Undergraduate Higher Diploma in Human Resources, Marketing and Finance

This module will focus on general skills of employability that any professional needs to adopt, and will focus on enabling participants to improve their employability within the labour market.

This module will focus upon providing a general overview of Management concepts, the role of management within an organisation, and how management helps to build value within the firm. The scope of this module is to introduce various concepts that the participants will be able to relate to within Human Resources, Marketing and Finance.

This module will focus on the strategic role of Human Resources within an organisation, focusing on the nature of the HR function, the deliverables provided by the Human Resources function, and how this function can be a source of competitive advantage for the organisation. During this module, participants will also focus on the link between organisational strategy and the Human Resources strategy.

This module will focus on the nature and function of Recruitment and Selection within an organisation, focusing on the sources of Recruitment, various recruitment techniques used to attract job applicants to the organisation, when to use internal and external sources of recruitment, selection techniques and the conclusion of the recruitment and selection process through the induction process of the new employees. During this module, participants will also focus on the strategic importance of Recruitment and Selection in achieving competitive success.

This module will focus on the nature and importance of managing equality, equal opportunities and diversity within an organisation, focusing upon not only the origins of equal opportunities and diversity but also the challenges of implementing and maintaining such a culture within an organisation. Moreover, this module will also focus on different approaches to diversity management that may be implemented, as well as an introduction to the Business Case for Diversity. During this module, participants will also focus on the advantages and realities of adopting an inclusion strategy in all operational activities.

This module will focus on the nature and importance of financial accounting, the respective importance of financial reporting for organisational stakeholders, and the additional value of the financial reporting process. This module will also introduce the accounting standards and generally accepted accounting practices (GAAPs), as well as focusing on how financial reporting practices provide stakeholders and interested persons with valuable information for decision-making purposes. During this module, participants will also focus on the financial statements, the importance of cash and liquidity, as well as interpreting organisational trends in performance.

This module will focus on the nature and importance of cost accounting, and the respective importance of identifying, calculating and managing costs involved in either producing a product or providing a service. Being able to identify and measure costs is a fundamental task of most managerial positions, thus providing valuable information for decision-making.  During this module participants will focus on understanding the different types of costs, what constitutes them, how to determine such costs and their importance within specific business activities.

This module will focus on the importance of financial management, the sources of finance, the costs and benefits of the different sources of finance, the strategic and operational implications of using different sources of finance, differences between short-term, medium-term and longer-term sources of finance, cost of capital, methods used to improve financial management and the effect of financial management on an organisation’s liquidity. Being able to identify and measure the effects that using different sources of finance has on an organisation is important for most managerial positions, thus providing valuable information for decision-making.  During this module participants will focus on understanding the different sources of finance available to organisations, how to determine their effects on business activities and how to improve an organisation’s finances.

This module will focus on the introductory aspects of marketing, the foundational aspects of marketing, understanding the need to meet people’s wants and needs, customers' expectations, laws of market attractiveness and market competition, designing the customer journey, the importance of customer experience, building the strength of brands, and the key elements of customer service. Being able to identify and measure the marketing elements is important in any managerial position as one seeks to meet customers' requirements as effectively as possible. This in turn generates positivity within the organisation as customers develop loyalty towards an organisation and what this organisation represents. During this module participants will focus on understanding the difference between meeting and exceeding customer expectations, understanding the criteria of excellent service and how to strengthen a brand, thus improving the organisation's competitive position.

This module will focus on the main marketing elements comprising what is referred to as the marketing mix of products and services – or the 4Ps of products / 7Ps of services. Participants will be exposed to practical applications of the marketing mix, being able to not only understand their respective importance in business but also how these are applied in real-life situations, taking well-known examples from the industry as practical learning situations. Being able to identify and measure the importance of each marketing element will enable participants to develop further awareness of the applicability of marketing aspects to work situations that they are familiar with.  During this module participants will focus on understanding the similarities and differences between developing the marketing mix for products compared with developing the marketing mix for services - thus being able to also apply the marketing mix to those client offers involving both products and services.

This module will focus on the composition of brands, and how these are developed, built and sustained through various marketing initiatives. The module will also cover the nature and different forms of advertising that organisations use to attract and retain customers. Participants will be exposed to the concepts of branding, the benefits of branding and the importance of uniqueness that brands provide through their own individual promises of quality. Participants will also understand the importance of advertising initiatives taken, how to measure the effectiveness of advertising and how to determine which advertising initiatives are more adequate for specific situations. During this module, participants will focus on understanding how brands function as well as learning how advertising helps the organisation reach out to its customers.

This module will focus on the importance of managing performance within an organisation, the effect of performance upon people management, employees’ expectations following performance, performance appraisal systems, composition of rewards, motivation and rewards, financial and non-financial reward systems, and understanding and developing reward strategies. The module will also cover the nature of performance management and also the effects that rewards have on employees’ performance. Participants will be exposed to the concepts of motivation, the benefits of financial and non-financial rewards, and how these are dependent upon and affect performance. During this module, participants will focus on understanding how rewards and performance are linked to and affect each other continuously.

