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ASc in Business Management

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Introduction

Enhance your knowledge base and required skills to pursue a career in business and management with the Associate of Science Degree in Business Management (ASc BUMA). Students pursue a mix of courses in a broad range of areas designed to provide them with a foundation in management principles and functional skills to enhance efficiency and advance organizational goals.

Graduates who meet minimum GPA requirements will be eligible for entry to Level 2 of the relevant BSc programme at UWI.

 

Who is this programme for?

The ASc BUMA programme is specifically designed for middle managers, office professionals and persons interested in formalizing their skills in management.

 

Programme Structure

The associate degree programmes are delivered using a mixed-mode format. Courses are delivered  using online or blended approaches. Students must have access to a computer and Internet access. Online orientation is conducted before the start of the programme.

Students complete a total of 60 credits normally equivalent to 20 courses. Students explore general education and core courses in a number of areas including:

  • Statistics
  • Management
  • Business Law
  • Financial Management
  • Human Resources Management
  • Introductory Foreign Language

 

When will the programme start?

The programme starts in August of the academic year

 

Entry Requirements

Applicants should meet lower level matriculation requirements which include:

1.    Holders of five (5) CXC or GCE ‘O’ Level passes or equivalent, not necessarily obtained at the same sitting, as follows:
    (i)    English (A), and
    (ii)   Mathematics or a foreign language, or an approved science (not Health Science), or additional Mathematics or Geography
    (iii)  Three (3) other approved subjects not already counted above.

2.    Persons over the age of 21 on the basis of their overall academic and professional attainments.
3.    Holders of the approved certificates from the School of Continuing Studies, UWI with an acceptable pass in English Language

 

Academic Preparation

Prior to the start of the programme all new participants must take part in an orientation programme held in August of an academic year.  This orientation introduces learners to online study and prepares them for the demands of a UWI Open Campus Associate Degree programme.

OOL1001 Orientation to Online Learning  
IYMS1001 Improving your Math Skills

Course of Study
Level 1 
SPAN0900
Introductory Spanish

This course aims to develop the basic communicative skills of students. Students will be equipped with both receptive skills (listening and reading) and productive skills (speaking and writing).

Credits: 
3
MGMT1905
Foundations of Caribbean Environment

Assessment:

Coursework – 40%

Final Exam -  60% (face-to-face)

MGMT1000
Introduction to Computers

This course deals with the basics, major concepts and principles of computers and computing. Topics covered will include: evolution and classification of computers, computer hardware, software and data communications; computer data processing; and microcomputers in business.

Credits: 
3
FOUN1101
Caribbean Civilisation

This course is designed to develop an awareness of the main process of cultural development in Caribbean societies, highlighting the factors, the problematic and the creative output that have fed the emergence of Caribbean identities. It also develops a perception of the Caribbean as wider than island nations or linguistic blocs and stimulates students’ interest in, and commitment to Caribbean civilization and to further their self-determination.

 

Credits: 
3
ECON1005
Introductory Statistics

This course introduces students to the art and science of statistics. Topics covered are: the collection and compilation of data, descriptive statistics, probability distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing and simple regression and correlation. Teaching is accompanied by computer applications using MINITAB software.

Credits: 
3
ECON1003
Mathematics for Social Sciences I

This Course is designed to build on students’ understanding of elementary mathematics and to expose them to some of the mathematical concepts that will be used in the study of various models in economics and management sciences. It begins with the topic of functions and moves seamlessly into equations and inequalities. These draw on the student’s prior experience in areas of algebra and coordinate geometry. It then moves the equally interesting area of sequences. This is followed by some matrix algebra then into the topic of limits and continuity, it ends with differentiation with some applications to the social sciences. Emphasis will be placed on the understanding and application of mathematical concepts rather than on computational skills, the use of algorithms and the manipulation of a formula.

Credits: 
3
Prerequisite(s): 
Introduction to Microeconomics
FOUN1001
English for Academic Purposes

This is a cross-disciplinary course. It is designed to provide a firm base for Communication courses and for courses in English for Special Purposes linked with specific disciplines. It helps students to achieve the level of competence in written language that is required of the university student in undergraduate programmes. Course content includes Language in the Caribbean, Summarizing, the Formal Essay and Methods of Organising Information.

Credits: 
3
Level 1 Electives 
FINA1001
Elements of Banking and Finance

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the role of Banking and Finance in an economy, and the unique managerial issues that confront financial institutions. Specific topics to be covered include: Organisational Structure of Financial Institutions, The Legal Framework and the Legal Constraints within which Financial Institutions operate, An Introduction to the Services provided by banks to both Retail and Business Sectors, The risks to which Financial Institutions are exposed, Why Monetary Policy includes Regulation of the banking Systems and the means employed.

Credits: 
3
SOCI1002
Introduction to Sociology

This course will introduce students to classical social theory through an understanding of the work of writers such as Auguste Comte, Max Weber, Karl Marx and George H. Mead. The main focus of this studying is to understand the central ideas of these writers and to reflect on the usefulness of their theory in contemporary Caribbean societies. This reflection will support students’ further investigations of the explanations given for issues on the front line of Caribbean societies’ development agendas. At the same time, students will learn about the central ideas and perspectives of writers such as Edward Kamau Brathwaite, M.G. Smith and George Beckford. The combination of classical and Caribbean schools of social inquiry will set the tone for a synthesizing of perspectives on race, class, gender, ethnicity and the family in society. This process will assist students with developing their theoretical base in social theory, as well as independent thought on happenings in Caribbean society.

