Postgraduate Diploma in Management

Some diplomas are pre-experience diplomas and others are post-experience diplomas. Pre-experience diplomas are referred to as PDM A and post-experience diplomas as PDM B.

PDM A

The primary purpose of the qualification is to prepare candidates for senior administration-level and first line management positions in the public, private and development sectors. The qualifying learner obtains a Postgraduate diploma in a field such as Business Administration, Public Policy and Development Administration and Human Resources. Pre-experience diplomas provide broad exposure to the processes and functions of business and/or public sector management within the context of an integrated, holistic organisational approach and a transforming socio-economic setting.

PDM B

Post-experience diplomas focus on enhancing the learner's problem solving, information management and people management expertise necessary for private- and public-sector managers. Their purpose is to:

• prepare students for professional and/or managerial leadership roles in the private, public, development and not-for-profit sectors;
• enhance students values, knowledge and skills to act ethically and effectively in the management of organisations in these sectors;
• enhance decision-making capacity in middle and senior levels of management in organisations in these sectors;
• familiarise participants with conceptual frameworks and current debates in management and contemporary society;
• develop skills in the management of people and the management of change.

The qualifying learner obtains a Postgraduate diploma in a field such as General Human Resources Management, Information Management, Public and Development Management, General Management and Education, Training and Development.

PDM A

A satisfactory level of analytical, reasoning, written communication and reading skills for post-graduate study.

PDM B

• Post-experience diplomas require management, policy or development experience in order that participants are able to relate concept, frameworks and issues to practical experience.
• A satisfactory level of analytical, reasoning, written communication and reading skills for post-graduate study.

Formally Accredited Learning

PDM A

Entrance to the

A. Pre-experience diploma requires the typical learner to have

• a degree or another qualification judged by the University to be equivalent with demonstrated acceptable undergraduate performance.

PDM B

Entrance to the

B. Post-experience diploma requires the typical learner to have

• a degree or another qualification judged by the University to be equivalent;
• evidence of at least two years of professional organisational experience appropriate to lower to middle level managers, demonstrating maturity, accomplishment and the promise of future leadership.

Recognition of Prior Learning

Applicants who fall outside of the normal admissions process who can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the University that they have a qualification or experiential- or work based learning which has taken the learner to an equivalent level of a qualification specified above (under Formally Accredited Learning), may be considered for admission and/or for the recognition of prior accredited and/or prior experiential learning. Applicants who, after such assessment, are deemed to have sufficient potential but are in need of further academic development, may be required to broaden their curriculum to include preliminary programmes prior to admission or parallel programmes after admission.

A.1.PDM A

The qualifying learner

1. Demonstrates familiarity with a broad range of concepts and frameworks relevant to public and private management contexts
2. Identifies, classifies and describes management, policy, leadership and ethical issues in specific public, developmental and business contexts
3. Applies relevant conceptual and analytical frameworks to analyse problems within different business, public and development management conditions
4. Shows awareness of the economic, social and political factors which affect public managers and business people
5. Identifies appropriate procedures and monitoring systems for organisations in the private and public sectors
6. Practically demonstrates the ability to apply the conceptual knowledge and practical skills in a specific work context
7. Demonstrates abilities to work alone or in teams in the achievement of 1-6 above.

PDM A

Critical Cross-field Outcomes

a) "Identifying and solving problems in which responses display that responsible decisions using critical and creative thinking have been made" - see Exit Level Outcomes (ELO) 3 and Associated Assessment Criteria (AAC) 2.

b) "Working with others as a member of a team, group, organisation, community" - see ELO 7 and AAC 6.

c) "Organising and managing oneself and one's activities responsibly and effectively" - see ELO 7.

d) "Collecting, analysing, organising and critically evaluating information" - see ELO 2, 3 and AAC 1 & 3.

e) "Communicating effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills in the modes of oral and/or written persuasion" - see ELO 6 and AAC 4.

f) "Using science and technology effectively and critically, showing responsibility towards the environment and health of others" - see ELO 2.

g) "Demonstrating an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem-solving contexts does not exist in isolation" - see ELO 3 & 4 and AAC 1.

h) "Contributing to the full personal development of each learner and the social and economic development of society at large, by making it the underlying intention of any programme of learning to make an individual aware of the importance of:

