Managers learn best at work...

The International Management Centres Association (IMCA) is a professional association established in 1964 and a corporation noble granted the right to arms in the UK by the sovereign in 1985. IMCA conducts workplace action learning and awards professional qualifications. IMCA's work is supported by a distinguished Court of Honorary Members and work with more than 60 corporations around the globe.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Faculty Hard At Work


Congregation, the act of conferring our degrees upon successful associates, is clearly the highlight of the week. But days before graduands and their guests assemble for the happy event, faculty from around the world take the opportunity to meet, exchange informations, share learnings and discusss ways to even further increase cooperation between a faculty team that covers all corners of the globe. In this picture alone we have faculty members and registry staff from Finland, Singapore, New Zealand and England!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Work Hard, Get To Go To The Pub As A Reward



Preparing for Congregation is hard work. Starting the day before the event with one's preparations is not recommended. A smooth event on the day requires weeks of planning and even then, s*** happens.
Three days out, the combined Auckland/Buckingham team of (from left) Deputy Registrar Kathryn, Registrar Debbie and Bursar Sylvia are relaxed enough to take the Dean down to the pub - where it is lemonades all around and a real ale for the writer!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Breakfast @ Villiers


The days leading up to Congregation created an opportunity for Gordon Prestoungrange and the writer to formalise IMCA's management plans for 2010 and beyond. After a hearty breakfast that luckily did not include kippers, Drs Prestoungrange and Maurer sealed their agreement with initials, signatures, a handshake and this photograph taken by the Younger of Prestoungrange.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

No Rest For The Wicked


Each year the Chancellor presents IMCA's high achievers with special prizes at Congregation. Unfortunately, these prizes do not clean themselves prior to Congregation! Muscle power, pink gloves and a toothbrush were called for when Bursar Sylvia Burgess (right) and Registrar Debbie Woods (left) got serious about getting the prizes ready for the engraver.
Ah well, time for a quick photo and then off to the pub in case the two of them came up with a job for me as well!

Just back from 2009 Congregation in Oxford

I haven't shaken the jetlag entirely yet, but I am sufficiently awake to start processing my Oxford experiences.
IMCA's 2009 Congregation took place on Saturday, 5 September, at the Oxford Examination Schools.
Over the next few days, I will be posting comments and photographic images relating to the event itself as well to the graduands' workshop on Friday, 4 September and the meeting of our Common Professional and Academic Board on Thursday, 3 September. Both these events were held at New College, Oxford. Graduands and faculty present came from the Uk itself, as well as from Finland, Vanuatu, Barbados, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, the USA, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

On the Way to Buckingham

Buckingham England, as you know, is where IMCA has its roots. I am blogging at Changi Airport in Singapore at the moment, on my way to the UK via Munich, Germany and Valencia, Spain where I am seeing either IMCA partners or taking care of some other business. On the way back to New Zealand, I will stop here in Singapore again to meet with IMCA partners Richard Toh and KC Chan. Richard is very busy with promoting Action learning through his Asia Management Association whereas KC is running a Doctoral Explication Set with four candidates, with he himself completing a higher doctorate, a Doctor of Letters. Very busy blokes, the two of them. Richard has just casually asked me to deliver a 15 minute speech here in Singapore on the relevance of Action Learning during the current business environment and mentioned in passing that Business News Asia, one of the local television channels wants to film the session.
I know what I will be doing on the various plane trips through Europe!
Dr Hans Maurer

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Spring Meeting IMCA Common Professional & Academic Board


(l to r.) Professor Garry Luxmoore (Dean FCS / Socrates), Keith Budd (New Zealand partner), Lisa Ritchie (IMCA Media Coordinator), Anne-Marie Arts (IMCA Senior Tutor), Professor John Wicks (Dean Revans University & IMCA Principal), Debbie Woods (IMCA Global Executive Registrar), Kathryn Foulkes-Baker (IMCA Deputy Registrar), Professor Hans Maurer (Dean FIS / IMCA CEO) - photography by: Massimo Ciccioni (DBA Associate, Global Set)


IMCA's Common Professional & Academic Board met on 9 March at the Auckland offices of IMCA New Zealand. As there was a fair bit of travel involved, many of our colleagues from distant shores could only join us via e-mail and phone - and to be fair, we did not provide all that much notice...
We had a very successful meeting nevertheless - minutes will be distributed in the usual fashion via the campus sites.
The Board meets twice a year - with the next meeting being scheduled 3 September 2009 in Oxford, England as part of the pre-Congregation activities and we look forward to seeing more partners and faculty attending on the day.
And to help those of you who like me are not participating in any recession plan their 2010 holidays - the Board will meet again on 8 March 2010 in Auckland. So get organised!

Welcome

Today marks an exciting new development for IMCA - the use of web blogs! In future, Faculty, Associates and Learners will not only be able to keep track of IMCA activities around the world, but can actively contribute through constructive comments towards ensuring that IMCA and its Faculty maintain its currency in all things Action Learning. I look forward in working with you via this medium.