Master of Management

Purpose

The purpose of this qualification is to train and enable graduate to critically engage and apply a range of analytical and interpretive lenses to complex issues with the broad reach of the state and civil society in their roles as social change and development agents. The qualification will train graduates where they can demonstrate critical knowledge of the discipline, conceptualize and create new knowledge or practice of the public policy and management field.

The successful learners will be able to demonstrate ability to contribute to scholarly debates around theories and processes of knowledge production in public policy development and administration. They should be able to provide critique and/or develop new methods and techniques and processes appropriate to complex public management contexts, in creative, original and innovative ways.

The successful candidates will demonstrate ability to ethically apply specialist knowledge and theory to address practical and theoretical problems. Also, the qualification seeks to enable successful candidates to make independent judgements about managing inconsistent information through a process of analysis and synthesis, to develop significant original insights into new, complex or abstract ideas.

Rationale

The qualification is of relevance to the new civil services of Africa and related Non-Governmental Organisations, where graduates will be able to critically and systematically reflect and research on complex issues applicable to the public service. There is a critical need for high quality policy makers, policy analysts, policy advisors, and civil society policy researchers and activists.

The qualifying graduates will contribute specialized skills to identify, conceptualize, design and implement processes and procedures to complex practical and theoretical problems in a variety of public administration contexts.

The qualifying students will be able to produce, independent, in depth publishable work which meets international standards, and it is considered new or innovative by peers. The qualification will equip students to demonstrate intellectual independence, leadership, management, and development in public policy and governance research.

The qualifying learner will be able to proceed to the Doctoral studies.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Learners who fall outside of the normal admissions process who can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the institution that they have a suitably cognate qualification and/or experiential-or work-based learning which has taken the learner to an equivalent level of a qualification may be considered for admission and/or for the recognition of prior accredited and/or prior experiential learning.

Learners who, after such assessment, are deemed to have sufficient potential but need further academic development, may be required to broaden their curriculum to include preliminary programmes prior to admission or parallel programmes after admission.

Applicants without degrees will be considered if they are currently working in a high-level management position and have extensive management experience in the relevant sector.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Relevant Bachelor Honours, NQF Level 8.

Or

• Relevant Postgraduate Diploma in the related field, NQF Level 8.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory and elective modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 9 totalling 180 Credits.

Compulsory Module, Research only, 180 Credits

• Dissertation, 180 Credits

Coursework

Compulsory Modules, Level 9, 150 Credits

• Governance and Policy, 10 Credits.
• Qualitative Research Methods, 15 Credits.
• Quantitative Research Methods, 15 Credits.
• Research Proposal, 20 Credits.
• Research Report, 90 Credits.

Elective Modules, Level 9, 30 Credits (Select 3 modules)

• Approaches to public policy, 10 credits
• Institutions and policy management, 10 credits
• Approaches to peace and security, 10 credits
• Security sector reform, 10 credits
• Systems Thinking for monitoring and Evaluation, 10 credits
• Monitoring and evaluation data generation, analysis and management, 10 credits
• Public service ethics, 10 credits
• Decision making in public institutions, 10 credits
• Political economy of development, 10 credits
• Public finance, 10 credits
• Foundations of social security, 10 credits
• Social security financing, 10 credits
• The political environment of public policy, 10 credits
• Social Policy and Social Change in Developing Countries: The Case of South Africa, 10 credits
• Economics and Public Policy, 10 credits
• Development, 10 credits
• Cyber Security, 10 credits
• Humanitarian Assistance, 10 credits
• Environmental Security and Peacebuilding, 10 credits
• National Peace and Security Policy, 10 credits
• Theory-based Planning and Evaluation, 10 credits
• Impact Evaluation, 10 credits
• Qualitative Data Analysis, 10 credits
• Comparative Social Security Systems, 10 credits
• Public and Development Sectors Results-Based Management, 10 credits
• Monitoring and Evaluation Planning and Management, 10 credits
• Selected Topics in Quantitative Research, 10 credits
• Selected Topics in Education, Skills, Economy and Development, 10 credits

1. Complete a dissertation or research report.
2. Engage with the concept of governance as a contested concept.
3. Apply qualitative research methods.
4. Apply quantitative research methods
5. Demonstrate specialist understanding of theoretical frameworks, key concepts, approaches and processes to management in their specialist area, and their applicability in an authentic context.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Identify and formulate a research problem
• Perform a critical and relevant literature survey
• Execute and critically review research using an effective methodology in order to demonstrate research mastery
• Assess the significance of research findings
• Write the dissertation or research report in acceptable structure, style and language.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Analyse policymaking and implementation.
• Explore the role of governance as an instrument to engage wicked policies issues.
• Critique conventional approaches to addressing complex and multi-dimensional social problems to governance and public policy.
• Appraise alternative models to governance and policy.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Appraise approaches to analysing and presenting qualitative data in response to the research question.
• Justify appropriated qualitative data analyses approaches used
• Present and interpret analysis results using qualitative techniques conventional to the field.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Produce a research design that meets the technical quantitative protocol requirements
• Utilise appropriate sampling techniques in line with conventions
• Apply appropriate quantitative data analysis and results presentation techniques in context

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• Use applicable theoretical and concepts in the specialist in line with appropriate conventions.
• Analyse, evaluate and apply the fundamental terms, concepts, facts, principles, rules and theories of management.

INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT

Research reports or dissertations serve as the medium for integrated formative and summative assessment.

Formative assessment is undertaken on a continuous basis, incorporating seminar presentations and papers, coursework assignments and tasks, as well as reports on research plans. Such methods assess students' progress towards the professional and academic competencies set out in the exit level outcomes listed above.

The summative assessment instruments are designed to integrate practical, theoretical and reflexive competence in research. These assessment practices, aligned with intended learning outcomes, will take diverse forms, including inter alia, diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment.

In order to promote, monitor and measure student learning throughout a course, no

single assessment may count for more than 40% of the final mark unless there are

special circumstances, in which case the permission of the Dean is required.