REPORT OUBS 2002-2003

• New perspectives
• Internetionally speaking
• Global qualifications
• Corporate sponsors
• Worldwide perspective
• The 10,000 milestone
• Capabilities for research
• A physical perspective
• The wider OU family

Teacning managers ana otner ousmess professionals TO cope with change, and help their organisations adapt to new influences, has always been a mission of The Open University Business School. As the largest business school in Europe, we have an annual commitment to 30,000 students to deliver the tools that will enable them to meet and survive the challenges of the future.

Our ability to do this is recognised by the major international bodies, the European Foundation for Management Development (efmd) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA). efmd granted the school EQUIS accreditation in 2000 and our MBA programme has been accredited by AMBA since 1986. Only a very select group of international business schools can boast this dual recognition.

Unusually among this small band, The Open University Business School concentrates exclusively on distance learning methods, which blend traditional and technological approaches in a flexible and student friendly manner.This dedication to distance learning (often called open or flexible learning) has given the School an international presence. Through The Open University Business School students in 44 countries have the chance to network and compare experiences across the divides of country and culture.

Our portfolio continues to grow. In the last two years we have added business studies, law, accounting and a marketing MA to our existing programme of management development at certificate, diploma and MBA level. We are now developing a range of specialist MA's that will come on stream over the next three years.

To accommodate our expansion, we have recently moved into a purpose built new home designed to encourage new business processes and working methods. It will help the School engage fully with the future, perhaps a future in which you will play a part.

This Report of The Open University Business School presents perspectives you will not find in our General Prospectus. Should you require curriculum or admissions information, please use our website, oibs.open.ac.uk, to browse and to request the prospectus.

New perspectives

In keeping with the momentum of change, the OUBS portfolio is constantly being refreshed and expanded. In recent times, the core of management development courses (based around Certificate, Diploma and MBA qualifications) has been augmented by business studies, law, accounting and marketing programmes.

First degree programmes

To widen the School's appeal, two first degree programmes have been developed by OUBS - BA (Business Studies) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB). Within two years, the business studies courses have built an annual student body of over two thousand. Within three years, the Law programme has captured almost 25% of the UK part-time market for qualifying law degrees and has around three thousand current students.

Accounting for success

The latest programme addition is the Certificate in Accounting which seems destined to at least equal the success of the business studies and law programmes. Launched in the autumn of 2001, the course immediately achieved in excess of 600 students. Its appeal is that it is a one year distance learning course giving exemption from the foundation level exams of the major UK accounting bodies, ACCA, CIMA and CIPFA.

International versions

OUBS continues to expand international partnerships by working with and through OU Worldwide to set up new partnerships and service existing commitments. Established partners across Eastern Europe, Asia and South Africa teach OUBS courses both in English and their own languages. Depending upon the nature of the partnership the qualification conferred is either from the host institution or the Open University. To capitalise on the growing market for distance learning management development qualifications in Western Europe, partnerships are being explored with a variety of educational institutions.

Making a market

The Law programme was developed in partnership with the UK's leading professional legal body, the College of Law, and the new MA (Marketing) treads similar ground in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Designed initially for holders of the CIM postgraduate diploma, the new two year course will entitle successful students to prestigious Chartered Marketer status.

Tailored courses

OUBS works closely with many corporate organisations in preparing courses to develop particular management or professional skills among their staff. The Leading for Results course is the latest example and has proved valuable to 300 staff from a leading UK insurance company and the NHS. Many other tailored or off the shelf professional development courses are in the pipeline as the School turns its attention to delivering continuing professional development through the flexible medium of supported distance learning.

Internationally speaking

The importance of the MBA as an international business qualification was highlighted in the new year of 2001 by the graduation of our first cohort of Russian MBA students.

The MBA programme was provided in collaboration with our partner, Link.

Revolution in Russia

Partnership with local academic institutions is a style of delivery that OUBS uses in several parts of the world. These arrangements enable learning programmes of international quality to be introduced even when local circumstances may be difficult. Their success can never entirely be attributed to OUBS or our partners - the determination of the students is always a remarkable factor.

