Why study Business Management and Administration? Stellenbosch Business School Skip to main content
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A postgraduate diploma in Business Management and Administration is a highly sought-after qualification for very good reason.

Apart from the specialised knowledge you’ll acquire, it’s also a clever career move that may unlock a host of new opportunities. Let’s take a look at some of the details and benefits around opting for further studies in Business Management and Administration.

 

Where can I study Business Management and Administration?

The Stellenbosch University Business School offers a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management and Administration. This programme offering has high levels of flexibility to suit your needs. You can opt to enrol for a one-year or a two-year programme. You also have the option to attend classes in the Blended Learning format, which means that you can decide to attend contact sessions on campus or attend online. The contact sessions for Blended Learning are presented throughout the year on a weekly (1-year programme) or a bi-weekly (2-year programme) basis. Another option is to enrol in our Modular learning format, which is presented in four block weeks where you will attend the contact sessions on campus.

 

Why is Business Management and Administration a good career direction?

At Stellenbosch University Business School, one of our core values is to promote responsible leadership. A responsible leader has to be equipped to make the best decisions for their business. Those of you who are eager to apply your minds to alternative thinking frameworks will be able to define problems, identify opportunities, and design solutions amidst the context of organisational and global volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

 

What is the path to becoming a Business Manager and Administrator?

Business management and administration encompasses a wide variety of focal areas. To effectively manage a business, it is important to first understand the operations of the business. This would include an understanding of the products, services or other offerings by the business and any processes involved in providing the products or service offering.

 

The broader context within the business is of equal importance. A comprehensive understanding of the various stakeholders and resulting relationships is vital in this regard. Stakeholder management is a critical element of the business strategy implemented by the modern business manager. Stakeholders include both external as well as internal parties. In terms of external stakeholders, customers, suppliers, financiers, and government agencies should be considered. Internal customers would include shareholders and employees. But stakeholder management also goes further than these identified parties. The modern business finds itself operating in a particular environment, and the impact of the business processes on this environment plays an ever-increasing role in ensuring that a sustainable business is developed and maintained. The responsibility of ensuring comprehensive and effective stakeholder management would ultimately lie with the board of directors of a company. The implementation of the stakeholder management system, on the other hand, would become the responsibility of the business manager through board mandate.

 

Who would benefit from a Business Management and Administration qualification?

In many instances, managers start their careers in an operational capacity within an organisation but eventually find themselves transitioning into a management role. Frequently this transition happens organically, and the expectations of the new manager may radically change from what they were accustomed to in their previous operational role. A new focus has to be developed, with the manager viewing the organisation from a different perspective.

 

A focus area of paramount importance to ensure a successful transition from operations to business management is the development of a leadership skillset. The mindful manager as leader requires an awareness of how values-based leadership is to be practised authentically. This awareness needs to expand to include the impact of leadership decisions on internal and external stakeholders, as well as on the society and environment in which the business operates. Notions such as business ethics need to be explored and integrated into management actions and principles.

 

What value does a Business Manager and Administrator hold for an organisation?

The African context brings with it unique opportunities and challenges. Organisations need strategic leaders that understand the political, economic, social, technological, regulatory and environmental landscape. Business managers and administrators need to be equipped to operationalise the strategic vision of the decision-makers of the organisation in an ever-changing world. In fact, organisational role players look toward business managers to take the lead in reviewing complex realities to ensure best practices for organisational and societal sustainability.

 

Answers to societal and environmental conflicts may present ethical dilemmas, and business managers are tasked to design change processes to pursue positive, sustainable impact that celebrates inclusion, diversity and transformation.

 

It is clear that divergent thinking is a necessary skill that today’s manager needs. The manager has to be equipped to analyse different systems surrounding the business and apply concepts such as design thinking to create user-centred solutions.

 

Of equal importance is the contribution that the business manager makes in evaluating the risks faced by the business. In this respect, it is of critical importance that the well-versed business manager has a working knowledge of the risk frameworks such as the ESG frameworks, the ISO 31000 and COSO ERM models, the RIMS risk maturity model, as well as reporting initiatives such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

 

For more specific information regarding this postgraduate diploma at Stellenbosch Business School and to start your application, visit our Business Management and Administration course page. Your journey to responsible leadership begins here.

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