Course description
MBA
Accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA)
The MBA (Distance Learning Online Tutor Supported) incorporates the same learning outcomes, themes and aims as the other MBA programmes offered by Oxford Brookes University. We aim to prepare you for the challenges of senior management, to equip you to analyse, evaluate business situations and implement decisions, and to provide you with insight into and understanding of the contribution of leadership in accomplishing successful outcomes. This MBA aims to provide you with a stimulating and supported programme, allowing you to continue working while you study. This gives you an advantage in that you can put your learning continuously into practice. The programme gives you the flexibility to decide when and how to organise your studies and we will help you by providing structure and guidance. Tutors are accessible and responsive. You will be a part of an international community and be able to discuss business issues with other students from over 55 countries around the world. The MBA has two intakes per year in January and July.
You can access the online learning environment through the Internet. This provides you with access to a virtual library which includes full-text articles, market research reports and sources of company and business information. You will be part of a tutor group of up to 25 students and take part in online seminars facilitated and summarised by expert tutors. This global classroom enables the sharing of international business experiences and networking to provide the companionship and support often missing from distance learning. Seminars take place asynchronously, enabling you to take part at a convenient time. The programme uses the best of online support, together with purpose-written textbooks and study guides. You will be expected to attend two face-to-face workshops, which are offered in the UK and overseas, giving further opportunities to extend networks and develop your knowledge and skills.
Course content
The MBA begins with an online induction programme that familiarises you with the online environment and virtual library, and enables you to interact with other students and tutors. It facilitates understanding of the assessment requirements and introduces you to case study analysis and to the feedback and support available to you during the MBA.
You will study Foundations of Management to provide you with an integrated understanding and critical perspective of management, organisations and business functions (marketing, operations and strategic information management). The Accounting and Finance module aims to develop your managerial perspective of accounting, enabling you to assess organisational decisions and goals in terms of their financial impact, and to use and interpret financial information.
Managing Self Development focuses on the importance of leadership behaviour at all levels in organisations in achieving successful outcomes. You will develop insights into your own behaviour, including how it is perceived by others, enabling you to identify how to be more effective in working with others. As a result of completing this module you should be able to manage your own development and identify how to be more effective in terms of your career and life goals.
Managers in all organisations need to understand the trends shaping the global business environment and the strategies needed to deal with the challenges of operating in an increasingly competitive and dynamic marketplace. The Global Business Strategy module will develop your ability to apply a wide range of strategic concepts to the changing dynamic of the global business environment.
Building on your previous studies, the Organisational Change and Transformation module will explore the strategic management of people to achieve organisational change and transformation. It will focus on choices about how people can be managed in order to generate new ideas, and new ways of working that contribute to the development of an organisation. You will have the opportunity to carry out an assignment that explores and reflects an organisational change/innovation, which can, if you choose, be based upon your own organisation.
Finally, you have the opportunity to specialise through the electives. Those currently offered are Global Market Development and Strategic Financial Management.
The Dissertation provides further opportunities to explore an area of interest and specialise in an area of your choice. A substantial consultancy opportunity is offered by the dissertation and you may choose to carry out a project for your employer or to further your own career aspirations.
Teaching, learning and assessment
The online seminars are central to the learning process and provide opportunities for feedback from peers and tutors. The seminars, together with independent study of the textbooks provided, completion of the activities within these textbooks, and research in the virtual library, prepare you for assessments. All seminars are archived so you can access them or download them for the duration of your studies. You will participate in face-to-face workshops that enhance your development and add value to your programme. Current workshops include: Planning a New Business Venture, Leadership, Researching in Business, Environmental Appraisal, Managing Change and Innovation, and Personal Power and Influencing.
The programme is assessed using a variety of methods. There are opportunities for you to submit formative work to receive feedback (but not marks) from tutors to help develop your confidence and competence. You will also receive tutor feedback on each examination question answered, enabling you to learn from the experience. Assessments may include assignments, case studies reflecting on practice, contributions to online seminars and examinations. Examinations can be taken in 146 countries at over 300 centres (as part of your fees).
Quality
The reputation of the Business School is underpinned through membership of and programme accreditations received from the Association of MBAs, the Association of Business Schools, and professional associations such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and the European Foundation for Management Development. The Business School is, therefore, widely regarded as one of the best within its peer group.
The Business School’s programmes benefit from rigorous quality assurance procedures and regularly receive excellent feedback from external examiners, employers, students and professional bodies. In 2005, Business and Management achieved ‘Broad Confidence’, the best possible result, in the discipline audit trail as part of the Quality Assurance Agency Institutional Audit.
Many students who graduate from Business School programmes go on to achieve high status in the industry of their choice.
The Business School has an active programme of research based around six key research areas:
* Accounting, Governance and Information Management
* Economics and Strategy
* Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Management
* Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour
* Marketing and Operations Management
* Pedagogy
The School maintains a rigorous and dynamic doctoral programme leading to the higher degrees of MPhil and PhD. Postgraduate students join a supportive, friendly and multicultural research environment.
