Open University

MBA (Technology Management)

The qualification provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:

Knowledge and understanding

When you complete your studies for this degree you will be able to collect relevant information across a range of areas pertaining to a current situation, analyse that information and synthesise it into an appropriate form in order to evaluate decision alternatives.  With the broad framework of organisations, their external context and management, it is therefore expected that graduates will have developed knowledge and understanding in the following areas:

• The impact of, and the relationship between, a range of contextual forces relevant to the management of technology. This includes legal and regulatory systems, economic, environmental, ethical and technological issues, international developments and corporate governance.
• Markets and customers; the development and operation of markets for resources, goods and services; expectations of customers and equivalent stakeholders, service and orientation.
• The concepts, processes and institutions in the production and marketing of goods and/or services; the management of resources and operations.
• The financing of the business enterprise or other forms of organisations: sources, uses and management of finance; use of accounting for managerial and financial reports applications.
• The management and development of people within organisations: organizational theory, behaviour, industrial/employee relations, HRM, change management.
• A broad range of theoretical, conceptual and applied material relevant to the study, application and practice of technology management (TM) and technological innovation (TI) and technology and innovation strategy (TIS) in almost all organisational, sectoral or industrial settings. Note: For the purpose of brevity from here on all three dimensions are subsumed within the TM acronym.

Cognitive skills

When you complete your studies for this degree you will be able to demonstrate a range of cognitive and intellectual skills together with techniques specific to business and management.  They should also demonstrate relevant personal and interpersonal skills. Specifically, they should be able to:

• Think critically and creatively: manage creative processes in self and others; organize thoughts; analyse, synthesise, and critical appraisal. This includes the capability to identify assumptions, evaluate statements, research and scholarship in terms of evidence, detect false logic or reasoning, identify implicit values, define terms adequately, generalize appropriately and analyse the potential impact of TM on individuals, organisations, sectors
• Solve problems and make decisions: establish criteria, using appropriate decision techniques including identifying, formulating and solving business problems; create, identifying and evaluating options; implement and review decisions; using a range of analytical tools for supporting the TM process
• Exercise relevant personal and interactive skills including synthesising and operating a range of techniques and methods that inform the management of design, production, operation, and improvement of technological systems

Practical and/or professional skills

When you complete your studies for this degree you will be able to:

• Select the appropriate leadership style for situations
• Set targets, motivate, monitor performance, coaches and mentors, to continuously improve the people, activities, operations and units being managed Recognise situations in which unusual ethical matters arise; and apply ethical, societal and organisational values to situations and choices
• Conduct some research into TM and business and management issues more generally
• Learn through reflection on practice and experience.

Key skills

When you complete your studies for this degree you will be able to:

• Scan and organise data, abstracting meaning from information and sharing knowledge.
• Demonstrate numerical quantitative and qualitative skills including the use of models relevant to TM and business situations more generally.
• Demonstrate competence in the design and application of research and the use of the skills required for analysing and communicating potentially complex findings and conclusions.
• Communicate effectively: listen, negotiate, and persuade or influence others; develop oral and written communication skills using a range of media, including the preparation of business reports.
• Develop personal effectiveness: improve self-awareness and self-management; time management; develop sensitivity to diversity in people and different situations, and the ability to continue learning.
• Perform effectively within a team environment and be able to recognise and utilize individuals’ contributions in group processes; team selection, delegation, development and management.

There are two routes to the MBA depending on when you start your studies.

November 2019 onwards route

If you start this year or have started with B870 in November 2019 or thereafter, including if you've previously studied any electives as a standalone module, you'll need:

60 credits from the following:

• Managing in a changing world (B870)
• Creating and sustaining value (B872)

plus 60 credits from the following:

• Strategic capabilities for technological innovation (T849)
• Technology and innovation management (TB801)

Or the discontinued module T848

plus the following:

• Technology Management MBA strategic management residential school module (BXR873)
• Finance for strategic decision-making (B874)

plus at least 15 credits from the following:

• Contemporary issues in organisations (BB853)
• Entrepreneurship in context (BB851)
• Leadership and management of public services (BB852)
• Supply chain management (BB849)
• Sustainable creative management (BB842)
• Making strategy with systems thinking in practice (TB871)
• Making change with systems thinking in practice (TB872)
• Making environmental decisions (T891)
• Managing for sustainability (T867)
• Project management (M815)
• Business, human rights and corporate social responsibility (W822)
• Management of change: organisation development and design(BZFM802)*
• Management of uncertainty: leadership, decisions and action (BZFM801)*

Or the discontinued modules, BB841, BB844, BB848, BXM871, T839, T863, T877, T878, TD866, TU811, TU812, TU870.

*These microcredentials are 10–12 week professional development courses presented on FutureLearn.

plus 30 credits from the following:

• MBA project: leaders of change (B875)

You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 60 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you.

Hybrid route

If you have gained 60 credits from completing either of the discontinued modules B716 or BXFT716 you'll need:

60 credits from the following:

Compulsory modules

• Strategic capabilities for technological innovation (T849)
• Technology and innovation management (TB801)

Or the discontinued module T848.

plus 15 credits from the following:

• Finance for strategic decision-making (B874)

Or the discontinued module BB831.

plus at least 15 credits from the following:

• Contemporary issues in organisations (BB853)
• Entrepreneurship in context (BB851)
• Leadership and management of public services (BB852)
• Supply chain management (BB849)
• Sustainable creative management (BB842)
• Making strategy with systems thinking (TB871)
• Making change with systems thinking in practice (TB872)
• Making environmental decisions (T891)
• Project management (M815)
• Business, human rights and corporate social responsibility (W822) FINAL

Plus, 30 credits from the following:

Compulsory module:

• MBA project: leaders of change (B875)