Quality Strategy Implementation

All short courses are completed individually through technology-enhanced distance learning. You do not need to attend any classes. You have access to your lecture videos and other material on a weekly basis, and all your assignments are submitted online.

The fee is R 5, 200.00, which includes your online study material. Persons based outside South Africa can pay in US Dollars, Euros or GB Pounds. Payment of fees must be effected before access to the course.

English

Short courses are available internationally. A new cycle of short courses starts every first Monday of each month from February to November.

After completion of this short course, you will be able to:

• Distinguish between prescriptive and emergent strategy.
• Understand the Balanced Scorecard perspectives.
• Differentiate between the Balanced Scorecard and its “Strategy Map” form.
• Understand the four processes for managing strategy.
• Distinguish between Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Understand Systems Thinking fully.
• Motivate the importance of values, beliefs and guiding principles in formulating the organisation’s strategic vision and mission.
• Utilise the Balanced Scorecard for understanding the organisation’s vision and mission; prioritising resource allocation and projects; facilitating organisational improvement; and tracking organisational benefits.
• List the strategic organisational benefits that can be derived by applying management through projects and programmes.
• Define a learning organisation.
• Identify the needs of “new economy” organisations.
• Describe the process that organisations use to build their learning capabilities.
• Discuss the role of leadership in creating a learning organisation.
• Motivate the importance of creating a learning organisation.
• Explain the five principles of a strategy-focused organisation proposed by Kaplan and Norton.
• Understand that the task of executive leadership is to institutionalise the knowledge-based learning organisation.
• Explain the importance of Systems Thinking (measure, appraise, review) in organisational improvement and performance enhancement.
• Discuss the role of TQM philosophy in creating the Value System.
• Motivate the importance of the Value System in formulating the organisation’s strategic Vision and Mission.
• Explain the role of the Strategy Map form of the balanced scorecard.
• Understand how a Quality Management System (QMS) facilitates continuous organisational improvement and organisational performance enhancement.
• Demonstrate how QMS components, viz, the value system; strategy map; behavioural, structural and operational strategy dimensions; value chain enablers and results (EFQM model); KPIs and CSFs; and PDCA cycle combine to improve performance.

You will complete weekly online exercise assignments that combine to yield your final mark. The questions may involve multiple choice, a brief discussion of an important issue, or solving a short case study. Your final course mark will be based on the average of the weekly scores achieved. The final pass mark is 50%. A certificate is awarded upon successful completion of the course. Should you achieve a distinction (75% or higher), this will be so indicated on your certificate.

The course is open to anyone who is basically proficient in English and has internet access.