Professional
Qualification - Managerial Level
Integrated
Management
First examined in May 2005
Syllabus outline
The syllabus comprises:
Topic |
Study
weighting |
| A |
The
Basis of Strategic Management |
30% |
| B |
Project Management |
40% |
| C |
The Management
of Relationships |
30% |
Learning aims
Students should be able to:
- identify and apply management
techniques necessary for decision-making that cuts across
functional areas;
- analyse data in support
of strategic decision making,
- contribute to decision making
in these areas by advising management.
Assessment strategy
There will be a written examination
paper of three hours, with the following sections.
- Section A - 20 marks
A variety of compulsory objective test questions, each worth
between 2 and 4 marks. Mini-scenarios may be given, to which
a group of questions relate.
- Section B – 30 marks
Three compulsory medium answer questions, each worth 10
marks. Short scenarios may be given, to which some or all
questions relate.
- Section C – 50 marks
Two questions, from a choice of three, each worth 25 marks.
Short scenarios may be given, to which questions relate.
Learning outcomes and syllabus
content
A - The basis of strategic
management - 30%
Learning outcomes
On completion of their studies
students should be able to:
- explain the process of strategy
formulation;
- evaluate different organisational
structures;
- discuss concepts in contemporary
thinking on strategic management;
- apply tools for strategic
analysis appropriately;
- explain the purpose and
principles of good corporate governance;
- evaluate competitive situations
and apply this knowledge to the organisation.
Syllabus content
- The process of strategy
formulation.
- The relationship between
strategy and organisational structure.
- The reasons for conflict
between the objectives of an organisation, or between the
objectives of an organisation and its stakeholders, and
the ways to manage this conflict.
- Strategic decision making
processes
- Approaches to strategy (e.g.
rational, adaptive, emergent, evolutionary or system-based
views based on Porter, Mintzberg, Bartlett and Ghoshal).
- Transaction cost view of
the firm (e.g. Coase, Williamson) and its implications for
organisational structure.
- Resource-based views of
the firm and implications for strategy development.
- Ecological perspective on
the firm.
- The determinants, importance
and role of organisational cultures and ways to improve
the effectiveness of an organisation.
- Introduction to corporate
governance, including stakeholders and the role of government.
- Translating strategy into
business (e.g. formation of strategic business units, encouragement
of entrepreneurship inside organisations).
- Contemporary issues in business
management (e.g. alliances, demergers, virtual organisations,
corporate social responsibility and business ethics).
B - Project Management - 40%
Learning outcomes
On completion of their studies
students should be able to:
- identify a project and its
attributes;
- apply suitable structures
and frameworks to projects to identify common management
issues;
- produce a basic outline
of the process of project management;
- identify the characteristics
of each phase in the project process;
- demonstrate the role of
key stakeholders in the project;
- distinguish the key tools
and techniques that would need to be applied in the project
process, including the evaluation of proposals;
- identify methodologies and
systems used by professional project managers;
- Identify the strategy and
scope for a project;
- identify stakeholder groups
and recommend basic strategies for the management of their
perceptions and expectations;
- Produce a basic project
plan, recognising the effects of uncertainty and recommending
strategies for dealing with this uncertainty, in the context
of a simple project;
- identify structural and
leadership issues that will be faced in managing a project
team;
- recommend appropriate project
control systems;
- evaluate through selected
review and audit, the learning outcomes from a project;
- apply a process of continuous
improvement to projects.
Syllabus content
- The definition of a project,
project management, and the contrast with repetitive operations
and line management;
- 4-D and 7-S models to provide
an overview of the project process, and the nine key process
areas (PMI) to show what happens during each part of the
process;
- Stakeholders (both process
and outcome) and their needs;
- Roles of project sponsors,
boards, champions, managers and clients;
- Key tools for project managers
(e.g. Work Breakdown Structure, network diagrams (Critical
Path Analysis), Gantt charts, resource histograms, establishment
of gates and milestones);
- Evaluation of plans for
projects;
- The key processes of PRINCE2
and their implications for project staff;
- The role of determining
trade-offs between key project objectives of time, cost
and quality;
- Managing scope at the outset
of a project and providing systems for configuration management/change
control;
- The production of basic
plans for time, cost and quality;
- Scenario planning and buffering
to make provision for uncertainty in projects, and the interface
with the risk management process;
- Organisational structures,
including the role of the project and matrix organisations,
and their impact on project achievement;
- Teamwork, including recognising
the life-cycle of teams, team/group behaviour and selection;
- Control of time, cost and
quality through performance and conformance management systems;
- Project completion, documentation,
stakeholder marketing, completion reports and system close-down;
- The use of post-completion
audit and review activities and the justification of their
costs.
C - Management of Relationships
- 30%
Learning outcomes
On completion of their studies
students should be able to:
- explain the concepts of
power, bureaucracy, authority, responsibility, leadership
and delegation;
- analyse the relationship
between managers and their subordinates;
- discuss the roles of negotiation
and communication in the management process, both within
an organisation and with external bodies;
- explain how groups form
within organisations and how this affects performance;
- demonstrate personal time
management skills;
- construct a set of tools
for managing individuals, teams and networks, and for managing
group conflict;
- recommend ways to deal effectively
with discipline problems;
- explain the process of mentoring
junior colleagues;
- discuss the importance of
national cultures on management style;
- explain the importance of
business ethics and corporate governance to the organisation
and its stakeholders;
- identify methods of conducting
research and gathering data as part of the managerial process;
Syllabus content
- The concepts of power, authority,
bureaucracy, leadership, responsibility and delegation and
their application to relationship within an organisation
and outside it.
- The characteristics of leaders,
managers and entrepreneurs.
- Management-style theories
(e.g. Likert, Tannenbaurn and Schmidt, Blake and Mouton).
- The use of systems of control
within the organisation (e.g. employment contracts, performance
appraisal, reporting structures).
- Theories of control within
firms and types of organisational structure (e.g. matrix,
divisional, network)
- The advantages and disadvantages
of different styles of management.
- Managing in different countries
and cultures.
- Contingency approaches to
management style (e.g. Adair, Fiedler).
- Theories of group development,
behaviour and roles (e.g. Tuckman, Belbin).
- Disciplinary procedures
and their operation, including the form and process of formal
disciplinary action and dismissal (e.g. industrial tribunals,
arbitration and conciliation).
- Personal time management.
- The nature and effect of
legal issues affecting work and employment, including the
application of relevant employment law (i.e. relating to
health, safety, discrimination, fair treatment, childcare,
contracts of employment and working time).
- The sources of conflict
in organisations and the ways in which conflict can be managed
to ensure that working relationships are productive and
effective.
- Communication skills (i.e.
types of communication tools and their use, as well as the
utility and conduct of meetings) and ways of managing communication
problems.
- Negotiation skills.
- Creativity and idea generation.
- Information gathering techniques
(e.g. interviews, questionnaires).
- Introduction to corporate
governance, including business ethics and the role, obligations
and expectations of a manager.
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