This module will focus on the importance of focusing on people development, identifying employees’ training requirements in line with organisational objectives and requirements, focusing on employees' development requirements, return on investment from training, technical, professional and personal skills and knowledge requirements, the additional investment made in people development and the development of human capital. The module will also cover the nature of people management through continuous and ongoing development in human capital. Participants will be exposed to the concepts of ongoing training, the different approaches towards training and development, as well as the benefits for the organisation of focusing on both short-term and long-term human capital requirements. During this module, participants will focus on understanding how human capital can be nurtured, developed and sustained to ensure continued benefits obtained from the investments made in Human Capital.

This module will focus on the development and implementation of international HRM practices focusing on inclusion, cultural adaptability, standardisation of HRM practices across different countries, and the mass individualisation that is present in both global and international organisations. The module will also cover the challenges of ex-pats and of people working abroad, as well as the opportunities for development that such experiences present to employees. Issues related to familiarisation with different cultures, different expectations and also different standards that employees working abroad have to handle. Participants will be exposed to the concepts of multiculturalism, universal HR practices and also the opportunities and challenges of working within different cultures.

This module will focus on the importance of analysing and managing organisational performance, as the objective of all business operations is to provide greater wealth and adequate return on investment to shareholders. This module will focus on understanding and using the main analytical tools available to analyse organisational performance, including ratio analysis, standard costing and management accounting analytics. Being able to identify and measure the effects on organisational profitability, liquidity and efficiency resulting from the different activities is critical to organisational growth, and participants will be able to understand and apply such reasoning and requirements to actual organisations. During this module, participants will focus on understanding the indicators of adequate and inadequate organisational performance.

This module will focus on the importance of investments, and understanding the composition of stocks, shares and other investment instruments that are available to most organisations.  Among other matters, this module will cover investment analysis, benefits and costs of each form of investment that may be made, and how each affects an organisation's performance and attractiveness for further investment, as well as how an organisation can harness the advantages that such investments provide to the organisation. Investments provide a valuable source of funds, development opportunities and financial growth for an organisation, and harnessing these investments, and exploiting opportunities presented by the market, are valuable insights that the modern manager dealing with financial investments needs to be aware of. During this module, participants will focus on understanding the variances existing between different financial investments available.

This module will focus on managerial decision-making, the reasons behind the rationale leading up to decisions, financial and non-financial factors that are considered, the timing and importance of different decisions taken, the concept of relevance and different costs that need to be considered in such decision-making situations. During this module, participants will also be introduced to the inter-relationship of decisions taken across the organisation, and how these affect the overall organisational performance. Participants will also be introduced to the more relevant cost and management accounting methods that are instrumental in such decisions.

This module will focus on the main aspects of Consumer Behaviour, including Customer Value, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Relationship Marketing, the main factors influencing Customer Behaviour as well as the Buying Decision Process.  Participants will also understand the differences between business markets and business buying behaviour and customer behaviour, and understand further the factors affecting business buying behaviour. During this module course, participants will also focus on market segments and the main bases used to segment different consumer markets.

This module will focus on the main aspects of marketing Services, specifically focusing on the additional complexities involved in marketing services and particularly the person(s) providing the service(s).  During this module participants will focus on the diverse characteristics of services, and their marketing implications, including the inseparability of the service from the person providing that service, as well as focus on some marketing strategies that organisations providing services may apply. Furthermore, aspects relating to service quality, service differentiation and post-sale services will also be covered during this module. Course participants will also get the opportunity to learn how different types of service-related industries apply and provide their services adapted appropriately to increase customer experience.

This module will focus on the main aspects and principles of digital marketing,  focusing on the growth and continuous development of digital marketing thanks to continuous technological improvements.  During this module participants will be introduced to the business importance of websites, the basis of search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques, elements of social media marketing, content marketing and strategy, web analytics, web, mobile and email marketing as well as online reputation management.  Course participants will also get the opportunity to learn and apply different digital marketing applications and how such applications help the business generate and take advantage of further market opportunities.

This module will focus on the main research methods that are used when conducting any kind of research.  The scope of this module is to introduce participants to the field of research, the requirements and objectives of research and the different aspects and types of research carried out. Participants will be exposed to the standard process normally applied in research projects, starting from choosing the area and subsequently, the title of the research, leading to the problem description, literature review and choice of a research strategy. Participants will also be introduced to quantitative and qualitative research aspects and get the opportunity to apply these to a subject or issue of their choice.

The scope of the Research Project is to provide participants with the opportunity to apply a specific research problem related to any area in Human Resources, Marketing or Finance, and apply all that has been learnt into researching for solutions to the particular problem that can be applied within industry. In this regard, participants will be assisted by a tutor who will be able to guide each participant in what should be worked on, how the research problem chosen should be addressed, and how to not only carry out the necessary research but also analyse possible solutions and prepare to implement the selected recommended solution.