Our Russian MBAs studied, in English, in a country that is undergoing dramatic political and economic change and they saw the cost of their degree quintuple because of the fluctuating exchange rate. Their achievement is quite outstanding and the School is proud of their success.

Tatiana Morosova MBA is a corporate finance analyst with Standard Bank London in Moscow. "All my life I was working for foreign companies and all the people had MBAs and I felt I had missed out," she says. "It was very hard and I was studying every night."

Svetlana Balanova MBA works for 3M and says she needed an international management degree. "The OUBS was the only course I liked. The financial strategy was very valuable and the creativity and change management was fantastic."

LINK co-ordinates 5,000 Certificate, Diploma and MBA students across eight time zones through 90 study centres. MBA students travel to residential schools in the UK and Europe where they get a chance to meet and network with other MBA students.

Global qualifications

Locally delivered

Romania saw their first OUBS MBAs graduate in November 2001 and the first South African MBAs graduate in 2002.

Partnership projects are often started by individuals taking OUBS courses and seeing a need for such development in their own countries. In Russia, for example, it was a group of scientists at the national space research establishment, TSGAI, who recognised that they needed management skills to survive in the new economy.

In many cases our academic partner offered and ran the first presentations of the programmes with OUBS staff and tutors fulfilling a support and mentor role. As the first students completed the courses they in turn took over and began tutoring. Most host institutions now offer the Certificate and Diploma in their own language, with only the MBA taught in English.

Of the 30,000 students following OUBS courses annually around half are based internationally. All students, wherever they are based, follow the same courses (sometimes contextualised by the addition of local case studies), and complete the same assignments and exams. All are assessed and marked using a common set of criteria to maintain standards. This ensures that wherever OUBS courses are studied students can be assured that the quality is constantly high.

All OUBS courses are taught by distance learning, a multi-media mix which combines texts, interactive online study, face-to-face tuition and residential schools. The flexibility of the method allows students to change jobs and country without disrupting their studies.

Directly delivered

The MBA is becoming widely accepted as the most prestigious of international business qualifications and the appeal of a distance learning MBA delivered in English is growing fast throughout the European mainland.

The fact that the OUBS MBA is offered in English is seen as a positive advantage and adds greatly to the cachet of the qualification. It proves not only that the manager is capable of the commitment of studying whilst holding down a job but that they are able to converse, write and communicate to a high standard in a language other than their own.

As a reassurance of quality, the EQUIS award is of particular importance to students based outside the UK. There are currently some 2,000 students following OUBS courses across Continental Western Europe, a growth of 80% over the last 5 years. Germany tops the league table of students with 500, with Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands and Belgium in second place with around 200 students each.

OUBS has a network of marketing representatives based across Europe who promote the School and recruit students. The European marketing activities, orchestrated from the School's Brussels office, include exhibitions, general promotion and the co-ordination of the tutor network that supports OUBS students in Europe.

Corporate sponsors

In keeping with its global profile, the School has strong links with many multinational corporates and international organisations.

Clients and Sponsors include:
Automobile Association NHS Nokia Aer Lingus Groundwork Foundation Novartis BBC Halifax Norwich Union BP Bausch and Lomb Hewlett Packard Pfizer Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank AG Hoechst HM Prison Service PricewaterhouseCoopers British Aerospace IBM RAF British Airways Johnson Matthey Rolls Royce British Gas Logica Royal Mail British Telecom Lucas Varity ScottishPower Camas Lucent Technologies Cern Lloyds TSB Ciba Vision Marks & Spencer Standard Life Coillte Teoranta Marconi Communications Croda Mercury Communications Daimler Chrysler AG Ministry of Defence Wang Global Mobilkom Austria Whitbread Group GEC NACAB Glaxo Wellcome NatWest Zeneca Goodyear Nestec

The role of corporate sponsors

Corporate-academic partnerships are becoming important drivers of business change and development. They take a variety of forms and include research activities as well as staff development. A number of organisations nominate OUBS as their preferred provider of management development and sponsor their employees on a variety of OUBS courses. Others prefer to have OUBS courses run with in-house support either at workshops or using their own managerial staff as tutors or mentors.

