ETHIOPIA & PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR
0389
Project Spec
[This was the specification required by the ODA!]
1. project framework
PROJECT TITLE: ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT MBA PERIOD OF ODA FUNDING
From: 1 /01/1992 To: 31/12/1995
(with extension to 31/12/1997)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: PROVISION OF A THREE YEAR DISTANCE-TAUGHT MBA PROGRAMME,
SUPPORTED BY FACE TO FACE CONSULTANCY IN ADDIS ABEBA, FOR A MAXIMUM OF 23 MEMBERS OF THE
ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT (and a projected running rate of 15 members).
PROJECT STRUCTURE INDICATORS OF HOW INDICATORS ASSUMPTIONS,
ACHIEVEMENT AND CAN BE QUANTIFIED RISKS AND
VALUE OR ASSESSED CONDITIONS
WIDER (NATIONAL)
OBJECTIVES
To develop essential management Achievement of academic Student marks Sufficient time
skills amongst higher levels of qualifications and assessment made available
government in Ethiopia
by OU academics and
BCE/ students
and
UK embassy
self-help support
To assist that government in Achievement of World Bank/ World Bank/IMF Validity and
taking steps towards a free IMF targets reports, with relevance of
market economy UK embassy such targets
To help that government bring Establishment of democratic Electoral reports, and Freedom from
stability to the Horn of Africa processes and stability of published statistics and UK external
the economy embassy reports interventions
Immediate objectives
To educate a maximum of 23 members Individual course Pass rates and student marks, Adequate time/
of the Ethiopian government in objectives supported by tutor and self-help groups
management and administration BCE reports, made available
by students
To help students apply their learning Application by students Tutor, student and embassy Match of
to their government roles reports cultures
OUTPUTS
Minimum of 5 MBA
qualifications OU
records Sufficient time
Target of 10 MBA qualifications
made
available
by students
Target of 2 courses completed by OU records Match of
15 students cultures
Minimum of more than 2 courses completed Adequate self-
by 10 students help groups
INPUTS
Maximum of 138 stage 2 OU courses OU invoices/ No change of
(material and support) BCE reports government
Minimum of 100 additional OU course OU invoices/ Time made
packs, together with approximately 100 BCE reports, available by
textbooks and other material students
Maximum of 400 days of local OU invoices/ Match of
(Addis Abeba) support by OU BCE reports cultures
academic consultants
2. SPECIAL CONDITIONS
The specific conditions necessary for success are;
a) That the students are able to make available the significant amounts of time necessary to study the distance learning material. This is not an easy condition for many of them to make, where this amounts to 15 hours or more per week; and they are inevitably subjected to very heavy workloads by their positions in government.
b) That the government in Ethiopia is able to maintain its level of support to the project; which may be jeopardised if the existing government loses the national elections.
c) That the cultural assumptions inherent in Western management teaching, and in the OU distance learning approaches, can be handled by the students.
4. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
When the alternative choices (which essentially broke down to that between undergraduate courses or the MBA) were explained to the students during the initial investigation at the end of 1991, it was agreed by all involved that the MBA programme was the best match to their needs; and the one they wanted to follow rather than an undergraduate (BA) programme. The main reason for this was that it best met their practical needs of managing government activities - applicability of the lessons was more important than theoretical knowledge. In any case, investigations in the UK showed that no suitable alternatives were available; which would meet the prime requirement by students that teaching could only take place in a secure environment in Addis Abeba. For example, the leading academics approached at both the London and Cranfield business schools indicated that their organisations would not be able to commit the necessary staff to work in Ethiopia for the periods needed; and they did not believe that any other UK business schools would be able to either.
The students have all had previous experience of one or other form of higher education, typically in the Economics discipline at Addis Abeba University, but this was cut short by the armed struggle. This, together - in particular - with their very high levels of management experience (no less than 7 students are on the main committee of the EPRDF coalition, 2 run the relief agencies, 4 hold high level positions in the Ministry of Defence, 3 are senior members of the Ministry of Information, and 3 come from other ministries/government offices), will qualify these students to enter the MBA programme at the advanced (graduate) level; so that only 3 credits (that is three years and 1300 hours) of study at this level will be required.
The core of this teaching will be six half credit courses selected from the standard range of written material (as well as videos and audios) contained in the normal MBA programme (Stage II). As indicated above, this material has been selected (by the OU as well as by the students themselves) as being the most suitable to meet their practical needs in government. As currently planned, all students will take;
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT (1992)
MANAGING PUBLIC SERVICES (1992)
THE CHALLENGE OF THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT (1993)
HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES (1993)
Apart from 'Strategic Management', which is compulsory, all the courses are optional choices. Thus, in addition some students may also take (in 1994);
CORPORATE FINANCIAL STRATEGY
MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT
CREATIVE MANAGEMENT
THE BUSINESS RESEARCH PROJECT
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT (available 1993)
Those of the courses currently available are described in the enclosed MBA Prospectus.
These courses are already designed to be as suitable for managers in the public sector as for those in the commercial sector; more than a third of OU School of Management students in the UK come from the public sector.
