Post Graduate Diploma in Enterprise Management
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The Rhodes Business School is committed to making a significant
contribution to the development of an entrepreneurial culture in South Africa.
In a country in which unemployment is high and in which the prospects of
finding employment in established organisations appears to be diminishing, more
people will have to think in terms of creating their own employment, as opposed
to just seeking employment.
The programme is designed to lay the foundations for
students who wish to pursue the idea of starting their own businesses, thus
creating their own employment as well as employment for others. It is generally
held that small businesses create far more jobs from a macroeconomic point of
view, than do established, large businesses. Being an entrepreneur has its own
set of challenges, agonies and ecstasies. If, at the end of the course, a
student feels unsuited to being an entrepreneur, he or she will nevertheless be
equipped to pursue a career in business.
The programme is based on the action-learning
philosophy. Students on the programme will be expected to learn by doing and to
develop conceptual understanding and practical skills through a process of
simultaneous interaction. This means that programme differs somewhat from the
typical university course.
The target group for the programme
is postgraduate students from any faculty who have NOT majored in Management,
Business Administration, Business Management or the equivalent.
The Rhodes Business School wishes
to bring together a rich diversity of students from different educational
backgrounds to create an entrepreneurial group which is representative of the
South African people.
For application forms contact:
STUDENT BUREAU,
RHODES UNIVERSITY
PO Box 94
Grahamstown
6140
Tel: (046) 603 7034 Fax: (046) 603
8127
E-mail: academicadmin@ru.ac.za
The Programme
This is an intensive, one-year,
full-time programme. It is designed to teach the basic conceptual frameworks
necessary to understand small business management and entrepreneurship, while
equipping students with the practical skills and techniques necessary to start
up and run small businesses effectively.
A key component is the Alpha
Project. Having been exposed to the key elements of a business plan, students,
working in groups, are required to actually set up real micro-enterprises and
manage them throughout the year. Seed funds for these micro-enterprises are
arranged. The Alpha Project is the basis for the implementation of the
action-learning philosophy. During classroom sessions, the practical
experiences gained are explored and reflected upon. Each micro-enterprise is
supported by the Course Coordinator.
Programme Content
The main objective is to teach
students of entrepreneurship, about entrepreneurship and through
entrepreneurship. Teaching through entrepreneurship is accomplished via the
Alpha Project. Teaching for and about entrepreneurship is accomplished in the
classroom, where the practical experience of the Alpha Project is linked to
theory.
The Learning Approach
The programme is based on the
action-learning philosophy, which is embodied in three distinct elements:
• The Alpha Project
• Lectures, seminars, discussions
and case studies
• Private preparation
The three activities are designed
to provide mutual support for each other and to add value to overall learning.
Conceptual understanding and practical skills are fostered and developed
through both individual and group activities. Individual understanding
developed in private preparation is tempered in collective debate, which
encourages the flow of ideas and deepens comprehension.
Orientation
The 2012 course begins on Monday
30 January at 08.30am in the seminar room of Rhodes Business School. It will
start with a period of orientation which will include a few days away from
Grahamstown on a business tour to Knysna, which provides students with the
opportunity to interact with entrepreneurs and to see how their businesses
operate.
Courses within the Programme
- Computerised Accounting for Small Business
- Financial Management
- Strategic Marketing
- People Management
- Entrepreneurship
- Supply Chain and Project Management
- Entrepreneurial Law
Course Coordinator PDEM
Jos Welman (E-mail:
j.welman@ru.ac.za)
