Communication and Information Management And MA in Information Management

The methodology that will be employed in the delivery of the proposed training includes:
1. Discussion groups,
2. Group and individual investigation,
3. Simulations
4. Individual consultation
5. DVD/Video Case Analysis
6. Text Case Analysis
7. Documentary Analysis
8. Formal Presentation
Assessment
Assessment, towards the HRODC Postgraduate Diploma, Communication and Information Management will be both in-session and out of session, on a cumulative and continuous basis, to facilitate the retaking of assessable modules, within the allocated time. Participants will be advised, at the start of the programme, when and what form the assessment will take.

To achieve the attainment level required for the Award of HRODC Postgraduate Diploma in Communication and Information Management, delegates should achieve a minimum of 50% pass in at least 70% of the modules. Module one will be treated as a double-unit and assessed in 2-parts, while module 3 will be regarded as 4 units, assessed in 4 distinct parts.
There are, therefore 10 units, for assessment purpose, requiring at least a pass in 7 units, at 50% or higher. The assessment will be facilitated by the issuance of bound copies of course guides and course supplement (possibly combined), at the beginning of the training.




THE PROGRAMME

Module # Module Title Unit Value Duration
1 Use of English 2 5 Days
Objectives Contents & Concepts
By the end of the specified Learning and development activities, delegates will be able to:
 Demonstrate their ability to spell unusual words
 Demonstrate their Mastery of the English ‘Peculiars’
 Identify words with silent consonants, reflecting this factor in their spelling
 Demonstrate their ability to identify words with silent consonants, reflecting this factor in their spelling
 Demonstrate their ability to recall the different parts of speech, in the English Language;
 Demonstrate their knowledge of the function of the different parts of speech, generally
 Demonstrate their knowledge of the function of the different parts of speech, understanding
 Demonstrate their ability to differentiate between ‘countables’ and ‘uncountables’ and the appropriate ways of managing them in context.
 Distinguish between common and proper nouns
 Use the different parts of speech in sentences, their demonstrating their ability to use them effectively in context
 Exhibit their understanding of how the different types of pronouns are to be used in different contexts
 Indicate how transitive and intransitive verbs are to be used in written and spoken contexts
 Construct sentences and paragraphs using gerunds, as distinct form other aspects and contexts of ‘Use of English’
 Use comparatives and superlatives, effectively, demonstrating how to appropriately use them in written and spoken contexts.
 Analyse sentences, picking out main and subordinate clauses
 Construct sentences, incorporating noun clauses
 Demonstrate their ability to construct sentences incorporating noun clauses
 Analyse sentences, demonstrating their knowledge of the difference between nouns, and adverbial and adjectival clauses.
 Tell the function of clauses in sentences.  Spelling Unusual Words
 Vowels and Consonants;
 The Silent Vowels;
 The Peculiars;
 Speech Organisation –
 Nouns –
 Common nouns,
 Proper nouns,
 ‘Noun in a position’,
 Countables,
 Uncountables;
 Pronouns –
 Types of Pronouns
 Relative pronoun
 Personal pronoun
 Indefinite pronoun
 Demonstrative pronoun
 Reflexive pronoun
 Interrogative pronoun
 Verbs –
 Transitive And Intransitive Verbs;
 Adjectives;
 Adverbs;
 Prepositions;
 Exclamations Or Interjections
 Conjunction
 Gerunds
 The superlatives
 Using Tense appropriately –
 Present Tense;
 Past Tense;
 Simple Present Tense
 Present Perfect Tense;
 Pluperfect or Past Perfect Tense;
 Future tense;
 Fundamentals of Reported Speech
 Subjects and Objects
 Relating number of verb to number of subject or object
 Clauses
 Main clauses
 Subsidiary clauses
 Types of clauses –
 Defining clauses
 Non-defining clauses
 Noun clauses
 Adjectival clauses
 Adverbial clauses



Module #
Module Title Unit Value Duration
2 Taxonomy of Educational Objectives 1 1 Day
Objectives Contents & Concepts
By the end of the specified Learning and development activities, delegates will be able to:
 Demonstrate their understanding of the different levels of learning
 Indicate the level of learning that relates to each ‘occupational activity’,
 Determine the level of information processing that is associated with each level of learning,  Levels of Learning –
 Simple Recall;
 Comprehension or Analysis;
 Application;
 Problem-Solving;
 Synthesis



