Yearbooks

Programme: Postgraduate Diploma General Management

Kindly take note of the disclaimer regarding qualifications and degree names.
Code Faculty
07220021 Gordon Institute of Business Science
Credits Duration
Duration of study: 1 year Total credits: 180

Other programme-specific information

Also refer General Regulation G.55.
Prescribed courses, workshops and company or field visits form part of the programme.

Examinations and pass requirements

  1. The minimum pass mark for each prescribed course is 50%, provided that a subminimum of 45% has been obtained in the examination.
  2. A candidate who has failed more than two core courses may not continue with his studies for the diploma, except with the approval of the Dean.

Minimum credits: 180

Core modules

  • Module content:

    This module examines statistical tools used in business decision-making. Statistical methods will be introduced in a non-technical manner and developed in business contexts. Topics will include understanding differences, predictions and associations when using statistical analysis for business decision-making. These techniques will underpin the use of univariate and multivariate techniques. Statistical computer packages play a major supporting role in statistical applications, and frequently-encountered spreadsheet and software packages will be utilised during the course of the module. You will learn how to interpret the information contained in management data, and to define and analyse management problems quantitatively. You will develop an intuitive understanding of statistical techniques through explanations of methods and interpretation of real business problems. Ultimately, if you need to consult experts in this area, you will be better able to select, evaluate and use their services.

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  • Module content:

    Management accounting provides managers with timely and appropriate information – firstly in order to understand the cause and behaviour of costs and to meaningfully allocate these costs to products, customers and inventories; secondly to assist in planning, budgeting and decision making; and finally in order to measure performance.  This course is intended as an introduction for individuals who will plan, make business decisions and evaluate the performance of business units using information derived from the accounting system. You will understand the benefits of basic management accounting tools and techniques and learn how these concepts can be useful in different managerial decision-making situations.

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  • Module content:

    Corporate finance encompasses what every general manager should know about finance. Its purpose is to provide an introduction to financial management that blends relevant theory with practical application.This course will equip you to participate fully and creatively in the resolution of many financial issues facing your organisation. The course has a number of parts: the use of financial statements to glean information about the firm and to plan future performance; raising capital, including whether the firm should rely on equity or debt financing, and what to distribute to owners in the form of dividends or share repurchase; allocating capital, including techniques for investment evaluation, and the rates of return projects must earn to create value; integrating the preceding material to examine motives and gains behind corporate restructuring including mergers and leveraged buyouts.

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  • Module content:

    This course aims to  equip students with the conceptual and practical skills to enable them to contribute to the development and maintenance of effective organisations. The course presents a set of behavioural science concepts, diagnostic approaches, tools and techniques for improving organisational effectiveness and individual well - being, together with the values that underlie them. The recent growth in applications of organisational development in a variety of industries and sectors including hospitals, government agencies, schools and NGOs is reviewed. In response to global and local challenges, particularly those pertaining to the dynamic and complex nature of health care, this course also focuses on HIV/Aids policy and strategy and explores how these could contribute to organisational effectiveness and sustainability.

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  • Module content:

    This module is designed to equip participants with the necessary skills to analyse and interpret financial information. An overview of the preparation of simple financial statements serves as the basis for understanding the uses and limitations of the financial reports that companies prepare for shareholders and other external agencies. Topics dealt with in-depth include the contents of financial reports, ratio analysis and cash flow analysis, in addition to specific techniques developed for prediction of financial failure and vulnerability to takeover. Actual financial statements are analysed, and participants are expected to be familiar with real cases in the current financial press. You will become familiar with how financial statements such as balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements are structured. Various methods of critically evaluating them in order to make conclusions about the company’s financial strength or weaknesses, and future possibilities such as financial failure or the probability of takeover will be discussed.

