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 John Pollard
Part-time MBA, University of Hertfordshire
University previously attended University of Hertfordshire, UK
Degree obtained Diploma in Management Studies
Country of origin UK
Career history
John Pollard has worked for nine years for the UK subsidiary of Oakley, the high-quality branded sunglasses and clothing business. He is now the Director and General Manager of the UK branch of the company, based near London, which recently opened a new flagship store in Covent Garden.
'Studying for an MBA introduces you to an instant network of fellow students that helps you broaden your horizons and reflect on different approaches to management.'
Why did you choose to do an MBA?
When I joined Oakley as the General Manager, I had no formal management qualifications (I'm actually a qualified dispensing optician). I think you could call me a graduate from the ?university of life'.When I started working at Oakley, it was an intention of mine to look for a course, so that I could get a formal qualification in management to both develop my skills and knowledge, and also to improve my career prospects.
Having a young family, the most important thing to me, really, was that I could study quite close to where I was working and not have to be away from home too much. The University of Hertfordshire is incredibly easy to get to, as it is close to London and to our base in Letchworth Garden City. I live in mid-Bedfordshire, so it wasn't too far for me to travel and, because the part-time programme is structured around long weekends (Friday?Sunday) around five times per year, this didn't disrupt my working or home life too much. Although I had no formal management qualifications, but wanted to study for an MBA, the University of Hertfordshire was able to offer me a route that would enable me to achieve an MBA. I completed the Diploma in Management Studies at one of the University's associate colleges, and this enabled me to meet the entry requirements I needed to progress to the MBA.
I then went on to study at the University of Hertfordshire itself to complete the programme.
What did you get from studying for an MBA at Hertfordshire?
I found the teaching at the University of Hertfordshire Business School was of an extremely high quality, as was the actual course content.Whilst I had no formal qualification, a lot of it was common sense (a lot of management is common sense), but it's very good to back it up with the theory behind it all.
The most enjoyable thing, I think, was meeting my peer group, who were from all walks of life and all backgrounds. It enabled me to get a far broader perspective than just my own little world; I look at things much more broadly now. Studying for an MBA introduces you to an instant network of fellow students that helps
you broaden your horizons and reflect on different approaches to management. This, I believe, is one of the most valuable aspects of studying for an MBA; you not only learn from your tutors, but you also benefit from the collected experience of those around you. In terms of my job role, the US parent company that I work for is very keen on its staff having management qualifications and, when they learned that I was studying for an MBA, it was met with warm approval. Getting an MBA hasn't made my job any different, but it has backed up what I was already doing, helped me to understand what does and doesn't work, developed my skills, and helped me to combine the theory of management with the everydaypracticalities of getting the job done.
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