Strategic Productivity

Led by Professor Bart Van Ark from the Productivity Institute and with the support from several experts from across Alliance Manchester Business School and The Productivity Institute, this course equips you with the tools and strategies to boost efficiency, effectiveness and long-term performance.

You’ll work with the Strategic Productivity Framework, a practical model developed by The Productivity Institute, grounded in cutting-edge research into what drives business productivity.

Over four days, you’ll explore five essential productivity pillars:

• Innovation and digital adoption
• Workforce skills and wellbeing
• Leadership and management
• Mobilising finance
• Marketing and communication

Day 1 – Motivation, measurement and management

• Understand what productivity means for strategy, economy, and society
• Explore reasons behind slow productivity growth and how to reverse it
• Learn the “Three I’s” of productivity: Innovation, Investment, Institutions
• Explore productivity measurement and long vs. short-term focus
• Craft a productivity narrative for your organisation

Day 2 – Innovating for productivity

• Learn the role of business innovation, R&D, and digital transformation
• Explore AI, servitisation, and digital leadership
• Examine the roles of leaders in digital, innovation and operational functions
• Develop your business innovation strategy

Day 3 – Investing for growth

• Discover how finance, skills, and flexible teams drive productivity
• Examine the roles of finance and human capital leaders
• Understand the specific challenges for SMEs and supply chains
• Build an investment plan for strategic growth assets

Day 4 – Collaboration and communication

• Enhance internal collaboration and communication for performance gains
• Understand marketing and branding as productive assets
• Explore boardroom dynamics and the ecosystem model of collaboration
• Create a boardroom productivity agenda
• Look at the role for business in the regional or local ecosystem

Practical application

• Work on a live productivity project throughout the course
• Join for an on-site visit to a local firm which has adopted productivity as a lead principle
• Identify how to implement strategic productivity improvements in your own business
• Present your findings on the final day and gain feedback from peers and faculty

Network and connect

You will also have the chance to build valuable connections through interactive sessions, interact as a group and one-on-one with half a dozen experts in the field, and participate in an onsite plant visit, and a course dinner with fellow participants from across our short-course portfolio.

Throughout the course, you will:

• Learn from world-leading academics and practitioners who bring cutting-edge research into the classroom
• Collaborate with senior professionals from diverse industries
• Apply learning directly to your own organisational challenges
• Engage in lively discussions, an onsite visit, and exercises that bridge theory and real-world practice

Stand-out learning features

• Applied learning - Work in an environment designed to foster active engagement, where your facilitator draws on the collective experience of your cohort to enrich the learning
• Peer knowledge exchange - Benefit from ongoing feedback and insights from professionals across sectors - helping you grow your leadership mindset and strategic marketing skills
• Reflective practice - Take a rare pause from your daily routine to reflect on your own leadership capabilities and challenges, with support from top-tier academic experts and practitioners
• Professional networking - Build long-lasting professional relationships with peers from a variety of backgrounds, expanding your business network and perspective
• Personal growth - Deepen your self-awareness and discover how to sharpen your core marketing competencies in a changing business landscape
• Behavioural change - Embrace new mindsets and adopt evidence-based practices that will enhance your decision-making and managerial effectiveness.

Learning continues beyond the classroom

Before, during, and after the course, you’ll have access to our virtual learning environment, where you’ll find:

• Pre-course preparation
• Slide decks and case studies
• Recommended readings and resources

And to support your long-term growth, you’ll continue to access these materials, plus the University of Manchester’s online library, for up to 12 months after course completion.

By the end of the course, you will:

• Cultivate a strategic mindset to identify and act on the productivity metrics that matter most
• Gain a clearer understanding of why productivity matters and how it can drive long-term success
• Access world-class insights from The Productivity Institute’s research and case studies
• Learn how to align productivity efforts with strategic goals and make smarter daily decisions
• Explore the social and ESG impact of productivity-focused investment
• Build a strong professional network of peers and industry leaders for future collaboration

Plus, your organisation will gain:

• Tailored, actionable strategies to address specific productivity challenges
• Insights into key drivers of competitive advantage in UK and global markets
• A deeper understanding of how productivity affects profitability, KPIs, and performance benchmarks
• Tools and frameworks to future-proof operations, enabling adaptability and proactive decision-making
• A culture of continuous improvement focused on efficiency, innovation, and cost-effectiveness

This course is designed for senior leaders and decision-makers from organisations with 50+ employees, who are involved in shaping strategy, performance, and operational delivery.

You’ll join a diverse group of delegates from a wide range of sectors, from manufacturing and retail to technology and business services, including international professionals travelling to Manchester from across the globe.

Ideal participants include CEOs, managing directors, operations leaders, finance heads, and senior managers focused on business transformation.

Bart Van Ark is a Professor of Productivity Studies at Alliance Manchester Business School and is also the Managing Director of The Productivity Institute, a UK-wide organisation which aims to lay the foundations for an era of sustained and inclusive productivity growth, by bringing together academic research, policy studies and business engagement.

Between 2008 and 2022 Bart was Chief Economist at The Conference Board, a global business research organisations headquartered in New York, where he worked with dozens of global companies on business strategy related to (global) economic trends, labour markets and human capital, technology and innovation, and productivity.

Bart is an internationally acclaimed economist in the field of international comparative productivity measurement and his research has cut across the areas of economic growth, international economics and business, development economics and economic history.

On completing the course, you’ll earn the Manchester Professional Certificate in Strategic Productivity plus a digital certificate and badge you can share on LinkedIn.

Pathway to a diploma

• Complete any four short courses from our executive portfolio to earn the Manchester Professional Diploma in Leadership.
• Includes three executive coaching sessions to apply your learning and shape your personal development strategy.

Advance to the Global MBA

If you apply to the Global MBA within five years, you may be exempt from one elective (please mention this course in your application).

If you choose to stay in Manchester during your time on one of our short business courses, you can benefit from preferential rates at the Hyatt Hotel, a modern and elegant hotel located at the heart of our campus and adjoining the Executive Education centre.

Learn more about the Hyatt Hotel >>

View frequently asked questions about our short business courses here >>