BSN Netherlands

BSN - the Organisation

Business School Netherlands has been active as an international business school since 1988 and continues to expand provision of Action Learning programmes beyond the boundaries of the Netherlands, creating a global Action Learning community of business leaders, all following the same steps to success.

To this day a team of specialists has been continuously developing and updating the courseware. The organisation continues to grow, learning from actions taken, assessing the situation, and making the next decisions on the path to success. These values inspire the student body to develop in the best possible way as business managers. Aiming to be the best school will in turn lead to students aspiring to be the best business managers. Non-stop endeavours towards improvement and expansion of management programmes have established Business School Netherlands as top-notch MBA and management training provider.

As a University of Applied Sciences, Business School Netherlands develops campuses and locally-driven management programmes outside the Netherlands at a rapid pace with astounding success.

More than 1600 managers have graduated from BSN’s MBA programmes; many more have become delegates for shorter courses. An International DBA was developed, programmes were brought into the mainstream of programme validation and BSN established a broad company clientele in the Netherlands with an ever-broadening international market.

Today BSN is a recognised private provider of higher education in and from the Netherlands with strong growth intent. It is committed to keeping its focus on the needs of leaders of people and processes in organisations. Managers are responsible for upholding sound and ethical organisational principles and projecting a clear image of their organisation’s purpose.

Vision & Mission Business School Netherlands

Business School Netherlands recognises the exponential growth of the body of knowledge. Even enthusiastic students will fail to fathom it all in a lifetime, let alone during a two-year course. That is why we look at the academic part of an MBA- or management programme from a different point of view.

We start with the problem, your problem, a relevant issue that your organisation needs to solve. Once identified, you will learn to critically evaluate available knowledge in the respective field, weigh the alternatives, and propose an appropriate solution. It doesn’t stop there. The Action Learning concept recognises that real learning only takes place when we have implemented the solution and seen the result. Confucius worked it out ages ago: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand”.

Although we take a few written exams, we do not wish to find out how well you can memorisesix or seven hundred pages of financial theories and formulas. We would rather see you taking action and learning from that.

In BSN's vision, Learning to Learn is the most important part of doing a Management Programme. If you develop skills to analyse a problem, identify the core issues, and know where to look for possible solutions and ideas, you will be better equipped to cope with tomorrow’s challenges than people who are able to recite yesterday’s theories. We realise this is not mainstream thinking and we are proud of that. What we offer is an unconvential and proactive MBA, fitting most managers who study with us well.

BSN has been delivering Action Learning MBA’s and management programmes for nearly 25 years now. As one of the largest Dutch International Business Schools and an official Dutch University of Applied Sciences, our management programmes are accredited by the NVAO.

Business School Netherlands is not alone in recognising the value of Action Learning. Progressive organisations such as Shell, Exxon, General Electric, Unilever, Rabobank, Aloca Agro, Motorola, Arthur Andersen, General Motors and Lyondell Chemical Co. also believe in the Action Learning approach. They have achieved amazing results in the field of problem-solving, identifying competitive advantages, reducing operating costs and becoming learning organisations. Over 2.000 students from all over the world have joined our programmes in countries like South Africa, Czech Republic and China.
Mission Statement

Our ambition is to be an enabler in the development and success of managers and organisations worldwide, through unique Action Learning programmes providing answers to current management issues.

A word from the founder of Business School Netherlands.

"When you think of The Netherlands, normally you think of tulips, windmills and clogs, but as a manager you will associate The Netherlands with entrepreneurship, trade and effective management.

It is the home of companies like Phillips, ABN Amro, Heineken, Shell, Amstel, ING, Unilever, Akzo Nobel and KLM. It’s not too much of an exaggeration to say that the Dutch invented  business on a global scale.

As management development director of one of the larger Dutch companies, I noticed that local and global business schools focused too much on theory and not enough on application.
In 1988 I decided to put my thoughts into action and established Business School Nederland, and introduced an excitingly different approach to management education called Action Learning.

At the moment BSN is an official Dutch University of Applied Sciences and one of the leading international business schools in The Netherlands with over 3.000 students and alumni.

I believe you too can get excited about this new  management training approach."

- Dr. D.J.Gerdzen - Founder of Business School Nederland