Bradford University School of Management

Hundreds check out Morrisons’ new debt free corporate degree

Morrisons’ corporate degree programme, launched in partnership with Bradford University School of Management, has attracted 500 applications from bright school leavers.

An intake of 20 undergraduates in January 2011 will be the first to earn a salary whilst studying for a BSc in Business and Management. Tuition fees are paid by Morrisons and successful graduates will be offered a permanent role in the food manufacturing or retail side of the business.

The three-year earn as you learn programme has been designed for Morrisons by Julian Rawel, the School’s Director of Executive Education. The course is a mix of block learning at the School, distance study, on the job work experience and work based projects in the food manufacturing division.

Julian Rawel commented: “The CBI and government are calling for university education to be more relevant to business. With university funding for extra places so stretched, I believe the concept of the corporate degree is something that every FTSE 100 company will want to offer.

“The investment businesses make in future talent will stay in their organisation. Students gain the skills and experience they need for career progression, plus the enrichment of a university education, a salary, no debt and a job.”

Trainees will learn about all aspects of food manufacture at Morrisons through placements at one of 15 centres, located from Aberdeen to Northampton.

The corporate degree builds on an existing partnership between Bradford University School of Management and Morrisons. The School advises on in-house training programmes for Morrisons Academy and delivers post graduate training for middle and senior managers who can go on to MBA study.

Norman Pickavance, HR Director, Morrisons said: “We believe it is vitally important that industry and education sectors deliver vibrant new solutions which enable people to keep developing and gaining qualifications whilst they learn.

“Our pathways for career development see young people progress from shop floor to the top floor, gaining relevant, practical qualifications as they go and the corporate degree programme is part of that picture.”

How does the NHS identify and nurture talent and what could they do better?

To answer this question Professor Jackie Ford, together with Professor Nancy Harding and Dr Dimi Stoyanova from the School’s Leadership and Organisation Studies group undertook a major review of the 37 organisations within NHS Yorkshire and Humber.

The research looked at how the NHS identifies talent and leadership potential; how these people are then developed; best practices within the region and nationally; the barriers in the process and how can they be overcome?

Researchers found there exists a strong ethos of inclusivity which recognises the talents of everyone in the organisation, from the most senior to the most junior, should be tapped so as to ensure the NHS Y&H fulfils its brief. However there is no consensus on what talent management is or how it should be implemented.

Prof Jackie Ford said: “Strategies vary widely and if pursued are at different stages of development. Generally trusts adopt an incremental approach, building upon existing practices, rather than developing something entirely new.

“However, we did find some excellent examples of programmes, ranging from developing opportunities to nurture the talents of people from under-privileged sections of the local community to developing the most senior staff. When compared with evidence about talent management across the UK it can be concluded that NHS Y&H has the potential to lead the way in developing the next generation of talent management initiatives.”

“Major problems do remain in relation to the position of minority groups, notably black and minority ethnic staff. Although there are some notable efforts in some sectors of the NHS Y&H to challenge problems of diversity, in other places, there is evidence of a limited understanding of the issues. Some espoused practices in identifying talent could exacerbate an already unimpressive situation.”

Importantly, the research report identified a public service ethos evident in the NHS which indicated that a symbiotic approach to talent management was evolving and could be further encouraged
The symbiotic approach involves:

a cascading of talent management throughout each organisation, with each leader, at every layer of the hierarchy and throughout the different specialties, taking responsibility for identifying and nurturing the talents of those they lead. This should be happening already, but there is a gulf between espoused and actual behaviours;
The wide range of developmental opportunities across the 37 organisations , if they survive the forthcoming changes, should include an additional module designed to help participants identify and foster talent and its management;
Awareness raising in relation to diversity, as TM programmes can, if not carefully managed, contribute to discrimination. Many people claim to be able to identify ‘talent’ as soon as a talented person walks in the room: such assumptions often contain unarticulated and unacknowledged bias.

For a copy of the research findings contact Jackie Ford at J.M.Ford@bradford.ac.uk

In conversation with the Financial Times, the School’s Dean, Dr Sarah Dixon outlines the experiences and philosophy that continue to shape her business and academic life.

Who are your business influences/heroes? Working for Shell for 23 years had a huge influence on the development of my business capabilities.

When did you know you wanted to be a professor? Having come into academia late in my career I am not yet a Professor. It is difficult to build up the body of publications which are normally required to achieve a Professorship when you come from a business background. I think it is an area in which business schools need to be more flexible. Becoming a Professor is in many ways the pinnacle of academic achievement, one which I knew I wanted to achieve once I started my academic career in 2002.

What is the best piece of advice ever given to you? The Russian proverb – he who doesn’t take risks, doesn’t drink champagne - is sound advice.

What academic achievement are you most proud of? Whilst being proud of my doctorate and publishing in top academic journals, being Dean of Bradford University School of Management represents the pinnacle.

What would be your plan B if you had to choose an alternative career? Executive directorship of a growth company.