Module # Module Title Unit Value Duration
3 Information Gathering, Processing and Presentation 4 10 Days
Objectives Contents & Concepts
By the conclusion of the specified learning activities, participants will be able to:
 Distinguish between data and information
 Assess the value of secondary sources of information as a prelude to the presentation of primary information
 Choose the most appropriate data elicitation techniques, in relation to the sampling frame, sampling unit, sample size & time span, among other factors.
 Advise others of the situations in which participant observation, conversation analysis, documentary analysis, focus groups, interviews & questionnaires, respectively, are appropriate.
 Design interview & questionnaire schedules that will elicit information appropriate to the objectives of the report
 Design structured & unstructured questions, determining the conditions under which they should be used
 Design questionnaires & interview schedules, with a mixture of open-ended & closed-ended items, avoiding forced-choice in the latter
 Employ the most appropriate data analysis techniques, based on the type & volume of data available
 Use SPSS (subject to licence) and, or, Excel software packages in analysing data
 Use Microsoft Excel to make necessary calculations
 Identifying ‘trends’ & ‘patterns’ in information, in an effort to arrive at the appropriate conclusions
 Distinguish between summary and conclusions
 Produce effective reports, adhering to conventional styles, presenting evidence from the data, & exploiting visual representations
 Design an investigation, taking pertinent factors into account
 Manage an investigation, from inception and design to reporting
 Demonstrate their ability to work collaboratively in:
 Designing an investigation
 Eliciting data,
 Analysing data
 Interpreting Data
 Presenting Information
Instrument Design, Information Gathering, Analysis and Presentation:
Sources of Information
Secondary Sources of Information
Primary Sources of Information
Combining Primary and Secondary Sources of Information
Selecting appropriate background information
Choosing The Methodology for collecting information
Qualitative Approaches to collecting information
Quantitative Approaches to collecting information
Combining or ‘Triangulating’ The Methods of collecting information
Data gathering Techniques
Surveys
Participant Observation
Conversation Analysis
Documentary Analysis
Focus Groups
Interviews
Questionnaires
Structuring interview and questionnaire items
Closed-ended questions
Open-ended questions
Non-forced-choice closed ended questions
Sampling As An Important Element of gathering information
The Sampling Frame
Sampling Techniques
Convenience Or Non-random Samples
Quota Sample
 Systematic Sample
 Probability Or Random Samples
 Simple Random Sample
 Stratified Sampling
 Multi-stage Sampling
 Interview Or Questionnaire?
 Using Unstructured Questions
 Using Open-ended Questions
 Designing Closed-ended Questions
 Avoiding Forced-choice
 Data Analysis
 Instruments of Analysis
 Using a ‘Tally System’
 Using SPSS Package – Licensing permitting
 Using Excel Package
 Data Interpretation
 Making Sense of The Information gathered and analysed
 Identifying ‘Trends’ & ‘Patterns’ in Information
 Arriving At Conclusions
 Reporting The Findings
 Reporting Styles
 Using The Evidence available
 Choosing reporting style to match the type of report or information being presented
 Generating Graphs & Charts From Tables
 Using Microsoft Excel to create graphs and charts
 Monitoring & Continuous Evaluation
 The Interim Reports
 The final Report
 Formal Reports
 The Abstract
 Establishing The Terms of reference
 The Executive Summary
 Choosing prefacing summaries
 The Introduction
 The Background
 Styles of Report Writing;
 Using Visual presentation to enhance the effectiveness of reports
 Using evidence from information gathered to support claims made in reports


Module # Module Title Unit Value Duration
4 Oral-Visual Presentation 1 2 Days
Objectives Contents & Concepts
By the conclusion of the specified learning activities, participants will be able to:
 ‘Explicitly demonstrate’ that they took the necessary steps in the preparation for their oral-visual presentation
 Prepare and deliver electronic presentations
 Demonstrate their understanding of the importance of the introduction – in oral-visual presentations
 Demonstrate effective verbal and non-verbal presentation skills, during the delivery of their oral-visual presentations
 Demonstrate their ability to select the information that is relevant to the particular issues being presented, omitting the irrelevant aspects
 Exhibit their ability to select the most appropriate PowerPoint template, in line with the type of presentation they intend to deliver
 Set their PowerPoint presentation slides to automatic run, timing it to coincide with their allocated time
 Programme their presentations to provide ‘dim effect’, thereby enhancing the readability and psychological effect of the information they present  Preparing For The presentation
 Electronic Presentations
 The Presentation
 The Introduction To Your Presentation
 Avoiding Stage-fright
 Eye Contact, Posture & Other Forms Of Body Language
 Verbal Communication –
 Written Communication
 Oral communication - audibility, Intonation, Etc.
 Improving The Relevance Of Information presented
 Addressing Questions
 Designing PowerPoint Presentations
 Choosing PowerPoint Background
 Using PowerPoint Templates
 Using sound and animation, appropriately
 Adding automatic run
 Timing the presentation for automatic run
 Enhancing presentations with ‘Dim’ effect.
 Choosing the appropriate ‘Dim effect’



Module # Module Title Unit Value Duration
5 Minutes and Minute-Taking 1 2 Days
Objectives Contents & Concepts
By the conclusion of the specified learning activities, participants will be able to:
 Illustrate the importance of meetings in an organisational context
 Demonstrate the use of different minute-taking techniques
 Make decisions regarding the appropriateness of particular minute-taking techniques,
 Make decisions regarding the appropriateness of particular minute reporting styles
 Determine when verbatim in minute reporting is important and appropriate
 Demonstrate their ability to use mind-mapping technique to record minutes.  Preparing for the meeting
 Preparing to Take the minutes;
 The significance of minutes;
 Minutes as a record of events;
 Meetings in a historical perspective;
 Techniques of minute-taking;
 Recording styles;
 Preparation and Presentation of minutes;
 The verbatim – when is it appropriate;
 Taking note of motions;
 Taking note of result of motions;
 Noting Action Points;
 Noting assigners and assignees of action;
 Noting timescales and deadlines;
 Recording amendments to minutes; Seeking clarification
 Mind-mapping as a minute-taking technique.

Module # Module Title Unit Value Duration
6 Meetings: Scheduling and Conduct 1 1 Day
Objectives Contents & Concepts
By the conclusion of the specified learning activities, participants will be able to:
 Decide on the amount of notice that is required for particular meetings
 Distinguish between the importance and urgency of meetings
 Schedule meetings, taking pertinent factors into account
 Demonstrate their ability to convene meetings
 Demonstrate their ability to ‘gate-keep’ at meetings
 Exhibit their competence in promoting ‘harmony’ at meetings
 Exhibit their competence to seek consensus at meetings
 Demonstrate their competence in conducting meetings within time limits  The notice of meetings;
 The agenda items
 Following the agenda;
 Dealing with conflicting members;
 Seeking consensus
 Gatekeeping –
 Bringing in the timid;
 Silencing the over-eloquent;
 Keeping meeting duration within the specified time