Description of the e-learning courses to be provided by AeA for students of UNS These online interactive courses being offered by Advenio e-academy are designed primarily as introductory courses for students who are not specialising in these subjects and also serve as refresher courses for experienced practitioners who wish to build on their practical knowledge and experience. The course provides a comprehensive, specialised and factual theoretical knowledge which is based on best practices. Each certificate course comprises a total of 7 short courses consisting of 25 modules, each of which comprises various learning objects including:- - Audio visual presentations - PDF presentations to accompany the audio visual presentations - Frequently Asked Questions with references - Forum Questions - Self-Assessment Test Questions - Additional course materials such as reading lists, articles or case studies In addition to the self-learn elements of the course there will be an interactive video conference tutorial/workshop sessions every week. There will be notification of the exact date and time through the system allowing participants to book their participation to the particular tutorial/workshop they are interested in. In general each module involves one hour of audio visual presentation and another three hours of study time to follow and complete the related course materials including the FAQs, additional readings, forum contributions and self-assessment tests. The course is currently undergoing the certification process through the Malta Qualifications Council under the European Qualifications Framework. The equivalence of the course is that of 4 credits at Level 5 (Undergraduate level) which translates in 100 hours of study; including contact hours and self-study. The accreditation of the course provides the quality assurance and the recognition of the course within the EU. The Certificate Course comprises the following short courses which may be subscribed to individually or as a complete certificate course. The following are the learning objectives for participants on completion of each course. Page 1 of 5
Programme: Course: Management Principles of Management Course 1. Fundamental principles of Management Describe the complex and interrelated nature of management functions and practice; Apply planning models in the defining the mission of business units; Appraise the planning function of the organisation on whether its strategic and tactical plans are clear in pointing out how it will achieve its vision; Recommend the strategic option that should be applied in planning the strategic and tactical plans of a business unit; Identify the elements of a control system and how they affect the setup of organisational control processes; Show an understanding on the design and implementation of control systems to ensure compliance with an organisation's strategy and risk tolerance; Assess whether the organisation's controls are integrated in a total system which encompasses all the different units within the organisation; Describe how the organisation function is responsible for the alignment of the interrelationships between the planning, leading and control function impact organisational effectiveness; Demonstrate how coordination is linked with the proper assignment of authority and responsibilities within the organisation; Identify the forces that shape the organisation in today's environment; Describe the various Leadership theories and their causal links between leadership, motivation and performance; Describe the characteristics of a leader and how this reflects in the organisation's performance; Evaluate personal and peer behavioural traits in order to choose the appropriate leadership style; Practice leadership skills in the workplace. 2. Corporate Strategic Planning Assist in the development of an organisation's Vision, Mission, Goals & Objectives; Demonstrate an understanding of the role that an organisation's vision, mission and Goals & Objectives have in the marketing process; Examine whether an organisation's goals and objectives show a clear interdependency with its vision and mission statements; Collaborate in the creation of an organisation's vision and mission statements and design goals which relate to them; Describe the role of strategic planning in building and sustaining such a long term competitive advantage; Examine whether primary objectives are being forgotten as the strategy moves into implementation; Collaborate in the development and implementation of a corporate strategic plan; Page 2 of 5
Identify the need for a SWOT analysis in the dynamics of Strategy formulation and its interdependency with the Organisational Goals; Assist in the creation of a SWOT analysis within an organisation and in its attempt to discover its Core Competencies; Assist in the development and implementation of an organisation s assessment of its internal and external environment; Analyse the organisation's internal environment through a resource based approach and its external environment through the PEST model; Describe the various approaches in market segmentation and positioning; Understand the practical challenges in applying market segmentation strategies to achieve a desired position in the target market segment; Assist in the development and implementation of a Market Segmentation and Market Positioning exercise; 3. Organisational Structure & Corporate Culture Identify the importance of structuring an organisation to facilitate customer focus; Apply customer-driven best practices in the reviewing organisational strategy and tactics; Identify the various organisational design frameworks and their role in affecting the organisational in the implementation of strategic goals and objectives; Demonstrate an understanding of the various advantages and disadvantages of the various organisational or business unit setups; Use Gallbraith's Star model in evaluating which structure should an organisation go for in order to facilitate organisational synergy; Define the elements of culture, values, norms and how these effect the organisational structure; Apply best practices to successfully adapt to unfamiliar cultural settings and promote change; Assist in the planning, execution and development of change management practices within the organisation. 