Postgraduate

Management beyond the mainstream

On this page

• What you will study
• Entry
• Qualifications
• If you have a disability or additional requirement
• Study materials
• Teaching and assessment
• Future availability
• How to register

Many managers work in situations, or face tasks, for which the established toolkit of mainstream, Anglo-American management and leadership – with its ‘command and control’ assumptions, instrumentalism and strong financial focus - is inadequate. This course poses the question 'What do you do when management is inappropriate, not enough, doesn’t work - or is simply not an option?’. You will explore a number of undercurrents in management thinking, and various alternatives to it – some longstanding, some recently developed. In particular, it will surface issues and questions that tend to be neglected or underplayed by the main management disciplines.

Course facts

Register for the course

This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees and financial support may vary by country.

What you will study

This course will start by highlighting some important limitations of mainstream management thinking, using a range of media. Some of these concern the inevitable dysfunctions of hierarchy and the limits to rationality in organisational life. Others concern major differences of context that can render management powerless – major cultural differences, for example. Other limitations of mainstream management approaches have surfaced in public and third sector organisations, though nowadays, the interpenetration of the sectors means they are found in all sectors.

That preliminary work done, the main body of the course presents an array of less-standard, non-standard and complementary frameworks and practices devised to compensate for those situations and challenges for which the mainstream ‘canon’ is unsatisfactory. You will engage with a selection of these concepts and techniques through online games and experiential learning in your own work setting.

The course will give you a chance to explore topics such as:

• blind spots in management - taking the irrational and the trans-rational aspects of organisational life seriously in both their positive and negative aspects, in yourself and others
• less, non- and counter-bureaucratic forms of organisation – partnership working, family firms, social enterprises and groups, professional and networked based forms: open source, systems, and co-production models
• taking the public domain and public purposes seriously – management under regulation, policy processes, public leadership and public engagement
• management, business and government in non-western settings and cultures – varieties of capitalism around the world; dualism, intermediation and hybridisation.

You will study some of these in greater depth according to your situation and personal priorities.

Vocational relevance

The course will provide approaches and tools relevant to all MBA students. It might have a particular relevance to you if you are working in or around government, e.g., as a government contractor, or in a highly-regulated industry.

Entry

This course is an elective module in stage 2 of the MBA (F61). You will need to have already completed MBA stage 1: management: perspectives and practice (B716) and the compulsory stage 2 modules Corporate finance (B831) and The dynamics of strategy (B835).

The course requires 150 hours of study over six months.

You will also need an appropriate facility in English language, sufficient to be able to work effectively at postgraduate level; generally this means capability equivalent to an International English Language Test System (IELTS) score of 6.5. To assess your English language skills in relation to your proposed studies you can visit the IELTS website. If you are unsure whether your skill level in English is adequate you may find it helpful to look at our Skills for OU Study site.

If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

Qualifications

B847 is an optional module in our:

• MBA (F61)

Excluded combinations

Sometimes you will not be able to count a module towards a qualification if you have already taken another module with similar content. To check any excluded combinations relating to this module, visit our excluded combination finder or check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service before registering.

If you have a disability or additional requirement

Elements of this course are delivered online and include the use of real-time online discussions and an interactive whiteboard space; consequently time spent using a computer and the internet will be extensive. If you use assistive technology or have a hearing or speech impairment and have concerns about accessing this type of virtual environment and materials you can visit the system provider's website for information and contact the Open University to discuss it further before registering.

Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and mathematical and scientific materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. Alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.

If you are a new student, or new to study using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our publication Meeting Your Needs.

You can also find information about accessible study materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.

Study materials

What's included

An extensive variety of specially-written resources presented in different media (print and online) and designed exclusively for this course, audio-visual material, published articles, case-studies, a set of interactive tools to help you develop your management thinking abilities and access to the Open University library.

Computing requirements

This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. 

You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2005 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you cannot use an Apple Mac or Linux computer unless it is running Windows using Boot Camp or similar dual-boot system.

You will need a headset, with a microphone and earphones, to talk to your tutor and other students online during some of the course activities.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your assignments and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. You will contact your tutor by telephone, email or via your tutor group forum on the B847 website.

Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.

Assessment

The assessment details can be found in the facts box above.

You must use the online eTMA system to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs).

Once you have successfully completed 450 study hours from optional modules you will take the 45-credit assessment module, Integrating learning (B837) planned for first presentation in November 2012.

Future availability

The details given here are for the course that starts in May and November 2012. We expect it to be available twice a year.

How to register

To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.

Study explained

Course

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Credits

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- find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.

Study explained

- all you need to know about distance learning with the OU.

Your questions

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