Business Administration Diploma

(Recognised by The Institute of Management Specialists)

Course Synopsis
This diploma course provides postgraduate level training in Business Administration. It is considered an ideal foundation course for those graduates wishing to pursue postgraduate studies in either Management or Business Administration and in particular the MBA degree course. It is equally suitable for other professionals who do not have as their core skill Business Administration but require this as a valued supplement to their job. The course consists of 10 modules and a project that is completed at the end of the course.

Course Structure
   1. Introduction to Business Administration - Providing the foundation blocks for the entire course. This module will introduce the student to modern concepts of business administration. The focus will be on business administration in the context of the global economy, working in the new digital age
   2. Human Resource Management - Considers the role of the modern HR professional in business today. This will particularly focus on managing people, resource utilization, stakeholder management, motivational skills, coaching and mentoring skills
   3. Team Based Leadership - An examination of group dynamics and team leadership, how to work with groups, leadership styles, leading by example, managing by objectives.
   4. Management Accounting - Looking at modern methods of management accounting, effective management report writing, use of computers, problem solving and decision making
   5. Project Management - Gain an appreciation of Planning, Organization and Control in the context of modern project management. A look at Gantt Charts and how Microsoft Project assists the modern project manager
   6. Consulting Skills - An examination of the skill sets adopted by the leading firms of management consultants. In particular focusing on methods of enquiry, scoping of assignments, stakeholder management, report writing, problem solving and decision making, management of risks, understanding the concept of value-added delivery
   7. Effective Presentation skills - Using Microsoft Powerpoint we illustrate tips for putting together visual presentations, public speaking, how to address people, how to gain audience participation and getting the best from people
   8. Strategic Planning - Examine the concepts of strategic planning assignments, looking at both Information Systems (data) and Information Technology ( infrastructure and communications), aspects of alignment and integration to both Corporate Planning and Programme Management
   9. Concepts of Organizational Change - Considering the forces that invoke organizational change, mergers and acquisitions, business process re-engineering, policy change, external change agents and how people deal with change
  10. Managing in the Global Economy - Examination of the new global village, the new administrator in the digital age, international business opportunities, dealing with different cultures and backgrounds, aspects of communication and management expectations within the international business scene

Course Contents
Unit 1 - Introduction to Business Administration
Business Administration programmes prepare students for a wide range of Administrative, Management and Executive occupations. There are many layers of business management and it is important to obtain a foundation of business management practice if you are to progress in this field. Recent graduates often obtain entry level positions and progress by practical application of both knowledge and experience. This Diploma course is intended to prepare you for further advancement in this field and specifically the Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree.

Unit 2 - Human Resource Management
The Human Resources Management function, within any organization, can include a variety of activities. This course will provide a basic introduction to these functions and provide you with a background of the activities carried out. The HR function has undergone dramatic changes in the last 20-30 years. Many years ago, organizations looked to the HR ( Personnel Departments) to control the legal issues and paperwork around payroll and the hiring and firing of people. This role developed into a more interactive and participative function in the coaching and training of people. This resulting more in succession management and developing individual career plans. As people became more transient within the global economy, the focus has changed again with convergence towards people, technology and achieving more global ambitions of organizations.
The course will examine the major skills and characteristics required for Human Resource Management. These will include:
    * Aspects of leadership and motivation
    * Oral and written communication
    * Writing management reports
    * Effective presentation writing
    * Basic Computing skills
    * Resource Planning activities
    * Group Dynamics and working in teams
    * Critical thinking
    * Interpersonal skills
    * Cross-cultural skills
    * Analysis and interpretation of data
    * Problem solving and decision making
    * Mentoring Skills
    * Career Planning and Training
    * Managing third party relationships
    * Customer Relationship Management

