Obituary

Greg J. Bamber (Monash University, Melbourne, Australia)
Ed Snape (Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong)

Personnel Review

ISSN: 0048-3486

Article publication date: 4 April 2016

1001

Citation

Bamber, G.J. and Snape, E. (2016), "Obituary", Personnel Review, Vol. 45 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-02-2016-0027

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Obituary

Article Type: Obituary From: Personnel Review, Volume 45, Issue 3.

The late Professor Tom Redman, Editor of Personnel Review 1995-2006: a tribute

Professor Tom Redman[1] (63) died unexpectedly on 18 December 2015. He was editor of Personnel Review during 1995-2006, when he led significant improvements to the journal's quality and reputation. The gist of the initial announcement from Durham University is below this tribute, followed by some of the spontaneous comments from many others after we circulated an earlier version of this Tribute. These illustrate the extent of the sorrow around the world about Tom's premature passing.

Tom was Professor of Human Resource Management (HRM) at Durham; he spent the early part of his academic career at Teesside University. He was a very kind and warm person who will be greatly missed. He was well known in the UK and internationally not only as an outstanding scholar, but also as a good and modest man. Although based in the UK for his whole academic career, Tom's work was international in scope and he was a frequent visitor to other European countries, and to Asia, Australia, New Zealand and North America. He spent several periods as a visitor, for example, in Hong Kong and Australian universities, where he was well liked and respected, not least for the time he generously devoted to helping students and junior colleagues.

His research, teaching and service was informed by his earlier experience as a practitioner. Tom had spent a decade working in industry in quality, production and HRM positions (mainly with Royal Worcester Porcelain) before he re-entered academic life. His research interests included industrial relations, union commitment and participation, employee commitment, age discrimination, and HRM, and most recently he was working on several projects on employee attitudes and service quality. That Tom's passing was premature is illustrated by the fact that he leaves a significant body of work in progress and an active research programme. At least some of this work will still be published with co-authors, but the published work will be poorer for Tom's absence.

Tom's research was published in many leading journals including Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Vocational Behavior, British Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Industrial Relations, Journal of Labor Research, Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, Human Relations, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management Journal, Work, Employment & Society, as well as Personnel Review. In addition, he co-authored and edited books with several others including: Nick Bacon, Greg Bamber, Tony Dundon, Ed Snape, Scott Snell and Adrian Wilkinson. These include his co-edited and widely used HRM text; its fifth edition will be published soon. In addition to his sterling work with Personnel Review, he served on the editorial board of several academic journals including the Journal of Management Studies and Leadership and Organizational Development Journal. He was a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Tom was a Lancashire man who had lived for many years in Yorkshire. He was a very successful academic and a lovely person. He died suddenly in Thailand, while on the way back to the UK from a research visit to China. He was there with Edwina, his wife. He is survived by Edwina and his two daughters, Rosie and Rachel. Along with numerous others who are exemplified below, we offer our sincere condolences and sympathy to Tom's family and many friends.

The Gist of a message from Durham University's Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart Corbridge

“It is with deep sadness that I inform you that our colleague, Professor Tom Redman, Chair in Human Resource Management (HRM), has unexpectedly passed away. I am sure that we all share in offering our condolences to Tom's wife and his family at this very sad time”.

“Tom was an outstanding scholar. He was one of the most cited academics in the field of HRM. Known all over the world not only for his academic insight but also his willingness to help”.

“Tom was appointed to the [Durham] Business School as Senior Lecturer in HRM in 2001 and left to take up a post as Professor in Sheffield University. He returned to Durham as Chair and rapidly became Director of Research, playing a key role in the 2008 RAE [research assessment exercise]. He became the Head of Department of Management, a role he carried out with some flourish seeing the department grow to 62 staff”.

Selected extracts from individuals' spontaneous comments by e-mail

Greg Bamber, Professor, Monash University, Australia/Visiting Professor, Newcastle University, England.

Tom was a really decent person. Catching up with him was always a delight. For example, at the Association of Industrial Relations Academics in Australia and New Zealand conference in 2014 in Melbourne he gave an excellent and memorable keynote lecture. This was very well-received. While visiting the Antipodes then he devoted much time mentoring others, including early career researchers and PhD students! This illustrates his good academic values that he put into practice.

Nikos Bozionelos, Professor of OB and HRM, Audencia Business School, Nantes, France.

Tom's passing away made this Christmas season bitterly cold for those of us who had the privilege to know him. He is one of the most significant people I ever met. I would like to stress the complete selflessness in Tom's character. It is people like him who keep institutions functioning and the world on its rails.

What a tragedy […].

Dr David Bright, Hull University (retired).

Tom was indeed a great scholar and a thorough gentleman. May his soul rest in peace and God give strength to his family to bear this immense loss.

Pawan Budhwar, Professor of International HRM, Aston University, Birmingham.

So sorry to receive this sad news. Tom was indeed a lovely, lovely man!

Susan Cartwright, Professor of Organizational Psychology and Well Being, Lancaster University.

I am so sorry to hear that Tom Redman has died unexpectedly […]. He was indeed a gentleman and will be sadly lost as a colleague, scholar and man.

Elizabeth Chell, Professor, Kingston University (retired).

His passing has come as a tremendous shock. Tom was a caring and warm colleague, passionate about his research and tremendously supportive of colleagues.

