| Code | Faculty | Department |
|---|---|---|
| 07221110 | Gordon Institute of Business Science | Department: Gordon Institute of Business Science |
| Credits | Duration | NQF level |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum duration of study: 1 year | Total credits: 120 | NQF level: 08 |
Refer to General Academic Regulations G16-G29.
Refer to the GIBS student guidelines and regulations.
The Dean may authorise matters not provided for in the General Academic Regulations or in the GIBS regulations
Refer to the GIBS student guidelines and regulations.
Minimum credits: 120
Module content:
This module is designed to enable students to analyse business problems, derive appropriate solutions, and communicate them effectively. Through classroom instruction and individual feedback, students learn to analyse a business case, generate and review solutions, and prepare a clear, logical written summary of their analysis. Students analyse the problem, conduct the appropriate research in the industry, apply the models and techniques covered, and prepare a consulting report for presentation to management and faculty.
Module content:
This module is designed to enable students to communicate effectively and appropriately in a variety of business and academic settings. Through instruction and individual feedback, students will learn skills to improve their academic writing, and consider how to improve the quality of their writing in various organisational contexts. This module focuses on both verbal, nonverbal and written communication as well as the contexts of one-on-one, group and technology-based communication. Students will also learn to provide and receive feedback successfully, which is a critical skill for personal and organisational success. The module considers the development of these skills in both a face-to-face and virtual environment. Through various activities, the core cognitive skills that are targeted for development in this module are analysing, evaluating and synthesising.
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.
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.
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.
Module content:
This module explains both how human resource systems should support the achievement of strategic objectives in context, and how line managers should manage people to achieve those objectives. Module topics include the management of strategic human resources (aligning HR and business strategy, succession planning, and the war for talent), management of HR-firm infrastructure, training and development, managing employee contributions (performance management and industrial relations), and integrating HR strategies and business strategies. The role of the line manager in managing performance will be considered, and underpinned by an overview of the causes of human behaviour in organisations. The module will include case studies to illustrate unique problems and approaches to HR strategy. You will learn the strategic value of effective management of human resources and how alternative HR strategies deliver different results.
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.
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.
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
Module content:
This module examines how an organisation’s structures, systems and processes contribute to its competitive position. This involves 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. Improving performance cross-functionally and across the value chain is an important focus. Topics include functional versus corporate operations strategy, operations’ reactive role, service-delivery systems design, process choice, quality management and improving operations, time and productivity, aligning operations to markets, and the impact of technology developments on the service-delivery system. You will be able to analyse an operating system’s efficiency in terms of process design, capacity and quality of service, and make recommendations to improve its design or operation. You will have a greater appreciation of the need to manage integrated processes across the value chain to achieve business success.
Module content:
Corporate finance techniques encompass financial skills that every general manager requires. The course includes financial calculations; the use of financial statements; equity versus debt financing; distribution mechanisms; capital allocation (investment evaluation and rates of return).
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