On the other hand, as the written material was designed for managers in Western, developed economies there is a practical problem in matching it (taken by itself) to the rather different management needs in the third world; a problem which exists with almost all of the material used on Western management school programmes - and which was well recognised by the students.
The main solution to this already exists in the existing design of a number of the MBA courses. The written material is put in context and consolidated by using the student's own organisation as a 'case' to which they apply the management ideas and techniques being taught. This process is catalysed by a limited number of face to face tutorials.
In Ethiopia this face-to-face tutorial element will be extended by additional consultancy, wi4h OU academics available on site for at least 18 weeks (in 9 two week periods) through the year. These tutors (who will be leading OU academics, usually those who chaired the course team which developed the original material) will take the written material only as the starting point for helping students to develop the skills needed in their specific government roles. The tutorial teaching will normally take place in small groups, of between 3 and 6 students, to give the best possible conditions for teaching and to allow students to be taught in groups with similar backgrounds and needs.
The above approaches do not, however, fully meet the students' demand for third world development and economics. Accordingly, we will also teach some of the more specialised topics which are available in the undergraduate programme, but without obtaining credits towards the MBA. For these topics a library of OU written material will be provided; and, where possible, the tutors on hand (supplemented, where necessary, by other OBS/OU tutors) will also provide limited support for these.
The Open University/School of Management will provide the standard core material for the courses listed earlier, as required for each individual student. With the maximum of 23 students, each taking two half credit courses per annum, this will result in the maximum provision of 46 packs of material each year (or, say, 138 packs over three years at this maximum rate), with the more likely running rate of15 students in 1993 and 1994 of requiring 30 packs a year (giving an overall likely total of 106 packs) . It is anticipated that support for students over the extension period of 1996/1997 would require a maximum of 20 further packs.
In addition, on a one time basis, a library of material covering a further 34 other OBS and undergraduate courses (as per suggested list below) will be provided at the start of the programme;
D103 Social Science Foundation (5 copies)
D205 Changing Britain, Changing World
D210 Introduction to Economics (23 copies)
D211 Social Welfare
D213 Modern Societies
D308 Democratic Government (3 copies)
D312 Global Politics (3 copies)
DT200 Introduction to Information Technology
S102 Science Foundation
S203 Biology: Form and Function
S236 Geology
S246 Organic Chemistry
S247 Inorganic Chemistry
S271 Discovering Physics
S236 Ecology
T102 Technology Foundation
T201 Materials in Action
T234 Environmental Control
T247 Working with Systems
T274 Food Production Systems
T281 Basic Physical Science
T301 Complexity, Management and Change
U205 Health and Disease
U206 Environment
U208 Third World Development (23packs)
B784 The Effective Manager (3 copies)
B785 Accounting and the PC for Managers
B786 Managing Client and Customer Relations
B789 Managing Voluntary and Non-Profit Enterprises
B782 Managing Health Services
B676 Managing People
B679 Planning and Managing Change
B790 Managing in the Competitive Environment
B500 Study Skills (15 copies)
In addition a basic management library of approximately 100 textbooks will be arranged by the OU. Air shipment to Ethiopia will be required for all this material.
The OU School of Management will make available at least 18 weeks of academic (senior/lecturer) time in Ethiopia per annum for three years. This will normally comprise 9 two week assignments of UK academic staff who have chaired the core courses being taught or have been heavily involved in their design and/or delivery. The commitment will normally comprise 2 two week periods by each of the academics teaching the two half credit courses in that year, complemented by 4 two week visits by the managing tutor and 1 two week visit by one other (specialist) member of OU staff.
Because of the sensitivity of the teaching situation the numbers of carefully selected tutors will be kept to the absolute minimum (no more than 12, and preferably less than 8, across the three years). Teaching will also be coordinated by a course team of approximately 12 academics (chaired by the managing tutor) in the UK.
Airline tickets will be required for at least 9 return flights a year.
During the extension period (1996/1997) it is anticipated that just two trips per year of two weeks each (4 weeks of academic time in total per year and two flights) will be required.
16. MONITORING OF THE PROJECT
The proposed monitoring arrangements are to based upon the following reporting structure;
IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVES
a) The prime evidence will be based upon the student's performance on their OBS/MBA courses - in terms of passes and marks obtained (by course and by elements within the course).
b) This will be directly supported by the regular tutor visit/progress reports.
c) It will also be directly supported by the students' own end of year evaluations of the courses, covering both material and face to face support. This will be the prime evidence for the value of the teaching in terms of applicability to their actual management problems.
d) It will be indirectly supported by the regular reports from the British Council in Addis Abeba; and by the reports of the visiting British Council monitoring staff.
WIDER OBJECTIVES
a) These will indirectly be monitored by the country's performance against the macro-economic targets set by the World bank/IMF.
b) They will also be monitored, again indirectly, by their progress against the government's own targets for electoral reforms.
c) The most relevant reports, however, will be those provided by the UK Addis Abeba embassy; backed up by those of the British Council in Addis Abeba.
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