Part Time Edexcel Professional Development Certificate in Management Studies (CMS)

Edexcel Professional Development Certificate in Management Studies (CMS)

• School:
  • The Business and Computing School
• Attendance Type:
  • Part Time
• Course Level:
  • Level 5
• Course Keywords:
  • management,
  • Business Managment,
  • business management,
  • managment,
  • project management

Summary:

The CMS is a long established taught programme, nationally recognised as a management qualification. It is used by both the public and private sectors as a vehicle for the development of managers.

The qualification is also seen as a qualifying criteria for progression into middle management. It is a stepping stone towards the Diploma in Management Studies (DMS) and also enables individuals to obtain entry to wide range of professional programmes.

The course is ideal for:

• Newly appointed managers seeking a theoretical base to supplement practical experience
• Those managers with limited experience wishing to increase their knowledge
• Specialist managers who wish to broaden their general management skills and competences
• Those who wish to continue their personal development with a view to organisational advancement
• Experienced staff who are acquiring management responsibility in the later stages of their careers
• Experienced people who wish to return to work after a spell out of the employment market.

Course Length:
The CMS is a nine month modular programme studied one day per week - morning and afternoon
Entry Requirements:

You will need to show that you have an appropriate blend of maturity, experience and intellectual ability which will enable you to complete and benefit from the course. You may be asked to discuss your application with the Course Director.

Core Skills:
The programme has been designed on a modular structure round the roles identified as common and appropriate to all managers at this level.

These are the management of:

• Operations
• Resources
• People
• Information

These activities are reflected in the study of six areas relating to managing people and resources:

Personal Development
This unit focuses on the importance of continuous personal and professional development through self-learning. It will enable you to develop the skills required for effective management to meet work objectives and improve performance for your future career development.

You will be provided with the opportunity to identify your own development needs through conducting a skills audit and personal development planning process. Evidence to achieve this unit will be continuously provided throughout the learning programme, thereby enabling you to take ownership of your future development needs. You will need to demonstrate that you have a regularly updated and realistic personal development plan which fits your own preferred learning style.

Communication at Work
Effective communication are vital to the success of any organisation, to ensure understanding, involvement and commitment to organisational policies and procedures. Organisations today often need to change their policies and procedures to survive in the changing environment. It is important for managers to realise the importance of sound communication practice and systems to ensure the effective development and dissemintation of new ideas and decisions for change.

Managing Change
Management has oftern defined as 'creating change through people' and this unit will encourage you to adopt this approach to change. It is designed for managers or potential managers working at operational level who are seeking to change ongoing systems and processes in the workplace. This unit will allow you to take a problem solving approach, initially defining issues and then looking at options, before selecting an appropriate route to change. Finally, the unit looks at planning implementation and evaluation of the change itself. There will be an emphasis on involving those directly affected, to gain their experience and knowledge as well as their commitment to, and ownership of, the change itself. Throughout the unit, important will be placed on the need to manage and control the change process by effective monitoring and evaluation. Various change models will be used as the basis of activity.

Winning Teams
This unit is about building, developing and supporting teams to enable them to achieve their goals and objectives. In this unit, you will identify the skills and potential of team members while providing opportunities for them to gain new skills and experiences. You will evaluate team roles and their importance when allocating team members to appropriate tasks in order to achieve objectives. A key factor in a winning team is the team leader. You will have the opportunity to examine the qualities required of an effective leader to ensure that tasks are achieved, while building and developing the team and individuals within it. The unit also focuses on methods for monitoring team performance and approaches for handling poor performance and conflict.

Managing a Budget
This unit is designed to introduce you to the management of finance in organisations. It examines a number of financial topics that directly impinge on the acquisition, maintenance and control of the financial resources of organisations. You eill examine issues associated with business planning, forecasting, the management of finance through the preparation of budgets, and the control methodology associated with management by exception. You will learn the main issue relating to the budgeting, planning and cost control, and how information derived from budgeting and associated procedures is used to inform management decision making. You will examine how costs in an organisation are classified, how they behave and how they can be monitored and controlled, as well as the concept of break-even.

Managing Marketing
All managers require some knowledge of marketing principles to gain a deeper understanding of their organisation's like with customers, to contribute effectively to the achievement of their oganisation's marketing plans and to carry out effective internal marketing of their area of work. You will study principles related to the broad management of marketing at an operational level. You will learn the key elements of marketing planning and how marketing professionals use recognised concepts and techniques to manage marketing activities at an operational level.

Assessment:
Each of the six modules is assessed by various methods including case studies, presentations and written assignments which are expected to relate theory to practice in the work setting.

Academic Progression:
After the programme you may wish to progress to the Postgraduate Certificate in Management and Diploma in Management Studies

Full Description:

Aims of the programme

• To provide a flexible modular programme of learning which is seen by employers in the area as an integral and automatic element in the development of their managerial staff
• To help you identify your own unique blend of capability and limitation and to explore your management potential in personal terms
• To enable you to develop and apply a wide range of management knowledge and understanding in your organisation and in so doing to become more effective in your management roles
• To encourage you to take responsibility for your own development and to provide a platform for that development