Learning to manage and managing to learn

Abstract

Can an academic course in management be of practical use? Is distance education as effective as normal methods for teaching applied subjects such as management? In this paper, Rob Paton and Christina Lay, from the Systems Group of the Open University's Faculty of Technology, address these questions by reflecting on their experience in producing and presenting T244, Managing in Organisations. They conclude that not only can academic courses be relevant, by encouraging students to relate theory to practice, but also that distance education can be more effective for teaching applied subjects, since the student remains working in the area to which the study is to be applied.