Perfect lift-off for high fliers

Jan 17 2008 By The Journal

HIGH-fliers from the region’s public, private and voluntary sectors can give their careers and organisations a New Year boost from Durham Business School’s highly acclaimed Executive MBA programme.

One of the region’s public sector employees who has already benefited from a Durham Executive MBA is Jonny Tew.

As a policy adviser at Durham County Council, Jonny, from Low Fell, Gateshead, has been putting his qualification to good use, as his organisation prepares for a major transition.

He has played a part in County Durham’s proposed local government move from eight councils towards a new unitary model and believes that his MBA equipped him with the skills to help tackle this challenging change programme.

Jonny said: “I decided to do my MBA relatively early in my career as I wanted to gain as much business knowledge as quickly as I could and broaden my range of skills.

“Having this international business school on my doorstep meant that studying at Durham was the perfect option.

“I know the university well and have colleagues at the council who endorsed the MBA course, so I knew it was right for me.”

Part of Jonny’s role at the council involves partnership working with different organisations across the region, including the local community, police, fire brigade, health services and voluntary sector.

The MBA allowed him to develop the ‘skills set’ he needed to work in this complex environment.

He said: “The Durham MBA immerses you in a range of perspectives. It has broadened my horizons and given me an appreciation and informed understanding of business.”

Jonny focused his MBA dissertation on community engagement, which was an important part of the county council’s unitary bid. His studies supported him in developing a model for tackling the potential gap and perceived distance between service providers and the community, using the research techniques and ‘theoretical tools’ from his MBA.

MBA students also participate in a ‘boardroom simulation’ exercise, which enables them to put business theory into practice, providing them with a vital insight into management within a range of organisations.

For Jonny, the programme is as relevant for the public sector as it is for the private and voluntary sectors.

He added: “For the council, it is all about bringing fresh techniques and an up-to-date approach to tackling projects, which the MBA has undoubtedly enabled me to do.

“The hard and soft skills I’ve developed have made a real difference to my role and Durham County Council’s part-funding of my MBA and ongoing commitment to staff development means that I have an increased sense of loyalty to the organisation.”

Durham Business School is aiming to make more people working in the region aware of the value an MBA can have on a career, regardless of whether an individual works within a public not-for-profit environment or a private organisation trading on the stock market.

Director of the Durham Executive MBA programme Anne Woodhead, added: “Every year we’ve seen the huge boost an MBA has given our graduates, both personally and professionally.

“The Durham Executive MBA is highly relevant to business people across all sectors – public, private and voluntary – and we’re keen to make it as accessible as possible to people across the region, where we have so much talent and potential we would wish to retain.”

For more information on the Durham Executive MBA, phone (0191) 334-5533 or visit www.dur.ac.uk/dbs