Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management is to equip learners with an in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge understanding of the most important areas of the business management field.

The qualification will prepare learners for the field of general business management and administration to be successful middle and senior managers. This is done through enhancing their management skills and knowledge as well as providing them with a solid academic grounding.

The qualification is designed to respond and address the scarce skills shortage published by the Department of Higher Education and produce graduates who can meaningfully contribute to the economy. The impact for South African industry /commerce is to provide businesses with competent, well-educated managers with a thorough understanding of their work, an ability to critically analyse information, as well as the ability to make informed, meaningful, practical decisions. The qualification will enable them to be effective middle and senior managers and successfully compete in a business environment.

The qualification addresses both soft and hard skills necessary to succeed in both a professional and academic career. The combination of soft and hard skills are gained in each module as the outcomes are covered providing specific knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the management world at a mid to senior level. Graduates can work across sectors and industries and apply their skills sets to a range of workplace management and administration scenarios.

On completion of the qualification, qualifying learners will be to

• Evaluate and apply fundamental business principles and assess their impact on decision making.
• Access, process and manage information within the complexities of the current world of work.
• Analyse the integrated management of resources and processes in a business context.
• Solve a workplace-based project, applying specialized knowledge holistically, to solve a concrete problem relevant to the business field.
• Identify, apply, or transfer appropriate standard procedures, processes, or techniques to unfamiliar problems in a specialised field, discipline, or practice.
• Work collaboratively in teams while exercising self-reflection and accountability for personal gains.

The qualification will facilitate career transitions to middle and senior management positions; thereby providing an academic conduit to pursue further areas of study in the field of business management and administration, specifically the Master of Business Administration.

Rationale

The qualification is intended to provide the necessary skills and knowledge for individuals aspiring towards management positions. Corporates require competent managers at various levels who understand several business principles across functional business administration levels.

The qualification provides learners with a thorough understanding of the relevant concepts, theories and practices in this field of commerce, as well as skills to apply these concepts, theories and practices in actual, real-world situations. Learners would be expected to demonstrate knowledge of and engagement in an area at the forefront of the commerce field as well as to demonstrate the ability to interrogate multiple sources of knowledge in an area of specialisation (commerce) and to evaluate knowledge and processes of knowledge production.

Furthermore, the qualification will provide learners with further learning and employment opportunities by making them more marketable to employers as a result of their upskilling. The impact for South African industry or commerce is to provide businesses with competent, well-educated managers with a thorough understanding of their work, as well as the ability to make informed, meaningful, practical decisions. The learner would be required to demonstrate an understanding of the complexities, uncertainties, procedures, processes, or techniques within the business environment. Higher-level problem solving as a specialised skill set is required within this discipline.

The benefit from this for South Africa as a whole would be the upskilling and educating citizens who will be able to make a valuable contribution to society and national projects. The qualification aims to produce suitably skilled learners in the industry in addressing the needs of the stakeholders. Successful learners will contribute to the social and economic transformation of South Africa in that they will become effective managers in both the private and public sectors.

In addition, the qualification has been developed to respond and address the national scarce skills published in the Department of Higher Education and Training's (DHET) National Scarce Skills List, which identifies the "Top 100 Occupations in Demand". The list includes the following:

• Director (Enterprise / Organisation).
• Corporate General Manager.
• Project Manager.
• Sales and Marketing Manager.
• Supply and Distribution Manager.
• Logistics Manager.
• Small Business Manager.
• Operations Manager (Non-Manufacturing).
• Logistics Manager.
• Retail Manager (General).

These 'occupations in demand' refer to "occupations that show relatively strong employment growth or are experiencing shortages in the labour market" (DHET, 2018). To address these skills shortages and the gaps in the supply of suitably qualified graduates, the qualification is will equip individuals who possess technical and/or professional competencies with the managerial acumen that is required to take up many management positions.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

This qualification may be achieved in part or completely through the Recognition of Prior Learning, which includes informal, and non-formal learning and work experience.

The institution may recognize other forms of prior learning as equivalent to the prescribed minimum admission requirements and may recognize other forms of prior learning for entry to or granting advanced standing in given qualifications.

Learners who do meet the necessary entry requirements for admission to the qualification may be awarded some or all of the credits towards the qualification.

• Learners may apply for RPL to be exempted from a module or some modules by providing sufficient evidence that demonstrates that a level of competency, equivalent to the learning outcomes of the module or modules, has been achieved. Credits will be awarded for such modules.
• Learners may apply for RPL to be awarded all of the credits required for the qualification. Sufficient evidence must be provided that demonstrates a level of competency equivalent to all of the learning outcomes of the qualification as a whole.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Bachelor of Commerce in Business Management, NQF Level 7.

Or

• Bachelor of Business Administration in Management, NQF Level 7.

Or

• Bachelor of Commerce in Business Operations, NQF Level 7.

Or

• Bachelor of Business Management, NQF Level 7.

Or

• Advanced Diploma in Business Management, NQF Level 7.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory and/or elective modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 8 totalling120 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 8,100 Credits

• Business Management, 20 Credits.
• Technology and Information Management, 10 Credits.
• Strategic Management, 10 Credits.
• Financial Management, 20 Credits.
• Entrepreneurship, 10 Credits.
• Research Methodology, 20 Credits.
• Marketing and Sales Management, 10 Credits.

Elective Modules, Level 8, 20 Credits (Select one module).

• Advanced Human Resources Management, 20 Credits.

or

• Advanced Project Management, 20 Credits.

1. Communicate effectively in the business management and administration context using various modes of communication in both written and oral presentations.
2. Identify, analyse, and apply principles of business management and administration to real-life case studies and problems.
3. Collect, evaluate, and utilise business management and administration information in the decision-making process.
4. Identify and understand connections between economic, social and political factors affecting the management of businesses in the 21st century.
5. Work effectively with others as a member of a management team at various levels of management.
6. Manage the process and assess the implications for self, business and systems and the different methods of intervention in business management and administration systems and situations.
7. Evaluate and apply economics, strategic decision making, human resources, information technology, finance and marketing theories and principles in decision making.
8. Explore and apply general business management competencies to solve complex business problems.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Create various types of business-related documents using numerous tools.
• Communicate both written and spoken work effectively.
• Obtain data from research and incorporate meaningfully for decision-making purposes.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Identify needs, opportunities and strategies of business administration that may be applied to real-life situations.
• Analyse, review and evaluation of complex problems related to business administration against sometimes contradicting areas of specialisation.
• Business management skills are applied across specialised fields in the business administration context.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Evaluate information gathered for logical decision making.
• Critically review organisational strategies using established frameworks.
• Identify and analyse real-world scenarios using theory-driven arguments.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Identify and resolve socio-economic challenges in Southern Africa impacting business and management.
• Evaluate and address global challenges impacting business and management.
• Examine, analyse and review the contextual relationship between economic, political and legal contexts including governance.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• Work effectively as part of a team relating to managerial decision making and reasoning.
• Manage relationships at various management levels.
• Manage ideas, insights and viewpoints with acceptable sensitivity and engage with others in work and in, business administration and other managerial work environments.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6

• Critically self-assess abilities and areas of improvement for personal development within business administration
• Take responsibility for self-development.
• Manage team dynamics using different systems in varying situations.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7

• Analyse and apply resource allocation and process management in a business administration context.
• Identify and analyse management-related challenges spanning business administration specialisation areas.
• Explore and apply business management skills across specialised fields in the business administration context.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 8

• Evaluate and apply general management skills across specialised fields in the business administration context.
• Manage and lead work in teams to achieve desired results.
• Apply researched theories and frameworks to influence decision making.