Category Archives: Uncategorised

EU Tourism Quality principles

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Unhappy customers that are not listened to, untrained staff that are unable to complete tasks, poor cleanliness, poorly maintained accommodation, staff that lack knowledge of the local area, inability to communicate with the accommodation provider in a common language……

The EU Tourism Quality principles are a much needed approach in promoting consistent standards in tourism for accommodation providers across the EU and for them to be sustainable as a result.  The standards  should be of particular benefit to the sustainability of Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs)where frequently the larger accommodation chains  have standardised a quality that has become acceptable to customers.

However the standards are only voluntary and were introduced  in 2014 when the EU Commission proposed a set of European Tourism Quality Principles to ensure tourists travelling within the EU get value for money.

The principles, if acted upon and promoted should provide a confidence to customers when booking accommodation in terms of customers being listened to with actions enthusiastically taken to improve the customer experience, helping language barriers to be removed, training of staff in maintaining standards of service, ensuring standards of cleanliness and maintenance.

Providing information and making use of local amenities and points of special interest that the larger conglomerates often lack in their aspiration for a standard corporate look should give SMEs a competitive edge.

To find out more about how to implement these standards and share in developing sustainable tourism see www.smartourproject.eu

By Vicki Disley Newcastle under Lyme College

UPDATE – The SMARTOUR Tool is now online and covers this topic if you want to learn more 

If you are interested in service quality  issues as a manager or want some service quality training yourself then sign up to our FREE half day event on 17th May at Staffordshire University

Useful links

Project website – http://www.smartourproject.eu/

Twitter @tourismsu   #SMARTOUR

Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/smartourproject/

SMARTOUR logo

“The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”

A Good Education – The Art of Employability

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Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world” but what is education? There are many definitions.  One is that from Albert Einstein whilst often misquoted said something paraphrased as “Education is what remains after everything you have ever learned has been forgotten”.

So … we appear to be grappling with something that could be construed as quite intangible and more art form rather than science.  But what exactly is it that remains and how can we look to build and harness it?

Uppermost in many students’ minds given the ever rising costs within higher education is the prospect of ‘employability’.  There has therefore been an increasing trend to characterising employability through the use of simple algorithms and whilst not scientific they are very a very useful tool as a focus & guide to good education.  As such they are appearing more frequently in use at both schools and universities and there have been a number of different versions of varying complexity.  For example, one version is:

 

E = Q + E +(C x N)2

Where:         E = Overall Employability

Q = Qualification

E = Experience

C = Competency

N = Networks

If E is an individual overall employability potential, then first is Q – the qualification or the level of attainment.  Qualifications might ordinarily be related to a particular discipline or subject area specialism and hence knowledge based e.g. “what do you know now that you didn’t know before?”  The second E is experience – not necessarily always work related but can be life experiences such as travel or particular activity from which an individual has learned and benefitted.  The third C is competency.  This is not so much about “what do you know?” but more about “what can you do?”   Competency can be defined as the ability to apply a skill.  A simple example might be a presentation skill.  This becomes a powerful competency if an individual can apply that skill to present in a variety of different circumstances e.g. small or large audiences, subordinate, peer group or superordinate etc.  Last but by no means least is N for networks.  The old saying “it’s not what you know but who you know” rings increasingly true – especially with the growth of digital technology and increasing access to the plethora of social media channels which are now an intrinsic part of many peoples lives.  Networks have never been so accessible and extensive.  Never overlook networks in pursuit of employability in which there are powerful stakeholders.     Many key positions are filled by those who prudently develop and operate through networks.

The particular importance of competency (C) and networks (N) is recognised in this algorithm by identifying them as a product raised to the power 2 or squared.  The impact and hence contribution to employability is therefore significantly enhanced.

Putting it all together and building both competency & networks around a solid base of knowledge and experience begins to shape how by adopting this particular algorithm, the education process could seek to tick all the boxes.  Emphasis may well be different for different courses of study but the point is the need to be conscious & consider how each factor might be embedded in both teaching and assessment.

