The Organisation Advanced Management Programme

Target Audience

The Advanced Management Programme is targeted at managers who have 5 or more years experience and are
preparing to take on broader managerial responsibilities within Organisation. Typically these managers and / or
functional specialists will be in the late twenties to early thirties and may have degrees and / or professional
qualifications. Some of the delegates who attended the 1998/99 programme included: AC Branch Manager &
Sales Manager, DD Management Services Financial Director, SPL General Manager, Divisional Manager and
Sales Manager, DDN Networks Accounts Managers and Sales Manager, The Internet Solutions Group
Marketing Executive and Production Executive and the DNS Account Manager.

Participants should be able to demonstrate solid achievement in their career and should be showing potential for
senior management and / or general management positions in the future.

Ideally they will be energetic and ambitious, share a high level of motivation, be keen to learn and develop new
skills and above all make a positive contribution to the development of others in the Group.

Objectives

The programme is designed to develop the participants capabilities by broadening their view of the organisation,
the industry and the wider global forces that impact on both. It is also important for the participants to develop a
greater appreciation of their role as a manager and leader of key human resources in the organisation while also
developing a deeper understanding of themselves. Participants will leave the programme with a broad
understanding of the complex workings of their organisation and greater confidence in their ability to manage
within it.

THE LEARNING APPROACH

The programme is designed to give delegates a holistic perspective so that they can tackle the complex,
unstructured problems of general management with real confidence.

In order to achieve this, ICMD incorporates the following learning methodologies:

1. Modular Format Supported with Pre-Course Learning Materials.

The proposed Organisation AMP is modular in design. Each module is supported with customised
workbooks that incorporate key concepts, activities, cases, readings and "think points". These workbooks
are designed with our partner Wolsey Hall, Oxford in the UK. These workbooks afford delegates the
opportunity to:


cover the key concepts before the full-time workshop, and

apply the concepts to their own job, division and organisation.

2. Time Workshops

The Organisation AMP is supported with 14 days of Full-Time study, run in modular study blocks over a 9 -
12 month period. The length and timing of the study blocks will be structured according to Organisation’s
requirements.


3. Learning Through Action

ICMD use a variety of teaching methods to maximise active and participative learning including business
simulations and games, case discussions, lectures, group work and presentation and evening forums.


4. Recommended Faculty

The proposed Organisation AMP faculty are leading edge and acknowledged experts in their particular
fields. In addition, ICMD draws on the MBS faculty who bring international perspective to the programme.

All of the faculty are excellent facilitators and will produce a very stimulating and thought provoking climate
in the classroom. The workshop will be highly interactive and delegates will be challenged throughout.

The involvement of Organisation executive in the workshop sessions, by means of lecturing, case study
sessions or general encouragement of the delegates, would be welcomed.

Finally, all ICMD faculty are fully briefed on the industry and the organisation so that focus is on relevant
strategic issues.

5. Focus On Interpersonal Skills and Competencies

Successful managers must be able to lead, motivate and achieve results through people. Strategic and
functional skills alone are not sufficient. An integral part of the AMP is the Personal Effectiveness module
which allows participants to focus on their personal and interpersonal skills.

6. Projects

In-depth practical work-based, work-related project to be tackled individually in Syndicate Groups over the
duration of the programme are a powerful means of integrating the learning across the different disciplines
and affords opportunity to further reinforce the application of key concepts to Organisation. Furthermore,
projects provide participants with opportunities to demonstrate the range of personal, intellectual and
management skills which they have developed over the programme.

The objectives of each project are agreed in advance by the participant, their tutor and line manager.
Participants individually prepare an end-of-project report for assessment.


PROGRAMME STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

The Programme is designed to develop a manager’s competence in three major areas:

i.Interpersonal Skills and Human Resource Management

ii.Functional Management

iii.Strategic Management and Change

Programme Structure:

The Organisation AMP consists of three key themes made up of Modules which are supported with pre-course
materials and full-time workshops. ICMD recognises that issues facing organisations do not present themselves
"neatly boxed" under titles such as Finance, Strategy or Human Resources. Therefore, the AMP constantly
attempts to integrate the skills which effective managers need. The case study and projects are crucial elements
which ICMD uses to integrate the three key themes.


Course Content:

i.Interpersonal Skills and Human Resource Management

Successful managers must be able to relate well to people. However, few managers have had any
formal training in personal and inter-personal skills and many learn by sometimes painful
experience. The Advanced Management Programme includes seven modules which allows
participants to explore and develop their Interpersonal and Human Resource skills. Utilizing a
competency based framework, delegates, together with their line managers, peers and
sub-ordinates assess their personal competency levels. A personal development plan is drawn up
and provides a benchmark for focused development throughout the programme.

The two day workshop allocated to the theme provides a stimulating mix of group activities, role
plays and case study analyses. The purpose of the workshop is to help managers to develop and
practice a range of management skills in one-to-one and group situations.