What's your biggest lesson learnt? Never climb a mountain without a map and compass – and so in business life – never set out without a plan, a sense of direction and a means of arriving at your objective.

What's the worst job you've ever had? The worst job I ever had was as an extremely well-paid specialist consultant, in a very senior position, which involved a lot of boring market research. Walking in the Brecon Beacons one weekend it came to me that there was more to life than money and status and I handed in my notice the next week.

What advice would you give to women in business? I think it is still true that as a woman you have to work hard to be ranked equally with men. But men work hard too. I also believe it is important, at the stage of your life when you have children, that you need to be strong and say – I am performing at a high level and therefore I am not going to work late and I can justify going home to spend time with my family.

How do you deal with male dominated environments? I have always worked in a male dominated environment. In my early career a boss once asked me why I wasn’t at home doing the ironing. A male dominated environment has really never bothered me, since we are all there to do a professional job, male or female. But I am proud of what I have achieved as a woman.

If you could do it all again, what would you do differently? I am not sure there is anything I would have done differently. Leaving Shell was a big decision for me, but I now have the privilege of a second challenging career. I am really enthusiastic about my current position as Dean of Bradford University School of Management.

Who is your business hero? I really admire people who can truly take their audience with them, especially with humour. Ken Robinson would be one of these.

What is your favourite business book? Strategy Safari by Mintzberg et al. Is one of my all-time favourite business books. But I love reading widely, and as a linguist I like to read books in the original. I get frustrated that I don’t have more time to read - there are so many great books out there.

Where is/would be your favourite place to teach? My favourite place to teach is the Academy of the National Economy in Moscow. When I worked for Kingston Business School we delivered there a very successful joint MBA, the leading programme in Russia. It was always a great experience, teaching students from vastly differing backgrounds that were eager to participate. At the same time the long hours and hard work helped to cement relationships with academic colleagues.

What is your life philosophy? My driver is success. I always like to climb to the top of mountains, and there is always one more mountain to climb.

What's your earliest memory of school? My mother was a junior school teacher and before I was old enough to start school she used to take me into school with her and I would be looked after by the other children - so I started my education early!

How do you deal with pressure? Exercise is the best method for me. I try to go for run every day or cycle to work. It’s also an opportunity to think.

What are your future plans? To succeed in my new role as Dean of Bradford University School of Management, helping to maintain its brand as one of the leading business schools in the UK, Europe and the world.

What do they think? Bradford's bloggers have their say

Professor Chris Gale thinks government assumptions that everyone applying for 2012 university entrance understands the reality of the proposed fee increases are mistaken. Students need to be fully informed on such a major change in higher education and so do the teachers that advise them.

As the fallout from the comprehensive spending review becomes clear, what next for public sector organisations? Julian Rawel, Director of Executive Education considers the next steps after CSR.

Be our guest! The School of Management welcomes guest blogs on business issues

Would you like to start a conversation or debate with other businesses? Is your business doing something new and different? The School of Management is inviting business people to write a guest blog and share their views on topical business issues with a wider audience. We have a team who can interview you and write it for you if that’s easier!

Julian Rawel, the School’s Director of Executive Education was recently invited to be a guest blogger for the Forum of Private Business . His views on the impact of the Comprehensive Spending Review on the private sector are relevant and topical and yours could be too!

If you have ideas for a blog and would like to contribute, contact victoria@northernlightspr.com

School of Management leads on raising independent financial adviser qualifications

A new Financial Planning degree, designed in partnership with the School of Management and the Yorkshire IFA Forum (YIFAF) is unique in the UK in the way it raises qualification standards in the IFA profession.

Leading professionals in the region formed YIFAF as a networking association to tackle some of the key challenges facing the sector, such as the need to encourage talented graduates to train as IFAs.

Input from Forum members and expertise from the School’s Head of Accounting and Finance Group, Prof Mark Freeman and Senior Lecturer in Accounting, Dr Musa Mangena has resulted in a bespoke, four-year degree for IFAs with a guaranteed placement in the third year. The first intake of students started in September 2010.

Prof Mark Freeman says: “This is a changing profession and new rules brought in by the Financial Services Authority mean UK advisers practising after 2012 need to meet tough minimum qualification standards. Our first intake of students will not only exceed the minimum educational requirement – they will also have the essential work placement experience that employers need.”

Prof Freeman sits on the Board of YIFAF and is currently exploring further opportunities for the School and Forum to work together, through mentoring, executive education for directors and conversion courses to allow graduates from other disciplines to retrain as an IFA.

The formation of YIFAF was recognised with an award for Initiative of the Year in the IFA Sector by Scottish Widows. The three firms responsible for bringing together IFA business in the Leeds city region are, Beaumont Robinson, Ebor Asset Management and Pearson Jones. The Forum is backed by Financial Leeds.

Chair of YIFAF, David Cubitt of Beaumont Robinson says: “The work we have done with the School of Management to raise the bar on education in the IFA sector was a major factor in our award win.

