Peter Sandiford

Biography

Peter Sandiford lectures in Organisational Behaviour and Management. He joined the Business School in July 2012. Before this Peter worked in a number of universities in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. His previous career focused on Hospitality, working in hotels, restaurants and bars internationally, although he also has experience in accounts and sales. Peter Sandiford lectures in Organisational Behaviour and Management. He joined the Business School in July 2012. Before this Peter worked in a number of universities in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. His previous career focused on Hospitality, working in hotels, restaurants and bars internationally, although he also has experience in accounts and sales.

Research Interest

Peter’s research can be broadly categorised as the sociological analysis of work and hospitality. His earlier work focused more on the tourism sector and this has led to an interest in the nature of service work and interactions between server and served. His PhD explored the emotionality of work in English public houses (pubs) and this is developing into a broader based exploration of the role of such pubs in modern society. He considers himself to be an ethnographer, seeking to learn and research through personal experience. His participation has taken multiple forms, as outsider-resident in a Hong Kong village, as employee in a chain of public houses and (of course) as a ‘local’ customer in a sample of village pubs. Plans are also underway for a participant observer study in volunteering and the management of volunteers. He is interested in learning in HE and at work, particularly in relation to part-time study and internship programmes. He has also participated in other research projects including a study of older workers and flexibility in small and medium sized enterprises, an investigation of the learning experiences of part-time postgraduate students and a number of other tourism related projects often investigating theme parks.