* Course Overview
Post-graduate Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership
The objective of the Postgraduate Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership qualification is to develop strategic management and leadership skills for managers who have the authority and personal attributes to translate organizational strategy into effective operational performance. This qualification reflects current practice in Strategic Management and Leadership and allows learners to develop and expand their high-level understanding of strategic management and leadership in the workplace. This qualification is suitable for mature learners with a background in academic study or industry. The qualification has a clear work-related emphasis on practical skills development alongside theoretical fundamentals.
Successful completion of the Postgraduate Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership qualification will equip learners with the key skills and capabilities to become an effective strategic manager. The qualification also allows learners to progress into or within employment and/or continue their study towards an MBA with advanced standing.
* Course Details
Duration : 8 months
Credits : 120 CR
Entry Requirements :
16 years of age
Post-graduate diploma in Business Management
Bachelor Degree or Level 6 Diploma in Business Management
Modules : Optional Units - Choose any Four
This unit provides the learners with knowledge and understanding provide learners with an understanding of classic and contemporary theories change management and their applicability to contemporary organisations in the globalised world, with the identification and use of change models personal characteristics of change agent or leadership skills, and their evaluation and development, to meet current and future change management roles. The unit then considers the need for organisational change and the ways in which it can be managed to support organisational strategy.
Learning Outcome
- Be able to evaluate change agents’ knowledge, attributes skills and development.
- Critically analyse the relationship between leadership and change agents.
- Critically analyse the characteristics and attributes of change agents.
- Critically evaluate the effectiveness of change agents.
- Critically analyse approaches to organisational change and relevant processes.
- Critically evaluate change theories, tools and techniques.
- Evaluate the internal and external triggers of change that may impact on an organisation.
- Develop a change management strategy for an organisation and consider the stakeholders.
- Be able to independently create a plan to implement effective change within an organisati
- Select relevant tools and techniques to implement and
manage change.
- Develop a plan to implement a change in an organisation.
- Develop measures to monitor and evaluate progress of the change plan.
- Be able to analyse stakeholder responses to organisational
- Identify possible risks associated with an organisations’ change process.
- Apply a stakeholder analysis to understand possible resistance to change.
- Critically appraise relevant strategies to manage resistance to change in organisations.
- Be able to involve functional areas in an organisation’s change management.
- Explain the relation between management disciplines and effective organisational change.
- Critically analyse the role of various business functions/departments within change management.
- Develop and evaluate an integrated change management plan for an organisation.
presentation, leadership, use of information technology, preparing curriculum vitae and continuous professional development.
Learning Outcome
- Evaluate personal and professional knowledge, skills and attitud
- Set short term and long term personal and professional SMART objectives
- Apply appropriate methods to evaluate personal knowledge, skills and attitudes
- Carry out a skills personal skills audit
- Create a personal development plan
- Analyse relevant recruitment contexts.
- Create an effective and well-presented CV and cover letter
- Identify relevant career development opportunities
- Evaluate the skills and experience required for specific career development opportunities
- Plan effective business and professional communication.
- Plan the objectives of business and professional communication
- Critically present information, both orally and in writing, from a range of academic and other sources
- Critically evaluate appropriate media for business communication
- Create professional business presentations.
- Plan effective oral presentations using IT and other related resources
- Demonstrate the role of body language and manners of speech in effective presentations
- Deliver presentations for a range of audiences
The learner will understand of how the effective strategic management of human resources supports the achievement of organisational purposes in different organisational contexts. The unit seeks to analyse and evaluate the contribution of strategic human resource management to competitive advantage and organisational.
Learning Outcome
- Critically analyse the role of strategic management of human resources.
- Critically explain the nature and importance of strategic human resource management in organisations.
- Assess the role and purpose of strategic human resource management activities in an organisation.
- Evaluate how strategic human resource management is related to other functional areas.
- Evaluate human resource planning in an organisation.
