Master of Commerce in Quantitative Management

Purpose

This programme will allow candidates who have completed Quantitative Management at Honours level to enrol for a Master of Commerce Degree: Quantitative Management at Stellenbosch University. Currently, Quantitative Management students are channelled into an Honours and Masters Degree: Logistics Management, where the focus is primarily supply chain oriented, instead of taking advantage of their quantitative skills and sharpening those skills further in the broader field of management applications.

This programme will enhance their quantitative skills and will focus more on quantitative modelling of business applications with a greater emphasis on methodology of modelling and delivery of results.

Rationale

Currently, students following Quantitative Management at third year level who wish to continue with Postgraduate studies only have one option, which is to follow the Honours programme in Logistics Management. The skill acquired through the training at the undergraduate level quantitative analyses is not explored or deepened sufficiently any further. The introduction of the Master of Commerce programme in Quantitative Management will allow students to capitalise on these scarce skills and further their training in Quantitative Management.

Study in this focal area will equip the student with a combination of management and analytical capabilities in order to be highly competitive in the business world. The aim is to educate managers and analysts, who will, after adequate experience, be able to analyse and manage business functions and processes within the firm on the strategic, tactical and operational levels, and to substantiate decisions quantitatively in order to help maximise the firm's wealth. The focus will now also be on advanced presentation of solutions, through a more formal process of presentation and report writing.

Admission requirements are a Bachelor of Commerce Honours with Quantitative Management or an appropriate Degree that has been approved by Senate for this purpose.

Recognition of Prior Learning

The University has an official Policy for the Assessment and Recognition of Prior Learning. It allows for various forms of assessment, including access assessment instruments (access and placement tests), examinations assessed numerically, consideration of submitted learning portfolios and qualitative screening thereof by qualified staff, conditional admission (learning goals are set), prescribed additional work to be assessed, recognition of formal learning at other institutions, professional short courses, recognition of informal learning through job experience.

Each faculty has a well-documented and approved Recognition of Prior Learning process, suitably qualified staff to facilitate the application process together with support staff from related offices (like the International Office), mechanisms to provide uniform feedback to candidates, reasonable and clear parameters regarding service costs related to the process to applicants, guidelines to applicants regarding the admission instruments and appeal procedures or alternative learning options.

According to official Senate decision: Faculties and their programme committees for Recognition of Prior Learning matters are specifically appointed and quality control as part of ongoing programme development form part of their charge.

Access to the Qualification

Admission requirements are a Bachelor of Commerce Honours with Quantitative Management or an appropriate Degree that has been approved by Senate for this purpose.

Two compulsory modules of 15 Credits each. A thesis, compulsory, of 90 or 150 Credits. If the student chooses the 90 Credits thesis, then 60 Credits can be from modules in the Logistics Management Honours/Masters programme, or selected modules from the Operations Research Honours/Masters programme. Of these 60 Credits, a maximum of 30 Credits can be selected from other Departments, as long as these modules have a quantitative nature.

The main purpose of this programme is the following

1. To equip students with advanced knowledge and analytical skills across a wide range of different specialised aspects of Quantitative Management and to empower them further to be able to follow a career in the wider field of Quantitative Management.
2. To develop capable leaders in the field of Quantitative Management in the primary and secondary economic sectors, who have advanced applied knowledge and analytical skills to drive sustainable development and growth within their fields of application.
3. To supply a base of knowledge in order to enable students to continue with a Doctorate. This programme allows students to specialise in a specific field.
4. To provide practical experience in modelling of real world problems, to develop written and verbal communication, and to promote the utilisation of different techniques in these real world applications.

Specifically, the programme will produce students who have demonstrated the following

• The ability to read and interpret management focused literature, especially that of a quantitative nature.
• An understanding of the use of scientific methodology with the acquisition of quantitative data, information and knowledge.
• The ability to analyse, organise and critically evaluate related information.
• The ability to identify divergent problems and to resolve them creatively by applying the appropriate Quantitative Management methodology.
• The ability to work effectively as a member of a team.
• The ability to manage personal activities in a job situation responsibly and effectively.
• The ability to communicate effectively by employing graphical, statistical, mathematical, and language skills when making oral and written presentations.
• The ability to use science and technology of a quantitative nature critically and effectively, while taking the environment and the interests of others into account.
• An understanding of the ability to apply a series of advanced quantitative techniques, procedures and experimental approaches towards problem solving.
• The ability to apply knowledge and practical skills in quantitative management methodology when practical problems in disparate fields of industry are attempted.
• The ability to apply the experience derived from the above in order to achieve optimal solutions.

Critical Cross-Field Outcomes

The programme prepares students for research-based Postgraduate study at the Doctorate level. It serves to further consolidate and deepen students' expertise in the field of Quantitative Management.

Integrated Assessment

The University has a formal Assessment Policy driving all assessment practices. According to the policy, assessment criteria are prescribed that ensure the attainment of assessment validity, reliability, transparency, justice, attainability and timeous feedback. The academic honesty criterion is ensured through a formal policy of the curtailment of plagiarism.

In the "Forecasting" and "Decision making" modules, students will be required to submit weekly individual assignments. A written examination is also required.

The shorter thesis will be assessed by the supervisor, as well as by a second, internal, examiner. An oral presentation on the topic is also required.

The thesis will be examined by a second internal examiner, as well as by an external examiner. An oral presentation on the topic will be required.