About Aston Business School

Situated in the heart of Birmingham’s vibrant city centre, Aston Business School is one of the leading providers of executive education in the UK, with over 20 years experience of developing managers at all levels and for a diverse selection of organisations.

Over the past 20 years we have been involved in the delivery of:

• Graduate programmes for organisations such as Tesco and Tarmac
• Management development programmes for The NEC and Group 4
• Leadership Programmes for Carillion and Jacobs
• Certificate Programmes for Simms, Biffa and Herefordshire Council
• Diploma Programmes for Ford, Sandvik and Corus

The key to our success is monitoring client’s needs and matching what we offer to what they require. Our experience informs us that the following are key areas of concern when organisations are looking to source a provider :

Quality

• of the venue
• of the teaching staff
• of the administration

Experience

• of the teaching staff
• of the organisation

Flexibility

• of the delivery of training
• of the organisation

Return on Investment

Quality

The university recently invested in an extension and refurbishment of its Business School residential conference facilities (see Aston’s webpage www.abs.aston.ac.uk for pictures and details of training rooms and bedrooms). These new facilities reflect the high standard of quality that is expected by executives.

The quality of training provided is always of key concern to any business looking to develop their managers, after all providing training is often the highest single investment in a member of staff that an organisation will make. The Business School’s belief in the quality of its executive education has been a key driver in putting itself forward for quality assessment in the UK, Europe and the United States. As a result of these assessments, it is one of only 1% of schools worldwide that has been awarded triple accreditation from AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB.

• AMBA (Association of MBA’s) is the guardian of MBA quality standards whose accreditation is independent, market-driven and international in focus. It assesses the characteristics of an institution and its programmes against a set of criteria established by their International Accreditation Advisory Board (IAAB). The senior academics and corporate representatives who sit on the board constantly monitor the accreditation criteria to reflect changes in business and management.
• EQUIS (European Quality Standards) is a leading international system of quality assessment, improvement, and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration. Its fundamental objective, linked to the mission of EFMD, is to raise the standard of management education worldwide.
• AACSB (Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business) international accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools, worldwide. Institutions that earn accreditation confirm their commitment to quality and continuous improvement through a rigorous and comprehensive peer review. AACSB International accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in management education.

These quality awards give customers the assurance that the school takes its responsibility of providing excellent, high quality management training seriously.

Our executive education administration team make it their job to ensure that the customer receives a high quality product by monitoring every step of the process and working closely with the customer, academics and venue provider.

Experience

We have an experienced team of tutors, both internal and external, who have come from a practitioner background and can therefore understand the needs of the organisation. They have experience of delivering training to diverse industries covering all the key skill sets required by managers.

Our executive education administration team has a wealth of experience of managing clients and their needs. Every effort is made to make the running of the training an enjoyable experience for all involved, from the sending out of joining instructions to individual delegates to aiding networking activities by organising and managing activities outside of the classroom, our administrators are there as a focal point for the organisation.

Flexibility

Aston has recognised that flexibility is important and endeavours to offer a totally flexible package to clients in order to address their individual needs.

• Delivery of training – In-house, Aston’s Conference Centre or a venue designated by the client
• Date of training – to suit the client
• Day of training – 7 days a week
• Hours of training – to suit the client

Return on Investment

As one of the largest outlays an organisation will make to develop its managers, measuring the return on that investment has become critical. There are various ways of measuring the ROI from an organisation’s point of view – by carrying out assessment centres prior to the training, with follow up assessments at set intervals post training, (3 months, 6 months, 18 months) for example and measuring any improvements. This is an effective method but can be time consuming, however, the Business School has the expertise and tools necessary to carry out such assessments.

A tried and tested method which is both quantifiable and effective is the use of work based projects. These not only assess the learning that has been achieved by the individual but also can give real value to the organisation in terms of a mini consultancy for example which could be utilised to grow the business for example.

Research

Underpinning all the management training is the research carried out by the school. Management training must be up to date and relevant for it to have an impact on the managers being developed. The School’s research efforts are also facilitated by cross group Research Centres and many staff work within a matrix structure through their membership of both Groups and Centres. These research centres offer the opportunity to specialise in areas, such as The Aston Centre for Leadership Excellence and the Innovation Lab Europe.

To discuss all your management training needs contact:

Christine Chateur
Marketing Manager
+44 (0) 121 204 3059
C.E.Chateur@aston.ac.uk