By the end of 2001, more than 600 IBM managers had graduated from OUBS with an MBA. The UK Prison Service has put over 900 officers through the OUBS Certificate in Management and will shortly be using the Diploma programme to develop the capabilities of staff even further.

Some OUBS courses focus on specific staff development needs rather than professional qualifications and these are of particular interest to corporates. The new Leading for Results programme concentrates on team leadership and is being extensively used by both a leading UK insurance company and the Newcastle Health Trust.

Evidence of the fact that OUBS courses respond well to employer as well as employee needs is found in the high level of sponsorship. More than 65% of OUBS students are sponsored in full or part largely because our courses do not require staff to be away from their jobs and they can apply their newly acquired skills immediately in the workplace. Another significant factor in employer satisfaction is that recent independent* research among students and alumni has shown that OUBS MBAs stay with their sponsoring employers longer than traditionally taught MBAs. From the employee point of view, satisfaction is revealed by the fact that most holders of an OUBS MBA have been promoted at least twice during and on completion of their studies.

Worldwide perspective

The importance of quality

The School is one of an elite group of only 23* business schools world wide to hold both the EQUIS and AMBA awards for the quality of its MBA.

The EQUIS quality kitemark is awarded by the European Foundation for Management Development (efmd) after a rigorous process of assessment that examines all aspects of a school's activities and all its programmes. There are currently 47 international schools that hold the award.

AMBA accreditation is awarded by the Association of MBAs. The OUBS MBA has been accredited since 1986 and accreditation was successfully retained in 2001. Only 9 UK distance learning providers hold AMBA status.

Although OUBS has an international reputation for the high quality of its teaching materials and processes, the School does not always figure in the ranking tables issued largely by media organisations. There is a simple explanation for this. Most league tables are issued by media organisations and use criteria that exclude all but full-time MBA providers. The tables often also take into account entry qualifications and because the OUBS offers 'open' access it again falls outside the narrow remit of existing league tables.

Now that distance learning is becoming the preferred option in professional and management education, the validity of present ranking systems is being called into question and the ranking organisations are looking to greater inclusivity. In the near future, the name of OUBS will feature much more prominently in tables of international business schools.

The 10,000 milestone

In May 2001, the number of managers who have graduated from OUBS since the School opened in 1983 with an MBA (Open) passed the 10,000 milestone.

Des Bourne began the rigorous route to an MBA without the benefit of a first degree yet attained his MBA with a distinction. Determined to achieve a qualification that represented his increasingly senior status, Des studied for the Certificate, Diploma and MBA entirely in his own time and gave up evenings, weekends and, occasionally, holidays to study and to attend tutorials and residential schools.

"If I hadn't had the total support of my wife and family, it would not have been possible," admits Des.

Every year at OUBS, there are around ,30,000 people working towards their Certificate, Diploma or MBA and Des believes their efforts to be very worthwhile.

"I am sure that everyone has the inherent ability to raise their academic standards and to become more professional managers. To compete in the global market, formalised management techniques must be applied across industry. Effective management is a skill that must be taught, not just learned on the job."

The other 10,000

Des Bourne has become one among many. As an MBA graduate he automatically joined the OUBS Alumni Association, an international community of more than ten thousand MBAs and a prominent part of the wider AMBA network.

The year of the 10,000th graduate coincided with the tenth anniversary of the first award of an OUBS MBA and both events were celebrated in London with a formal dinner at the House of Commons. The event represented a highpoint among many held across Europe by the association, by regional alumni groups or in conjunction with similar alumni or professional organisations. All the events reflect how important the association is in complementing and completing the MBA study experience - by extending friendships and contacts and by providing a range of opportunities for continuing professional development (cpd).

