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Creating and sustaining value

In this module, you'll critically explore the diverse ways organisations create, sustain and expand value, with particular reference to the roles of the finance, operations and business intelligence functions. It provides the latest theories of value creation, allowing you to practically engage with them across several business functions and a range of organisations. By examining the operations and finance functions, you'll uncover the link between decision making and performance. Business intelligence is used to demonstrate how managers can enhance a firm's value using data and analytics. The module considers economic value creation as well as the creation and destruction of social and environmental value.

Using a simulation game-based learning approach provides a compelling framework to consolidate, reflect, and expand on the knowledge you'll acquire. Overall, this module offers an interdisciplinary lens to investigate how organisations can create and sustain value in an increasingly complex and dynamic business environment driven by economic, environmental and social concerns.

Vocational relevance

The module is designed for professionals from a wide range of contexts and backgrounds who need to actively engage with the challenges of contemporary management, develop their management skills and knowledge of management frameworks, theories and tools and use these appropriately in order to make a real difference in their practice.

Qualifications

B872 is a compulsory module in our:

B872 is an optional module in our:

Excluded combinations

Sometimes you will not be able to count a module towards a qualification if you have already taken another module with similar content. To check any excluded combinations relating to this module, visit our excluded combination finder or check with an adviser before registering.

Module

Module code
B872
Credits

Credits

  • Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
  • One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
  • You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
  • For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
30
Study level
Across the UK, there are two parallel frameworks for higher education qualifications, the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Northern Ireland and Wales (FHEQ) and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). These define a hierarchy of levels and describe the achievement expected at each level. The information provided shows how OU postgraduate modules correspond to these frameworks.
OU Postgraduate
SCQF 11
FHEQ 7
Study method
Distance learning
Module cost
See Module registration
Entry requirements

Find out more about entry requirements.

Module details Entry requirements Module registration Study materials

What you will study

This module will enable you to develop the independent research and online collaborative skills necessary to critically explore and understand your own organisation's infrastructure, and to provide the tools and practices for analysing information so that decisions and performance can be enhanced. You'll explore the theoretical and practical connections between three distinct yet closely-interrelated fields of study: Financial Management, Operations Management, and Business Intelligence.

The concept of understanding, creating, improving and sustaining value is central to the module and runs through all five units that comprise the module. Throughout the module, a series of blogging activities (visible only to members of your tutor group), provides an opportunity to reflect on the application of module frameworks to your context and learn about the practices of value creation in other students’ contexts.

Unit 1: An introduction to value introduces the core themes you'll work through. These are creating and sustaining value, operations management, financial management and business intelligence. You'll learn about and discuss the concepts of value and value creation and reflect on how businesses create and sustain value and sometimes destroy value. This unit provides a foundation for the rest of the module.

Unit 2: Creating financial value examines the ways in which finance and accounting activities help measure, forecast, analyse and control the value generation activities of an organisation. It covers three broad topics: budgets, forecasting, and costing; financial statements - what they are and what they tell us; and analysing an organisation’s performance.

Unit 3: Managing operations explores how businesses can create and sustain value by appropriately formulating and implementing an operations strategy as well as monitoring and controlling its execution. As part of this unit, you'll also look at business intelligence and the ways it can support value creation through the collection, storage and transformation of data into meaningful information that supports the organisation’s value creating activities.

Unit 4: Putting theory into practice  – the Newspaper Game is organised around a simulation of the operations of a small newspaper vending firm and its suppliers to explore different trade-offs in value creation. You’ll use the simulation to learn about these trade-offs and how value creation can be optimised for the organisation and across supply chains.

Unit 5: Trends and challenges in value creation provide the opportunity to explore trends and challenges in value creation. You'll choose a trend and research how it may affect your own sector. You'll write a blog about this work for your tutor group and draw on other students’ blogs to enhance your understanding of important trends and their potential impact on value creation in your sector.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

Throughout your module studies, you’ll get help and support from your assigned module tutor. They’ll help you by:

  • marking your assignments (TMAs) and providing detailed feedback for you to improve
  • guiding you to additional learning resources
  • providing individual guidance, whether that’s for general study skills or specific module content
  • facilitating online discussions between your fellow students in the dedicated module and tutor group forums.

