When designing an Executive MBA that meets the needs of leaders, the course team wanted to keep a focus on practical application and demonstrable return on investment throughout.
This is particularly evidenced in the Management Project which is completed across the second year of the programme. The Management Project is not a dissertation nor a standard research project. Rather, students identify an opportunity or problem within their organisation, design and implement an intervention, assess the effectiveness of the proposed solution and develop a plan for where to proceed next.
Students are encouraged to explore ‘what is going on in a specific organisational context?’ and to investigate ‘what happens if change is introduced in the form of a specific action?’.
They are supported at the start of their second year to identify a potential focus to their project and to consider how they can apply a specific approach called Action Research through a 12-week training programme led by the Project Coordinator, Dr Paul Joseph-Richard who explains:
The primary purpose of Action Research is to produce practical knowledge that is useful, it is about working towards practical outcomes and creating new forms of understanding.
Action research brings together action and reflection, theory and practice, in the pursuit of practical solutions to issues of pressing concern.
Therefore, our students nearly always start their projects with a question, such as ‘How can we improve this situation'? It is only possible through the students involving all stakeholders both in the questioning and sense making that informs the research, and in the subsequent action which is its focus.
Students are assigned a supervisor who guides them through a reflective cycle of:
- Constructing an action research project that has clear aim and objectives, specific to organisational context.
- Planning action.
- Taking action and observing the process and consequences of the action.
- Evaluating action by reflecting on these processes and consequences and then replanning
This experience is the basis of the Management Project report and this cycle can continue after the students have completed their Executive MBA as ongoing gains are realised.
Corin Goodall, Senior Sustainability Projects Manager, Huhtamaki
Corin completed his Executive MBA in 2022, for his project he focused on how one aspect of the business managed waste between January and June of 2022. The project reviewed multiple areas such as sustainability, lean production and waste reduction. Early dialogue and strong collaboration resulted in the suggestion of 21 separate initiatives, three of which were chosen for his project to focus on.
Through this project, significant savings were recognised, both commercially and from an environmental perspective. The site managed to reduce its waste by 21%. More importantly, the project provided a vehicle to highlight waste management and has facilitated cultural change for continued waste and sustainability focus.
One of the strengths of Action Research is how students can use the approach irrespective of the sector or organisations they are from.
Jennifer Mclaughlin, General Manager, Kingsbridge Private Hospital (Sligo)
Jennifer completed her Executive MBA in 2023 with a project focused on improving pre-operative checks in a private hospital. Having explored local practice as well as a review of relevant literature on a global, national and local scale, her project involved the:
- Implementation of a reviewed checklist for ward admission
- A new digitised form was implemented to facilitate the handover check between ward and theatre
- A further digitised form was implemented to facilitate final checks in theatre.
The outcomes of actions taken were compared to the original base level measured and created a positive, lasting change within the hospital. Both students won the prize for the best projects in their respective year, sponsored by CBI Northern Ireland.