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  • Module content:

    In this module students will be introduced to micro-economic theory and its application to real business situations. The aim of the course is to establish a rigorous appreciation for the main drivers of any business and to show how different variables will impact the company bottom line.The course begins by examining consumer demand. Students will examine why consumers act in a particular way, how they may react to market changes and what strategies a startup company or corporate may undertake to maximise its revenue in both the short and the long term. The course then shifts to focus on the production decisions of a company and examines in detail the different types of costs within an organisation, what variables positively and negatively affect these costs and how these costs can be managed to maximise profits and profitability. Different market structures are analysed to assist students in placing their firm and sector in an appropriate market structure thus providing useful insight into options regarding inter firm rivalry, firm interdependence and strategies to deal with competition from similar firms. The course is designed to give the student a set of tools, models and causal chains which will help them make more informed strategic decisions regarding: the pricing of their goods, their cost management, their competition strategies and options to maximise profitability.

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  • Module content:

    In this course students will be required to develop a strategy for attracting, retaining, developing and managing top quality talent within their business. Students will be exposed to the latest thinking and practices for maximising human performance within entrepreneurial businesses. They will critically review what other successful and unsuccessful businesses have done or not done to develop teams and manage people and they will use this as a basis to make decisions and formulate a human resources strategy for their businesses. The course will cover issues of compensation and incentives, performance measurement and management, industrial relations, structuring, job profiling and recruitment.

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  • Module content:

    In this module students will be introduced to the dynamics of human behaviour in South African society and organisations. It will explore the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, the diversity of South African culture, the impact of the political and economic history of South Africa on human behaviour, the current and future dynamics of human interaction and processes that affect organisations, markets and society. Students will explore issues related to race, ethnicity, gender and economic status and their impact on the economy and society as a whole. Building on this understanding, students will examine effective ways of attracting, retaining and managing talented individuals when building or growing a new company in a South African context.

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  • Module content:

    This module teaches a systematic approach to marketing decision making in order to match continuously changing market opportunities with the internal resources of the company in terms of production capacity, people and finance. Key topics include understanding the market and the customers, analysing marketing opportunities, developing marketing strategies, planning marketing programmes, and assessing new directions for marketing, particularly the impact of e-business. By critically examining an extensive theoretical base of marketing literature, and reviewing local and international case studies, you will develop the skills and insights required to formulate and evaluate an effective marketing strategy within the context of overall corporate objectives. You will evaluate the changing role of marketing in the knowledge economy, and how marketing interfaces with other functional areas within the organisation.

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  • Module content:

    In this module students will examine the macroeconomic and socio-political environment in which business operates. Its aims are, firstly, to demonstrate the multi-faceted way in which global economic trends and domestic socio-political strategies impact existing and startup businesses in the private sector. Secondly, the module aims to provide participants with an insight into, and understanding of, the major causal relationships encountered in the macroeconomic equation. The key topics include the political/economic cycle, a concise profile of the South African economy, aggregate supply analysis, aggregate demand analysis, public sector economics, international economics, globalisation and international competitiveness, monetary economics, and economic indicators (including the business cycle, inflation and unemployment). This course will provide students with the conceptual frameworks and analytical tools needed to understand and predict the impact of macroeconomics on their businesses. The focus on the South African economy within the context of the global environment and the resultant challenges for business will provide students with an important perspective on doing business in South Africa in the future

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  • Module content:

    This course examines how an organisation’s structures, systems and processes contribute to its competitive position. This involves the establishment and management of the processes whereby inputs such as labour, materials and equipment are converted to products or services that meet customers’ needs at an acceptable cost. Establishing sustainable and scalable systems as well as improving performance cross-functionally and across the value chain is an important focus. Topics include operations strategy, designing and setting up operating systems, service delivery systems design, process choice, quality management, time and productivity, aligning operations to markets, and the impact of technology developments on the service delivery system. Students will be able to effectively establish and manage an operating system and will have a greater appreciation of the need to manage integrated processes across the value chain to achieve business success.

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  • Module content:

    This module will introduce students to the concept of research and will aim to prepare students for the Business analysis and research methodology module which forms part of the MBA curriculum.

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The information published here is subject to change and may be amended after the publication of this information. The General Regulations (G Regulations) apply to all faculties of the University of Pretoria. It is expected of students to familiarise themselves well with these regulations as well as with the information contained in the General Rules section. Ignorance concerning these regulations and rules will not be accepted as an excuse for any transgression.

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