Dr Manuela Nocker (fourth from right) with attendees from the course.

Business executives attending a radical new course at Essex Business School have described the event as “compelling” and “inspiring” with one adding it has saved her business £50,000.

Reinventing the Organisation, held at Wivenhoe House hotel this week, explored radical management models that question whether businesses need bosses, supervisors or even job titles to be successful.

Guest speakers, including Dr Manuela Nocker of Essex Business School at the University of Essex, discussed how new ways of thinking, collaborating and networking are now vital to motivating staff and connecting with customers.

Speaking after the event, one participant said: “Attending Reinventing the Organisation has saved us £50,000 to £60,000 by helping us realise another layer of management was not needed in our business.”

Another described the course as: “Inspiring stuff with practical takeaways.”

Dr Nocker explained the benefits of exploring this different approach to management: "Self-management is not about focusing on oneself at work. On the contrary, it is about improving shared understandings that guide organisation as an emergent process. Shared principles rather than rules and policies become ‘signposts’ for collaboration and action when choosing between constraints and possibilities in the situation."

As well as Dr Nocker, attendees were able to learn from the experiences of Doug Kirkpatrick, formerly of the Morning Star Company, and Ken Everett, Chairman of an international executive training company whose ‘networked organisation’ is so successful he has started the online N2N Hub to promote and support other networked organisations.

One attendee said: “The two days spent together formed a highly useful space for me to think about the values, future and strategy…and to lay down some significant buoys that will guide our future sailing.”

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Notes to editors
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