Executive Route
Developing a new generation of business leaders
WORKING TOGETHER TO DRIVE SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
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Working in partnership with WWF International and a range of corporate partners, our vision is a new type of MBA producing unique business leaders. Whether you study our Executive Route or study full-time, the One Planet MBA is designed to deliver the knowledge, understanding and skills required to run a successful and sustainable business in a rapidly changing natural, financial, social and global market environment. Our MBA will develop individuals who have a deep understanding of the challenges we face. We will develop your ability to innovate, to think and act strategically and to lead individuals and organisations through change. We place an emphasis on tools, techniques and practical applications and we will inspire you to become masters of business action. Many MBA programmes offer modules in corporate responsibility and ethical management. Where the One Planet MBA differs is that the core values of responsible management and sustainable business run through the very heart of the programme, from the topics covered to the learning and teaching style we use. Join us and be part of a new generation of business leaders. Professor Malcolm Kirkup ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DIRECTOR OF MBA PROGRAMMES
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A unique Business School Business has been one of the cornerstones of the University of Exeter since it was founded. Our business teaching is regarded as world-class and we are also recognised internationally for our research, which informs both our programmes and our consultancy work with industry. Our reputation as a leading business school means we attract a very high calibre of student – high achieving, highly focused individuals, looking for the highest quality of business education.
We offer an unrivalled student experience with exceptional facilities, a stunning campus environment and a vibrant and friendly atmosphere. For the past five years the University of Exeter has been rated one of the UK’s top business schools for student satisfaction. In the Times Good University Guide 2012, we were ranked in the Top 15 in the UK for every subject we teach.
I am delighted to see this new MBA programme being launched by one of the UK’s top Universities. All organisations, from all sectors and from SMEs to the major corporates urgently need to develop more sustainable business models and strategies. The One Planet MBA is the first of its kind – delivering contemporary core business skills alongside the latest thinking on how to adapt, innovate and prosper within a low carbon economy. Dr Martin A Blake HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY, ROYAL MAIL, UK
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Why an MBA? An MBA will help develop managers into more confident, strategic, critical and global thinkers with the potential to lead change in a wide range of organisations. Your MBA colleagues will all have at least three years managerial experience and will come from many different industry sectors and backgrounds. This provides a rich learning experience. There are a number of specific benefits of studying for an MBA: • A broader and strategic knowledge of business and management • Enhanced promotion and career prospects • A potential change of role or sector • A time to consolidate, reflect and change • An opportunity to work and network with managers
from local, national and multinational companies. As a participant on the One Planet MBA, you will also share some classes with the full-time students who come from over 20 countries around the globe. Benefits on studying on the Executive Route: • You can remain at work while completing your MBA • The Executive Route is modular, limiting your time out of the office • The Executive Route aims to significantly improve your effectiveness within an organisation, helping you to become better at what you do and accelerate progression • The Executive Route also benefits your employer. You will return after each module with useful insights, new perspectives, valuable tools and new contacts, to help towards business improvement.
The Exeter MBA has broadened my knowledge allowing me to see each project in the context of the business, bringing with it new ideas and best practices from various industries. Importantly, the Exeter MBA challenges business conventions and hones the skills that enable candidates to question the status quo, in order to find better, more innovative solutions to business challenges. Martin Bailey MBA 2008
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The Executive Route The One Planet Executive Route is a part-time programme, designed for those who wish to remain working while completing their MBA. It is delivered over a period of just over two years. The programme normally starts at the end of September, although there may be opportunities to join the programme at other points in the year subject to negotiation. You will take 12 modules plus the MBA Project. Most modules will be delivered intensively over a period of 4-5 days. You will take 6/7 modules each year, with a gap of around 6-8 weeks between each module. One of the modules – Leading Self and Organisational Change – will be spread over two years on a series of single days. Your MBA project can be started at any time in the second year and can be submitted after the completion of your final taught module.
The Executive Route is designed with flexibility in mind, to the extent that it may also be possible to study some modules on a weekly basis, eg every Tuesday, where such modules are available in the full-time programme. Programme Structure The Executive MBA consists of 180 credits, divided into modules weighted at either 12 or 24 credits. You will study 10 compulsory modules, 2 elective modules and complete a major project. The MBA will take you on a journey of personal discovery and transformation – broadening and deepening your understanding of business and exploring how innovative sustainable strategies can be developed. Alongside the study of theory and management practice we will develop your leadership skills to help support your progression to more senior positions after graduation.
A One Planet perspective impels leaders to be inclusive and imaginative in their vision, to be realistic about their responsibilities, and mindful of their legacy. On a worldwide scale, we have to make substantial changes to the ways we do business, in contexts of great uncertainty and complexity. Professor Jonathan Gosling DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRE FOR LEADERSHIP STUDIES AND JOINT FOUNDER OF THE ONE PLANET MBA
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After the programme induction, the MBA journey begins with an examination of the global environmental challenges facing business and the implications for managers and business leaders. We then focus on developing your knowledge and skills in the business fundamentals – finance, accounting, marketing, operations and talent management – from a sustainable perspective. In Year 2 you will progress to integrating this learning and examining business from a more strategic perspective – with a particular emphasis on innovation and how to develop transformational and sustainable business strategies. You will have an opportunity to specialise in a particular management area of your choice. You may wish to develop further expertise in areas such as sustainable finance, entrepreneurship, environmental management, collaboration and partnering, supply management, governance and ethics, or biomimicry for business design. We offer a wide range of electives to suit a diverse range of MBA participants.