• (i) "Reflecting on and exploring a variety of strategies to learn more effectively" - see AAC 4.
• (ii) "Participating as responsible citizens in the life of local, national and global communities" - see ELO 4; note also that learners act in accordance with the code of conduct of the University and, where relevant, that of the professional discipline being studied.
• (iii) "Being culturally and aesthetically sensitive across a range of social contexts" - see ELO 3 & 4 and AAC 2.
• (iv) "Exploring education and career opportunities" - see ELO (implicit in ELO 2 & 6).
• (v) "Developing entrepreneurial opportunities" - see ELO (implicit in ELO 1-6)

B.1. PDM B

The qualifying learner

1. Demonstrates understanding of a comparative range of management frameworks and to evaluate their applicability to South African contexts
2. Demonstrates knowledge of a broad range of conceptual and analytical fields within management
3. Demonstrates abilities to access, use and manage information
4. Demonstrates abilities to apply appropriate conceptual and analytical frameworks within different organisational management conditions
5. Presents information in a range of written and oral modes and genres appropriate to the audience
6. Has enhanced leadership, problem solving skills and expertise appropriate to complex and rapidly changing organisational environments
7. Develops ethical and practical leadership skills including abilities to exercise judgement within an environment of competing values
8. Presents results of an exploration into how an organisation works and suggests approaches to dealing with problems
9. Demonstrates abilities to work alone or in teams in the achievement of 1-8 above.

PDM B

Critical Cross-field Outcomes

a) "Identifying and solving problems in which responses display that responsible decisions using critical and creative thinking have been made" - see Exit Level Outcomes (ELO) 1, 3, 6, 7 & 9.

b) "Working with others as a member of a team, group, organisation, community" - see ELO 3, 6 & 9.

c) "Organising and managing oneself and one's activities responsibly and effectively" - see ELO implicit at the Masters level - e.g. see 7 & 9.

d) "Collecting, analysing, organising and critically evaluating information" - see ELO 3, 4 & 9.

e) "Communicating effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills in the modes of oral and/or written persuasion" - see ELO 5.

f) "Using science and technology effectively and critically, showing responsibility towards the environment and health of others" - see ELO 7.

g) "Demonstrating an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem-solving contexts does not exist in isolation" - see ELO 6 & 9.

h) "Contributing to the full personal development of each learner and the social and economic development of society at large, by making it the underlying intention of any programme of learning to make an individual aware of the importance of:

• (i) "Reflecting on and exploring a variety of strategies to learn more effectively" - see ELO 9.
• (ii) "Participating as responsible citizens in the life of local, national and global communities" - see ELO 1, 7; note also that learners act in accordance with the code of conduct of the University and, where relevant, that of the professional discipline being studied.
• (iii) "Being culturally and aesthetically sensitive across a range of social contexts" - see ELO 7.
• (iv) "Exploring education and career opportunities" - see ELO 1-8.
• (v) "Developing entrepreneurial opportunities" - see ELO 1-8.

A.2. PDM A

Learners will be assessed on their abilities to

1. Effectively identify and gather appropriate information needed to analyse the structure and of a complex, rapidly changing organisation
2. Identify and justify courses of action appropriate to the context
3. Demonstrate the ability to present information in a range of oral and written modes appropriate to audience and task
4. Reflect on and evaluate their own and others performances
5. Apply what they have learned to analyse a specific work environment
6. Work together as part of a team to gather information and develop strategies and approaches to addressing specific problems.

B.2.PDM B

Learners are assessed on their abilities to

1. Analyse and solve complex and ambiguous problems;
2. Manage change as individuals and in groups;
3. Think strategically in a rapidly changing and contested context;
4. Plan and make decisions;
5. Access, use and manage information;
6. Put in place, solve and evaluate processes.

Integrated Assessment

Integrated assessment occurs in the following ways

PDM A

• Learners do an internship of seven - ten weeks in a public-, private- or development-sector organisation.
• They complete a series of structured tasks in which they analyse the organisation and evaluate their own performance in the organisation.
• They also complete an internship report on the organisation and their own performance.

PDM B

Post experience diplomas

Integrated assessment takes place in one or more of the following ways

• Through written examination tasks requiring synthesis of two or more modules.
• Through written, oral and/or groups assignments designed across two or more modules.
• Through a case study or simulated task requiring integration of modules.
• Through applied project work assessing ability to gather information in specific organisation and analyse and present it using range of approaches.