January 2010

Presented by Nicola Horlick, Fund Management Guru and CEO of Bramdean Asset Management

The Crypt, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London W2.

Hot fork buffet and networking from 6.30pm, for 7.30pm start. £30, guests welcome
To make a booking click here or telephone Janet on 01908 659262

Contents (click to jump)

The event aims to address negative effects of the recession through positive dialogue and exchanges between small firm owners/managers and a range of business support practitioners and professionals. It is designed to appeal to three distinct groups of alumni - those that have started and are running their own businesses, those who provide advice and support to businesses, and those who have lost their businesses or jobs due to recession. More than 50 participants are expected on the day.

Alumni who cannot attend in person can participate in one of the two the online forums which have been active since January 4. Interested alumni can register directly via the website or by email to b.a.ridgway@open.ac.uk

A few places still available on this Half Day Professional Development Workshop Career Detection in the New Economy - who will survive and who will thrive? Special new year offer of £75. Friday January 29, The Crypt, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London.
Join fellow alumni and inspirational speaker Brian McIvor to become a Career Detective in the new Economy, The only certainty is uncertainty as crisis follows crisis. In this situation we need a tried and trusted toolkit to help us adapt to change and position ourselves in the new economy, Ring Janet to book a place on 01908 659262

More info and to book Click Here >>

12 February, East Grinstead, Surrey Inspired Influence with the Master of Communication David Klassen Understanding and using unconscious motivators.
The key insights you will get from this highly interactive session will help you avoid misunderstandings and recognise why some relationships always seem to be fraught with tension. You can start analysing the fundamental culture of teams and identify where there may be a mismatch with the way you present your business proposition and the patterns of your clients.

More info and to book Click Here >>

The Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) is the largest vocational qualifications body in the UK with over 90,000 learner registrations for qualifications in leadership, management, coaching and enterprise. They are also a leading professional body with over 30,000 practising managers as members. As a senior manager, ILM Fellowship recognises your professional status, qualifications and experience, and gives you the opportunity to network with other Fellows from different sectors and occupations. There is also a comprehensive range of services to support your continuing professional development as a leader and manager. Learn more at https://www.i-l-m.com/join-ilm/374.aspx

Cost The annual subscriptions are £125 per year with a discount of £10 if you pay by direct debit. As an OUBS alumnus, you won't have to pay the usual £25 joining fee.

Fast-track
Your OU degree means that you automatically meet ILM's criteria regarding qualifications. You need to show that you've had 5 years senior management experience so the next step is to send ILM a copy of your CV, focussing primarily on the last 5 years of your career. It should include brief information about who you work for (what the organisation does, its size, locations, number of staff, turnover etc), or information about your own company if you are self-employed, together with a description of your role and responsibilities. It also helps to include information about who you report to, how many staff report to you, the size of any budgets you manage and key achievements.

To apply for Fellowship, send your CV to Hilary Hall, Director of Customer Services at ILM by email hilary.hall@i-l-m.com by 22 January. More detailed guidelines are available, so call 01543 266819 if you have any questions.

Despite what you might hear on the news headlines, today's turbulence offers a wealth of opportunity for those organisations which reinvent strategy and provide clear, courageous and resilient leadership. Featuring half-day presentations each from management gurus Don Sull and Robin Sharma, 'High Performance Strategies for Future Growth' is a full-day conference for leaders to explore the strategic and leadership priorities for organisations seeking to compete in the current environment.
The conference, organised by Benchmark for Business, will be staged at Kings Place, London, on Thursday 25th February 2010. The impactful content will be based around the world-class thinking of both speakers:- Further conference information, including speaker biographies, can be seen online at www.benchmarkforbusiness.com

OUBS alumni benefit from a specially reduced ticket price (a saving of £200 plus VAT per place). Each ticket is at £695 plus VAT.  To register your place(s) at the non-published discounted rate, contact conference organiser Benchmark for Business by email team@benchmarkforbusiness.com or call +44(0)1224 636200.

New databases: Source OECD, Open Research Online and Best of Biz have been added. Major new journals including Management Today and the British Journal of Management will also be accessible. The OU Business School are financing this package which remains free access to alumni. This new package continues to put the OU Library in the forefront of service provision – most universities offer no online resource access to their alumni. If you don’t use it we might lose it!

Go to the secure Members' area of the alumni website www.open.ac.uk/oubs-alumni

Your MBA alumni association has launched a dedicated OU Business School group on Linkedin. Linkedin is an online professional networking service, used by over 10 million professionals worldwide. It allows members to connect with each other and expand their business contacts. Through this website you are able to search and view OU Business School group members' profiles as well as their networks. You see much more than a name.  All connections are controlled by you, this is an opt in only.
How to join: There is no charge to join Linkedin, or to join the OU Business School group on Linkedin.  You are pre-approved as a member of the OU MBA alumni association and can join the group immediately by clicking on this link:
https://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/2297/739F3E3270B6/
You will need to use the same e-mail address with Linkedin as the one to which this e-newsletter is sent.  You can add this address additionally to your existing Linkedin profile.

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If you need to change any of your contact details, email, home or work please go to the alumni website at www.open.ac.uk/oubs-alumni click on 'update your details' on the home page. If you have not registered your details or opted into the membership directory please do so now and keep connected to this thriving international network.

OUBS Courses. Discount vouchers are available to graduates who wish to take a further course (one per annum). Contact us for your personalised voucher.  Contact: oubs-alumni@open.ac.uk

Get your own website for £99 - ideal for small businesses and consultancies, add pages and features as your business expands. Details and enquiries:  www.getsetup.net.

No charge sign up to Pay As You Use Call-handling service.  Get your calls answered by your named PA in your company name and your administration sorted. No minimum or monthly fees, simply pay as you go, set up in minutes. Call 08451 30 00 30 or register on line at www.corebusinessnetwork.com and quote OUAO.

We would also like to receive news from you (with web links) that I can circulate to the rest of the association. You will see that many of the items link you back to the alumni web site at www.open.ac.uk/oubs-alumni where you will also find the news site, events listings as well as the on-line membership directory. If you are not there it is probably because you have not opted in and we need your permission and signature for data protections reasons.  Email oubs-alumni@open.ac.uk for the necessary paperwork.

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You are receiving this newsletter because you have supplied your e-mail address to the OUBS Alumni team. Your e-mail address will not be passed to a third party without your permission.  We would like as many people as possible to be able to view this newsletter in formatted HTML (i.e., with a better layout, colours and links to online resources). If your e-mail program cannot read this, or you would prefer to receive a text-only notification when the newsletter is ready to read online please click here or e-mail oubs-alumni@open.ac.uk.  If you currently receive the text reminder and would like to start receiving the HTML version via e-mail please click here.

For all comments and contributions please contact:
Christine Sargent (c.sargent@open.ac.uk)
Alumni Relations Manager
OUBS Alumni Office,
Michael Young Building,
Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA
Tel +44 (0)1908 652874 Fax +44 (0)1908 655102

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