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Welcome ....
to your July newsletter, featuring the latest news from The Open University Business School (OUBS)
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Jo talks to Louise Minchin about working women and the menopause
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Professor Jo Brewis was a guest on the BBC’s primetime television programme, The One Show, earlier this month. Jo spoke to BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin in a feature on the menopause and working women. The Professor of People and Organisations was chosen as an expert on menopause at work on the basis of her co-authorship of the UK Government report, The impact of menopause transition on women’s economic participation in the UK, as well as more recent publications. Jo is also working with People Services and others at the OU on a menopause initiative at the University. Watch Jo on The One Show here (she appears in the 12th minute of the menopause feature which lasts from 10-15 minutes) and you can read more on her work here.
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Richard co-authors prestigious ‘SMEs and Net Zero’ review
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Professor Richard Blundel has co-authored a review which highlights the scale of the opportunity for carbon emissions savings among smaller businesses, many of which require zero capital investment. The Professor of Enterprise and Organisation published ‘SMEs and Net Zero’ this month, together with Dr Sam Hampton from the University of Oxford. This is the first of two ‘SOTA’ (state-of-the-art) reviews for the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) based at the University of Warwick. The ERC’s SOTA review series comprises short reports, written in accessible language, that draw together the latest evidence, identify research gaps and address key policy questions. Full story here.
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How the OU’s research is impacting the real world
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Professors Jo Brewis and Richard Blundel also feature in the ‘Business and Management’ section of the OU’s new-look Research Impact webpages. Based on the OU’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 submission, this showcases stories from a selection of the University’s REF 2021 Units of Assessment which included ‘Business Management’.
Richard discusses how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a vital role in our efforts to tackle the climate emergency here, while Jo’s work aims to remove workplace taboos around menopause and encourage employers to recognise and support people experiencing this transition here.
There is also information on the OU’s research impact during the Covid-19 pandemic including funding to explore the development needs of BAME leaders and innovation adopted during Covid-19 is now ‘business as usual’ (also see below).
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Innovation adopted during the pandemic is now ‘business as usual’
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The ‘Leading school learning through Covid-19 and beyond’ research project has so far revealed a number of insights. New and innovative practices adopted during the pandemic, born out of necessity, are reported as now being ‘business as usual’. Examples include a wider curriculum offering by schools collaborating to run some subjects online, and online parent evenings which have proved much more successful. Nearly £300,000 was awarded last year to investigate online learning and strategic planning through, and post, lockdown in English secondary schools. Dr Jacqueline Baxter leads a team which includes Postdoctoral Research Associate Dr Katharine Jewitt and the University of Reading’s Professor Alan Floyd. Full story here.
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Trio filmed for BBC World Service’s online content about Leadership
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Three OUBS academics were filmed for an upcoming OU/BBC co-production exploring leadership for the BBC World Service Learning English online platforms. Dr Owain Smolović Jones, Dr Nela Smolović Jones and Dr Michael Ngoasong will all feature heavily in the online content released on the BBC Learning English website and social media platforms this August. The trio were interviewed outside the Jennie Lee building on the OU’s Milton Keynes campus.
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The Bottom Line gets ready for its summer break
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The OU/BBC collaboration, The Bottom Line, has its final episode on Radio 4 this week. This latest series has been looking at the business world post-pandemic, covering a variety of topics with top business leaders from Britain and around the world. Dr Björn Claes (Senior Lecturer in Operations Management) and Dr Henry Lahr (Senior Lecturer in Finance) have been the OUBS academic consultants. Presented by OU honorary graduate Evan Davis (pictured), the final episode is being repeated on Saturday at 17:30. The podcast is available on the Radio 4 website following transmission with more content via OpenLearn.
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Nicola asks if companies ‘spend more to spill more’?
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Recent PhD graduate Nicola Croxton has discussed her research looking at how firms use their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate political activity as a means to improve their overall performance. She successfully passed her PhD viva in October 2020 with her thesis, ‘The internationalisation of corporate social responsibility: Nonmarket strategy in a global context’. You can watch Nicola talk about her research and why she chose OUBS here.
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We are immensely proud of our alumni community and this space is an opportunity to share some of your news, a personal achievement or a promotion, so please get in touch.
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Des reflects on 20 years since becoming our 10,000th MBA graduate
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Back in July 2001, The Office had its UK premiere on our television screens and there was no winner of the Tour de France due to Lance Armstrong’s disqualification. And this month 20 years ago also saw Des Bourne from the West Midlands (pictured above) named as the OU’s 10,000th MBA graduate! There are now more than 27,300 MBA alumni worldwide.
Des had left school at 16 and returned to study years later by combining full-time work, family life and social commitments with his MBA. He was responsible for 120 people as a divisional manager for a highways maintenance and service provision group when he graduated, and said: “I would not be where I am now if it wasn't for the MBA”.
Two decades later, he has taken the plunge and fulfilled an entrepreneurial desire to go it alone and start his own consultancy business. In a self-penned article, Des outlines how his studies have helped him throughout his career in the construction sector. He said: “The qualification broadened my horizons and changed the course of my career. An MBA transformed how employers viewed my potential and put me on an equal footing in a business world that was dominated by executives and managers who had formal academic qualifications.” Read the full article here.
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Ethiopian MBA alumni emphasise OU’s international appeal
The largest aviation academy in Africa, Ethiopian Aviation Academy, celebrated 15 Ethiopian Group management staff graduating in June. They are some of the airline’s higher management staff who have been attending the OU’s MBA programme. Read more here.
Photo courtesy of Ethiopian Airlines.
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Become an AMBA member today – and it’s free!
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As one of our alumni, you are invited to join a 10,000 strong network of students and graduates from top international business schools in the Association of MBAs (AMBA). This membership keeps you in touch with like-minded people and provides personal and career development opportunities.
AMBA is one of the three accrediting bodies that make up OUBS’ triple accreditation. For OU MBA graduates, membership is free with access to an online community of international MBAs from more than 230 AMBA-accredited business schools, enabling you to network globally. Other benefits include leadership webinars, events and masterclasses and new offerings such as the exclusive CV 360 tool (an automated CV scoring, instant analysis / feedback and progress tracking and interview simulator).
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How to take charge of your career
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OU alumni and business professionals were the presenters of eight free lunchtime webinars exclusively for our alumni throughout the 2020-21 academic year. All these recordings in association with The Career Farm, part of the ‘How to take charge of your career’ series, remain available to watch via the archive.
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We have a range of exclusive offers for our OUBS alumni. Click the buttons to find out more. Remember, you can access our career webinar recordings on our website along with a whole range of online careers articles.
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Thanks for staying connected
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Best wishes
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OUBS Alumni Engagement Team
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