ICM Single Subject Diploma in
Business Management and Administration
Course Outline
The Organisational Background to Business Administration
The Management Framework to Business Administration
- What are business administration and management?
- The board of directors
- Functions within an organization
- The ‘systems’ approach to organization
- Planning-control feedback cycles
Characteristic Features of Organisations
- The structure of organizations and the need for an authority
- The features of bureaucratic and non-bureaucratic organizations
- Traditional principles and types of organization
- More about systems and subsystems
The Structure of Business Enterprises
- The pattern of organizations
- Business types including; sole-trader enterprises, partnerships, limited partnerships, the limited liability company, non-profit-making units (clubs and societies), public enterprises
- Public sector organizations; autonomous public corporations, nationalized industries, local government institutions, central government departments
Functions within Organisations
The Production Function
- The production process and types of production
- Site selection and factory planning
- Plant and equipment
- Materials and materials handling
- Production administration
- Costing aspects of production
- Work-study
- Maintenance and production
- CAD, CAM, and CIM
The Purchasing Function
- The nature of purchasing and the role of the purchasing officer
- Purchasing department procedures, inventory control, stores control, and economic order quantity
The Research and Development Function
- The functions of the research and development department
- Basic research
- Problem-based research
- Ideas generation
- Applied research and development
- Patents, trademarks and service marks
- Research and development in the business organization
The Marketing Function
- Introduction to marketing and the marketing philosophy
- Market analysis and research
- Promotion, publicity, and public relations
- Pricing policy
- Credit control
- Sales administration
- Transport and distribution (logistics)
- Export marketing
Personnel Department
- The need for staff
- The functions of the personnel department and a personnel policy
- Employee records
- Promotion, transfer, termination, and dismissal
- Industrial relations practice
- The remuneration of staff
The Administrative Officer’s Role
Office Administration
- The role of the administrative officer
- Facilities management – the ‘new-look’ office administrator
- The office and its functions
- The clerical function, business correspondence, mail inwards, mail outwards, systems for producing business correspondence
- Meetings, conferences, functions, and delegation
Other Responsibilities of the Administrative Officer
- The organization and methods department
- Security aspects of business
- Risk management
- The environment of organizations
- What is a claimant?
- Assessing the impact of claimants
Business Management and Administration