The conclusion might then be that the powerful weapon alluded to by Nelson Mandela and the concept of good education being what remains after all is forgotten alluded to by Albert Einstein could well be employability.  Those receiving a good education should evolve to become truly employable and effective in whatever context employment in life is eventually pursued.

Andy Hirst

Senior Lecturer – Business School

Stress Management at work: It’s complicated

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Work can be good for psychological well-being but ‘poor’ psychosocial working conditions (things like excessive workloads, constant change, or unsupportive management) have well-established links to work-related stress and the development of distressing mental and physical health problems.  Estimates suggest that around one-third of workers experience chronic work stress and a recent evaluation of the government’s ‘Fit Note’ shows mild-to-moderate mental health problems were the leading cause of long-term sickness absence.  The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence calculate that employers who take a proactive approach to dealing with this, based on prevention and early identification of problems, could save approximately £250,000 per 1,000 employees, each year.

However, employers may be attracted to off-the-peg solutions such as ‘resilience’ training or employee assistance programmes, that attempt to improve ‘coping’ ability or deal with the symptoms.  Now, these could be beneficial, but unless organisations are also dealing with the sources of work-related stress, research suggests that – on their own – such solutions are likely to be ineffective in the long-term.  Yet, despite the logic of ‘prevention is better than cure’, research evidence for preventative approaches to work-related stress is surprisingly inconsistent.  Why?  Having spent the last few years researching this very topic, I have to say that it’s far from simple.

The main sources of ‘stress’ in each workplace will depend on the people, the jobs, and organisation, among many other things, so any preventative intervention must be tailored to the needs of each setting.  Before taking action, employers need to understand what is most problematic for their employees; the Health and Safety Executive recommend starting the process with a stress-risk assessment to help identify and target the most relevant risks.  Because solutions should be tailored, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer, it can be difficult to compare the evidence for different kinds of preventative stress-management approaches.  However, based on research evidence and the findings from my own large-scale research study in a public sector organisation, there are some useful general lessons that any employer should keep in mind before starting out.

  • Communication: Ensure employees know what you are planning and why. Set realistic expectations, because disappointment can lead to cynicism; on a related note…
  • Coordination and follow-up: make sure there is someone with a clear responsibility for ongoing monitoring of progress of agreed project actions. There are few things likely to deflate enthusiasm and momentum more than unfulfilled promises.
  • Questionnaires: these can be a quick and easy way of getting an overview of potential issues and tracking progress, but tick-box surveys are simply not enough on their own. At the very least, they should also allow employees to provide comments, but this is still fairly limited. The Health and Safety Executive also recommend the use of focus groups to ensure staff have an opportunity to have some real input into the process.  This can help employers get a fuller understanding of what the real issues are, but it also has a further crucial benefit…
  • Employee involvement: prioritise identifying ways of involving staff in the selection and development of possible solutions. A consistent finding from the research is that employees should have involvement in the process; having a say, and crucially, having their views acknowledged and – where appropriate – acted on, are all associated with more successful outcomes.  Staff need to feel that any employee consultation or participation is meaningful; where input is invited, ensure these are followed-up and fed-back in a timely fashion, even (or especially) when it is not possible to implement them.

This is just a snapshot of a complex process and these lessons don’t guarantee success, but paying attention to them can certainly give you a much better chance.

Author – John Hudson

 

For more information, or if you need advice on mental health, visit Mind 

School of Business, Leadership and Economics Pride Awards Night

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On the 30th March, final year Events Management students Josh Lonsdale, Tom Gater and Lorna Wilde organised and hosted the first (and hopefully not the last) Business, Leadership and Economics Pride Awards evening. Staff and students in the School were asked to vote for nominations in various categories and the event was part of their final year project module.

The evening started with a buffet and bucks fizz and Lorna performing a wonderful selection of songs. We were all blown away with her brilliant singing voice and professional delivery. Isabelle Clarke was master of ceremonies and Lorna, Josh and Tom presented the awards.

The event was for both staff and students celebrating their contribution and impact they have on the School and University. It was held in one of the School’s rooms in Ashley
decorated by the students. As Josh said “it was great to see staff and student support each other hand in hand about the great achievements we had within the school” and “It has been a pleasure as final year Event Management students to put on an event that gets to showcase how many talented staff and students are in the school. We hope that this event will be continued by the school and we hope that the other schools may take the initiative to host a similar awards ceremony.”

