Qualification -ADVANCED CERTIFICATE IN APPLIED MANAGEMENT (SMALL BUSINESS) VBS001

A great course for those who want to become involved in business development and management!

You have the opportunity to focus on: Entrepreneurship, Small Business or Advertising and Promotions.

This course is internationally accredited through I.A.R.C.
Designed to train people for supervisory or managerial positions in a "specific" industry sector. The Advanced Certificate in Applied Management involves the areas of work:
*CORE STUDIES - five units of compulsory subjects for all students. This involves at least 250 hours.
*ELECTIVE STUDIES - stream units for the development of knowledge in a chosen specialisation or industry sector. This involves at least 250 hours of study.
*PROJECT - a "management in the workplace project" of 200 hrs involving approved work experience in a small business. The project specifically aims to provide the student with the opportunity to apply and integrate skills and knowledge developed through various areas of formal study.

Home Studies Course - Managing a Small Business

  • Train for a career in Business management; running your own small business, or working as a manager in a larger enterprise
  • Learn to understand the business world, and develop the skills to communicate, network, organise and control financial, marketing and resources within a small business
  • Discover business opportunities, and learn to evaluate and plan for their implementation 

 

OUTLINES OF CORE UNITS: All subjects below must be studied.

OFFICE PRACTICES
Develops basic office skills covering use of equipment, communication systems (telephone, fax, etc) and office procedures such as filing, security, workplace organisations, etc.

BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Develops knowledge of basic business operations and procedures (eg. types of businesses, financial management, business analysis, staffing, productivity, etc) and the skills to develop a 12 month business plan.

MANAGEMENT
Develops knowledge of management structures, terminology, supervision, recruitment and workplace health and safety.

MARKETING
Develops a broad understanding of marketing and specific skills in writing advertisements, undertaking market research, developing an appropriate marketing plan and selling.


STREAM STUDIES (3 stream modules)

 

1. SMALL BUSINESS

Aims:

The purpose of this unit is to provide students with skills and knowledge in the planning and management of a small business.

STUDENT PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES (some):
*Analyse the design of a work area and redesign for improved work function.
*Explain standard purchasing systems and terminology used in such systems.
*Explain basic corporate law and taxation as it relates to general small businesses.
*Compare the factors which affect the price set for several different goods and services.
*Analyse a product or service being marketed with a view to reducing expenses without reducing quality, then make recommendations on how expenses can in fact be reduced.
*Report on how to effectively interview, recruit and induct new staff.
*Prepare directives and implement change in a hypothetical or real workplace.
*Explain the importance of health and fitness in the workplace for both the manager and the workers.
*Review safety in a workplace.
*Report on an industrial accident explaining how and why it happened and considering how it might have been prevented.
*Conduct a market research program, research relevant statistics, and analyse the results. *Explain how to choose and develop new products or services. *Explain how to reach a variety of different target markets. *Develop a sales approach for a product or service which has a history of being difficult to sell. *Analyse and compare the operation of 15 different businesses. *List the scope of statistical information available through government agencies and report on the relevance of such information to a business. *Develop a comprehensive business plan.

 

2. ENTREPRENEURSHIP

There are 10 lessons in this module as follows:

1. Scope & Nature of Entrepreneurship
2. Is Entrepreneurship Right for You?
3. Assessing opportunities
4. The Role of Market Research
5. Intellectual Property
6. Legal & Ethical Concerns
7. Operating a Business
8. The Business and Financial Plan
9. Marketing
10. Launching a Venture

 

3. ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONS

The course contains ten lessons, outlined below:

1. Analysing the Market
2. Target Marketing
3. Display and Display Techniques
4. Advertising and Promotions Strategy
5. New Product Development
6. Sales Techniques - General
7. Writing Advertisement
8. Electronic Marketing -Telephone & Email
9. Direct Mailing
10. Exhibitions & Shows

 

Workplace Projects

Essentially we will accept anything that constitutes "Learning in a real world relevant situation" -as distinct from our "normal way of delivering a distance education module. The term "Workplace Project" is often used to embrace any type of "learning" experience. that is "real world" oriented. This includes:

A. Attending industry meetings (conferences, seminars, study tours, committee meetings, etc)

B. Work experience (paid or voluntary)

C. Attending workshops run by another institution; or supervised by a professional person working the student through our "workshop curriculum documents"

D. Undertaking any of the following modules: Workshop I, II, III or Research Project I, II, III or IV

E. Undertaking where appropriate other PBL based modules including Editing Practice I, or Journalism Practice I or II

We DO NOT organise and conduct workshops at a particular location or at particular times.

The student DOES NOT need to sit exams for the workshops or workplace projects....but they do need to show documentary proof (in the cases of a, b or c. Fees Apply for d & e but not a, b, or c (where the fee is incorporated into the qualification fee.

 

We have the following on some of the web sites for these things:

INDUSTRY PROJECT OR WORK EXPERIENCE

This is the final requirement that you must satisfy before receiving your award.

There are two options available to you to satisfy this requirement:

 

Alternative 1:

f you work in the industry that you have been studying; you may submit a reference from your employer, in an effort to satisfy this industry (ie. workplace project) requirement; on the basis of RPL (ie. recognition for prior learning), achieved through your current and past work experience.

The reference must indicate that you have skills and an awareness of your industry, which is sufficient for you to work in a position of responsibility.

