Thomas Diefenbach

Biography

Professor in Management Professor Thomas Diefenbach is an international academic with more than 20 years of teaching experience at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels in the fields of management, business ethics, organisation studies, and strategic management. He has been working and teaching in Germany, France, former Soviet Union/Russia, UK (England and Scotland), Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Egypt, Japan and Australia. Prior to his appointment at Charles Darwin University (CDU) Business School, Thomas had been teaching at various business schools in East and Southeast Asia, North Africa and Europe. Before his work in Higher Education, Thomas worked for quite some years as an independent business consultant and freelance lecturer in VET. He also worked for several private and public sector organisations and business associations.

Research Interest

In his research, Thomas focuses on socio-philosophical and critical analysis of organisations, individuals within organisations, economies and societies. Thomas is particularly interested in theoretical and empirical concepts of democratic, non-hierachical organisations, empowerment, participation, freedom, equality and just societies. He has carried out empirical research projects in Germany, The Netherlands, England, Scotland, Egypt, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Thomas has published widely in academic journals such as Organisation Studies, Public Administration and Research in the Sociology of Organisations. In his latest monograph, Hierarchy and Organisation (2013), he developed a general theory for analysing and explaining the emergence and continuation of hierarchical social systems.