Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management and Administration

Purpose

The purpose for the Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management and Administration is not only to facilitate career transitions to middle and senior management positions but to also provide an academic conduit to pursue further areas of study in the field of business management and administration, specifically the Master of Business Administration. The qualification provides an in-depth understanding of the most important areas of the business management field.

The qualification prepares 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.

Qualifying learners will be able to work across sectors and industries and apply their skills sets to a range of workplace management and administration scenarios.

The topic of ethics is covered in the modules of Marketing and Sales Management, Financial Management and Technology; and Information Management. Learners will be able to understand marketing ethics and standards, ethical aspects of selling, professional ethics and codes of conduct as revised by South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute and ethical guidelines for Information Use.

The purpose of the qualification is encapsulated in the following four pillars

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental business principles and how these impact decisions making;
2. An understanding and application of the fundamental management competencies;
3. Accessing, processing and managing information within the complexities of the current world of work and
4. Understanding the interconnectedness of the current world of work.

The qualification is specifically designed to enable learners to acquire competencies that are expected from someone who holds a Postgraduate Diploma. 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 is 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.

On completion of the qualification, learners would have acquired knowledge and skills which will enable them to be effective mid and senior managers and successfully compete in a business environment.

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 will complement the institution's academic offerings by providing an additional pathway for learners to pursue a Postgraduate Diploma.

The qualification also responds and addresses the scarce skills shortage as detailed by the Department of Higher Education to produce qualified learners 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, and ability to critically analyse information, as well as the ability to make informed, meaningful, practical decisions.

The qualification will make an actual, tangible difference in the lives of learners by providing them 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/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.

This aligns well with the stakeholder needs from an industry perspective. The institution aims to supply suitably skilled learners to the industry and position itself as an important stakeholder. To this end, this Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management and Administration qualification has been developed with the national scarce skills in mind. It responds to the findings detailed in the Department of Higher Education's National Scarce Skills List:

• Director (Enterprise/Organisation).
• Corporate General Manager.
• Programme or 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, 2015). To address these skills shortages and the gaps in the supply of suitably qualified learners, this Postgraduate Diploma: Business Management and Administration will equip individuals who possess technical and/or professional competences with the managerial acumen that is required to take up many management positions.

RPL Requirements

The fundamental underlying principle of the recognition of prior learning (RPL) at the institution is the granting exemption for modules for which it is determined a potential learner meets the exit criteria. In this regard, the institution recognises all forms of informal and non-formal learning to admission into its qualifications. In the case where exemption has been granted, the number of credits on the academic transcript will be less than the required minimum and an "E" will be indicated next to the module on the learner's certificate. Recognition of Prior Learning for admission will only be applied in the institutional academic framework to learners seeking entrance into the qualification.

Learners may be exempted from credits of the learning qualification into which they will be admitted. Prior learning will be recognised to establish whether learners are competent in the following areas:

• Foundational competence: understanding what they are doing and why they are doing it, that is, what theoretical knowledge they have;
• Practical competence: the ability to perform a set of tasks and making decisions;
• Reflexive competence: the ability to integrate or connect knowledge and skills so that learning is achieved from actions and the ability developed to adapt to changes and
• Unforeseen circumstances.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Relevant Bachelor of Commerce, NQF Level 7.

Or

• Relevant Bachelor of Arts, NQF Level 7.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at NQF Level 8 totalling 140 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 8, 140 Credits

• Advanced Human Resource Management, 20 Credits.
• Business Management, 20 Credits.
• Technology and Information Management, 10 Credits.
• Strategic Management, 10 Credits.
• Advanced Project Management, 20 Credits.
• Financial Management, 20 Credits.
• Entrepreneurship, 10 Credits.
• Marketing and Sales Management, 10 Credits.
• Introduction to Financial 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. Gather, 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 in various levels of management.
6. Self-manage and process the implications for self, business and systems and the different methods of intervention in business management and administration systems and situations.
7. Apply economics, strategic decision making, human resources, Information technology, finance and marketing in decision making.
8. Apply the ability of general business management competencies.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Create various types of business-related documents using numerous tools.
• Effectively communicate both written and spoken word.
• 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.
• Apply business management skills 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

• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of socio-economic challenges in Southern Africa.
• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of global challenges impacting business and management.
• Identify, analyse and review the contextual relationship between economic, political and legal contexts including governance.
• Apply ethical principles in the management of the business.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• Work effectively as a 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 engages 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 one's self-development.
• Demonstrate the ability to self-manage within team dynamics and using different systems in varying situations.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7

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

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 8

• Apply general management skills across specialised fields in the business administration context.
• Lead as well as work in teams to achieve desired results.
• Influence decision making using researched theories and frameworks.

Integrated Assessment

Learners in this qualification will be continuously assessed through formal and informal formative and final summative assessments. The formative assessment consists of:

• Theoretical and practical group assignments;
• Class discussions based on additional reading and case studies;
• Theoretical and practical individual assignments and class assessments; and
• Formal module assessments.

At the end of the module, a learner has to conduct an examination paper or submit an examination equivalent assignment submission (the summative assessment); subject to the module regulations.