New ‘powering up productivity’ report for businesses

Low productivity has been the Achilles’ heel of the UK economy for the past 15 years, lagging behind other major economies. Growth is high on the new UK Government agenda, with solving the ‘productivity puzzle’ essential, but it is also hugely important for employers.

Business School experts have recently contributed to a new OU report, ‘Powering up productivity’, which is based on a YouGov survey of 500 business leaders. It reveals that one in four organisations report their productivity has actually worsened in the last five years, and three in four say raising productivity is a medium or high priority.

High productivity does not simply mean working staff harder with the report explaining how productivity can be measured and how investment in people, skills and technology can unlock better use of resources and deliver success.

Will greener options affect cheap flights?

As the planes we fly on emit huge amounts of greenhouse gases, the aviation industry is developing new ideas to reduce this with technologies such as new fuels and battery-powered planes. New OU / BBC co-production, ‘Cheap Flights: What They Really Mean For You’, explores whether this new technology to reduce our environmental impact will mean increased flight prices.

Business School colleagues, Professor of Marketing Strategy Gordon Liu and Lecturer in Marketing Dr Morteza Abolhasani, are two of the three experts for the programme airing tonight (Thursday) on BBC One at 21:00, and available on iPlayer straight afterwards.

The BBC’s Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, presenter Michelle Ackerley (pictured at Gatwick Airport, credit: Attaboy TV) and science reporter Fran Scott investigate if it is possible to keep flying abroad with new greener options. They find out if the Government’s plans are realistic, what the alternatives are to flying, and if the changes will mean more expensive flights.

Find out more and explore your own carbon footprint at OU Connect.

Celebrating 10 years of policing

The Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CPRL) marked its 10th anniversary with a two-day conference celebrating the milestone.

As well as panel discussions and some high-profile keynote speakers including Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg, the event also included the Steven Chase Memorial Award (named in honour of CPRL’s first Chair).

The award, which recognises excellent and impactful research in policing, was presented to Dr Keely Duddin and Dr Kendal Wright (pictured left to right) for their project on mothers’ experiences during pregnancy and returning to work after maternity leave.

Keely and Kendal said: “We are incredibly grateful to receive this award, which reflects the collaborative effort behind our research on maternity experiences in policing. This work would not have been possible without the invaluable contributions of the wider research team, police forces, stakeholders, and participants who have driven our understanding forward. We are committed to continuing this work to ensure women and parents experience positive, supportive maternity and parental journeys in policing, paving the way for meaningful change.”

New Head of Business School looks to the future

Professor Keith Schofield, the new Head of the Business School, has a wealth of experience in internationalisation and accreditation. 

Keith also has previous experience with the OU, both as a master’s graduate and as an Associate Lecturer delivering the Business School’s Developing Leadership module, which has given him a robust understanding of the University and how he wants to take it forward.

He said: "One of my priorities will be to look at our curriculum to ensure we’re delivering an international experience for our students, and another will be to review how we use our platform and materials to support education on a global scale.

“The Open University’s mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas was a huge draw for me to return and become a part of it again. As the first in my family to attend university, I recognise the transformative nature of education; I have experienced first-hand, and witnessed in my students, the identity shifts that learning facilitates. Nowhere does it better than the OU!”

Online tool to improve testing processes of new products

Business School lecturer, Dr Khadija Tahera, has developed an online interactive tool designed to improve testing processes for new sustainable product development.

Developing new digital technology in areas like aerospace, automotive and power generation needs extensive verification, validation and testing (VVT) and implementing an effective way of analysing the requirements of different stakeholders – such as the customer, regulation, and business; and how these must be considered – often poses a significant challenge.

Now Khadija’s InterAct-funded project has developed a systematic tool to analyse critical requirements and influences on VVT activity for new technology development and manufacturing. Khadija recently met with industry expert Dr Andrew Halfpenny to discuss her work and explain how the new VVT tool will help in the decision-making process during the design and development stage in the manufacture of new products.

Free one-hour course ‘Introducing Union Black’

The OU’s new course ‘Introducing Union Black’ aims to build your confidence as a change agent for equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. It has been designed to help inform, inspire, challenge and enable you to take steps towards anti-racism.

Now live on the OU’s free learning platform OpenLearn, it provides the opportunity to hear from contributors from a range of backgrounds, lived experiences, thoughts and voices.

SHORT COURSE SPOTLIGHT: Developing strategy to manage uncertainty

This CPD course explores the role of strategising to build resilience to the challenges that many individuals and organisations face today. There will be a focus on who strategists are and what they do in conjunction with how they create strategy and what types of strategic thinking they use.

It will demonstrate how thinking and acting strategically can be used to help your organisation survive and thrive, even when unprecedented and unforeseen change threatens its very existence.

