An Expansion of the Universitys Operations Into Global Markets - Book Report/Review Example

 Executive Summary The University of Bradford is facing one of the most turbulent times in its history with government spending cuts reducing the teaching budget by up to 40% while, at the same time, increasing student fees to an unprecedented £6,000 per year. The arts and humanities face receiving no funding for teaching, leaving the burden with universities to provide courses with minimal funds and potentially reducing numbers of students. The university’s income is set to fall dramatically over the coming years. By setting up an e-learning division, offering quality courses to global students, the university provides a new income stream that, if successful, will allow any course not economically viable for face-to-face presentation to be available online for anyone who wishes to study it. This allows the university to retain its academic knowledge base and capitalise on it by refocusing on service provision using a different medium and an updated skill set. Agreeing this Business Case will set the University of Bradford on its journey into the digital age and into a more securely funded future without compromising academic integrity or standards. Introduction This report sets out the case for the introduction of a master’s programme in tourism and management by e-learning for overseas students. It provides a full justification for the need for this new programme. It describes the methodology used to develop the idea and product, together with how the product will be created and piloted prior to launch for the 2011/2012 academic year. The teams required to create and test the product will be outlined, together with the opportunities for knowledge creation, sharing and learning that will form part of the product development process. An indicative timetable will be provided, showing where activities can overlap to create the product in time for the stated launch date. Finally, the risks associated with product creation and implementation will be identified, together with appropriate strategies to reduce and/or remove them from the process. The project will be managed using the PRINCE2 method (Office of Government Commerce [OGC] 2009), which uses management stages to review both progress against time, cost and quality standards and that the project continues to meet the needs of the business, as set out in this Business Case. Approval of the Business Case by the Vice Chancellor will constitute the completion of the Project Initiation phase. Project Objectives To generate additional income streams for the university. To develop new courses to be made available for global consumption. To expand the offerings of the University of Bradford to a global audience and become a pre-eminent provider of quality e-learning offerings in all disciplines. Project Justification: Environmental Analysis Macro Environmental Analysis Worthington and Britton (6) define the macro environment as “those ... factors ...which affect a wide variety of businesses and which can emanate not only from local and national sources but also from international and supranational developments”. There are many variants, including different factors, but the framework to be used for this analysis is the STEEPLE framework, representing the Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal and Ethical factors that affect business and over which business has no control. Figure 1: Macro Environmental Analysis The diagram reveals several areas that raise issues for the university. As the university has no control over these factors, the only option is to react and to plan for their current and future impact. Operating Environment Analysis The next area to be considered is the operating environment. This is the external environment immediately beyond the boundaries of the organisation. The framework used for this analysis is Porter’s (in Johnson Scholes Whittington 59) Five Forces model. This considers five factors that determine whether a particular market is attractive and profitable. These factors are new entrants, power of suppliers, power of buyers, substitutes and industry rivalry. Figure 2: Operating Environmental Analysis The operating environment is currently subject to much change following the new government’s policies announced earlier this year. There is the possibility of a range of courses currently being offered, having to be cancelled if there is no rethink concerning the teaching budgets for the arts and humanities. These represent a possible opportunity for conversion to e-learning and providing courses for a reasonable fee to those who wish to study in these areas on a part time/distance learning basis. here is therefore an additional reason to develop quality e-learning provision through a separate organisation – it enables the university to maximise its income generation potential and opportunities. Resources, Capabilities and Core Competences Before undertaking a SWOT analysis, it is necessary to consider the resources and capabilities of the university, together with its core competences. Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (95) argue that an organisation needs strategic capability to survive and generate profits. Strategic capability consists of the resources available to the organisation and the organisation’s competences. Barney (50) identifies four classes of resource: physical, financial, human and organisational. These resources are then combined to create organisational capabilities. Ideally resources and the resulting capabilities should be unique to create a unique competitive advantage, but when considering universities, the final offering of higher education cannot be too unique as students tend to prefer more traditional approaches to learning. An organisation also has core competences. Hamel and Prahalad (75) argue that how management utilise resources and the degree of their ambition determines organisational competitiveness. In this case, the objective to set up a new organisation to provide quality e-learning for a global audience is a very large undertaking, and how the organisation and its processes are managed will determine whether or not the objective is met. Thus this project fulfils Hamel and Prahalad’s idea of “strategy as stretch and leverage” (75). The university has access to the human resources necessary to create quality e-learning as well as the physical resources. A PRINCE2 registered practitioner with relevant experience should be hired to ensure the best chance of achieving the stated objective. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Figure 3: SWOT Analysis The biggest risk for this project is from government in terms of funding streams. If the funds from government are cut back too far, the university will cease to be a viable institution and will have to either close or radically downsize. This project aims to provide alternative funding streams to counter the possibility of closure. Option Generation One of the most difficult aspects of this project is the lack of time available to fully explore potential options for generating income for the university that takes full advantage of the skills and abilities already held while allowing for the possibility of involving external providers and consultants. Involving external agencies can provide the university with the opportunity to develop new ideas that an external body with appropriate experience can successfully take to market (Logar et al, 2001), however, the contracting arrangements that would need to be made would take longer than is available. It is something that can be explored as the project moves into business-as-usual later this year. Not being able to work with external bodies excludes two of a possible five ways of generating ideas for new products (Crawford Di Benedetto 95), leaving technology, team and other insiders as potential sources. As the proposal is for e-learning, and access to students is available, end-user views can also be sought as well as being available for running the pilot prior to launch. Teams were not formed for idea generation. Ideas were sought from all staff by e-mail with several suggestions forthcoming. There is no real “problem” to solve (Crawford Di Benedetto 123) as the purpose of the product is to deliver a quality learning experience to students, which is what the university already does. The issue of distance does need resolution, hence the use of e-learning technologies to provide the learning experience. This offers not only the option of delivering the product to overseas students, but can also be used within the UK for students beyond the university’s normal catchment area. As previously indicated, it can also help to deliver courses directly affected by the government cuts in a more cost-efficient manner, avoiding the loss of students and associated departments and staff. To ensure the best offering is provided to students, further development of ideas using brainstorming by the project team can take place, which may also provide ideas for future development of courses delivered in this way. Product Development: The Project Team The technology for e-learning is already available, however, the selection of the right technology to deliver the learning is crucial. Content developers will need to be experts in their fields as well as able to produce learning materials suitable for delivery by e-learning. The marketing department will also need to be involved from the outset to ensure the highlights of the product are included within marketing communications and that communications are included in appropriate media. The project will involve a cross-functional team working on developing and delivering the product, using existing knowledge and experience to help the team effort and learning new skills and abilities as they work through the product creation process. Each of these aspects of the project will be dealt with below. Cross-Functional Working The team will involve content specialists from the academic staff, technology experts from the IT department, pedagogic experts from teaching and learning, marketing staff from the marketing department (Ernst Hoyer Rübsaamen 80) and both the academic and academic support staff who will deliver the product upon launch. The range of skills and experience will be vast and must be leveraged to ensure everyone benefits from working with those having a different perspective to their own. The inclusion of the marketing department from the outset should increase product success (ibid). Cross-functional teams have been shown to produce “better development times and costs, and superior products ... and a higher percentage of new products that are successful in the market” (Valle Avella 32). However, Troy, Hirunyawipada and Paswan (132) express doubts as to the importance above all things of cross-functional teams, highlighting that other variables together with the cross-functional combination may be more important. Notwithstanding these doubts, the combined skills of the staff involved will enable each to learn from the other, improving the production of the different elements of the e-learning package such that they fit within the package faster and with fewer changes needed. Those writing the learning materials, for example, will be able to view their formatting by the information technology designers, and thus present their work in a more developer-friendly way. Mat and Jantan (72) note the importance of co-ordination for cross-functional teams – this is something that the project manager is responsible for and in which considerable experience will be required. The project manager will also need to build trust within the team, as Mat and Jantan (72) also identified trust as being important for development outcomes. The key interaction is between those who will be presenting the course and those putting it together. Teaching face to face involves one set of skills. Many of these skills are the same for working with students online, but some require adjusting for the new medium. In addition, involving the teaching team in product development will help identify staff development needs (Mainka Benzies 101) that can be addressed during the pilot, before the launch. Learning and Knowledge Management When undertaking projects, those involved learn how to deal with the unexpected occurrences that invariably occur. Project management methodologies include the use of post-project evaluations and lessons learned reports (OGC 249). However, Goffin et al (39) cast doubt on the ability of such events and reports to truly capture the learning that has taken place. Much knowledge is acquired tacitly, by making small adjustments to make the process more efficient, for example, and such things are forgotten when reports are compiled at the end of the project. Pitt and MacVaugh (101) cast knowledge management as a work-in-progress rather than a one-off activity and if reports from previous projects are never perused prior to a new project being started, then any knowledge gained previously is destined to be relearned, potentially at great cost to the organisation and the project team. Such learning does not prevent future problems, which is the intention of evaluation and lessons reports. Saban et al (99) found that organisational learning can make a big impact on new product development, producing people who know what drives both successful and unsuccessful products, establish business goals and are balanced in their assessments of new products. Such learning must be encouraged as part of this project to allow the university to take full advantage of the opportunities available and ensure its survival and prosperity in the current economic climate. Product Development and Project Management The project management methodology recommended for this project is PRINCE2. PRINCE2 (PRojects In a Controlled Environment) does not provide detailed information on how to do things. Instead it provides a framework (OGC 4) that outlines what needs to be done, ensuring that everything is done that needs to be done to achieve a successful outcome. The production of this masters programme qualifies