Graduate Diploma of Business Administration (Leadership)

UNIT OVERVIEWS
DISRUPTION, INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Discover the key markers behind successful disruptive innovations and how they penetrate established markets faster, with greater impact.

A disruptive innovation is one that disrupts an existing market and value network by creating a new one, effectively displacing established market-leading firms, products and alliances. Learn how business disruption, innovation and entrepreneurship come together to work as a whole. You’ll also examine current case studies and come up with your own workable environments for disruptive innovations and entrepreneurship to thrive.

Key takeaways include:

• applying appropriate leadership principles to inspire market disruption by ‘first movers’
• employing creativity, innovation and the spirit of entrepreneurship to design a business venture from start-up to maturity
• exploring how modern entrepreneurship and innovation function according to organisational size, industry type, culture and strategy, and
• improving individual performance within a business entrepreneurial environment via personal awareness and direction.

PEOPLE, LEADERSHIP & CULTURE
Learn important principles of how an organisation is structured and operated at various levels.

Gain a holistic view of the drivers, behaviours, group dynamics and leadership practices that influence the culture, social skills, change and effectiveness of an organisation.

Drawing on insights from management, human resource management, sociology and psychology, you will focus on individual, group and organisational-level themes surrounding development and effectiveness. Topics covered include perception, attitudes, values, personality, motivation and performance, the nature and management of teams, leaders and leadership, communication, conflict, and decision-making, as well as organisational structure, organisational culture, and change.

Key takeaways include:

• influencing employee job satisfaction and emotional well-being by leveraging leadership and motivation theories 
• identifying the challenges that confront contemporary society as determined by social and cultural research 
  
• learning how to work effectively with people of diverse cultures, norms and languages, and 
  
• improving organisational, team and individual performances by implementing effective performance methods.
  

COMMUNICATION FOR LEADERSHIP SUCCESS
Develop the key communication skills in becoming the most effective business leader.

Because of their aptitude for mobilising and engaging stakeholders towards organisational achievement, leaders with well-developed social skills are in demand. Becoming proficient in interpersonal interactions is necessary in creating exceptional business performance. Learn how cultivating optimistic attitudes to problem-solving, nurturing positive mindsets and sharing aspirations all go towards organisational success.

Discover how leadership is informed by coaching, delegating, and initiating organisational change, and how sophisticated communications can benefit the strategic marketing and positive public awareness of any business. Realise how organisational goals are achieved by simplifying the effective flow of information by business leaders and employees alike.

Key takeaways include: 

• interacting constructively and professionally with others
  
• demonstrating persuasion and negotiation techniques 
  
• working collaboratively with others in a cross-cultural setting, and 
  
• communicating concisely to global audiences in a dynamic media environment.
  

STRATEGIC MARKETING
Learn how to effectively communicate the objectives and corporate goals of an organisation through strategic marketing.

Evaluate the competitive advantage and potential marketplace of an organisation’s offering by exploring the significance of corporate strategy, along with how a marketing strategy and plan are devised, executed and evaluated.

A strategic marketing plan summarises the how and what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the organisation. The process targets desired customers and compares them to competitors. From this, the appropriate actions are created and implemented to ensure the marketing strategy succeeds. A marketing strategy identifies relevant market segments, targeting, brand prioritising and positioning.

Key takeaways include:

• analysing current marketing strategies through key marketing concepts, theories and statistical techniques 
  
• identifying suitable marketing strategies through market research 
  
• analysing legal, ethical and societal influences on marketing decision-making, and 
  
• communicating product, price, place and promotional objectives effectively via a marketing plan.
  

ACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS DECISIONS
Come away with the fundamentals of accounting across all aspects of business operations within ethical, professional, organisational and social contexts.

While financial accounting comprises the concepts and procedures of producing accounts, management accounting controls cost and profit to enable the use and application of financial information.

Applying theoretical principles of accounting to real-world practices, you will learn how financial information gathering, analysis and reporting is used to plan and control business operations in the support of strategic decision-making. These go towards safeguarding routine and non-routine business accountability.

Key takeaways include:

• analysing how different accounting methods affect financial data
• applying various approaches to decision-making aligned with accounting principles in financial reporting and analysis
• exploring ethical issues, such as fraud and earnings management, related to financial reporting, and
• communicating financial and non-financial information to stakeholders effectively.

CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP
Discover how influencing, motivating and empowering others has contributed to the advancement of organisations.

Effective business leaders have the ability to consistently captivate and motivate others. Learn about the various models, theories, frameworks and techniques that can improve individual, group and organisational productivity. Also, examine the traits, behaviours and corresponding likelihood of what goes into making a great leader.

Transformational leaders inspire others to consider the greater whole and go beyond. They have the potential to achieve lasting change for the benefit of all members in the organisation, ultimately affecting successful and sustainable business outcomes.

Key takeaways include:

• enhancing organisational productivity via leadership theories, frameworks and techniques
• using established leadership values to translate strategic commercial decisions into sustainable trends
• assessing leadership styles effective for change management and the creation of a transformational culture, and
• implementing the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, Time-related) framework to inspire a sustainable vision. 

GLOBAL ECONOMICS
Discover how businesses, often driven by global economic obligations, create instability that impacts organisational performance, and how this can affect stock and financial markets.

A critical function of managers is to make informed decisions on unpredictable economic circumstances. Learn the key principles of macroeconomics – how an open economy functions and stakeholder relationships. Understand how global economic events impact regions and nation-states. By assessing emerging business opportunities and managing risk, you will identify how developing a clear competitive advantage framework will meet these dynamic challenges.

Key takeaways include:

• investigating policies that address national output, unemployment, inflation, exchange rate, household debt, balance of payments and other macroeconomic issues
• examining the activities between firms and consumers, and the growth of productive resources, like production, distribution and consumption
• analysing how the implementation of fiscal and monetary policies manage global business cycle fluctuations, and
• using statistical tools, graphs and written essays to study quantitative economic data.

In response to courts drawing more and more on international law to support lawmaking, business leaders must distinguish how this may affect their organisations. You will focus on the logistical, regulatory, financial and political risks surrounding the formation and operation of international commercial trade.

Businesses must also comply with international agreements that require a competent understanding of various mechanisms. Critical aspects of international law engagement with international organisations, such as treaty-making, dispute resolution and the interaction of international law, will also be covered. Traditional topics like international legal practice and engagement are also tapped into.

Key takeaways include:

• using legal principles and precedents to identify legal risk
• identifying, interpreting and applying legal cases, rulings and statutes related to domestic and international business
• using legal databases to carry out basic legal research, and
• critiquing and applying rules of domestic and international professional legal ethics.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about the units, you could study as part of this course, visit our student Handbook and select the "Course Structure" tab.