 

Alternative 2:

If you do not work in the relevant industry, you need to undertake a project as follows.

Procedure for a Workplace Project

This project is a major part of the course involving the number of hours relevant to the course (see above). Although the course does not contain mandatory work requirements, work experience is seen as highly desirable.

This project is based on applications in the work place and specifically aims to provide the student with the opportunity to apply and integrate skills and knowledge developed through various areas of formal study.

Students will design this project in consultation with a tutor to involve industry based activities in the area of specialized study which they select to follow in the course. The project outcomes may take the form of a written report, folio, visuals or a mixture of forms. Participants with relevant, current or past work experience will be given exemption from this project if they can provide suitable references from employers that show they have already fulfilled the requirements of this project.

For courses that involve more than 100 hours, more than one workplace project topic may be selected. For example, 200 hours may be split into two projects each of 100 hours. This will offer the student better scope to fulfill the needs of their course and to meet the number of hours required. Alternatively, the student may wish to do one large project with a duration of 200 hours.

Students will be assessed on how well they achieve the goals and outcomes they originally set as part of their negotiations with their tutor. During each 100 hours of the project, the students will present three short progress reports. These progress reports will be taken into account when evaluating the final submission. The tutor must be satisfied that the work submitted is original.

If the student wishes to do one large 200 hour report, then only three progressive reports will be needed (however the length of each report will be longer).

 

TIPS FOR MANAGING RISK AND AVOIDING BUSINESS FAILURE

BEFORE commencing any business, CONSIDER the risk!

If you understand risk factors, you can develop contingency plans to deal with potential problems, before they occur. This is risk management! Remember that there are two real sorts of risk:

1. Emotional Risk - When things do not go well. There are good and bad parts of running your own business. It is hard not to let these rub off onto you.

When starting a new business you need to consider your mental attitude. Do you want to succeed? Winning in business is what counts if you want to succeed. To win you need to:

  • Be Positive – Speak positively, with confidence, have a “can-do” approach. No one wants to hear that you can’t do something, or hear about your problems.
  • Be Enthusiastic – It’s catching! Enthusiasm is vital to business. Encouraging customers to buy, the bank manager to lend you some more money, your staff to work harder – all of these can stand a better chance if you are enthusiastic about what you are doing. If you are not enthusiastic, why should anyone else be?
  • Don’t be scared of failing – If you don’t try, you won’t succeed. Success is a mental state.

2. Financial Risk - It is likely that much of your money and future is tied up with your business. The financial risk is a fact of life. The fact that there are a lot of people successfully in business shows that the risk can be overcome. You should try to protect yourself from risk. Risk comes in a lot of different forms. But remember, if you don’t succeed the first time, there’s nothing to stop you trying again and learning by your mistakes.

Common Reasons for Failure

  • Don't Do it if You have Insufficient Capital
  • Not enough money to get started
  • Don't forget that money is needed to keep you going from the time you begin in business until the time you are bringing in a profit. In some businesses you might need to cover yourself for several years’ wages. In most businesses you need to cover yourself for at least a few months’ wages.
  • Not enough money to grow and develop.
  • A slow and steady rate of growth is safer than rapid expansion.
  • Remember: Businesses do not stand still they either expand or shrink.

Don't Depend too Heavily on Borrowings

At all costs, avoid borrowing any more money than necessary. If lenders change their minds and won't wait for repayments, or if interest rates increase; something you thought was manageable might all of a sudden cause the business to collapse. This has happened to many small business people as well as a significant number of big businesses in recent times.

 

Make Sure You Plan Finance Properly

You must know your financial position at all times and adjust the way you manage your business accordingly. It is easy to lose touch with the current situation and become distracted and involved with the day to day problems of running a business. Set clear goals and monitor your progress towards them.

 

Manage Cash Well

Don't overspend when you have it or you won't have it when you need it. This is a simple statement, but one which leads to the downfall of many businesses. If you don't keep accurate records of what you are owed, you might not realize you haven't been paid.

 

Watch the Volume of Business and Don't Lose Sight of the Profit

The most successful businesses are generally those which do less work for more profit. Don't try to get too big too fast instead, put your effort into getting better profits out of the work which you are able to get.

 

Collect Money Owed to You

You need to be of strong resolve to get money out of your customers.

Remember - business and friendships are two very different things.

  • Don't go easy on people because you like them.
  • Don't avoid chasing money because you don't like the confrontation. If you can't take the right approach to collecting money you shouldn't be in business.

 

Before setting up a business, you need to consider these questions:

Don't Develop Businesses Unless there is a Distinct and Identified Need

Get to know the market you are planning to set up your business in.
Are you producing something, selling something? Is there a need for the information or product you are selling? Carry out market research of the market place and see who your competitors are and how well they are doing?

 

Know your potential customers

How do they shop? Via the internet? Visiting a shopfront? By telephone? Mail order? Try to develop a network with people who may be useful to you in developing your business. Find out what is missing. Is there a niche in your market that you could fill? Could you sell/produce some specialist product or knowledge?

 

Understand what you have to offer

The first step is to identify customers’ needs and then determine whether you can meet those needs.
Are you going to produce goods, sell goods on from a producer, sell knowledge?
Specialist business are developing more and more, particularly with the growth of the internet, where people can contact many different businesses for what they want. If you can produce the right thing for the right customer, you will have more chance of succeeding.