Alumni Council member profile: Zoe Lawson

Dr. Zoe Lawson graduated from the Business School in 2016, earning an MBA with distinction. A scientist by training and profession, Zoe currently holds the position of Senior Scientist at J&J Innovative Medicine, the pharma division of the world's largest healthcare company, Johnson & Johnson.

Based in Switzerland, Zoe credits her MBA with helping her transition from academic science at CERN, to industrial science at J&J. She said: “My MBA has really aided in developing the financial aspects of business cases at work. Understanding how discounted cash flows work and calculating the NPV (net present value) of projects, has given me stand-out skills. I’m now the business case guru in my technical department.”

Now somewhat of a veteran of the Alumni Council, Zoe’s original motivation for joining was to ‘give something back’ and stay in touch with OUBS: “When my MBA studies ended, I was quite sad that the experience was over. I enjoyed the learning journey immensely, so when the opportunity to join the Alumni Council arose, I jumped at it.”

Throughout her time with the Alumni Council Zoe has been involved in a wide variety of projects, from representing OUBS in global business school reaccreditation to, most recently, re-establishing an OUBS alumni mentoring programme. In 2023, she was awarded the AASCB influential leader award for her volunteer work with the HBA (Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association), a global non-profit for advancing women’s careers in the healthcare industry.

Award-winning disability rights campaigner becomes MBA alumna

Dr Julie McElroy, one of the UK’s leading disability rights advocates, has become an OU MBA graduate (during Disability History Month which runs across November and December). Living with cerebral palsy, assistive technologies have enabled Julie (pictured – courtesy of Kathryn Tuckerman) to lead a life without limits, achieving scores of personal, academic and career goals.

Julie, who also has a Master of Laws (LLM) with the OU’s Law School and a PhD, said: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to the OU for being true advocates for lifelong learning – the whole experience was fantastic.

“This qualification is set to play a crucial role in me advancing to the next stage of my career. I’ve not only expanded my understanding of the business world and what it takes to be a senior leader, I’m in a great position to pursue new opportunities with greater confidence and expertise.”

Honorary doctorate awarded to alumna and Visiting Fellow

Dedicating a career spanning more than 30 years to charity retail, MBA graduate Maria Chenoweth has been awarded the OU's prestigious honorary degree, in recognition of her lifelong work championing the social and environmental benefits of second-hand fashion.

Maria (pictured with the Faculty of Business and Law’s Executive Dean, Prof Mark Durkin) said: “I’m a proud OU graduate having completed my MBA in 2019 with no prior qualifications thanks to the unique open-door policy. I’ve been able to continue my journey with this amazing educator through my work as a Visiting Fellow with the Research into Employment, Empowerment and Futures (REEF) academic centre of excellence.

“The OU’s innovation, flexibility, accessibility and social justice mission is something I believe in. As Chief Executive of Traid and Co-founder of Charity Super.Mkt, I seek to raise the profile of charity retailers, and to project their incredible work and stories, as they play a critical and crucial role in creating a better society.”

Statue honours inspiring engineers

Business School alumna, Alice Kan, who played a crucial role in the mass production of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, was celebrated on National Engineering Day with a statue created by renowned visual artist Kelly Anna.

Alice completed a Professional Certificate in Business Administration and Management 15 years ago and she continues to work on vaccines for diseases such as Ebola at the Sabin Vaccine Institute in America's capital city, Washington.

A statue was unveiled in London on Wednesday 13 November (pictured) and a striking new piece of digital artwork was virtually projected onto the OU’s Walton Hall building in Milton Keynes to highlight Alice’s contribution along with three other inspirational engineers. In collaboration with the Royal Academy of Engineering, the digital artwork was showcased virtually using the University’s new XR Studios, a state-of-the-art extended reality production facility.

The risks and rewards of meaningful work

Wednesday 4 December, 16:00 - 17:00, online

A key component of job satisfaction is the sense that our work is meaningful. Sometimes, the search for meaning becomes insistent, even triggering a career crisis. However, prioritising meaning in our career can be high-risk: increasing the odds of burnout and locking us into a rigid career path.

In this webinar, Dr Kira Schabram will investigate what happens to people who devote themselves to a professional “calling”, which approaches work (and which lead to burnout), and what tends to be the most sustainable long-term approach to finding purpose.

The 2-Hour Job Search for Working Professionals

Looking for a new job is never easy. Paradoxically, as we become more skilled and more senior, it often becomes harder: fewer target roles, more competition and still the frustration of online job postings that demand your time and effort but give nothing in return.

The solution is to sidestep the black hole of online job postings and network your way to referrals, interviews and jobs.

In this webinar, speaker Steve Dalton explores precisely how working professionals can adapt this method to target mid- to senior-level jobs with the same efficient networking strategy.