The evening ended with Lorna again singing, this time ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’ and ‘On My Own’ from Les Miserables especially for Carol and Angela. There was not a dry eye in the house – at least from Carol, Angela and me!

  

The winners of the awards were:

Exceeding Expectations Award

Given to a student who has gone above and beyond during their time here at the Staffordshire university Business School.

Dee  Rahmat

Commitment to Excellence Award

Awarded to a staff member who consistently and proactively help raise the reputation of not only the Business school but also Staffordshire University.

Karl McCormack

Outstanding Leadership Award

Awarded to staff members who lead students and or staff to achieve improved results across the Business school but also Staffordshire University.

Alison Maguire

Student Honours List

Awarded to students who have had a positive impact on Staffordshire University and the Business School throughout their studies.

The Hult Team, Daniel Griffiths, Danielle Nugent , George Balshaw and Sarah Wright

Future Leader Award

Awarded to a student who encompasses of the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes.

Henry Greentree.

Community Partnership Award 

Awarded to a member of staff who with the community while maintaining a positive image of the Business School at Staffordshire University.

Carol Southall

Exceptional Contribution Award

Awarded to a member of staff who has contributed to not just the business school but Staffordshire university for several amount years

Anni Hollins

Future Leader Award

Awarded to a member of staff who has developed an original and contemporary assessment with positive feedback

Angela Lawerence

Written by Anne Harbisher

How to sustain word-of-mouth advertising, the holy grail of marketing?

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Staffordshire University is a proud regional university which is important to the local community, contributes to the local economy and society, and cooperates with local businesses. Indeed, we use our expertise to help businesses grow; by using sound research we can support practice by theory to help businesses make well-informed strategic decisions.

We are so committed to create a strong and sustainable relationship between industry and academia that we not only make our undergraduate and taught postgraduate curriculum practice-based, but we even have special doctoral programmes that are designed to contribute to the body of knowledge as well as to practice. Professional doctorates, as they generally referred to, are a great example of the relevance and importance of applied research (i.e. research that seeks to solve a real-life problem).

Doctor of Business Administration

Andrew Stephenson joined the Doctor of Business Administration programme when he was the Human Resource Director at DFS, a UK leading sofa manufacturer. DFS, like many firms all over the world adopted the Net Promoter System (NPS), a customer loyalty metric which was introduced by Frederick Reichheld in his paper ‘The one number you need to grow’, published in 2003 by the Harvard Business Review. The NPS is determined by asking customers one question, “How likely is it that you would recommend [brand] to a friend or colleague?”. Customers are asked to record their answer on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 representing ‘not likely at all’ and 10 being ‘extremely likely’. Respondents are categorised in three groups – detractors (0-6), passives (7-8) and promoters (9-10). The Net Promoter Score is then determined by subtracting the proportion of detractors from the proportion of promoters. It is not surprising that NPS quickly gained popularity with management in many industries; the measure is very simple to calculate, it has face validity and intuitive appeal to managers and other stakeholders, and it is a comparable metric that companies seek to include in their reports. DFS was no exception and thus decided to start collecting information from their customers, including the ‘magic’ question.

 
Both DFS and Staffordshire University soon realised the potential of establishing a collaborative relationship on this project and the benefits such collaboration would bring to both institutions. Staffordshire University would be able to contribute to a success of a business through research; academics working on the project would use it to contribute to the University’s Research Excellence Framework submission; students would benefit from having their learning supported by practice-based cutting edge research. DFS on the other hand, would get answers to the numerous questions that needed answering so that they could drive their company forward. This led to DFS providing Staffordshire University with access to a large data set of responses to customer satisfaction surveys.

We have now cleaned up the data and set it up for econometric analysis which is already yielding some very interesting results that will not only contribute to the existing body of knowledge on NPS but also directly to industry practice. One of the aims of the project was to determine what drives customer propensity to recommend a brand. We used factor analysis to reduce the large number of survey questions to a manageable number of explanatory variables which we then used in a logistic regression model to determine what influences the likelihood of a customer becoming a promoter.