Unit 3 - Team Based Leadership
This course will be focused on the development of team based leadership skills. This means understanding aspects of "group dynamics" and the determination of optimization of results by both team based learning and participation in group activities. The course will consist of two main components: (i) Open discussion on leadership and (ii) The objectives for good team based leadership skills.
Open discussion of leadership:
    * What is it? How does it apply to team situations?
    * Qualities required to be a leader
    * Defining leadership in a team setting
    * The skills needed to become a leader
    * Leaders are created not born?
    * Examples of leadership styles

Objectives for good team based leadership skills:
    * The concept of leadership behaviour
    * Going beyond the traditional leader stereotype
    * Individual leadership qualities and strengths
    * Understanding the way effective communication works
    * The importance of attitude
    * Understanding empathy
    * Leadership by example - gaining the respect of others
    * Gaining people commitment
    * Intellect, innovation and creativity
    * Gaining consensus in group decision making

The course will contain a number of additional learning modules made up as follows:
    * Managing effective meetings
    * Process based leadership
    * Effective Listening
    * Root Cause Analysis
    * The Balanced Scorecard
    * Constructive feedback
    * Gaining leverage from group analysis

Unit 4 - Management Accounting
Management Accounting is concerned with the provision of business accounting information to Managers within organizations. Such information is designed to inform them about how they run their business operations and to facilitate decision making and improving controls. Such information within an organization is normally highly confidential. This course focuses on UK Management Accounting practices but also looks at the international dimension. The course examines trends in the profession, a look at basic techniques and how Management Accounting might change within the new global business enterprise.

On successful completion of this module the student should gain an appreciation of:
    * General Management Accounting principles
    * Techniques used for solving business problems
    * How IT is used in Management Accounting
    * How Management Accounting is utilized for Management report writing
    * An examination of current and future trends
    * International competition in the UK : focus on integration of Japanese business

Students will gain an appreciation of:
    * Budgeting for planning & control
    * Variance Analysis
    * Capital Budgeting
    * Absorption Costing
    * Variable Costing
    * Balanced Scorecard
    * Activity based costing
    * Management Reporting
    * Benchmarking
    * Estimating
    * Shareholder value analysis
    * Information Technology and Accounting

Unit 5 - Project Management
Project Management is best defined as Planning, Organization and Control in a structured and managed environment. This will be one of the core modules in the Diploma in Business Administration. The course will focus heavily on the applied use of PRINCE2 [ Projects in a Controlled Environment] which is rapidly becoming the standard in both Government and Commerce within the United Kingdom. Students may expect to gain an excellent foundation knowledge of project management and an appreciation of the PRINCE2 method and how it might be applied.

On successful completion of this course the student should gain an appreciation of:
    * The fundamentals of Project Management
    * An overview of the PRINCE methodology
    * Understanding Organizational need
    * Project Planning
    * An introduction to the use of Microsoft Project
    * Project Controls - setting up a project
    * How to manage risks
    * How to establish change control procedures
    * Configuration Management
    * Aspects of due diligence
    * Resource Management

On successful completion of this course the student should gain an appreciation of:
    * The fundamentals of Project Management
    * An overview of the PRINCE methodology
    * Understanding Organizational need
    * Project Planning
    * An introduction to the use of Microsoft Project
    * Project Controls - setting up a project
    * How to manage risks
    * How to establish change control procedures
    * Configuration Management
    * Aspects of due diligence
    * Resource Management

Unit 6 - Consulting Skills
This course will focus upon the development of business advisory or consulting skills. It will examine how the Administration function interfaces with external consultants and business service providers. It seeks to ramp up the Administrators knowledge of consulting skills and provide an improved understanding of the importance of these skills, together with the service they provide. Consultants are normally used in the capacity of "Corporate Problem Solvers", provision of specialist services e.g. Strategy studies, business process reviews, HR consulting etc. and as a valuable aid to busy executives in the form of interim management services of a specialist nature.