- Analyse the business factors that should be considered before human resource planning.
- Determine human resource requirements in different organisational contexts.
- Develop a human resources plan for an organisation.
- Critically discuss the role of legal, ethical issue in developing human resources policy.
- Explain the purpose of human resource policy.
- Analyse the impact of regulatory and legal requirements on human resource policies in an organisation.
- Analyse the impact of ethical requirements on human resource policies in an organisation.
- Plan effective human resource strategies.
- Analyse the impact of an organisational strategy, structure and culture on the management of human resources.
- Plan an effective HR strategy.
- Critically monitor the effectiveness of human resources management.
- Critically analyse leadership and Management theory
- Critically analyse the impact different theories of management and theories of leadership have on the development of organisational strategy.
- Create a leadership strategy that supports organisational mission, vision, values and objectives.
- Monitor and evaluate a leadership strategy that supports organisational mission, vision, values and objectives.
The unit will help learners to develop a critical understanding of concepts, methods and technical aspects of strategic marketing, the challenges associated with marketing in today’s business environment. A strategic marketing strategy combines product development, promotion, distribution, pricing, relationship management and other elements of marketing. It identifies an organisation’s strategic marketing goals, and explains how they will be achieved, ideally within a designated timeframe.
Learning Outcome
- Critically analyse the principles of strategic marketing management
- Critically discuss the nature and purpose of strategic marketing in an organisation
- Critically analyse and apply different marketing concepts in different organisational contexts
- Explain the processes involved in strategic marketing
- Apply various tools used to analyse the business environment in strategic marketing
- Develop SMART strategic marketing objectives for an organisation
- Critically review the external and competitive environment in which an organisational performs
- Evaluate internal and stakeholder environment in which an organisational performs
- Critically discuss market segmentations, targeting and brand positioning
- Critically discuss market segments for an organisational context
- Evaluate targeted segments for an organisational context
- Design a differentiated brand position for targeted segments for an organisational context
- Critically analyse the integrated marketing mix
- Analyse the significance of the integrated marketing mix for an organisational context
- Design an effective marketing mix for an organisational context
- Critically analyse the relationship between the product lifecycle and the marketing mix for an organisational context
- Critically analyse brands in the business context
- Critically analyse the nature of brands and the significance of branding
- Critically discuss the need for integration between the brand pyramid, the brand’s positioning and brand management
- Explain how branding is used to strengthen a business or product
This unit provides the learner with the skills to apply financial principles relevant to management in an organisational context. The unit aims to analyse with concepts, principles, analytical techniques and theories/models of management accounting; to make learners able to learn, evaluate and apply existing strategic financial and managerial accounting.
Learning Outcome
- Apply the tools and techniques of cost accounting.
- Critically analyse the concepts, features and importance of costs and accounting in making decisions in an organisation.
- Apply tools of costing design and costing systems to an organisation.
- Recommend improvements to the costing and pricing systems of an organisation.
- Critically analyse the financial performance of businesses.
- Critically analyse financial statements to assess the financial position of an organisation.
- Evaluate financial statements using financial ratios for improved information in decision making in an organisation.
- Propose managerial recommendations on the strategic portfolio of an organisation based on financial analysis.
- Evaluate the budgetary processes of organisations.
- Evaluate budgetary targets for an organisation.
- Develop a master budget for an organisation.
- Critically evaluate budget and budgetary processes in an organisation.
- Critically analyse long term and short term sources of funding.
- Assess the need for short term working capital and long term funds for an organisation.
- Appraise appropriate sources of short term and funds for an organisation.
- Justify choices of sources of funds using a range of criteria related to cost and risk.
- Critically appraise investment options.
- Apply financial appraisal methods to analyse competing investment projects in different kinds of organisations.
- Justify strategic investment decision for an organisation using relevant financial information.
- Critically analyse strategic investment decisions using information.
To carry out various types of academically based management research through the design of a research proposal. This involves the development of a critical understanding of the philosophical, practical and ethical concepts of research within the context of the business environment.
