Planning and Managing Your Work

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 The Planning Process
• Introduction
• 1.1 What is Planning?
• 1.2 Stages of Planning
• Stage 1: Define the Objectives
• Stage 2: Generate and Evaluate the Options
• Stage 3: Identify the Activities
• Stage 4: Sequence the Activities
• Stage 5: Identify the Resources
• Stage 6: Review the Plan
• Stage 7: Prepare Action Plans and Schedules
• Stage 8: Monitor and Control; Re-plan if Necessary
• 1.3 Problems and Constraints in Planning
• Vague Objectives
• Lack of Information
• Changing Circumstances
• People and Politics
• The Contingency Plan
• 1.4 Your Own Planning Context
• Developing a Strategy
• Business Planning
• Operational Planning
• Clarifying Your Objectives
• Review What Needs to be Done
• Determine Your Priorities
• Summary and objectives
• Session 2 Techniques of Planning and Allocating Work
• Introduction
• 2.1 Identifying and Choosing Between Options
• Generating Options
• Evaluating Options
• 2.2 Developing Plans and Schedules
• Initial Thinking: Making Lists
• Schedules and ‘Key Events’ Charts
• Gantt Charts
• Networks
• Are These Techniques for You?
• 2.3 Resources Planning
• Incorporating Costs
• 2.4 Allocating Work
• Summary and objectives
• Session 3 Monitoring and Controlling Performance
• Introduction
• 3.1 The Control Loop
• People Factors
• 3.2 Setting Standards
• 3.3 Making Provisions for Measuring and Monitoring Performance
• Information Systems
• 3.4 Deciding whether Corrective Action is Needed
• Continuing Unchanged
• Correcting Performance
• Revising the Standard (or Target)
• 3.5 Controlling Change at Boots — a Video Case Study
• Summary and objectives
• Session 4 Enhancing Performance
• Introduction
• 4.1 Appraisals
• The Purpose of Appraisals
• What to Appraise
• Personality and Other Rating Schemes
• Attainment Against Personal Objectives
• Problems with the Appraisal Interview
• Conducting an Appraisal Interview
• 4.2 Team Reviews
• 4.3 Giving and Receiving Feedback
• Communication Problems
• Active Listening
• Summary and objectives

MBA material, what do you expect?