Managing Information

If you're new to management, or you need to develop your managerial abilities and understanding, the Professional Certificate in Management is for you. It provides a broad-based, practical introduction to the key ideas, techniques and overall competencies you need in order to manage effectively and productively in modern organisations in any part of the world.

The emphasis is on your own professional development. Everything you study is related to the management roles and responsibilities you exercise in the various functional areas of your company or organisation.

All the elements of the programme — study texts, activities and assignments, online resources, and personal and group support — ensure that you can immediately apply newly learned skills, knowledge and techniques in very practical ways. You can build on your experience and make direct links to your management development needs wherever you are in the world, whatever the size of your organisation and whether it is in the commercial, public or voluntary sector.

• Session 1 Information
• Introduction
• 1.1 What is Information?
• 1.2 Information and Communication
• 1.3 Information and the ‘Real’ World
• 1.4 The Qualities of Management Information
• Information as a resource
• 1.5 Managing Information
• Information systems
• Summary and objectives
• Session 2 History and Development of Information Technologies
• Introduction
• 2.1 Prehistory and Early Development
• 2.2 The Classical Era
• 2.3 The Manufacturing Era
• 2.4 The Computing Era
• 2.5 Converging Technologies
• 2.6 Multimedia and Virtual Reality
• 2.7 The Intelligent Computer?
• Summary and objectives
• Session 3 Working with Information Technology
• Introduction
• 3.1 Mainframes, Minis and PCs
• 3.2 The Data-Based Organisation
• 3.3 Computer Network Structures
• Stand-alone computers
• Simple networks
• Local area networks
• Campus networks
• Wide area networks
• 3.4 Working with Networks
• 3.5 Networking Beyond the Organisation
• 3.6 Working with Information Technology
• Summary and objectives
• Session 4 Systems Development and Systems Management
• Introduction
• 4.1 Classical Systems Analysis
• 4.2 The Need for a New Model
• Methodology or mythology?
• 4.3 Top-Down, Bottom-Up and Inside-Out
• 4.4 End User Computing
• 4.5 Current Developments
• Summary and objectives
• Session 5 Shaping the Organization’s Information Structure
• Introduction
• 5.1 Attitudes to Information Management
• 5.2 Information and Organisational Change
• 5.3 Information Systems Strategy
• 5.4 The Wider Implications of IT Development
• Summary and objectives
• Appendix 1 Myths of Automated Management Systems
• Myth: think big — I: don't just automate the old way of doing things: restructure the company's operations to fully exploit the potential of modern computers
• Myth: think big — II: a fully integrated corporatewide system will revolutionise the company
• Myth: think big — III: take advantage of the growing capability to transmit a tremendous volume of data in microseconds over long distances
• Myth: stop the foot dragging — create an automated system Czar at the senior vice-president level
• Myth: centralise system design to more effectively utilise systems experts
• Myth: our department heads aren't smart enough — get outsiders to create a major new automated system
• Myth: executives must determine their information needs
• Myth: automated management systems are flexible — just put data in and the computer can use it to answer almost any management question you can think of
• Myth: but a 'data management system' can automatically reorganise data almost any way you want
• Myth: our automated management systems costs too much — I
• Myth: our automated management systems costs too much — II
• Myth: our automated management systems costs too much — II
• Myth: don't discourage automation by prorating costs among departments
• Myth: to have a successful automated management system depend on an outside firm (computer utility) for computer service as you do for electric service
• Myth: automated syetms revolutionise management process
• Myth: automated management systems are a myth — there aren't any such things
• Appendix 2 Four Ethical Issues of the Information Age
• Privacy
• Accuracy
• Property
• Access
• PAPA

MBA material, what do you expect?