specialise in ethnographic and comparative case studies to analyse 'backstage' dynamics of intersubjective relations, emotions and group politics, and their effects in shaping ideas, material practices, and organisational change.
Trained as a business school social scientist and group analyst, I publish in top tier (Financial Times 'top 50' list and CABS 4*) international journals, including Accounting, Organizations and Society, Human Relations, Organization Studies, Public Administration, and Social Science & Medicine. I hold a PhD from Imperial College London, University of London. Learn more about my research >>
AREAS of Research
The micro-sociology of major organisational change
How do practice-level interactions lead to major organisational change? Through analysing the crucial yet often invisible 'backstage' dynamics of organisational life, my research has provided key breakthroughs in understanding how ideas, knowledge and practices may be mobilised to produce dramatic organisational change. This research has informed policymakers and regulators in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
'Assembling' organisational leadership
What is the key to effective organisational leadership? My work with global leaders at the University of Oxford and University of Melbourne has analysed in depth how executives 'assemble' ideas, techniques and materials, crafting and often strategically deploying these in their day-to-day interactions. This research has provided novel insights into the dynamics and impact of 'knowledge leadership' in a range of knowledge intensive organisations.
Developing research-intensive healthcare systems
How can we accelerate the development of research-intensive healthcare organisations? My international career working with leading healthcare organisations has provided key insights into effective leadership in collaboration and change in complex interdisciplinary systems. My studies of Academic Health Science organisations in the UK and Australia reveal the critical role of emotional-affective and political dynamics in leading and mobilising organisational change in healthcare.
