Carmel McMahon

Associate Dean International

20 April 2011

Some facts…..• Triple accredited Business School

• Major provider of business & management education to world class companies e.g. Rolls Royce, European Airbus, DHL, IBM….

• 43,000 students

• 70 academic staff

• 800 tutors/associate lecturers

• Strategic partnerships and alliances

– Education institutions in Europe, Asia, Africa

– Educational Publishers

– British Council

– British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

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Mission

Our world class learning approach, underpinned by

leading edge research, takes business, management and legal education into the very

heart of professional practice, thereby building a worldwide

learning community.

• “building a worldwide learning community”

• “world class learning approach”

“Building a worldwide learning community”

International presence & partnership network

International presence

• 45% of students are studying outside the UK

• Students in over 70 countries

• Team of Associate Lecturers based outside the UK

• Growing international partner network for teaching and research

Key teaching partners

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Partnerships

Countries with larger student populations

The Open University Business School also directly supports smaller numbers of independent students in over 70 other countries

Partnership Offices

International Teaching PresenceRomaniaCODECSCollaborative and Direct Teaching

Slovakia & Czech RepublicOMICollaborative and Direct Teaching

GermanyBerufsakademieLicensing collaboration

eDegreeUganda, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe& Zambia

South AfricaUNISA SBLLicensing collaboration

EthiopiaDirect Teaching

OU Hong KongLicensing collaboration

JapanNetLearning

ARAB OU7 Countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Licensing & OUVS Accreditation

BulgariaNBUAccreditation & validation + licensing collaboration

Russia & neighbouring countriesIIM LINK Collaborative and Direct Teaching

Ghana

LINK REGIONAL CENTRESLINK REGIONAL CENTRES

Иркутск

Улан-Удэ

Южно-Сахалинск

Комсомольск-на-Амуре

Якутск

Владивосток

Норильск

Архангельск

МурманскКалининград

Озерск

Санкт-Петербург

Одесса

Мариуполь

Тирасполь

Минск

Смоленск

ОбнинскКиев

Петропавловск-Камчатский

Новороссийск

СочиТуапсе

ГеленджикКраснодар

СтавропольМайкоп

НовочеркасскВолгодонск

Брянск

Воронеж

ИвановоМуром

Саров

Владимир

Дубна

Москва

Волгоград

Саратов

Магнитогорск

Ереван

Челябинск

Курган

Омск

Барнаул

КрасноярскНовосибирск

Томск

Северск

Чита

Тюмень

НоябрьскНягань

Екатеринбург

Нижний ТагилПермь

КазаньНабережные Челны

Ульяновск

Курск

Белгород

Самара

Н. Новгород

ПензаРостов-на-Дону

Уфа

Череповец

Ярославль

Рязань

Тула

Тихорецк

Костанай

ВильнюсРига

Таллин

Жуковский

Closed Nuclear Cities Partnerships

• Staff at Nuclear Research Institutes took OU Certificate in Management, Diploma in Management, MBA

• Funded by UK government

• Part of G8 commitment against spread of weapons of mass destruction

• Aimed at:– promote alternative, self sustaining & non weapons related

employment– Facilitating the commercialization of closed cities

“Our world class learning approach”

Practice-based approach to management & business education

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We are transforming management thinking

We have taken down the boundaries

between the academic and working world with our pioneering and practice-based

approach: what is taught one day can be put into action immediately, what is learnt

is embedded in practice.

Our research and teaching truly challenge the way professionals and organisations

work and learn around the world: we learn from professionals while professionals learn from us.  

Values

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Distinctive approach to learning

Module Team-produced, pedagogically-informed

materials that generate the learning experience

“High touch” teaching: materials “given life” and

localised by Associate Lecturers with practical

experience

Professional logistics & infrastructure for quality

delivery at scale – drawing on wider OU facilities

Immediate opportunity for student to apply knowledge

— practice-based learning: student-student & student-

work colleagues

Based on OU “Supported Open Learning”the Practice-Based variant has been developed as particularly apt for

professional education

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Other Learners

Workplace Colleagues

TheoriesDiscourses

ToolsTechniques

ExperienceContextPractice

Tutor

Application And

Practice

Components

Learners

Student

Practice-based learning

Practice-based learning

• Practice-based, action learning, highlights real business situations

• Materials and assignments connect with real business challenges, link academic theory & experience

• New skills and knowledge immediately applicable to workplace

• Opportunities for learners to engage in discussion with each other & with faculty

• Local & Global networks

• Underpinning logistics and infrastructure system ensuring efficient operation at scale and reach

Tutor Support

• Students allocated to small Tutor groups

• Tuition support from experienced managers/business educators working part time as “Associate Lecturer/Tutor”

• Grade and provide detailed individual feedback on assignments

• Facilitate tutorials

• Moderate online discussion forums

• Provide individual support

Tutorial & Residential School Programme

• Opportunity to:– Work with other learners– Engage in a shared learning experience

• Learner centred approach encourages students to:– engage with and process course materials for themselves– exchange ideas and experiences– develop ability to articulate their view

• Online or “face to face”

• Local & Global

Sample activity from module1. Given an activity:

“Think about an area, activity or person over which you exercise control as a manager. How effective is this control? If there are problems, what is contributing to the difficulty?”

2. student then given some information about control loop model

3. asked to map their control situation onto the control loop model and given some prompting questions to help with this

5. then asked to review their first response to see if the use of the model has given new insights & to discuss with fellow students

6. then reflect on the benefit of using a model:

- a simple model can help structure thinking, though it will not necessarily provide an answer

Assignment question part 1Your manager is concerned that your organisation’s control systems may not be fully effective and should perhaps be re-designed. S/he has asked you for a report which

(a) Explores how an organisation’s management control system can, in general terms, affect its performance.

(b) Analyses your own organisation’s control system, comparing and contrasting it with that of another organisation (from their tutor group)

(c) Recommends actions that your organisation might take to improve its control systems, and identifies any areas that need further analysis.

Assignment question part 2

Reflect on what you have read in the course on control and on its implications for your own practice as a manager.

Describe how your thinking about the control that you exercise over your own work and that of others has altered as a result of your study and analysis.

Outline changes that you might make to your own management practice as a result of this.

“Reflective Practitioner”

What the students say……….

‘At company presentations I started copying my tutor’s

approach and asking “where is your evidence, how do you

know this?” Co. was so impressed they adopted my

template and I was promoted’ (MBA Ireland, Female, 39 years old,)

‘I am now reorganising our health projects to

address the quality gap and maintain govt funding ’ (Male MBA, Ethiopia, 38

years old,)

‘”I have grown up so much as a manager over the last three

months, have got more responsibility at work‘ (MBA Russia, Male, 34 years old,

working for Korean Telecomms Co.)

‘The course has opened my mind to the business world;

after only 4 weeks I am already putting my learning

to practical use’. (BABS, Female, Zimbabwe, office

manager, 29 years)

‘This diagram of a thing seems to be magical.

Whenever I black out on a solution for a particular

problem I start scribbling to plot a solution on an

appropriate framework to get a jumpstart in dealing with the problem’ (MBA,

Male, Area Manager Germany)

‘I have more contact with and support from my OU tutor than I would if I was

studying at a local university ’ (Male BABS student, 32 years old, assistant manager.)

‘ I have reorganised my factory following the module

principles’. (Male MBA student Russia, General Manager of an international cigarette packaging firm , 34 years)

‘I cancelled our bonus system……’. (MBA Russia

Male,38 years old, owner of a medical devices company)

Your views & commentsHow might this model of practice based learning work in your institutions?