The most important factors have been identified to be satisfaction with product quality and sales experience, and the ability of the company to exceed customers’ expectations. Therefore if businesses get their product right, implement basic sales techniques to deliver great sales experience, and exceed customers’ expectations, customers will reward them with glowing recommendations which in turn will attract more promoters, creating a multiplier effect which will sustain the word-of-mouth advertising, the holy grail of marketing.

I am very excited to be a part of this project where cutting-edge industry practices meet cutting-edge research; where theory meets practice; where outputs of robust econometrical analysis are interpreted in business context and applied to make well-informed strategic decisions; and I very much look forward to discovering the endless possibilities and opportunities this project will bring.

By Dr Jana Fiserova

Pottery Places in the heart of England by Kelly Jansen (Final year student)

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Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire is the capital of Potteries in the UK. Stoke on Trent is the home of several international household names such as Emma Bridgewater, Wedgewood, Middleport Pottery (home to Burleigh Pottery) and Royal Stafford who all produce china and earthenware. Famously, these pottery places attract tourists to Stoke to visit the brand they know and love.

I was eager to learn about the different visitors and their reasons for wanting to come to Stoke on Trent, so I carried a Visitor Survey at Emma Bridgewater on behalf of their Marketing Team, as primary research for my dissertation.

One of my findings was that for 60% of visitor’s at the factory, the main reason for visiting Stoke on Trent was the Emma Bridgewater site. So how has it become a destination venue?

There are plenty of things to do whilst at the Emma Bridgewater Factory, although they get really busy so where possible, I recommend booking the activity prior to arriving.

Activities available include:

The Decorating Studio – Pick your choice of item to decorate (from a mug to a dog bowl). The price of your decorating experience is dependent on the piece you choose to paint and a £2.95 studio fee. You can either collect your master piece 2 weeks later or pay a £5 postage fee.

In the decorating studio

Factory Tours – Tours around the factory to see how everything is made for a small price of £2.50 and Under 16’s are FREE.

Experience Days – Includes a behind the scenes tour, Afternoon tea, a session in the decorating studio and it includes 10% off at the gift shop. All for £30 per person!

Afternoon Tea – A great price of just £12.50 for amazing sandwiches, soups and beautiful cakes.

Café – Great homemade food that was fresh (I would recommend the Pesto chicken sandwich). The café is open to the general public, so you don’t have to be taking part in any activities, you can just enjoy the daily specials.

Secret Garden – It’s a secret… you’ll have to visit and find out yourself.

Special Event activities – for example at Halloween they had Owls, a pumpkin counting competition and fancy dress. More detail for further upcoming events available on their website – http://emmabridgewaterfactory.co.uk/

Another bonus is the factory offer FREE parking and great transport links for example it is a 10-minute walk from Stoke train station and a 2-minute walk from Hanley bus station.

Factory Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram –

Kelly Jansen is in her final year of BA Tourism Management she tweets at @KellyJansen95 and is on Linkedin 

Kelly Jansen and Danielle Barnsley

Kelly Jansen and Danielle Barnsley on site at Emma Bridgewater

 

Project PERFECT and the University of Twente Purchasing Conference

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The PERFECT Project, funded by the ERASMUS+ scheme, is developing a pan-European harmonised higher education curriculum for Purchasing and Supply Management (PSM). The Project is Coordinated by Dortmund University of Technology (Germany), and Staffordshire University are working alongside the Universities of Mainz (Germany), Twente (Netherlands) and Lappeenranta (Finland). Regular partner meetings bring together representatives from the different institutions to discuss progress on the different parts of the project and ensure that the outputs of the project are timely and meet the diverse needs of the potential audience for the curriculum.