“To some extent this work has just started – we want to get more IFAs in the region to engage with and to place students. A particular challenge is to get new young talent to enter the profession. IFAs tend to be small organisations which limits the number of placements they can offer.

“ For the Yorkshire sector to grow and thrive we all need to encourage more bright young people to get into business – those who succeed will be offering employment opportunities to others in the future.”

The Forum has the backing of industry bodies such as the Chartered Insurers Institute and the Personal Finance Society.

For more information on joining the Yorkshire Independent Financial Adviser Forum, contact david.cubitt@beaumont-robinson.co.uk

Latest rankings place Bradford University School of Management Executive MBA in UK’s top ten

In its latest survey the Financial Times has ranked Bradford University School of Management’s Executive part time MBA programme among the best ten in the UK and the top 25 in Europe.

Bradford is the only business school in the North of England to achieve an FT 2010 ranking for its highly rated Executive MBA programme. Students on average, see a 70 per cent salary rise four years after starting the programme.

The league table results are compiled using information from two sets of surveys, one completed by alumni graduating three years ago and the other by the business schools.

The criteria used include the job seniority and career progression of graduates, the international reach of the EMBA programme and the quality of the School’s academic research activity.

The School’s dean, Dr Sarah Dixon, said: “In this highly uncertain environment it is vital for managers to raise the bar in terms of their personal development and professional performance and the MBA plays a key role in this, bringing multiple perspectives, differing analytical approaches and creativity to addressing challenging business issues.

“It has never been more important for managers and businesses to stand out from the crowd and we are delighted that the Bradford Executive MBA has been recognised as world class.”

The next Bradford Executive Part-time MBA programme begins in January 2011 as does the innovative Bradford Accelerated Full-time MBA targeted at busy managers who can spare less time out of their careers for a Full-time programme.

Further information and application details are available from www.bradford.ac.uk/mba

The School also UK 9th in FT's grand slam of league tables for year

The Financial Times has also ranked the School 9th in the UK in its annual ‘grand league table’ for European Business Schools.

These rankings are based on a combination of league tables that assess the quality of Masters in Management, full-time MBA, executive MBA and executive education programmes. All include surveys of former students as to how they rated the courses, the quality of jobs they have held since and their relative pay increases as well as an assessment of the qualifications, diversity and variety of nationalities of the faculty.

Dr Sarah Dixon, dean of the School of Management, said: “This ranking is excellent news and will ensure we continue to attract top international students to our Masters and MBA programmes.

“Our focus on business relevance, as well as our strengths in research are a large part of this success. We have some of the UK’s top academic names who inform their teaching with leading edge thinking – and all this pays off in the quality of jobs that our students get all around the world.”

Financial Times European Business Schools rankings 2010
The top UK graduate business schools from the list of the top 75 in Europe (based on 2010 FT rankings)

London Business School
University of Oxford: Saïd
City University: Cass
Cranfield School of Management
Imperial College Business School
University of Strathclyde Business School
Warwick Business School
London School of Economics and Political Science
Bradford University School of Management
Ashridge
Lancaster University Management School
Aston Business School
University of Bath School of Management
Durham Business School
University of Cambridge: Judge
Manchester Business School
Henley Business School
Birmingham Business School
University of Edinburgh Business School
Nottingham University Business School

The Best Company to work for finalists in the Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards certainly impressed the judges. Chair of the judging panel Dr David Spicer explains why

Gratterpalm, the winners, impressed with the quality and focus of their training and development (follow their ‘G Academy’ recruits online), and the extent to which recognition, support and motivation were embedded in the business. People management practices are integrated across the firm and the careers within it and there is a clear focus on how supporting people contributes to the bottom line.

Morrisons is a massive Yorkshire success story, built on the support it gives and gets from its people. The judges noted the strength of Morrisons’ culture is and its evident commitment to developing employees (and its shop-floor to top-floor initiative). The extent to which employees had a voice within the business was also seen as a real strength.

Create stood out this year as well. Not just because they are a social enterprise with commercial drive to push social aims of developing employment opportunities for people who have been homeless, marginalised or vulnerable. They also provide genuine and long-lasting support to people, whether they’re moving into the workplace or are employed by Create themselves. Create make highly effective use of peer-mentoring within their training and support.

Two other firms also deserve mention:

Arena are previous winners who again demonstrated why they are an outstanding employer. Particularly noted was the commitment they made to maintain employment despite the pressures of the recession.

Lucre are in PR, communications and event management. They have a clear, performance-focused culture that stresses outcomes and rewards yet maintains a high level of support for employees alongside this.

Every year, our judging task seems to get harder and harder and it is perhaps divisive to single out a handful of firms in this way. But as so many of us spend so much of our time working for other people, isn’t it good to know that many, many of them take their commitment to their employees so seriously?

University scoops THE Award for second year

For the second year running the University of Bradford has won the Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development category in the Times Higher Education Awards.

Judges in the 2010 awards commented: "The Ecoversity project stands as an exemplar of how a commitment to sustainability in practice can bring about transformational change in a higher education institution."

Experts Blogging

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