Learning Outcome
- Critically analyse potential business research problems.
- Appraise business research problems.
- Develop appropriate research objectives and justify their choice.
- Critically review literature on a business research topic.
- Evaluate literature relevant to the research problem and objectives.
- Critically analyse different theoretical approaches to the research problem.
- Design business research methodologies.
- Critically evaluate appropriate research methodologies in terms of the research objectives.
- Design an appropriate methodology in terms of the research objectives.
- Justify the methodology selected in terms of the research objectives.
- Develop a research proposal.
- Propose techniques for use with quantitative and qualitative data.
- Create a research question, literature review and methodology.
- Present the proposal using suitable methods.
This unit provides the learners with knowledge and understanding on the global business environment, issues facing contemporary organisations in the globalised world, with the identification and use of global marketing strategies and the strategic moves of entering international markets utilising design and innovation. Issues related to internationalisation, market research to enter new markets, and the importance of patenting and intellectual property rights are also covered with regard to business innovation. Strategies of adaptations vs standardisation of marketing mix and segmentations. Concepts of designing and innovation are comprehensively introduced to the learners with practical applications. Characteristics of the design process in the context of stylistic change, fashion and consumer taste (including the nature of design management) are elaborated upon. Critical analysis of the design and innovation practices is an important role of the learners, and the importance of design and innovation in enhancing competitiveness is also covered. The unit also focuses on how current developments in innovation and design has impacted on mass customisation and marketing communication strategies in organisations. In addition, the importance of patenting ideas, design registration, trademarking and intellectual property on new products and services is also elaborated for the benefit of the learners.
Learning Outcome
- Critically evaluate the globalisation phenomenon.
- Critically analyse the concept of globalisation.
- Evaluate reasons for companies to go global.
- Discuss key drivers of going global and its impact on marketing.
- Be able to critically evaluate the global business environment.
- Evaluate the internal business environment of global companies.
- Evaluate external business environment of global companies.
- Critically analyse national and industry based competitive advantages.
- Be able to analyse the internationalisation process for a range of companies in various global markets.
- Analyse the factors that would facilitate internationalisation for a selected organisation.
- Analyse issues and risks of internationalisation.
- Propose appropriate measures to mitigate risks in internationalisation.
- Be able to develop appropriate marketing strategies for global markets.
- Evaluate the global market potential for possible business expansion.
- Critically analyse market information.
- Apply appropriate global segmentation , marketing mix and communication strategies.
- Be able to evaluate the importance of innovation protection for new products and services.
- Critically discuss management of innovation of products and services in international organisation.
- Evaluate appropriate innovation protection methods for a new product or service.
- Critically evaluate the risks associated with not protecting Innovation.
To examine the principles of strategy and change management and provide learners with a critical understanding and ability to use various models of the strategy and change management process and the analysis of internal external environmental and resource variables.
Learning Outcome.
- Critically review organisational strategic plans.
- Critically analyse the position of an organisation in its current market.
- Critically analyse the effects of existing plans on organisation.
- Propose strategic options for an organisation.
- Critically analyse the effects of existing plans on organisation.
- Apply strategic models and tools to develop strategic options for an organisation.
- Evaluate strategic options for an organisation.
- Create a strategy implementation plan for an organisation.
- Create appropriate vision, mission and strategic goals for an organisation.
- Propose a suitable structure for an organisation that fits a strategic plan.
- Create a resourced strategy implementation plan.
- Critically analyse the principal processes of organizational change.
- Apply force field analysis to analyse and identify forces of change.
- Critically evaluate various change management models.
- Apply leadership and change agent skills to implement a strategic change in an organisation.
- Evaluate the implementation of strategic plans.
- Analyse the time schedule for the implementation of strategic plans.
- Design key success indicators in order to monitor the implementation of the strategic plan.
- To analyse potential risks during implementation.