Members of the PERFECT team recently conducted a series of interviews with individuals at a wide variety of European companies in order to develop understanding of what skills and knowledge are required by PSM practitioners now and in the future. The University of Twente is currently developing a questionnaire to broaden this understanding. This work will inform the development of a robust and industry-focused curriculum that can be used by educational institutions across Europe and also inform in-house training for companies.Project PERFECT Team at University of Twente

Last week Dr Steve Kelly and Tom Ward were at the University of Twente in the Netherlands for a project transnational meeting at which representatives from all the partners were present. The meeting ended with the participants joining the annual University of Twente Purchasing Conference (UTPC), hosted by Professor Dr habil. Holger Schiele. Steve was delighted to be invited give the keynote address to an audience of practitioners, students and academics. In addition, other members of the project team delivered a workshop based on the findings of the project so far. The UTPC was organised by the students of the University of Twente who had designed a superb day, full of a variety of interesting talks and interactive workshops, and a great opportunity for networking. The participants found the work of the PERFECT project interesting and stimulating, and the workshop has opened up further opportunities for collaboration between industry and academia.Project Perfect logo

EU flag Erasmus+ logo

The creation of these resources has been (partially) funded by the Erasmus+ grant programme of the European Union under grant number 2015-1-DE01-KA203-002174. Neither the European Commission nor the project’s national funding agency DAAD are responsible for the content or liable for any losses or damage resulting from the use of these resources.

For further details of the project go to http://www.perfect.lfo.tu-dortmund.de/.

Contact Steve at stephen.kelly@staffs.ac.uk and Tom at t.ward@staffs.ac.uk.

Staffordshire University graduate’s journey to employment

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On Wednesday 1st March I was returning to my office after delivering a Financial Reporting tutorial when I was greeted by Rachel Heath (one of my personal tutees) with a beaming smile on her face.  She had just found out she had been offered a place on the NHS graduate scheme.

Rachel’s achievement is an excellent example of a highly motivated student taking advantage of all the support and guidance offered to her to enable her to achieve her dream job.

Rachel started at Staffordshire University in September 2013 studying a BA(Hons) Accounting and Finance Degree.  She had studied ‘A’ levels at Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College and then taken two years out of education.  However, she realised “how hard it is to progress without the knowledge and experience needed within an industry” so she decided to undertake a degree programme.

On Rachel’s second day I became her Personal Tutor, initially helping her to settle into University life and encouraging her to take advantage of all the opportunities presented to her.  In addition to regular meetings with Rachel she studied 2 modules which focus on the development of the student, Employability and Study Skills in the first year and Professional Development in the second year.  Karl McCormack the Accounting Awards Course Leader leads on both of these modules, the student’s personal tutor delivers the workshop sessions.  In these modules students develop communication and team-working skills, they focus on their career ambitions and produce development plans to ensure they gain the skills they require in order to be able to achieve their goals.  Part of the first year module involves the students getting their CVs checked by the University’s Careers Section.

The Professional Development module in the second year provides the skills and knowledge students need to help them gain a work placement.  Helping students to develop amongst other things CVs, letters of application and interview skills.

During this module Rachel started applying for placement opportunities with the support of her lecturers, Claire Bashford a Placement Consultant, Mark Wordley the Business School’s Placement Co-Ordinator and the Careers Section.  Rachel was successful in gaining a 12 month placement with Stoke-on-Trent City Council as a Business and Enterprise support student.

stoke-on-trent-city-council

During Rachel’s placement she developed her communication, teamwork and leadership skills.  She also gained valuable experience of working under pressure.  She was supported during her placement year by Tony Bickley who was her Visiting Placement Tutor at the Council.

Returning to University in September for her final year Rachel set about applying for her graduate job.  Having really enjoyed working in the public sector she was keen to follow up opportunities in this area.  In February she contacted me let me know she had been selected for a 2 day assessment centre in Bristol for the West Midlands NHS Finance Management Training Scheme.  Rachel had submitted an online application which included answering 6 scenario based questions and explaining why she was applying for the scheme and the qualities she would bring to it.  After passing that stage she had to complete verbal and numerical tests online.  Having passed these tests she was invited to the 2 day assessment centre.

nhs

She told me she had to prepare a 10 minute presentation so we discussed what she could include in this and agreed in preparation of the assessment days I would observe her presentation and give her feedback on it.  By coincidence I had also been in contact with one of my students who had graduated in June 2009 Himesh Patel who is now Divisional Finance Manager at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

Himesh had undertaken his placement year with the NHS at the Princess Royal Hospital Telford.  They were so impressed with Himesh that he was offered a permanent full-time role when he graduated.  Within 3 years Himesh had gained his Chartered Institute of Management Accountants’ qualification and he has since also gained his Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants’ qualification.  During his time with the NHS he has gained several promotions to his current role as Divisional Finance Manager.

cipfa cima

I contacted Himesh to see if he would be able to give advice and guidance to Rachel and he was very happy to do this.  He gave feedback on Rachel’s presentation and advised her on topical areas she could research.