Credits: 
3
ECON1001
Introduction to Microeconomics

Microeconomics is the study of people in the “ordinary business of life”. As economic welfare depends upon the choices of people regarding the allocation and use of resources, it is necessary that ordinary members of the community and specialists in government and business, understand the account of these choices that are provided by microeconomic theory and are able to develop critiques of that theory. It is also necessary that they are able to appreciate, and undertake, microeconomic analysis of contemporary problems and policies. This course therefore explores the theory of economic choice and its application to a range of resource-use questions. Specifically, it focuses upon a range of microeconomic principles, their use in economic analysis, and their relevance in the global information economy. While drawing on the history of economic thought, it emphasizes contemporary resource-use issues and the development of the skills of economic specialists and non-specialists.

Credits: 
3
Level 2 
MGMT1916
Foundations of Financial Management

Assessment:

Course work - 40%

Final Exam -60% (face-to-face)

Students who entered the programme before 2009, we recommend that you take this course as a substitute/replacement for MGMT1909 - Introduction to Financial Management

Prerequisite(s): 
Introductory Statistics
Cost and Management Accounting
MGMT1907
Small Business Management

Assessment:

Coursework - 40%

Final Exam - 60% (face-to-face)

MKTG1900
Fundamentals of Marketing

Assessment:

Aoursework - 40%

Final Exam - 60%(face-to-face)

MGMT1905
Foundations of Caribbean Environment

Assessment:

Coursework – 40%

Final Exam -  60% (face-to-face)

MGMT1902
Human Resource Management

Assessment:

Coursework - 40%

Final Exam -  60% (face-to-face)

 

MGMT1001 is a pre-requisite for MGMT1902

Texts: Human Resource Management by Fisher, Schoenfeldt and Shaw (latest ed.)

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management by David Decenzo and Stephen Robbins ( latest ed.)

Prerequisite(s): 
Principles of Management
MGMT1915
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour

Assessment:

Coursework - 40%

Final Exam -  60% (face-to-face)

BUAD1903
Business & Commercial Law

Assessment:

Coursework – 40%

Final Exam -  60% (face-to-face)

NB: The offering of this in Summer will be dependent on student registration numbers

PHIL1901
Business Ethics

Assessment:

Class participation - 20%

Assignment - 40%

Final Exam -  40% (face-to-face)

 

Students, who entered the programme before 2009, we recommend that you take this course as a substitute/replacement for PHIL1900 Ethics, Logic and Philosophy.

Required Text:  Trevino, Linda and Nelson, Katherine. (2006) Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about how to do it Right 4/E Wiley. ISBN: 0471755257

Velasquez, Manuel. (2002) Business Ethics: Concepts & Cases 6/E Prentice Hall, ISBN: 0-13-093821-1

MGMT1001
Principles of Management

The course is designed to introduce learners to the major aspects of management principles. It will expose them to the corpus of knowledge required to assist an organisation to achieve its objectives. It provides important information intended to expose learners to the intricacies of managing enterprises - be these private or public, corporate or small business enterprises, and government or nongovernmental organisations.

Credits: 
3
ECON1002
Introduction to Macroeconomics

This is an introductory study of the field of macroeconomics. It will introduce students to the content, methods and techniques of macroeconomics; acquaint them with the distinctive features of a small open economy and expose them to contemporary issues in macroeconomic analysis and policy.

Credits: 
3
ACCT1003
Cost and Management Accounting

In this course, students are sensitized to an understanding of current cost and management accounting theory and practice. Emphasis is placed on the concepts and procedures of product costing, the tools of managerial accounting such as C-V-P analysis and budgeting, as well as, strategies that help the manager to perform the functions of planning, controlling and decision making. This prerequisite knowledge provides the foundation for the levels II & III Management Accounting courses. The course makes use of some simple mathematical concepts including the basic mathematical operations, solving simple linear equations and graphing linear functions.

Credits: 
3
ACCT1002
Introduction to Financial Accounting

The primary objective of this course is to provide a thorough exposure to financial accounting fundamentals as they relate to today’s business world. It is designed mainly for students who have little or no knowledge of financial accounting. The following topics will be addressed: the basic accounting process; accounting systems and controls; accounting for assets and liabilities; partnerships and corporations; additional financial reporting issues.

Credits: 
3
Level 2 Electives 
MGMT1908
Project Cycle Management

Case Study analysis 20%

Funding Proposal 30%

Project Plan 50% 

 

Required Text:  Maylor, Harvey (2005) Project Management (3/E) Harlow: Pearson Education ISBN 02737904311

James P Lewis (2000). The Project Manager’s Desk Reference: A Comprehensive Guide to Project Planning, Scheduling, Evaluation, Control and Systems (2/E). New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN No. 0-07-134750-X

Recommended: Davidson Frame (1995). Managing Projects in Organizations: How to Make the Best Use of Time, Techniques, and People. San Franscisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.  ISBN No. 0-7879-0160-1

Jeffrey K Pinto ed. (1998) The Project Management Institute: Project Management Handbook. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. ISBN No. 0-7879-4013-5       

MGMT1914
Industrial Relations Management

Assessment:

Coursework - 40%

Final Exam -  60% (face-to-face

INFO1901
Fundamentals of Management Informations Systems

Assessment:

Coursework – 40%

Final Exam -  60% (face-to-face)

MGMT1000 is a pre-requisite for INFO1901

 

 Required/Recommended books:

1)   Text:   Information Systems Today. Retrieved from www.pearsonhighered.com/valacich  Information Systems Today. 4th Ed.  Joseph Valacich , Christoph Schneider

2)   Text:  Management Information Systems…James O’Brien  www.mhhe.com/obrien -  For additional instructor and student resources (case studies)

Prerequisite(s): 
Introduction to Computers