Hello and Welcome

We are a group of Coventry University students from the Faculty of Business, Environement and Society currently undertaking an MBA in Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Management. This wiki site has been setup as part of a module "M55BUS - Issues in Strategic Management" and was established in February 2007.

The assignment brief is:

"The Coventry University Business School (CUBS) has been approached by a Nigerian based private consortium to establish an African Virtual Business School (AVBS). The AVBS seeks to offer a range of blended learning management courses based on those at Coventry. Online tuition will be supplemented by a network of study centres across Africa staffed by suitably qualified nationals. It is proposed that the University and the consortium each invest £50,000 in the venture and seek additional venture capital funding for the enterprise."

Our assignment for this module requires us to identify and then evaluate the strategic issues relating to the AVBS proposition above.

Through the module structure 8 areas of strategic importance have been identified and grouped as follows on the wiki:

Practical Stuff:
E-business
Modern supply chain
Venture capital
Virtual Organisations

Social Stuff:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Developing Countries
Knowledge Management
Leadership


Please review the information we have gathered and contribute were you feel you have something to add, please remember to add referrences to the source of your content.

Regards

CUBS - Strategy Group


Summary

Ryan, Steve., Scott, Bernard., Freeman, Howard., Patel Daxa., The Virtual University. 2001, 1st Edition, Stylus Publishing Inc state that:

"Developments in Africa are making an impact in areas with less well developed infrastructures. In Africa for example, the World Bank-funded African Virtual University has run a number of pilot courses"

Findings from the project so far suggest that it is possible to:

• Set up a virtual university in Africa, using very advanced communication technology.
• Use the most advanced technology without losing the students who are not used to the technology o Use a common language (English).
• Prove that technology is stable and that its equipment can be used over long periods in non-industrialised areas of Africa. The internet breaks down the national boundaries and for some the potential market for higher education is global. The Web is making reaching this market a reality.

The market for higher education through distance learning has been estimated at $300 billion worldwide (Newby, 1999). I would advise checking out the world bank website for more details.

Catherine L