Presentation at the HEA-funded workshop 'Exploring innovative approaches to experiential teaching and learning in management decision making education' This one day workshop provided a platform to critically examine various innovative approaches to experiential teaching/learning in Management Decision Making in order to provoke and stimulate educators. The workshop consisted of invited speeches, participants’ presentations, group debate and discussion, and panel Q&A. There were also opportunities for professional networking and socialising. This presentation is part of a related blog post that provides an overview of the event: For further details of the HEA's work on active and experiential learning in the Social Sciences, please see: http://bit.ly/17NwgKX

1. Professor Phil Megicks, Head of School

2.  Set up August 2013
 Move to Mast House January 2014
 Approximately 500 students: 370 PGT, 130 PGR
 PGT (masters): general business and specialist
 Conversion/cognate: MBM, IS/ISCM/IL, Finance, Marketing,
HRM
 Attract students – educational experience and career progression
 Need to restructure and rejuvenate - Experiential Education in
Management Decision Making

3.  QAA Subject benchmarks: Masters degrees in business
and management (2007)
 Prepare students for management or professional
practice or develop people in those roles
 “educate individuals as managers and business
specialists, and thus improve the quality of
management as a profession”
 “add value to first degrees by developing in individuals
an integrated and critically aware understanding of
management and organisations, and assist them to take
effective roles within them.

4.  Improving quality of profession and take on
effective roles requires decision making skills
and specifically:
 “..able to solve complex problems and make
decisions: establish criteria, using appropriate
decision-making techniques including
identifying, formulating and solving problems:
and the ability to create, identify, and evaluate
options; the ability to implement and review
decisions

5.  Integration between theory and practice
 Capitalise on current and prior experiences
 Opportunities to reflect on their knowledge, experience, and
practice, particularly through peer interaction
 Modify and develop own and others’ business practices
 Assignments include immediate application of knowledge
and skills within organisations

6.  National Centres for Universities and Business (2014) –
Career Portfolios and the Labour Market for Graduates
and Postgraduates in the UK (Report for HEFCE).
 Gap between higher education and work requirements
– inadequate preparation of recruits
 Employers need knowledge but also – practical and
generic skills, management (project and people)skills,
work readiness, flexibility
 Joint responsibility- business and universities

7.  Chief Executives from business school
graduates: problem-solving, connect different
aspects of business, think holistically, deal with
uncertainty and ambiguity
 Barriers:
 Accreditation – standardised and compartmentalised
curricular content
 Staff lack of real business experience
 Academic research – theory rather than practice -
irrelevant

8.  Strong presence of decision-making in curricula
 Broad range of experiential learning opportunities
embedded in programmes
 Creativity in accreditation and embrace
professional practice
 Academics with broad experience – work,
consultancy, business and professional placements
 Research with impact – effects on business and
wider society