Postgraduate Diploma in Strategic Retailing

Purpose

The purpose of the qualification is to strengthen and deepen the applied and practical competencies of the learners in the acquisition, understanding and application of retail strategies. It further provides an intensive, focused and applied specialisation within the retail field to ensure that graduates are able to undertake an advanced reflection and development by means of systematic survey of current thinking, practice, theory and methodology in the field of retail.

Rationale

The Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (W&RSETA) is tasked to identify the scares skills for the Retail and Wholesale Sector of South Africa in order to professionalise the industry, a strong need for Postgraduate qualifications specialising in retail was identified. Professionalising the retail industry would improve the interest in the industry as a choice career, opening more choices for school levers.

There is a shortage of retail managers in South Africa and retail managers are registered as a scares skill. Many retailers offer graduate programmes to develop specialised skills for their organisations and the industry. However, there are no retail Postgraduate qualifications currently available at this level in South Africa.

Consultations with various retailers continue on the matter in the form of Industry Advisory Boards were held. Qualifying learners will be able to apply for a supervisory or entry level management position in the retail field. Those qualifying learners with extensive retail industry experience will be able to advance their careers at the level of strategic management of a retail organisation. The retail entrepreneur will learn valuable skills to enhance their business competitive strategy and grow their organisation.

The qualification is designed to address critical scares skills in the retail sector which will improve employability of graduates and improve the unemployment crisis among the youth. Furthermore, there is a shortage in academics specialising in retail, which is partly due to the lack of Postgraduate qualifications in the field, and this qualification will help improve the situation in the medium to long term.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is an integral part of education and academic practice. It acknowledges that all learning has value and accepts the challenge posed by the assessment of prior learning and awards credits that are aligned to promote lifelong learning. The purpose of the RPL policy, is to recognise prior learning in order to provide access into qualifications, grant advanced placement in qualifications and grant credits for modules on the principles and processes that serve as a basis for departmental RPL practices.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement is

• A relevant Advanced Diploma at Level 7.

Or

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field at Level 7.

This qualification consists of compulsory modules at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 8 totalling 124 Credits.

• Applied Research, 16 Credits.
• Contemporary Business Practices, 16 Credits.
• Advanced Finance for Managers, 12 Credits.
• Practical Retailing, 16 Credits.
• Integrated Retail Distribution Management, 16 Credits.
• Online Retailing, 16 Credits.
• Applied Competitive Intelligence, 16 Credits.
• Applied Strategic Retailing, 16 Credits.

1. Contribute to the development, growth, competitiveness and sustainability of retail organisations at a strategic level.
2. Use advanced management techniques and financial analysis in management decision making.
3. Conduct a sound action research project for the development of retail organisations, processes, systems and solutions.
4. Comply with good governance, strong ethical principles and quality performance standards when implementing, managing and improving retail business practices.
5. Design a customer data collection plan that a multichannel retailer can utilise to gain market share and grow their competitive advantage.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• The ability to apply strategic thinking when formulating a strategic plan for a retail organisation is exhibited.
• A comprehensive strategic plan for a retailer that aims to improve the competitiveness of the organisation is prepared.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Financial analysis, calculations and the results in relation to the business decisions made in the organisation can be appropriately discussed.
• Specialised risk and performance analysis skills to analyse and address complex practical problems in a retail setting is utilised.
• The relationship between the retail strategy and financial performance of the organization.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• A comprehensible action research project that is inclusive of a practical research problem, objectives, hypotheses, current significance, applied methodology and activated time framework can be prepared.
• Appropriate research methodologies to solve problems and to communicate research industry results effectively are correctly identified.
• Research results and recommendations for management decisions can be effectively interpreted.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Current business practice developments in a retail/marketing field can be critically reviewed and evaluated.
• Standard procedures, processes and techniques to solve unfamiliar business practice developments in the retail/marketing field are accurately applied.
• Ethical practices within a retail organisation can be evaluated.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• The current opportunity to collect consumer intelligence can be critically reviewed and evaluated.
• The legislation on consumer protection and protection of personal information are accurately interpreted.
• A data collection strategy for consumer intelligence across all retail channels can be designed.

Integrated Assessment

This qualification implements two Summative Assessments in the form of individual and group assignment during the course of a module, one final Summative Assessment in the form of a project at the end of a module as the means of learning evaluation. The lecturer for each of the abovementioned modules determines the assessment method to be used in each instance.

Assessments include the following outcomes based activities

• Observation of real or simulated tasks, e.g. practical exercises/demonstrations, role-plays, presentations.
• Evaluation of a product after a task has been completed, e.g. projects, assignments, case studies, portfolios, artefacts, log books, reflective journals.
• Questions, oral or written, used either separately or in combination, e.g. tests examinations, including short or long questions, essays, multiple choice questions, etc.

Formative and Summative Assessment

Both Formative and Summative Assessments are integral to all modules in the programme. Formative Assessment are synonymous with continuous assessment and conducted during the course of teaching and learning and usually do not count towards the final mark. Summative Assessment is carried out during the module that contributes toward the semester mark for the specific module. A final Summative Assessment is carried out at the end of a semester (6 months) period of teaching and learning of a module. The purpose is to judge the student's achievement of the exit learning outcomes.

Summative Assessment takes place during the process of learning and teaching. They take the form of tests, assignments, projects, presentations, creative production or other means where students provide evidence of learning.