as a project because it introduces change, is a temporary arrangement lasting for the duration of the project, utilises a cross-functional team, is unique and has an element of uncertainty about the outcome (OGC 4-5). The methodology chosen for the product development is a generic model proposed by Peters et al (173) which is reproduced on the following page. The reason that this model was chosen is that, like PRINCE2, it is a framework rather than a detailed set of instructions. The product can be developed using existing skills, knowledge and expertise, within the combined framework provided by PRINCE2 and Peters et al. The product development process model provides the overall framework within which PRINCE2 operates. Referring to the diagram, the project currently stands in the second phase (design and development process) in the design area. Once the business case is approved, the design can continue, culminating in the production of the pilot edition for testing. It is recommended that existing students undertaking qualifications in the areas of tourism and management act as students to test the course delivery, the quality of the learning materials and the overall learning experience. At the same time, the teaching team can work with the students as if the experience were real, learning how to work within the virtual learning environment and making use of the different tools available for collaboration and discussion. Additionally, members of staff not linked in any way to the project or the specific areas covered by the course can also act as students, as their experience within the higher education sector and Bradford University in particular, can inform any changes that may be necessary before the product goes live. The production of learning materials and online elements will be broken down into stages to enable whole course elements to be completed and reviewed before proceeding with further development. These stage boundaries (OGC 191) provide opportunities to evaluate the progress of the product development against budget, plan and quality requirements, to ensure they meet these or are within acceptable tolerance levels, to be delegated to the project manager by the project board. They also provide the opportunity to confirm that the project still meets the objectives set within this business case. If the project does not meet these objectives, a decision can be made about continuing or terminating the project at that time. Failure to meet objectives can be caused by changes in the macro and operating environments, so may be beyond the control of the project team. Having stage boundaries allows the project board to check that events have not rendered the project obsolete or redundant. If this is the case, the project can be terminated at the earliest possible opportunity, saving time, money and effort producing something that is no longer required or fit for purpose. Product Development Iteration The model on page 15 shows the product development process as linear. It is highly unlikely that the process will be linear in execution (Peters et al 176). Within the development process, several cycles will be taking place. Different parts of the offering will be developed concurrently, with learning materials being developed for the courses comprising the qualification at the same time as tools and the virtual learning environment are set up for use. Each course will take approximately two months to draft from start to finish, following which refinement will be required and adaptation to the e-learning environment. Reviews undertaken by different members of the team will provide different perspectives for the modification and design of the qualification, adding value for the students who will undertake the course. On this basis, the qualification should be ready within the designated timeframe. To better understand the timeframe within which the project will be accomplished, a Gantt chart has been constructed including the main project activities (see next page). Implementing Change It is hoped that involving the teaching team in the design and development of the product will reduce and/or remove any resistance to the proposed change while taking advantage of the considerable experience of the academic staff. Managing change can be difficult, generating resistance. However, resistance is not automatically a bad thing as most adverse reactions can be traced to perceived threats to individuals’ work identities (Van Dijk Van Dick 143). When seen in that light, it becomes easier to both understand the issues associated with change and help to address them by dealing with the underlying problem rather than the apparent problem. Other reasons for change have been suggested. For example, Kotter and Schlesinger (130-139) identify parochial self-interest, misunderstanding and lack of trust, different assessments and low tolerance for change. They recommend education and communication, participation and involvement, facilitation and support, negotiating and agreement, manipulation and co-optation and explicit and implicit coercion as possible solutions, ranging from full involvement of all staff to simply forcing people to comply with the change, depending on the situation. This project does not affect the whole organisation, but specific parts of it. Those who are not directly involved can be advised as to progress and project status using normal university communication channels. The change is not a large one, but an adaptation of current practices and activities to a new medium. All of those affected by the proposal are involved in the project itself, allowing individuals to see exactly what is being proposed and how it is being executed. This provides an insider view that allows full understanding of, and participation in, the product development, reducing resistance and gaining co-operation and constructive criticism from professional members of staff that can, as previously indicated, serve to improve the final product offering. As a consequence of this, there are no issues anticipated surrounding the implementation of this project due to stakeholder resistance. Conclusion The university faces an uncertain future and needs to take positive action to safeguard its livelihood. This project is expressly designed to facilitate an expansion of the university’s operations into global markets, where it can take advantage of its expertise and academic heritage to deliver world class e-learning around the world. This project also opens the door to many other possibilities in the future for courses that are not economically viable in face-to-face presentation, but can be provided using e-learning to both domestic and international students. Generating new income streams is of paramount importance at this time. This project allows the university to capitalise on its strengths to generate new cash flows to safeguard its existence in the face of huge government funding cuts and changes to existing funding streams, to become a player in the world’s education provision market. 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