Module tutors also run online tutorials throughout the module. Where possible, recordings of online tutorials will be made available. While these tutorials won’t be compulsory for you to complete the module, you’re strongly encouraged to take part. If you want to participate, you'll likely need a headset with a microphone. These are supported by a wide range of resources, including specially designed books and a world-class online library. Activities generally require online participation over two to six weeks and contribute to your reflective practice and your assessment.

Assessment

The assessment details can be found in the facts box.

Participation marks are awarded for posting blogs and commenting on other students' blogs and will be combined with your end-of-module assessment (EMA) marks.

Course work includes

2 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs)
End-of-module assessment

Future availability

Creating and sustaining value starts twice a year, in May and November. This page describes the module that will start in November 2024 and May 2025. We expect it to start for the last time in November 2026.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.

Entry requirements

This module is the second module in our Open University Business School Masters degree programme. It can be studied alongside the first module Managing in a changing world (B870), if you wish to study at a higher intensity and complete your MBA qualification within two years.

You'll be eligible to register for this module by satisfying the following academic, work experience and language requirements.

Academic requirements
There are three ways to meet the academic requirements:

1: Bachelors degree with honours
You'll need to have a bachelors degree with honours awarded by a UK university or equivalent.

2: Bachelors degree without honours
You'll need to have a bachelors degree without honours awarded by a UK university or equivalent, and you'll need to have completed either:

  • the discontinued OU module Managing 1: organisations and people (B628)
  • three of our undergraduate-level Business Management microcredentials*
  • the GMAT examination and achieved a result of 640 or higher.
3: No Bachelors degree
If you don’t have a bachelors degree, you'll need to have completed either:
  • the discontinued OU Professional Certificate in Management (S01)
  • six of our undergraduate-level Business Management microcredentials*

*See our Microcredentials page for further information. 

Work experience requirement
You’ll need to have gained a minimum of three years’ experience in a managerial, technical or professional role.

Language requirement
Your spoken and written English must be of an adequate standard for postgraduate study. If English is not your first language, we recommend that you will need a minimum score of 6.5 under the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Please see their website for details.

Register

Start End England fee Register
03 May 2025 Oct 2025 £3360.00

Registration closes 17/04/25 (places subject to availability)

Register
01 Nov 2025 Apr 2026 Not yet available

Registration closes 16/10/25 (places subject to availability)

Register
02 May 2026 Oct 2026 Not yet available

Registration opens on 01/09/25
This module is expected to start for the last time in November 2026.

Future availability

Creating and sustaining value starts twice a year, in May and November. This page describes the module that will start in November 2024 and May 2025. We expect it to start for the last time in November 2026.

Additional costs

Study costs

There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.

Ways to pay for this module

We know there’s a lot to think about when choosing to study, not least how much it’s going to cost and how you can pay.

That’s why we keep our fees as low as possible and offer a range of flexible payment and funding options, including a postgraduate loan, if you study this module as part of an eligible qualification. To find out more, see Fees and funding.

Study materials

What's included

You'll have access to the university library, an extensive variety of media resources (print and online) specially written and designed for this module, audio-visual material, published articles, case studies and a set of interactive tools to help you develop your management thinking abilities.

Computing requirements

  • Primary device – A desktop or laptop computer. It’s possible to access some materials on a mobile phone, tablet or Chromebook; however, they may not be suitable as your primary device.
  • Peripheral device – Headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone for online tutorials.
  • Our OU Study app operates on supported versions of Android and iOS.
  • Operating systems – Windows 10 or 11 or macOS Ventura (or higher).
  • Internet access – Broadband or mobile connection.
  • Browser – Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are recommended; Mozilla Firefox and Safari may be suitable.

If you have a disability

Elements of this module are delivered online and include the use of real-time online discussions and an interactive whiteboard space, so time spent using a computer and the internet will be extensive. If you use assistive technology or have a hearing or speech impairment and have concerns about accessing this type of virtual environment and materials, you can visit the system provider's website for information and contact The Open University to discuss it further before registering.

Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future.

To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our disability support pages.

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