Programme for Business Improvement
PBI AIM in Management Practice
Entrance requirements
Candidates are required to be of 25 years and older, possess a senior certificate with matriculation and at least 2 - 3 years’ work and management experience. Candidates must be employed in management/supervisory positions for the duration of the programme, as all assessment is carried out in the context of the students’ workplace. Students may not register at another institution (concurrent registration) for the duration of the programme at the GSB without the written approval of the Director of the Graduate School of Business. All potential students are required to write the University of Cape Town’s National Benchmark Test (NBT) AQL component.
Programme Dates
Module 1: 24 - 31 October 2013 (confirmed)
Module 2: 13 - 20 March 2014
Module 3: 30 July - 6 August 2014
Module 4: First week of December 2014 non-contact module (TBC)
Graduation: June 2015
Application closing date: Monday, 19 August 2013
Tuition Fees: R53 000 (Course material, books and tuition)
Application Fee: R700 (non-refundable)
We do, however, rely on student numbers; a programme will not run unless we have a full cohort of students.
The Associate in Managment (AIM) in Management Practice programme is based on a new concept in management education and has been acknowledged as one of the most innovative programmes available in South Africa today. Targeted at practicing managers, the programme’s starting point is that the world of management is too complex to lend itself to simple prescriptions and formulaic methods. Thus the programme emphasises both process and knowledge, rather than just technique. The main thrust is on nurturing one’s self-awareness in the relevant institutional and societal contexts, while building analytical and systems thinking skills. This process helps to ensure that students are empowered to tackle fresh problems of all kinds and in any context.
AIM is ideal if candidates occupy a position of responsibility (such as team leader, supervisor or junior manager) and would benefit from honing their management and leadership skills in a context of practical, applied learning.
We believe this offering is still one of the more relevant programmes of its kind world-wide and at this time hits the mark for South Africa.
Module 1
Foundations of Systemic Management
This course introduces the candidate to the fields of action learning and systems thinking. Particular attention is paid to social capital, mindfulness, diversity, multiple perspectives and value creation. The process pays particular attention to the development of a value creation mindset. Using these ideas, students construct contextually-relevant models of management and organisational practices that promote leadership through personal mastery.
Students will use these models to diagnose and improve their own practices through action-learning projects within their organisation.
Topics covered include the core activities of Executive Practice:
- Sense-making;
- Decision-taking; and
- Action-taking.
Developmental topics include:
- Knowing yourself;
- Working with others;
- Surviving and thriving under stress;
- Achieving personal change;
- Improving personal creativity;
- Developing yourself;
- Business, people, diversity, ethics; and
- Managing successful projects.
This is followed by the 14 to 20 -week intermodular period mentioned above in which students apply the tools and practices developed in the module in action learning projects within their workplace. The project must be integrated into their daily management practice and contribute to their management function. It must also yield significant benefits to the company. During this period students are required to monitor their management practice using reflective critical incident logs. They will be provided with e–learning and online computer support during the intermodular sessions.
Module 2
Basic Business Acumen (geared towards target audience/cohort)
This module builds on Module 1 by developing the concept of business acumen and integrating it into the candidate’s management practice.
The focus is on the operational dimensions of business acumen; this is done through interactive learning activities and projects.
Topics include:
- Planning and controlling costs;
- Getting to grips with budgets;
- Organisational finance;
- Operations management and control;
- Quality matters; and
- You and your customer.
Module 3
Organisational Change and Development (geared towards target audience/cohort)
This module builds on Modules 1 and 2. It has the same structure as Module 2 and looks at the socio-economic and socio-political strategic imperatives facing organisations in their respective sectors of the South African economy. The topics covered in Module 3 are designed to develop management practices that can help the organisation to deal with the strategic challenges they face in a way that promotes socio-political legitimacy and sustains economic viability.
Topics include:
- Personal effectiveness;
- Building and leading a team that works;
- Organisational development;
- Organisational strategy; and
- Managing change & transformation.
Students apply their extended models (developed in Modules 1 through 3) in the organisation through relevant project work.
Module 4
Integration & Synthesis of Learning – Action-Learning Project
In this non-contact module, candidates will use the models developed in Modules 1, 2 and 3 to undertake a major internal consultancy project in the organisation. This is an action learning project in which candidates will be required to focus on:
- A synthesis of learning;
- Applying learning to add significant value in their context; and
- Integrating learning into their own management and organisational practices.
They do this by focusing, inter alia, on people, business, diversity and ethical considerations within their context.
Enquiries
customised.learning@gsb.uct.ac.za
Tel: 021 406 1374
Fax: 021 406 1462