Central to the efficient workings of the Alumni Association is the new alumni website at www.open.ac.uk/oubs-alumni. This enables the association to maintain a dialogue with members and to offer a range of services, such as an online membership directory, a news site and an events calendar with an easy booking facility.

The alumni office on the OU campus, Milton Keynes, administers the association in consultation with an alumni advisory board.

Capabilities for research

In addition to disseminating research results through publications, television and other media, OUBS research outputs feed into the development of new management courses.

OUBS research, recognised for its excellence, has won many prizes and special awards for published articles and papers. Professor John Storey, Director of Research and Dr Elizabeth Barnett, Research Fellow jointly won 'best article of the year' in two innovation management journals in 2001. The 'best paper' prize at the IBM-sponsored Business Intelligence and e-Marketing Conference 2001 was won by lan Corner, an OUBS research student and Dr Matthew Hinton, Lecturer in Information Management.

In 2001 the School attracted external funding in excess of £1.7m from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the European Union's Framework V programme.

In collaboration with industry sponsors, two EPSRC funded research projects are exploring issues relating to supply chain management and the EU project, which involves seven European partners, is examining new e-work techniques in micro-enterprises across Europe. OUBS conducts innovative, cross-disciplinary, research and draws upon the major research " areas of accounting and finance; human resource management; knowledge management and innovation; marketing and strategy; performance management; small and medium-sized enterprises; public and not-for-profit; and management learning and R&D, in order to make new contributions to knowledge.

A range of research papers can be accessed at www.open.ac.uk/oubs/research.htm

A physical perspective

As a distance learning organisation, the physical presence of OUBS is not central to our offer. Nevertheless, the academic and logistical infrastructure required to support a student population of 30,000 is considerable and OUBS occupies a prominent position on the main Oil campus.

Designed by award winning architects Jestico + Whiles, the three storey building is planned around a central core that includes reception, meeting rooms and conference facilities. The core also incorporates a formal presentation area, a central reference browsery and a cafeteria as well as housing basic utilities and services.

Spreading out from the central core, which forms the heart of the building, are four wings that house the School's 300 Milton Keynes-based staff. These are individually configured to provide workspace that meets the needs of the different groups of staff in the wings.

Wing layouts reflect the working practices of the occupants with fixed offices being kept to a minimum and screens and mobile pods being used to divide the space. Some wings are based around single occupancy cells and others provide space to facilitate groups of staff to work in teams.

Environmental considerations were paramount to the design and workspaces are naturally ventilated and heated using the Termodeck system which reduces temperature variation to a minimum. Water conservation measures, high levels of insulation and use of sustainable timber for the exterior cladding have resulted in the building being awarded the third highest ever BREEAM rating (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method).

The exterior of the building is finished with white render, timber and Cor Ten, a metal alloy used as cladding that oxidises to produce a richly coloured patina. The surrounding ridge and furrow meadow with wild flowers has been maintained and further landscaped with paved areas, benches and pollarded willows.

"Where previous Deans have dreamed about a permanent purpose built home for the School, I have been lucky enough to see that become a reality," says Professor Kaye, OUBS Dean.

"This building gives us the opportunity to create the kind of 21 st century working environment that supports the aspirations of a global distance learning business school."

OU courses are available throughout Europe and, usually by means of partnership agreements with other institutions, in many other parts of the world.

OU first degree courses do not require any entry qualifications. Over a third of people starting these courses have qualifications below conventional university entry requirements. Despite this, around 70% of OU students successfully complete their courses each year.

Nearly all OU students are part-time and about 70% of first degree students remain in full-time employment throughout their studies. More than 110,000 OU students are online.

OU courses are considered to provide among the world's best distance education materials and are regularly awarded for their innovation. In recent years, Computing, An Object-Oriented Approach won a British Computer Society award for IT, Discovering Science received a British Environment and Media Award for its innovative use of CDRom, and Geology was named as one of Europe's best new multimedia products when it won the knowledge and discovery category at the prestigious EuroPrix awards.

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