The programme concludes with a major consultancy or research project, which would typically be a practical assignment working with an external organisation. We are delighted to be working alongside WWF in delivering this programme, with the additional support of a range of major corporates. Coca Cola, Sony, Atos Consulting, Nokia, Canon, Thomson Reuters, IBM, Lafarge, IKEA, The Cooperative Group and the Lloyds Banking Group are supporting the MBA with scholarships, speakers and projects. In addition to the assessed modules, a series of workshops will develop your research and consultancy skills, and help you integrate your learning to improve your ability to lead in complex and changing circumstances. Sustainability is embedded throughout the curriculum, allowing you to readily appreciate how managers and businesses can improve their stewardship of natural, social and financial resources.
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Programme Requirements* The programmes consist of 180 credits, divided into modules weighted at either 12 or 24 credits. Compulsory Modules Year 1/2 The Changing Business Environment** (12) Integrated Accounting (12) Finance and Responsible Investment (12) Marketing and Customer Engagement (12) Leading Self and Organisational Change (24) Managing Strategic Resources and Operations (12) Economics for a Sustainable World (12) The Human Factor in Sustainable Organisations** (12) Strategic and Responsible Innovation Management** (12) Global Strategic Analysis and Management** (12) Elective Modules (Choose 2) Year 2/3 Solutions for Environmental Management** (12) Governance and Ethics in Business** (12) Entrepreneurship: Starting Successful New Ventures** (12) Sustainable Supply Management** (12) Exploring Leadership** (12) Creative Communication** (12) Collaborating and Partnering** (12) Innovations in Sustainable Finance** (12) Biomimicry and Business: Learning from Nature** (12) Managing Around the World** (12) Managing our Heritage** (12) Customer-Focused Organisations** (12) Compulsory Project Year 2/3 Sustainability Consulting Project** (24) or Research Dissertation** (24) ** This table describes the programmes as planned for delivery at the time of this publication. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced in future years as a consequence of normal programme development. Details at any time will be available from the Business School website. Elective modules may be taken only if the necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, if the timetable allows and if the module or an equivalent module has not been previously taken. ** Modules are delivered to FT and Modular students at the same time.
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The Executive MBA Timetable Year 1 September
Induction/Day 1 of Leading Self and Organisational Change
October
The Changing Business Environment
December
Economics for a Sustainable World
January
Day 2 of Leading Self and Organisational Change The Human Factor in Sustainable Organisations
March
Marketing and Customer Engagement
May
Day 3 of Leading Self and Organisational Change Managing Resources and Operations
July
Finance and Responsible Investment
Year 2/3 September
Day 4 of Leading Self and Organisational Change Integrated Accounting
November
Global Strategic Analysis and Management
January/February
Day 5 of Leading Self and Organisational Change Strategic and Responsible Innovation Management
February to May
Two Elective Modules
March
Sustainability Consulting Project Workshops or Research Dissertation Workshops
June
Day 6 of Leading Self and Organisational Change One Planet Cases: Integration and Transformation
June onwards
Completion of Project or Dissertation
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Our teaching approach Our approach is built around the latest thinking and techniques from a wide range of management disciplines. We will provide the frameworks and tools to help you manage more effectively. The teaching will be interactive and stimulating, and alongside our own teaching faculty you will also learn from leading practitioners – a wide range of guest speakers and trainers will contribute throughout the programme. A significant amount of learning takes place as a result of debate and interaction between group members. Study groups foster mutual motivation and support, as well as developing teamwork and leadership skills.
Our teaching approach includes conventional lectures and case study seminars but the programme also has unique experiential elements. You will have the opportunity to work on a consultancy assignment with a local or international business and to study one of our modules abroad (Managing Around the World). We have a varied approach to assessment. You will find conventional assignments and exams, but we will complement these with more practical and applied assessments. These will include assessed presentations, a simulated press conference, reflective diaries, negotiation exercises, peer review and client feedback.
An Exeter MBA provides an overview of business activities, a focus on decision making and a portfolio of managerial tools. It also provides the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with international managers. Dr Kirsten Dale EXECUTIVE MBA, MET OFFICE
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Our students In 2011 we had 20 students on our Executive Route and 40 students on the full-time programme. The Executive Route programme
consists mainly of students from the UK and Europe, although the mode of delivery (short intensive periods of study) does also encourage students from further afield to take the programme.
I’m enjoying the experience immensely so far. It's markedly different to how I envisaged a Masters would be – both in terms of the type of work we are doing, and the opportunities available to us. For example, we’ve just started a management consultancy module and we are working with real organisations solving real problems. There’s a great practical focus. Steve Gibson EXECUTIVE MBA
I’m now two years into the programme, and what I’m learning has already had an impact. I’ve had time to think about things more – things that relate to what we do – and have been able to bring a certain amount of that back into the workplace. As a law society, we are dealing with professional people – so having this qualification is partly about the credibility it adds to our offer. Tony Steiner EXECUTIVE MBA, DEVON AND SOMERSET LAW SOCIETY
How to apply Details of how to apply and the qualifications you need can be found at www.business-school.exeter.ac.uk/ mba/apply For general enquiries, please contact Julie Hargreaves at: The MBA Office University of Exeter Business School Building:1 Rennes Drive, Exeter UK EX4 4ST Tel +44 (0)1392 724494 Email mba@exeter.ac.uk
www.oneplanetmba.org
I manage resources, just like many managers, but mine are physical, tangible, environmental resources. I joined the One Planet MBA to find out more about business. My organisation has an important role to play in promoting sustainability, and I needed to understand how businesses operate and make their decisions. I am genuinely excited to be part of this new programme and what I believe it can achieve.
Chris Davis ONE PLANET MBA 2010 SENIOR SPECIALIST, MARINE POLICY – NATURAL ENGLAND
University of Exeter Business School Building:1 Rennes Drive Exeter UK EX4 4ST tel: +44 (0)1392 724494 email: mba@exeter.ac.uk www.oneplanetmba.org
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