Timothy Clark, Professor of Organisational Behaviour (OB), Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Social Sciences and Health), Durham University.

Tom was a lovely man, who I first met when I joined Teesside University. I was lucky to meet Tom, for sure.

Bill Cooke, Professor of Strategic Management, York University.

I am immensely saddened by Tom's premature departure. Indeed, he was a very kind man with many other qualities […].

Fang Lee Cooke, Professor, Monash University, Australia.

I am shocked to hear of Tom's death […].

Professor Sir Cary Cooper CBE, 50th Anniversary Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health, Manchester University, President of Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and of British Academy of Management.

Tom's editorship of Personnel Review preceded our co-editorship (Nelarine Cornelius and Eric Pezet) and we remain extremely grateful for the solid foundations he developed for us, and for John Leopold (see below). The reputation of, and interest in, Personnel Review continues to grow strongly: Tom's professionalism and commitment to the journal has helped a great deal to make it into the strong publication that it is today.

Nelarine Cornelius, co-editor Personnel Review/Professor, HRM and Organization Studies; Co-Director, Bradford Centre for Business in Society, Bradford University.

[…] sorry for the the loss of professor Tom Redman. We say in Spanish: Q.E.P.D. (QUE EN PAZ DESCANSE), in peace have the rest of time.

Omar Valenti Gonzalez, Caracas, Venezuela.

Tom went way too soon […].

Irena Grugulis, Professor, Leeds University.

Incredibly sad news about Tom. He was a great colleague and friend, and is going to be sorely missed.

Dr Peter Hamilton, Durham University.

Very sad news. A gentleman who made a great contribution to the field.

Dr Brian Harney, Dublin City University Business School/Academic Fellow, University of Cambridge.

So sorry to hear the sad news of Tom Redman.

Anne Junor, Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney, Australia.

[…] very sad news indeed. I was shocked […].

Dr Don Keithley, Sunderland University (retired).

I'm shocked and extremely saddened by the news.

Dr Konstantina Kougiannou, Nottingham Trent University.

A sad passing!

Russell D. Lansbury, Emeritus Professor, University of Sydney, Australia

Tom was an excellent editor of Personnel Review. I worked with him first as a guest editor and when I took over from him as editor he was most helpful in the transition period and in advising on the quirks and foibles of authors and reviewers. His great contributions to editorial work and many other aspects of life will be sorely missed.

John Leopold, former editor Personnel Review/Emeritus Professor, Newcastle University.

It is a devastating development. I did not know Tom well, but what I did know of him squares fully with your fulsome description of him.

David Lewin, Neil H. Jacoby Professor Emeritus of Management, HR and OB, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA.

Really, really sad. Tom was a great guy. A caring individual. A great academic. A really good colleague. He used to play 8 a side football with us all in Sheffield!

Dr Stuart Maguire, Sheffield University.

Tom made an enormous contribution to HRM teaching and research at Durham, and will be remembered with great fondness by generations of students and staff. Colleagues in HRM, and other disciplines at the Business School in Durham, are deeply saddened by Tom's untimely passing. He was a great colleague as well as a very distinguished scholar. We miss him so much.

Andrew Pendleton, Professor, Durham University.

It is so very, very sad as I just thought the world of Tom and was so looking forward to spending time with him and Edwina in June 2016. Tom and Edwina have been very good friends for some years now and life just simply won't be the same […]

Dr Julie Rayner, Federation University Australia.

I am so sorry to hear of the very sad news about Tom. He was a great academic and a lovely guy, and someone who will be very sorely missed.

Dr Doug Renwick, Sheffield University.

What sad news.

Mark Saunders, Professor, University of Birmingham.

I knew Tom for most of my 30 years' academic career and always found him one of the most supportive and helpful colleagues. He will be much missed by many.

Jim Stewart, Professor of HR Development, Coventry University.

Terribly sad. Life is so very short.

Paul Stewart, Professor, Strathclyde University.

This is indeed very sad and unexpected news. I enjoyed working with Tom when I was External Examiner at Durham and I recently completed a chapter for his edited collection on Contemporary HRM. I always thought of Tom as an “gentleman scholar”, a thoroughly decent man who will be sadly missed.

Peter Turnbull, Professor, Bristol University.

Very sad by the news of Tom's very premature passing away. Not only do I have great respect for his work and scholarly contribution, but I valued his friendship and superb sense of humour. It was always a joy to see his name on a list of participants when you got to a conference. He was also the best and most constructive external examiner that we have had on our Business Management degree programme, and he challenged us in many areas to justify how and why we did things the way we did.

Keith Whitfield, Professor, Cardiff University.

This is very sad and unexpected news. Tom was our external examiner in the late 1990s and I had very high regard for him. There are many colleagues that felt the same way […]

Carol Woodhams, Professor, Exeter University.

Greg J. Bamber - Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and

Ed Snape - Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

Note

1. Photo source: Durham University. The present authors were commissioned to write a longer version of the first section of this tribute as an obituary to be published in Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 26 No. 2, in 2016.

Corresponding authors

Greg J. Bamber and Ed Snape are the corresponding authors formerly at Durham University, can be contacted at: mailto:gregbamber@gmail.com; mailto:esnape@hkbu.edu.hk

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