4. People Perspective Identify how effective human resource management (HRM) processes have the capacity to contribute significantly to organizational effectiveness; Demonstrate the practical issues of the implementation of HR practices; Assist in the assessment of whether HR strategy is integrated with the organisation's vision, mission, strategy, goals and objectives and whether they are in line with the perceived objectives of individual employees or the various teams; Assist in the development and implementation of an effective HR plan; Describe the process that an organisation has to undergo in evaluating its staffing decisions; Apply best practices in attracting top candidates and inducting them in the organisation; Assess whether the candidate has the potential to be a top player for the organisation based on its current and future needs; Assist in the creation and development of an organisation's recruitment framework, including the development of recruitment questionnaires and conducting interviews; Page 3 of 5
Identify the core processes in assessing the training needs of an organisation and the development of its employees; Review the competency requirements of the organisation and its current resources in order to design a training programme; Assist in the evaluation and assessment of the quality of a training programme and its outcomes; Assist in the design a training programme and perform a performance appraisal; Develop moral values and corporate social responsibility in the area of responsibility. 5. Operations Perspective Describe the role that People, Strategy, Organisational structure, Processes and Rewards have in determining Organisational behaviour; Identify the importance of structuring an organisation to facilitate customer focus; Provide advice on whether a proposed organisational process is customer driven; Describe the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet the project requirements; Apply time management, risk and costing techniques in project planning to manage tradeoffs on cost/quality/time and risk; Identify, prioritise, mitigate and document project's costs/quality/time and risks in accordance to project deliverables; Assist in the development and implementation of complex Project Plans; Define the need for an organisation to analyse its value chain and break down its operations into strategically relevant activities so the costs and sources of differentiations can be better understood; Show how the role of the value chain concept can be applied in organisations irrespective whether they are operating in an offline or online environment; Identify and discuss operational effectiveness through the exploitation of the virtual value chain of the firm and its partners; Contribute in the discussions on the implementation of the value chain concept and the role of that information systems have in solving these issues; Identify how quality management can contribute to an organisation's effectiveness in seeking competitive advantage; Understand how the concepts of Quality Assurance and Quality control can be applied in the organisation's operations; Assist in development and implementation of a quality process system based on the EQFM model of organisation's operations. 6. Finance Perspective Describe the role that Accounting reporting has in business intelligence; Demonstrate an understanding of how the elements of the financial setup affect the operations of a business; Interpret the accounting data presented in the Debit-Credit system; Define the importance of the role that the profit & loss statement, balance sheet, cash flow, and source and application of funds statements have on the business; Page 4 of 5
Demonstrate an understanding of the risks of misinformation; Employ critical thinking skills to analyse financial data reported in the financial statements; Describe the concept of a budget; Apply the budget concept within the framework of an organisation's strategy; Analyse budget assumptions and variances; Identify the role of Accounting Ratio Analysis in evaluating and project business performance; Use basic Accounting Ratios to monitor financial and operational performance; Interpret the results of ratio analysis and how they need to be addressed; Provide knowledgeable recommendations on the business' operations based on analysis of the business' financial statements. 7. Summary Review This module provides a conclusion to the course and tackles a number of issues that provide participants with additional areas of study for their continued personal development in this continually expanding field. To earn the Certificate credit, an evaluation will be required through an assignment on completion of all twenty five modules. Note: The above outlines describe the current course content material which is subject to review and change by date of implementation. ===///=== Page 5 of 5