When Rachel arrived at Bristol for the assessment days she met a mix of candidates going for opportunities with the NHS in the South West and the West Midlands.  There were 3 vacancies available and approximately 12 candidates.  She had to complete a time pressured written task based around a case study, a group activity, a 10 minute presentation and an interview.

Rachel’s success is no more than she deserves she is a motivated hard-working student.  Reflecting on both Rachel’s and Himesh’s success I think the key messages are as follows:-

  • Undertaking a year’s placement is vital to gain the skills employers require.
  • The support available to students from their Personal Tutor, the Placement Consultant, the Business School Placement Co-Ordinator, the Visiting Placement Tutor, Subject Lecturers, the Careers Section and Alumni illustrate how we put the student “at the heart of everything we do”.
  • The structure of the Accounting Awards including the Employability and Study Skills and Professional Development modules very much supports students in developing subject knowledge and the skills they need to gain their placement and then graduate employment opportunities.
  • These Awards receive professional accreditation allowing students to gain exemptions from certain exam papers which enables our graduates to gain their professional accounting qualifications more quickly.

For me it is success stories like Rachel’s and Himesh’s that make the job worthwhile.

Helen Buttery SFHEA CPFA Cert.Ed.

Senior Lecturer

School of Business, Leadership and Economics

@h_buttery   #proudtobestaffs

The end of experts and the threat of the 140 character argument

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It seems that there is a bout of soul-searching underway as we search for certainty in a changing and tumultuous world. The authority and legitimacy of the ‘expert’ is being questioned and routinely dismissed in a way that seems to suggest that anyone with a modicum of freemium reading believes they are empowered to refute or ignore the arguments of subject experts.

The issue surfaced substantively following the crash of 2008.  People questioned why experts hadn’t foreseen it and. Even the Queen asked a gathering at the LSE why nobody had noticed it coming. More recently during the Brexit referendum politicians of both sides were not seen as credible by the people they were trying to scare.  The ex-justice secretary Michael Gove in an interview in 2016 said that “people have had enough of experts.   More recently the UK government criticised The Bank of England governor Mark Carney for running dubious monetary experiments an argument subsequently endorsed by William Hague.  Lately the theme was picked up by the Bank of England’s chief economist Andrew Haldane who argued that people had lost faith in the theoretical models used by economists and that economists were guilty of talking mainly to themselves and failing to reflect on the gap between theatrical models and real outcomes.

At a time when information is both cheap and must be served in easy to digest lightweight chunks and meaning is up for debate, making business decisions without critical thinking and the expertise of the expert runs the risk of succumbing to the cult of the individual.  Indeed, the cult of the individual over substance is a trend that Alain Sylvain, founder of strategy and planning consultancy Sylvain Labs believes has been developing since the financial crash and dotcom bust.

Dismissing the opinions of experts in both business and society is a simple way of avoiding a change of opinion or use evidence based analysis to form a decision.  Indeed, such refutation is a repudiation of both critical thinking and of fallibility.

