Computers & IT in Business & Management

·Covered in this Diploma Program include:

Module 1 - Computers and the Functions of Management

·The importance of management, information in management, computers as management tool

·Principles of management: the “technical” aspects and the “human” aspects of management

·Objectives of an enterprise, policy making, interpretation and implementation, research and planning

·Functions of management: planning, organising, co-ordinating, motivating, controlling, setting standards

Module 2 - Computers in Business and Administration

·The development of computers, programming languages, the current generation, variety, compatibility

·Artificial intelligence, decision support systems, heuristics, PCs, technology in business and industry

·Characteristics of computers: speed, storage and retrieval of data, diligence, accuracy

·Limitations of computers, the manager’s role, their proper use in a variety of business situations

Module 3 - Computer Systems: Hardware

·Information flow within a business, manual operation, computerised versions, the advantages

·The building blocks of a computer system, digital information, the central processor unit, interfacing

·Random access memory, memory management, tuning and refining the system, bootstrapping

·Hardware components, input and output devices, processors, tablets, hybrids, cloud computing

Module 4 - Computer Systems: Software and Data

·Turnkey, operating and multi-user systems, interrupt-driven and priority operating systems

·Distributed systems and local processing, where data should data exist, orthogonality

·Programming tools, code and high-level languages, compilers, interpreters, business applications

·Searching and reporting, exporting and sharing data, user identifications, passwords, macros

Module 5 - Practical Uses of Computers

·Best practice, measurable objectives: effectiveness and efficiency, process control, historical profiles

·Operational intelligence, business tools and mobility

·Web-based operations, website customer use of computers, navigation, screen layouts, marketing

·Examples of why businesses computerise operations: property, hotels, insurance, retail, sport, others

Module 6 - Computers and Management Information

·Practical uses of computers, case study, information needs for decision making

·Computers in forecasting, planning and analysis, graphs, spreadsheets, flow diagrams

·Business models and scenario modelling, income forecasting, 3D line-graphs, mutli-column graphs

·Business intelligence, knowledge, demographic profiling, predicting customer preferences

Module 7 - Computers and Communication

·Communication in business and management, internal and external, lines of communication

·Communication terms, devices and protocols, telecommunications, broadband, global networks

·The internet, IP numbers, URLs, http://, bandwidth, network speed, compression and streaming

·Computer mediated communication, email, SMS, OCR, practical managerial considerations

Module 8 - Computers and Accounting

·The need for accurate and timely accounts: operational intelligence, strategic decisions, stakeholders

·Manual bookkeeping, computerised accounting systems, master records, data entry, audit log

·Business requirements, financial data flows, real and notional transfers, transactional ledger

·Computer generated reports, user-configurable software, standardisation, flexibility, regulations

Module 9 - Digital and Printed Media - Beyond Word Processing and Desktop Publishing

·Traditional print media, word processing, documents, static and dynamic features, useful tools

·Desktop publishing, publishing software, graphic design and colour theory

·Digital media, web-servers, web-browsers, websites, html, content management systems, social media

·Web site production teams: content, designers, engineers, developers, quality assessment

Module 10 - Business Continuity: Choosing and Defining a Computer System

·Business continuity, systems life-cycle, the waterfall model, expansion, research, funds, experience

·Choosing a system: scope, feasibility, requirements, pilot, specification, project planning, timelines

·Project management companies, project committees, communications, tasks, workstreams, concepts

·Test plans, acceptance criteria plans, post acceptance planning, a case study

Module 11 - Business Continuity: Delivering, Testing and Introducing a Computer System

·Procuring hardware and software, developing functionality, configuring the system environment

·Testing a system: components, functionality, parallel run, simulations, capacity, specifications

·System build and integration, project team skills, infrastructure, development, checks, going-live

·Agile project management, quality assurance and user acceptance testing (UAT), training plans

Module 12 - Business Continuity: Efficient Running and Maintenance of a Computer System

·Emergency planning, identifying risks, the site for computer systems, electricity matters, UPS

·Back-up communications, hardware failure, data back-up systems and procedures, disaster recovery

·Physical security and conditions, access policies, cyber-attacks, prevention methods, encryptions

·Operating procedures, permissions systems, domain administrators, governance and regulation