Course Catalogue

PG Diploma in Leadership and Management Practice 1. Apply the leadership and management skills and business knowledge required to operate as an effective leader and manager within a modern work environment. 2. Make a professional contribution to leadership and management practice within a fast moving environment drawing upon knowledge of functional areas and general business. 3. Apply cross-functional leadership and management skills to make a positive contribution to an organisation. 4. Assess strategic business issues and make a timely contribution to these through problem solving in a team environment. 5. As an independent learner, reflect on the principles and practice of self development and apply these so as to impact positively in an organisational setting. 6. Synthesise current management theory and business principles to improve personal practice, enhance career prospects and to facilitate personal, academic and professional development. 7.Be a reflective practitioner with the skills to critically evaluate problems using appropriate concepts, theories and models.

Learners will attend a 1-day residential at the start of their programme and modules will normally be delivered in block release format. The students on this programme will have received learning on the SLA. The university’s VLE (Canvas) will be employed to allow teaching and extension materials to be readily available off-site and provide a means for participants to maintain contact. A strong emphasis is placed on recognising that the workplace is an important place to learn; learners will integrate key concepts and theories, assessing the impact of these on their own working environment and reporting back on their findings. Action learning will be adopted as the key supportive and collaborative approach to learning. Issues and challenges and good practice from the workplace can be discussed and peer reviewed by tutors and colleagues on the course, providing a forum to bring ideas, thoughts, issues and actionable remedies to the fore. The predominant assessment methodology is one piece of individual coursework per module, which will require participants to relate their learning to an organisational setting. These assessments will normally be developed from their own experience or setting by each individual student through the module activities with the application of theory to practice being a key element of the programme. In the initial 20 credit module, the emphasis will be on a portfolio of work, bringing together different facets of learning activities enabling them to develop a broad understanding of themselves and their overall objectives for the duration of the programme. During all modules formative feedback, which supports the summative assessments, is on-going both within and outside the formal sessions. Students experiencing changing circumstances or difficulties with access may be supported by providing suitable case studies for their assessments, however this is not promoted. The assessment methodology, as set out above, provides the opportunities for participants to demonstrate knowledge and skills. In addition to this a 'flipped learning' approach will also be encouraged, providing content prior to the teaching and learning session using the university’s VLE, this approach brings the focus onto action learning, enabling the application of skill development. The VLE (Canvas) allows information and resources to be shared in advance of taught sessions. It also serves as a repository for module-based materials including assessment guidance, reading lists, contact information and signposting to further resources. Some modules use the discussion board feature to incorporate tutor led support and peer to peer communication. The Masterclasses, where keynote speakers address current issues, emerging practice and thought leadership will also be employed on the programme, fostering intellectual skills and addressing the ever changing nature of leadership and management in the real world. Knowledge and skills are assessed through individual work-related assessments, which may be supplemented with group activities. An important element of the programme is the opportunity it provides for participants to apply their learning to organisational situations. The fact that learning is applied, rather than being purely theoretical, is of critical importance to students, since their roles empower them to make a contribution to, and impact on, their organisation. In addition to students producing course work which links theory to practice, the application of learning is also achieved through case-study analysis and a sharing of understanding which draws on the group experience. The nature of classroom sessions is devised as an interactive, student-centred experience with group activities playing a large part in the classroom activity. Participants will be expected to undertake work on their own and, given the applied approach to assessment, this will demand a degree of self-management. 

The programme conforms to the QAA requirements for "a career development programme for those who have significant ... and relevant work experience on which the learning process should build". Manager and leader development is a shared responsibility, and the ethos of this programme is that it is best developed in partnership between the Business School, together with the organisation and the delegates for whom it is intended. The programmes approach to how manager’s and leader’s learn applies proven management and leadership development approaches. At the centre of the programmes philosophy is the notion that we learn best from experience, so action learning and coaching are a key part of the programme. This approach also builds strong peer learning groups where managers learn from each other. That is because the programme sees management and leadership development as a social and collaborative process. It also means that the programme takes learning from the workplace seriously. Consequently, everybody brings their experience from their area of expertise with them, and plans to apply knowledge and skills in practice and then to reflect on their experience and improve their performance.