What are the implications for marketing?   The risk for the discipline lies in the rejection of craft and deep understanding that is expertise for the gloss of the web guru state of marketing.   Here the latest list of must do things to ‘win’ in online marketing is the first thing management turns to.  Who needs a marketer when the answers are just a click away?  Superficial list based marketing promises that the answers to your marketing problems lie on the page.  That all you need to do is keep reading, subscribe and bookmark.  But such an approach has real dangers.  First of all everyone has access to the same list.  But more seriously real expertise and results that flow from it come from deep understanding of principles and their application in the world.  In other words, expertise understands that performance is contextual to situation and is an amalgamation of different types of knowledge often referred to as tacit and explicit.   This offers a level of subtlety that no list based promise can match

The message for companies is that in a discipline which so easily succumbs to the new and shiny, the lure of succumbing to the cult of the self-promoting proselytizer can obscure true expertise.   Companies should therefore be careful to ensure they understand the difference between expertise and self-promotion and develop means to propagate the emergence of expertise.   Nonaka demonstrated how the potential to create performative knowledge which has real traction in the world is accomplished.  It is through challenging existing knowledge, bringing in new knowledge but adapting it.  It is through a dialogue between theory and practice that enables new knowledge capable of creating epistemic work beyond that provided by following explicit instructions or some pundit.    It is through the creation of genuine expertise and a commitment to creating a culture of knowledge creation.  This is a storey that the most successful companies already understand

Dr Malcolm Ash,  EdD, MSc, MBA, DMS

Take the Fast-Track to Success with your Degree in 2 years!

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In Feb 2017 the universities minister Jo Johnson MP ( brother of Boris) announced that a “new generation” of two-year fast-track (accelerated) degrees are going to be offered to students.

Here at Staffs Uni Business School we have been delivering two-year fast-track degrees for the past 8 years with great success including Accounting & Finance, Business Management, Tourism and Events Management. We were amongst the original pioneers of fast-track degrees!

Doubters and cynics are wrong (in my opinion!)

Like all new ideas and initiatives, the fast-track schemes have their doubters.  We were told that there would not be a demand for fast-track degrees. We felt confident that the demand would be there and adopted the Kevin Costner “build it and they will come” approach (have you seen Field of Dreams?) – and come they did!

The Twitter hashtag #fasttrackdegrees reveals some doubters as to the validity of fast-track degrees. Also the University and College Union general secretary was quoted last week as saying “Accelerated degrees risk undermining the well-rounded education upon which our universities’ reputation is based”.

These unnecessarily negative perceptions have prompted me to put pen to paper (figuratively!) to dispel their doubts and concerns and explain the fast-track benefits in the tables below:

Perceptions vs Reality

Perceptions Reality
“The courses of study will be too intense for students” Students study with and at the same pace as the three-year students with an extra ten weeks during the normal four month summer break – still plenty of time for R&R!
“The fast-track courses will not cover the same depth of subjects as the three-year versions” The content is the same breadth and depth as the three-year degree courses

 
“The students will not have enough holidays over Christmas and Easter” Fast-track students have the same holidays over Christmas and Easter as the three-year students
“The students will not have sufficient time during the traditional four month summer break to “wind down”, go travelling & gain work” The fast-track summer semester combines a two-week intensive study school followed by distance learning allowing students to self-manage their study time
“Academic staff will not be available to teach during the summer” Teaching is spread out amongst the teaching teams to cover all bases
“The work load on staff will be too great” The two-week study school is intensive – but enjoyed by staff!
“Employers will not value fast-track degrees”

 

 On the contrary – employers value fast-trackers’ drive to succeed in two years

Reasons to choose a Fast-Track degree

  1. Graduate one year earlier than otherwise – so you are able to get “lift-off” in your career before your friends who go down the three-year route
  2. Save a year’s money on living expenses
  3. Study with a like-minded group of committed students who are focussed on success and provide mutual support
  4. Stand out in the crowd – showing the ability and motivation to achieve a degree in two years is something to brag about in an interview!
  5. Whether you want to change career or were not sure of what you wanted to do after school/college – this gives you a quick way of repositioning yourself in your career.

I enjoy teaching the fast-trackers students during the two-week “study school” phase during the first summer.  We spend 15 hours together over 3 days studying taxation – I can assure you that this is a real bonding experience and it doesn’t take long for the banter to start (both ways!).

We are very proud of the great students who have graduated from our fast-track degrees. I am confident that our fast-track courses will grow and become more mainstream in the future.

So, what are you waiting for?

 

Tony Bickley MBA ACA PGCE SHEA

Senior Lecturer

School of Business, Leadership and Economics

@tonybickley   #proudtobestaffs