Students will gain an appreciation of:
    * The business of consultancy
    * Conducting consultancy projects
    * Creating change
    * Effective report writing
    * Data collection and analysis
    * Rational persuasion
    * Making client presentations
    * Training Sessions and Workshops

Unit 7 - Presentation Skills
This course provides the business administrator with guidelines to conduct and carry out effective business presentations. This considers:
    * Putting together presentation material
    * Use of flipcharts / whiteboard
    * Presentation software - specifically Microsoft Powerpoint
    * The format of presentations
    * The length and content of presentations
    * Use of visual aids
    * Selection of the venue
    * Preparation
    * Obtaining feedback and documenting the results

Students on this course will acquire the following skills:
    * Confidence in public speaking
    * Ability to put together an effective presentation
    * How to use flipcharts for optimum impact
    * How to use powerpoint
    * How to prepare for presentations
    * How to deal with varying audiences
    * Audience participation & basic teaching skills
    * How to prepare handouts and presentation materials
    * Presenting in Workshops

Unit 8 - Strategic Planning
This course will familiarise the student with the concepts of business strategic planning. This will be viewed from two different perspectives: (i) Information Systems [IS] - the science of managing both data and information, the life blood within an organization and Information Technology [IT] the Computer hardware, technology and communications that support the Information Systems. This course will focus on techniques utilized within the UK Public Sector and in particular the Office of Government Commerce [ OGC]. Approaches are relatively standard, hence an appreciation of these techniques are readily transportable to other strategic planning methods.

The student will expect to derive the following level of understanding from this course:
    * How to conduct a Scoping Study
    * How to conduct a Strategy Study
    * Defining Strategy - Examination of findings and options
    * Implementation Planning - Progressing a strategy into action plans
    * Monitoring, Tuning and Review - Techniques for monitoring and maintaining strategy
    * Concepts of Interlock - Corporate Planning and Program Management

Subject areas for special consideration will include:
    * Methodologies - A look at methodologies being used
    * Tools and Techniques for the strategic planner
    * A look at some of the commonly used strategic models
    * Reporting - Presentation of strategic planning reports to Executives
    * What can go wrong? - How to avoid the most common pitfalls

Unit 9 - Concepts of Organizational Change
This course is about making sense of Change Management and how we cope with the intense rate of change. The rate of change and technology outpaces our individual ability to keep up with it. This course will focus upon aspects of individual, team and organizational change. Management of change is also about leadership and the styles to be adopted for the management of change. The course will consider the three dimensions of leadership - Outcomes, Interests and Emotions.

Students will expect to gain the following knowledge of organizational change concepts:
    * The underpinning theory
    * Concepts of organizational change
    * Leading Change
    * Understanding mergers and acquisitions
    * Cultural Change
    * Organizational restructuring
    * IT based process change
    * Impact of change in the global economy
    * Change in the new digital age
    * Implications of time

Unit 10 - Managing in the Global Economy

Students will expect to derive the following skill sets or knowledge from this course:
    * An understanding of the global economy
    * At work in the digital age
    * Changes being imposed by the new global economy
    * Cultural implications
    * meaning of convergence
    * The cultural divide
    * Challenges of the new era
    * The importance of distance learning
    * An understanding of ITIL
    * The future of the internet
    * The wireless economy
    * Advances in global telecommunications

Entry Requirements
Basic English reading and writing skills, as full tutor support is given.

Study Hours
37 hours per unit (370 hours approx in total).

Qualification
Diploma in Business Administration

What's Included
Unlimited full tutor support for two years

Course Fee
£395.00

Further Information
On successful completion of this course, you can apply to join The Institute of Management Specialists

Please note that this is an online course and your materials are delivered within the College web site in PDF format.
In the student 'Common Room' you are also able to receive the latest course updates, extra materials and information. You will also be able to take part in the student chat room and forums as part of our online student community.
After enrolling online you will receive your username and password to access your materials within 5 working days. You will also receive your personal Oxford student number via email.
Courses in paper/file format are still available at an additional fee of £45.00 and must be enrolled upon via telephone. This service is only available to those students studying within the United Kingdom. All students outside the United Kingdom will receive the online format.