MBA Program Culture

Research on organizations indicates that it is important for new members to understand as much as possible about the culture of that organization before entering it. This understanding has been shown to relate to increased satisfaction and tenure. Since you are intending to become a member of the RRU learning community, we would like to share with you a few fundamental aspects of the Faculty of Management learning culture. To some students, it will be quite different from what they have experienced.

Organizational Learning
The theme at RRU is a community of practice, where you are at once a participant and an observer, a student and a coach. Often, defining a question will be as important as finding a solution. The ability to cope with change is essential as we have frequent visiting instructors and will adapt courses to fit the issues of the day. Moreover, our programming approach and content is not always traditional.

We value learning as a social process and accept responsibility for ourselves and others to participate fully in the entire experience whatever our educational and work-related background.

Team Work
A major part of your experience, success, and learning will revolve around group activities. In most courses, a significant part of your evaluation will be based on group work. Consequently, you should expect to address the challenges and associated learning of group activities. For some people this may be especially demanding.

Attendance
To wholly meet the goals of the learning community, you will be expected to attend all classes, workshops or other Program events, and to participate fully in all on-line activities. There may be occasions when you feel that you fully understand the material being covered in a class or an on-line discussion. In that event, we expect that you will still participate, adopting more of a coaching role. This is a particularly notable aspect of the RRU culture. While we respect individual effort and performance, we also believe that it is important to achieve results within an inclusive atmosphere of respect for diversity and a belief in the importance of the team.

Intensity
You should understand that your learning opportunity at RRU will demand considerable effort for the duration of the program. That means that you will be expected to schedule your time so that you are not absent from university or from required on-line sessions.  The program may run over statutory holidays and it is important that you plan your attendance and participation accordingly.