Sponsored – How an Govt MBA helps a Sheffield enterprise guide fly
Last year, international business lawyer and specialist Kiley Tan signed up for an Executive MBA to challenge himself and take his advice to the next level.
Since then, the government has signaled a desire for closer ties with the Indo-Pacific region. And the pandemic has forced companies to do business remotely.
Both play to their strengths – many of them new.
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Kiley Tan, Executive MBA student at Sheffield University Management School and Director of Mosaic International. Image: Chris Etchells
Kiley Tan, Executive MBA student at Sheffield University Management School and Director of Mosaic International. Image: Chris EtchellsKiley, 45, founded Mosaic International in 2015 to benefit from his legal expertise, contacts and knowledge in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Singapore.
Its broad scope was a revelation, he says.
After one year of the two-year curriculum, he learned topics such as innovation, change management, corporate governance and economics, which he immediately put to profitable use.
Kiley Tan says the Executive MBA is helping him take his business to the next level. Image: Chris Etchells
He said, “It is important to understand the basics of all of these things in order to give me a stepping stone to grow Mosaic and maximize performance for our customers.”
But it is the more cerebral tasks that have had the most personal impact.
Writing mission statements, declarations of values, and visions led him to question and define his motives, attitudes, and assumptions, and to view Mosaic in a larger context.
“With these things on your mind, if you break through them, you can rationalize them away. But if you hang them on the wall, people can hold you accountable.
Dr. Mel Bull, Director of Executive and Professional Education at UoS Management School. Image Scott Merrylees
Dr. Mel Bull, Director of Executive and Professional Education at UoS Management School. Image Scott Merrylees“And you have to. I might think, “This is my business and I can do what I want,” but in the MBA we learned that it’s about being part of the community. I could start a business off the coast, but I want to be part of this community. “
In the meantime, modules on ‘Responsible Leadership’, ‘Strategy and Risk’ and ‘Collaborative Networks’ have made him more thoughtful and less judgmental – “Lawyers can be very judgmental,” he jokes – and more understanding for people who are in stressful situations Make decisions.
Kiley is one of 20 students attending the Executive Education Suite at The Villas, Western Bank, Broomhill, Sheffield. Fellow students include seasoned business people and even senior NHS staff.
He added, “I didn’t know how little I knew or how much I would learn from the course. Every single module challenged me and my cohort. “
While he was busy, Serendipity was at work too.
Covid travel closings have forced international traders to rely on contacts in the country to do tasks that cannot be done remotely – such as checking and verifying suppliers and that their goods are exactly as described.
These “supplier audits” offer Kiley the chance to use its contacts in new ways.
In short, Mosaic has a lot of potential, he believes, and the Executive MBA gives him the opportunity to make it a reality.
The course is open to people from across the country and costs £ 18,000. It is triple accredited due to its recognition by the three most important awarding bodies: AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA.
The department also offers an MSc in Management and Strategic Leadership and a Senior Leader Apprenticeship with a Post Graduate Diploma.