Inter-alia participants develop an understanding of what makes for effective teams, explore the
barriers to teambuilding, examine the range of team roles and their inter-relationship and identify
their own preferred role. They take part in a range of exercises designed to illustrate the central
importance of team work and communication to the success of their organisation.
  • Personal Effectiveness
  • Self-Awareness and assessing Personal Effectiveness
  • Behavior and Effectiveness at work
  • Diagnosis and Planning (360 degrees)
  • Personal Development Plan
  • Development Activities and Processes
  • Continuous Improvement
  • Importance of Self-Management
  • Human Resource Management
  • Human Resource Management and the Organisation
  • Motivating Staff
  • Getting the Most From Your Staff
  • Working in Groups
  • Managing Teams
  • Negotiation and Conflict
  • Contract of Employment
  • Discipline and Grievance
  • Leaving Work
  • Communication Skills
  • Human Resource Development
  • Human Resource Planning
  • Recruitment and Retention of Staff
  • Staff Appraisal
  • Counselling and Poor Performance
  • Employment training and development
  • Discipline and Grievance
  • Leadership
  • What is Leadership
  • Leadership versus Management - The need for both
  • Redefining the role of the Leader in Organisation
  • Leadership Style
  • Industrial Relations and the New LRA
  • Being an effective Leader
  • Employment Equity - developing a common understanding for implementing within Organisation
  • Managing Diversity
  • Handling Conflict

    ii.Functional Management

Good managers need breadth, but they should not lack depth. Managers within Organisation must be
able to grasp a range of functional and operational skills and their interrelationships within complex
organisations. During the programme, therefore, we cover four areas:

  • Strategic Marketing and Customer Relations
  • Market Orientation - What Does It Mean and How Does Organisation make it happen
  • Developing a common understanding of the Strategic role of Marketing in the organisation
  • One-to-one Marketing - Developing Learning Relationship with Customer
  • Understanding the Customer Value Equation
  • Marketing Research
  • Market Analysis including Industry, Customer and Competitor Analysis
  • Market Segmentation as the foundation of Marketing Strategy
  • Strategic Targeting and Positioning and the Building of a Brand
  • Marketing Mix including Value Based Pricing and an Integrated Communication Strategy
  • Launching new products successfully
  • Financial Management
  • The basic principles
  • Sources and application of funds
  • Ratio analysis
  • Budgetary planning and control
  • Investment Appraisal
  • Raising capital
  • Investment appraisal
  • The cost of capital
  • Decision making using marginal costing
  • Break-even analysis
  • Problem Solving and Decision Making* (pre course reading only)
  • The problem-solving process
  • Problem solving in groups
  • Making effective decisions with statistical information
  • Probability
  • Allocating resources
  • Forecasting
  • Operations and Service Management
  • Design of Operating Systems
  • Management of Capacity
  • Systems of Planning and Control
  • Creating Conditions for effective work
  • Economic understanding of the business and cost leverage system; added value analysis
  • Customer Service Strategy
  • Delivering Customer Value and Satisfaction
  • Value Chain
  • Value Delivery System
  • Managing Quality
  • Quality obsession
  • Total Quality - key to value creation and customer satisfaction
  • Pursuing a Total Quality Strategy
  • Managing Quality in the Organisation
  • Continuous Innovation Beyond New Products
  • Understanding the Innovation Process - Customer Gaps
  • Innovation within Organisation
  • Managing Projects

    iii.Strategic Management and Change

Excellent functional and human skills are not sufficient for effective leadership. Successful
managers must be able to develop a general business awareness, to articulate a broader vision
and to offer a sense of direction. There are four modules within the AMP which build these skills.

  • Entrepreneurship
  • Entrepreneurship as a Strategic Response
  • How entrepreneurial are we at Organisation?
  • Does Entrepreneurship Matter?
  • Who is the Entrepreneur?
  • How the Corporate Entrepreneur differs from the Start-up Entrepreneur
  • Why would an Entrepreneur stay at Organisation?
  • How companies have tried to make Entrepreneuship happen
  • Where are the obstacles and turning the obstacle around
  • Managing Information and Strategic IT
  • Collecting information
  • Presenting information
  • The management of information technology
  • Trends in future technologies and how these will fundamentally change how DD competes
  • The role of IT in Business Transformation
  • Managing the quality of information into departments and sharing with members of the team
  • Handling Information
  • Links to the Supply Chain
  • Understanding the International and Southern African Business Environment
  • Business and the Environment
  • Global Economic Trends
  • Understanding and mapping our Organisation S.A. Macro environment
  • Analysing Organisational Structure
  • Identifying forces of change impacting on the industry and the organisation
  • Identify key strategic challenges and focus areas for the future
  • Managing Strategy and Change
  • Strategic Management
  • Understanding and developing a framework for the Strategic Planning Process
  • Business Position - options and choice
  • The Strategist’s toolkit
  • Market Analysis - understanding your suppliers, customers and competitors
  • Aligning the Organisation for effective Strategy Implementation
  • Managing Change
  • Organisational Innovation and Change
  • Understanding and Implementing Change
  • Role of Leadership in the Change Process
  • Improving the individuals ability to deal with Change
  • Communicating Change within your Division
  • Understand how different methods can help to affect Change
  • Implementing Change - building a flexible, responsive team

ASSESSMENT

Delegates are assessed on the programme as follows:

2 group Work-based, work-related projects on completion of the Human Resources & Functional
Management Themes.

An integrated work-based project to be tackled individually on completion of the programme. The
projects should be of value to Organisation and should afford delegates the opportunity to integrate and
apply the key learning concepts of the programme to their own organisation.

A dedicated assessor works with the participants throughout the program, attending all workshops
providing accurate and useful feedback to ensure progress is made by all participants on the
programme.



CERTIFICATION

Manchester Business School certifies this programme. Delegates who successfully complete the programme
may be awarded an MBS Organisation AMP Certificate.