Advanced Diploma in Work Study
Business, Commerce and Management Studies - Generic Management
Purpose and Rationale
Purpose:
The Advanced Diploma in Work Study is a vocational qualification that enhances skills and competencies gained in the Diploma in Work Study. It enables learners to independently design, select, and apply various management interventions in commerce and industry. The goal is to optimize productivity and the quality of work life. Graduates will be equipped to manage a Management Consultancy Unit or start their own consultancy to advise management. The qualification also prepares learners for postgraduate studies by deepening their knowledge, understanding of theories, methodologies, and practices, and enhancing their problem-solving abilities.
Rationale:
- Need for Skilled Management Services Practitioners: There is a shortage of management services skills, particularly in managing management consultancy units. Work Study practitioners have been advising management for years, but the need for skilled practitioners is increasing.
- Challenges in Service Delivery: Many managers lack essential skills for quality service delivery and organizational performance, leading to a high demand for service improvement.
- Focus on Organizational Performance: The qualification aims to equip learners to advise management on various levels, addressing issues like organizational structuring, process improvement, performance management, and more.
- National and Global Rankings: South Africa's rankings in competitiveness and efficiency highlight the need for emphasis on efficiency in service delivery and market efficiency. Efficient management services practitioners can contribute to improved performance and competitiveness.
- Filling the Gap: The qualification bridges the transition between undergraduate and postgraduate studies in this discipline, offering a coherent pathway for vocational careers in compliance with HEQSF requirements.
- Stakeholder Involvement: The development of the qualification involved input from relevant stakeholders, including academic peers and employers on the Advisory Committee.
Outcomes
- Identify, analyse, evaluate, critically reflect on and address complex systemic problems in the context of management services, apply evidence-based solutions and theory-driven arguments in order to deliver a comprehensive consultancy service and manage Management Consultancy processes and resources in unfamiliar and variable contexts. [Range: "variable contexts" includes but is not limited to private and public sectors].
- Use a range of specialised skills to identify, analyse and address problems to improve the quality of work, drawing systematically on the body of knowledge and methods appropriate to the field of quality management.
- Demonstrate an understanding of a range of methods of enquiry in the field of Management Services research and their suitability to specific investigations and select and apply a range of methods to resolve problems or introduce change within a practice.
- Use a range of specialised skills to identify, analyse and address complex problems to improve productivity and quality of work life, drawing systematically on the body of knowledge and methods appropriate to the field of management services.
Assessment Criteria
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
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Manage the management consultancy processes and resources with recognition of the fact that problem solving is context-and system-bound and does not occur in isolation.
- Analyse, evaluate and critically reflect on the contextual and systemic consultancy problems.
- Address complex contextual and systemic consultancy problems by applying evidence-based solutions and theory-driven arguments.
- Render a comprehensive consultancy service is rendered.
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
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Communicate own ideas and opinions on quality issues with reference to organisational performance and quality of work to management.
- Formulate arguments, using appropriate professional or occupational discourse.
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:
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Apply relevant Management Services research principles, concepts and processes.
- Apply appropriate research design, methods and techniques for a given project.
- Analyse data and present results to a diverse audience.
- Demonstrate scientific writing and professional presentation skills.
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:
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Use a range of specialised skills to identify and analyse complex problems pertaining to productivity and quality of work life.
- Address problems pertaining to productivity and quality of work life, drawing systematically on the body of knowledge and methods appropriate to the field of management services.
Integrated Assessment:
- The overall assessment strategy of the institution is that of integrated assessment which is evident in the approach to the assessment of applied competence.
- Applied competence is understood as the learners' ability to integrate concepts, ideas and actions in authentic, real-life contexts.
- The assessment of which is broken down to the assessment of foundational, practical and reflexive competence where:
- Foundational competence is the demonstrated understanding of what the learner does and why she/he does it.
- Practical competence is the demonstrated ability to perform a set of tasks and actions in authentic contexts.
- Reflexive competence is the demonstrated ability to integrate learner's performances with their understanding so that they can adapt to changed circumstances and explain the reason behind these adaptations.
- Integrated assessment further implies a planned combination of formative and summative assessment strategies with varying ratios, depending on the NQF Level of study where:
- Formative assessment implies being supportive to learning, non-judgmental and focused on providing constructive feedback or criticism to the learner, takes place during the learning process and informs planning of future learning activities.
- Summative assessment implies assessment to be mainly concerned with "judging" if the outcomes have been achieved through the learning process and therefore usually takes place at the end of the relevant learning process.
- The qualification incorporates the different aspects of integrated, formative, and summative assessments in its assessment strategy.
Qualification Details
- Type
- Advanced Diploma
- NQF Level
- 07
- Min. Credits
- 120
- SAQA Source
- More Information
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This page includes information from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) . Builtneat Pty Ltd trading as Study Start, has modified all or some of this information. SAQA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.